No wonder the PM is playing this one carefully. I hear what you are saying. I'm very well aware of the issue. Without talking about Shell and Woodside, I understand the concerns people have about this country not becoming an economic branch office. I do understand that.
Understanding is one thing.
Soon, very soon, the Government will have to act. And so the political pressure around this decision is escalating. This week, nine Government MPs from Western Australia, the home of Woodside and the north-west shelf, wrote to the PM arguing against the takeover bid on the grounds of a conflict of interest. Clearly there are conflicts of interest for Shell, because they have interests in gas in a number of regions and they may, in fact, have a conflict of interest in bringing those fields on stream before north-west shelf gas in the later stages. Also, they're on record as saying they will make no commitment to selling north-west shelf gas into China if they win control over Woodside.