Macfarlane was responding to APPEA’s assertions that little had been done to stimulate exploration in Australia. On Monday, a group of 30 of the country’s most powerful oil executives sent a collective message to Government saying taxation and energy policy changes were needed to avoid Australia facing a huge oil importation bill in coming years.

Adding to the tone of the conference, a forum of junior explorers yesterday held a robust discussion on the travails facing the small end of the Australian exploration and production sector. The standing room only forum discussed a range of issues from flow through tax losses to insurance bonds for exploration activities.

In Macfarlane’s response, he said it was time to move the “issue beyond restaurant rhetoric and whingeing in the daily newspapers.”

He said that “APPEA needs to understand they have just put as couple of knives in the back of their strongest advocate.” He added he had already pulled them out.

While Macfarlane conceded there was concern that Australia’s exploration expenditure had dropped, APPEA’s comments “were overstated in respect to the Government inaction.”

Macfarlane outlined the current Prosser report and the introduction of effective life depreciation changes to oil and gas assets as examples of Government efforts to assist the industry.