Rustlers Steakhouse & Grill owner Les Palmer wants all of Albany’s 8000 town gas customers to sign his petition which calls on the State Government to retain the city’s reticulated LPG network.

He is furious at the lack of communication around the big switch off which is coming over the next three years following ATCO’s decision to quit the city.

One of Albany’s major players when it comes to gas consumption, he reckoned his business has an annual gas bill of about $60,000 which covers the grill, deep fryers and hot water needed to run his Stirling Terrace restaurant.

Changing to bottled gas will require him to order refills two to three times a week and mean moving the disabled carparking space so he can house the canisters at the front of his business.

Albany MLA Scott Leary is backing Mr Palmer’s campaign and said the petition was a formal document which would have to come to the attention of the State Legislative Assembly.

Mr Palmer said the lack of information coming from the State Government was unacceptable.

“The message that we are losing reticulated gas doesn’t seem to have come out — people don’t seem to realise they will be losing their gas,” he said.

“The State Government doesn’t care about it and don’t seem interested that the consequences will be far more extreme than they realise.

“They have gone terribly quiet — there has been no update for six months — and it’s a shame that one of the fastest growing cities in Australia is going backwards.

“I don’t blame ATCO for pulling out — they are a commercial business.

“But utilities are meant to be public, and the State Government should be running them — and if they need to make upgrades, that’s what our taxes are for.

“This is not going to be a monument to their leadership.

“I want every customer to sign the petition — we still have the power, they have to listen to us.”

Mr Leary said Albany would be the only comparable city in WA without access to a reticulated gas network.

“Every other major regional centre has that standard of infrastructure,” he said.

“What this Government is proposing for Albany is simply not good enough.

“The minister says this is a commercial matter relating to privately owned infrastructure and therefore beyond the Government’s remit.”

The petition calls on the State Government to retain the network, with Mr Leary warning that businesses which cannot afford to move away from town gas could close.

“Get this wrong and the impact on Albany’s economy and standard of living could be felt for decades,” he said.

For Mr Palmer, the housing of gas bottles in front of his restaurant could be costly and unsightly.

“We have no room at the back; they can’t go on the roof and fencing them in would involve additional cost,” he said.

“Plus, there are City of Albany planning regulations and installation regulations around where they can go.”

He said he was also worried for homeowners who might have older appliances which plumbers would not sign off, and extra trucks delivering bottles were not going to help the State go carbon neutral.

Negotiating prices for bottles was not “a headache” he or anyone else should have to go through, he said.

The petition is at Mr Leary’s office at Middleton Loop and at Rustlers but can also be signed via a QR code on his and Rustlers’ social media.