Interview with Sara Abo and Karl Stefanovic, Channel 9, Today Show

KARL STEFANOVIC: Well there's relief in sight for many Aussies with electricity costs for hundreds of thousands of customers expected to drop by 10 per cent from July. Music to your ears. As the Australian Energy Regulator moves to cut power company profit margins.

SARAH ABO: Let's bring in Energy Minister Chris Bowen live in Canberra for us. Minister, good morning, thanks for joining us.

CHRIS BOWEN: Pleasure Sarah.

SARAH ABO: Now where are they going ‑ sorry, the price is going down by 10 per cent?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well the price reductions will vary from jurisdiction from jurisdiction, state to state and different providers, but this is encouraging news.

So the way this works, Sarah, is the Australian Energy Regulator every year releases what they call the default market offer, which is a fancy word for the cap on the benchmark price. Really it impacts in an indirect way every energy bill because every energy company has got to compete with it.

What the Energy Regulator has found is that a combination of bringing renewables on, coal and gas caps, reduced international pressure and also a request from me and the State Ministers to prioritise consumers has led to these reductions, biggest reductions for small business. South Australia and some New South Wales small businesses getting the biggest reductions, which is welcome.

We've got a long way to go though, you know, nobody's suggesting that this is over, or the cost‑of‑living pressures don't continue to exist, as they do around the world, but yes, this is an encouraging day.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Essentially, they've gone up by 40 per cent since you've gone into power. They're still 30 per cent away from at least that $275 rebate, right?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, Karl, of course today is default market offer day and that is the default market offer that Angus Taylor changed the law to hide just before the last election.

We found out after the last election that energy prices were going up 20 per cent. The Liberals knew that and changed the law to hide it, so it conveniently came out days after the election, not before. And we've been dealing with that. We've been dealing with that.

I haven't changed the law. This is coming out today in accordance with the law and I won't be changing the law to hide things. That's what Angus Taylor did. And we've also been dealing with international pressures and that's why we acted. That's why we brought in the coal and gas caps, that's why we brought in the rebates, which the Liberals opposed.

KARL STEFANOVIC: We've got all that, got all over that for the last two years. But where will they go down by 10 per cent?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well the biggest increases are for small business in South Australia. So they're going down by about that, and for some of the customers, small business customers in New South Wales in particular.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Okay, so that's not a lot of people.

CHRIS BOWEN: And in Victoria we're seeing ‑ in Victoria, which is a slightly separate process, I won't bore you with it, but that's out today as well and they're seeing reductions for residences and small businesses as well.

SARAH ABO: I mean, Minister, you do rightly recognise the challenges that so many small businesses in this country are facing. All they want is some relief when it comes to their power bills. Are they going to get more of it in the upcoming budget if at all?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well we've been very clear that we're up for more cost‑of‑living relief. Of course our emphasis, we've been concentrating in the first couple of months of this year on our better tax cuts for the vast majority of Australians, which will provide cost‑of‑living relief for those Australians receiving bigger tax cuts thanks to the Government. So that's been our first priority.

But the budget's coming up in May. We've made clear, the PM, the Treasurer, me, that we're in the cart for where it makes sense to do more. Obviously, energy bills is one of the areas where there's continuing pressure despite today's very encouraging news, there's more to do. I guess that's something we'll talk about after the budget.

KARL STEFANOVIC: It's a big thing to trumpet that Aussies are going to get a 10 per cent reduction in their electricity bill, so it's going to happen for everyone, is it?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well as I said, Karl, the difference is across the board for everyone. I mean the Australian Energy Regulator's brought out different reductions for small business as opposed to residences, different reductions in southeast Queensland.

KARL STEFANOVIC: I'm sorry, sorry. I'll say it again. Are they going to get a 10 per cent reduction or not?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well the small businesses in South Australia and New South Wales are getting the biggest reductions. There are smaller reductions for other people. As I've said, as my press release today ‑‑

KARL STEFANOVIC: So what will households get as a reduction?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well in New South Wales if you're on Ausgrid it's a 3 per cent reduction. If you're on Endeavour it's a 1.9 per cent reduction. In South Australia ‑‑

KARL STEFANOVIC: That's not 10 per cent.

CHRIS BOWEN: I didn't say it was, you did.

KARL STEFANOVIC: It's hardly a trumpet that you're reducing costs by 1.9 per cent or 3 per cent for households who are struggling under the cost‑of‑living pressures.

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, Karl, as I started this interview, with respect, I pointed out that there are ongoing pressures, I pointed out that this is encouraging. I didn't come in here and say this is the finishing line.

I said this is an encouraging post. I said that right at the beginning, Karl, with respect. Don't put words in my mouth. You can say you're trumpeting it. I haven't been trumpeting it ‑‑

SARAH ABO: Okay, but ‑‑

CHRIS BOWEN: ‑‑ I've been saying it's encouraging.

SARAH ABO: So but what is the finish line, and will it ever be achieved?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well we've always got more work to do. We've got more work to do to bring more renewables into the system. We've got more work to do in the budget, as Jim and I have said in terms of looking at it.

So, look, you never put up the flag and say, "That's it, mission accomplished".  When Australians need more help, they'll get more help from this Government.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Well, you know, I mean obviously there's more work to be done if you're only giving 1.9 per cent back. Just saying.

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, Karl, maybe you would have preferred an increase, but I see any reduction as a welcome step.

KARL STEFANOVIC: You'll take any kind of lead, okay.

CHRIS BOWEN: We can joust with the best of them you and I, Karl.

KARL STEFANOVIC: Yeah, no, that's fine. Just quickly on EVs. Do you concede now given what's happening in the US, they're looking at watering down their trim back of the scale of their EVs and the push towards what they're trying to achieve. Do you concede now that you'll need to wind it back here?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well as I said on your show, I think it was last week, we are up for a sensible discussion about changes to our preferred model, but also we are not up for not giving Australians better choices. Better choices when it comes to not just EVs but also more efficient petrol vehicles. I mean this has been in the too hard basket for too long.

Australians deserve better choices, Karl. Our viewers today deserve to have more choices when they go to the car yard. They've missed out on them because the previous Government said they wanted to do it and then squibbed it.

Now in relation to the US, they are consulting about the 2027 to 2030 period. We've put out a model which gives Australians better choices from 2025 to 2028.

Of course we'll always look at what's happening around the world. We've been talking, I've been talking with Catherine King, to dealers, to manufacturers. A lot of dealers and manufacturers saying, "We support what you're doing, here's a few suggestions about how it could be done better," and we're all ears when it comes to that.

KARL STEFANOVIC: All right. Good to joust with you.

SARAH ABO: The debate on watering down continues.

CHRIS BOWEN: Always a pleasure Karlos.