Interview with David Campbell and Tracy Vo, Nine's Today

DAVID CAMPBELL: Cheaper power bills are all but confirmed, the government getting the Greens over the line to support their controversial energy plan.

TRACY VO: The bill expected to pass Parliament today. Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, joins us now. Good morning to you, Minister. It has been a lot of debate, a lot of negotiations with the states. What has been promised in return for support for this bill? 

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, we've worked across the board with the State Premiers, and we thank the State Premiers, particularly in New South Wales and Queensland, the coal states, who we had to work with very closely, but all of them, for working with us on this package, because we knew that our best chance of having an impact is using all our powers and using the powers of the states together. Using one without the other would be less than ideal. And then we've worked across the Parliament, with the crossbench, with the Independents, with the Greens, to get things done. That's what a good government does, and a good government gets on with the job.

So we've delivered, if you like, as you said, two deals; one last week with the Premiers, one today with the Parliament, but the most important thing is that this delivers energy price relief for Australians. We were looking at 36 per cent increases next year. Australian households couldn't bear that. Australian industry couldn't bear that. We weren't going to stand aside and let that happen. Some people might be willing to do that, to look into the mirror today and say, "We don't mind if energy prices go up 36 per cent next year ", but we're not going to do that, and we haven't done that, and the package we are delivering today, together with the package we delivered with the states last week, which are in effect the same package, means that the sting comes out of those increases, because these increases are all the fault of two things; Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, we know that 90 per cent of the increases around the world are a result of that; and Australia going into this crisis ill prepared because we had a lot of power leave the grid over the last decade, four gigawatts over the last 10 years, and only one gigawatt come on. So we've really entered this crisis in a very ill prepared fashion.

So hence we're dealing with it today by providing these gas and coal caps, because we don't think it's okay for big coal and gas companies to make big profits off the back of Australians as a result of a war, and rebate relief direct to energy companies to pass   

DAVID CAMPBELL: Minister, you may not think it's okay, but those big companies are going to have a say in this too, and it's great that you've gotten this over the line for Aussies, that you’ve united the Greens with you, and you've gone to the State Premiers as well, but you're looking at Shell yesterday looking at this very, very closely. Have you spoken to those big companies, and what's their reaction? 

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, news flash, David: gas companies like big profits. I mean that's what they're saying. Fair enough. I respect that, I understand that. That is their job, to try and maximise their profits, you could say. It's our job to defend the Australian people. It's a different job. It's our job to protect the Australian people and say, "Actually guys, it's not okay for you to make these big profits off the back of the war. You can make them on your exports if you want, you know, you can make as much money exporting as you want to," but this is Australian gas under Australian soil and Australian seas and Australians have a right to pay a fair price for it. We're not asking or insisting on more or less than that.

We'll continue to talk to the companies respectfully, there was a meeting yesterday, there will be more meetings today. We'll always pay people respect, but we'll also be clear with people to say, "Guys, this is not okay, and we're going to stop it." 

TRACY VO: What about for the Australian people?  When can they see the impact of these caps once this bill has gone through?  I mean they're needing relief right now.

CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah, so what we've been working to do is reduce the increases next year. The Energy Regulator has said this morning she's already seen the impacts. The future prices are coming down because companies know that this is coming, so it's already having an impact, and she said very clearly that if this passes the Parliament it will have a big impact.

We have a draft bill increase in February, a final in May, we've been working hard to get that increase down as low as possible, and also the rebates will also kick in from the first quarter of next year as well. We're halfway through December now, so I think Australians would understand that next year's where the action is and next year is when the impact will be.

DAVID CAMPBELL: Will there be   I mean we're looking forward to those prices coming down next year, and that's so important, and you had an election promise to do that, and it seems you are getting that done. However, the long term impacts might be even worse with interfering with big companies like this. Will we have pain further down the track because of something like this, or are you going to get guarantees from the Shells that this is not going to happen? 

CHRIS BOWEN: No, David, because what we're doing is having a whole range of policies. I mean last week, the week before last, we agreed with the States for a thing called the capacity investment mechanism to bring on a lot of investment with dispatchable renewable energy. That means it's got to be stored and be able to be put into the grid. That's the cheapest form of energy, is renewable energy. That's really exciting. The energy markets have said that's the most exciting thing that's happened for renewable energy ever.

Of course you're going to see, you know, again, gas companies say this and say that because they don't like the intervention to reduce their profits. But we are not the sort of government that will be turned by that sort of rhetoric, we're the sort of government which looks at the evidence, says "Hang on, Australians should not cop these price rises, it is not their fault," and we are not going to stand by and watch these very high profits off the back of Australians. No problems with companies making fair profits, that's how the system works, and we embrace that. But where a company is making huge profits off the back of Australians paying huge prices for our own resources, Australian gas under Australian water and Australian soil, it's not on.

DAVID CAMPBELL: All right. Well, Minister, we're going to leave it there, but when will you announce the full details of this package, and how are you going to get Aussies to go from gas to electric? 

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, the details of the bill today are all out. Separately we've agreed that we will have a household strategy in the lead up to the May budget, agreed that with the Greens. That's something we were working on, but we've agreed that we'll have that in the lead up to the budget. That will provide households and businesses with support to have the best energy available to them. Nobody’s forced to do anything, but moving to electricity is cheaper, often, and better for your health in a household, and we’ll provide that support for a range of mechanisms including loans and other things. That’s an important strategy, and very glad to work across the Parliament with people of good will to get it done.

TRACY VO: Hopefully those details will provide some relief to Australians struggling at the moment, and Minister, thank you very much for your time this morning.

CHRIS BOWEN: Thanks guys, and David, all the best to your Dad, and all also the best to everyone waiting for their HSC results at home. Everybody’s in my thoughts.