QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:55): The one thing I do agree with Senator McDonald on in that question is the importance of Japanese investment in Australia, including but not limited to the Australian gas industry. I would again make the point that we on this side regard our relationship with Japan as a relationship of trust, a relationship that we give great priority to and a relationship where there is a great deal of trust and strategic alignment.

In relation to the gas reservation, you would be aware that the government has made a set of announcements. It is engaging with international partners and the industry about how that reservation is to be designed in accordance with the principles that cabinet has agreed and ministers have announced. We are very conscious of the importance of consulting with the sector about how we give effect to that reservation policy.

We are very conscious of the various policy objectives which are at play here. Those policy objectives include ensuring that we have sufficient gas for Australia on which we can continue to build Australian jobs, ensuring certainty for investors, encouraging more investment—including investment from our friends in Japan—and bringing on further supply in the gas industry.

The government is working through that. As I said, we are very conscious of the importance of all of those policy objectives, and we are working through that in a sensible and mature way. The PRESIDENT: Senator McDonald, first supplementary?