A plan to ban gas appliances in Sydney – including gas-powered cookers, heaters, hot water systems and barbecues – has been slammed as ‘crazy’ by the federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor.
Under the plan, devised by the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, appliances powered by a gas main could not be used in new developments in Bankstown and Campsie by 2036 – suburbs with a combined population of over 60,000.
‘We believe in choice – people should be able to choose whether they want to have a gas barbecue,’ said Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor said on 2GB.
The Aussie staple of using the gas-main powered barbecue on the balcony or terrace could be banned if a City of Canterbury Bankstown plan goes ahead
An artist’s impression of the Bankstown town centre at 2036 as shown in the draft masterplan for the area
‘I’m sure there’s a lot of people listening right now who want to continue to have their gas barbecues, I’m sure they’ll rev them up over Easter and I think that’s a choice that people should be able to make.’
The proposal is contained in the sustainability report, part of the draft master plans for Campsie and Bankstown, which are open for public feedback until May 14.
The report says: ‘A statement of compliance is required at DA stage, which is to confirm that no natural gas service is provided and that the application is designed as an all-electric building.’
It requires new buildings to be ‘all-electric’ and stated: ‘It is expected that all hot water heating and cooking must be electrical.’
The only gas that would be allowed in the suburbs would be ‘medical facilities or morgues (incineration), education (kilns, metal shops) and heavy industrial (kilns, etc.)’
While there is no current plan to extend these restrictions, it is not a stretch to see if they were accepted they could apply in future to all planning for Canterbury-Bankstown – which has over 360,000 residents.
New apartments in Campsie and Bankstown would not have gas cookers, water heaters, barbecues or room heaters under the proposal
The humble balcony barbecue could only be used if a portable gas canister is used, not a gas main supply
Canterbury Bankstown mayor, Khal Asfour, defended the plans to Daily Mail Australia, which he said ‘will create thousands of jobs, bring in billions of dollars in investment’ to the area.
‘No, I am not banning all gas appliances in our City. What I am doing is presenting a vision.’
‘What we are proposing in the two town centres is to gradually move away from reliance on fossil fuels and move more and more towards renewable energy.’
‘This is one of the biggest things we can do to reduce our future carbon emissions, and work towards our commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.’
He added that portable gas bottles could still be used, if strata laws allowed them.
‘We are not proposing to change the existing rules for barbecues that are fuelled by portable gas canisters, and they can still be used in new apartment buildings subject to fire safety legislation and individual building strata laws.’
Gas-powered heating could be on the way out as plans such as the one put forward by City of Canterbury Bankstown
The artists impression of Campsie at 2036 from the draft masterplan
The plans were supported by the Climate Council, which said they should be adopted across all of New South Wales.
‘Gas is a fossil fuel driving climate change, which is hurting Australians now and driving up prices’ a Climate Council spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.
‘In the electricity sector, gas is already being out-competed by clean, affordable, reliable renewable energy.’
‘These new developments in Bankstown and Campsie are a step in the right direction for New South Wales – with the state government leading on the uptake of renewables, energy storage, and other clean industries – this should be adopted as a state-wide policy, just like we’ve seen in the ACT.’
Mr Taylor said a ‘simple, practical approach’ was needed to bring down carbon emmissions, not ‘crazy bans of gas or fording people to drive a car that they don’t want to drive.’
Mr Taylor was on 2GB to promote the government’s ‘$10million Powering Communities’ program.
Under that plan community organisations can apply for grants between $5000 and $12,000 to replace inefficient appliances.
‘Whether it’s replacing an old fridge or creaky airconditioning or putting solar cells on the roof this is allowing those groups to make those investments that they often find hard to get the money together for, Mr Taylor said.
‘That will allow them to continue to bring down their bills.’
