Many energy-intensive manufacturers are facing a spike in energy costs and uncertainty over supply from when big LNG projects under construction on Australia's east coast come into production and start exporting gas. At present about $2 a gigajoule, it is tipped to reach as high as $12 a gigajoule.

Mr Fazzino says that Incitec, which is Australia's largest fertiliser supplier and a large producer of mining explosives, is building a $US850 million ammonia plant in Louisiana, rather than in Australia, as a "strategic response" to high costs at home.

Last month RBA governor Glenn Stevens bemoaned the lack of corporate "animal spirits", which was holding the economy back, saying he has done what he can to encourage companies to build factories and hire workers by keeping the cash rate at a record low of 2.5 per cent. At the same time, the nation's top companies have paid out almost $70 billion in dividends in 2013-14 as boards continued to satisfy investor thirst for cash returns.

"The Reserve Bank governor is asking why people aren't investing, and the answer, in part, is that Australia is just not an attractive place to invest," Mr Fazzino said.

The US in contrast has an energy policy to encourage value-added manufacturing where Australia has no policy at all, he said, lauding the state of Louisiana's prompt approval process.

Incitec Pivot revealed in December that gas costs at its Phosphate Hill fertiliser plant in Queensland will increase by $50 million a year in 2015-16.

Mr Fazzino lamented that Australia's energy boom has imported Asian energy inflation and that too much gas is headed for export. He says average household gas bills in Victoria are set to rise by about $270 and some NSW companies will have to stop producing during times of peak energy demand in 2016.

"There will be shortages in NSW. Next winter there are going to be some households in Victoria that choose not to turn on their heater because they can't afford to buy the gas. For me that's a far bigger issue than us having to pay more for our gas," Mr Fazzino said.

"There's going to be a $2 billion transfer from households to the energy companies. That's a train wreck. Someone needs to show some leadership and fix this.

Mr Fazzino says gas exports are a good thing but there needs to be enough gas to value-add in Australia in the same way Qatar has built a world-class petrochemicals industry off the back of its strength in LNG.

Mr Fazzino's comments come after an investor briefing on Thursday where Incitec said that drought in northern NSW and Queensland meant fertiliser distribution volumes are likely to drop 10 per cent to about 1.8 million tonnes and margins will be flat for the 2013-14 year. Output from Phosphate Hill is expected to come in at the lower end of its forecast 770,000 tonne to 820,000 tonne range.

The company also said that weaker markets for its mining customers are affecting the explosives business.