Interview with Sonya Feldhoff, Jules Schiller and Rory McClaren on ABC Adelaide

SONYA FELDHOFF: Yesterday, South Australia had a visit from our Climate Change and Energy Minister, newly elected Chris Bowen, good morning to you.

CHRIS BOWEN: Good morning team, how are you?

JULES SCHILLER: Good.

SONYA FELDHOFF: Minister, you were here announcing some money for investment in South Australia. Can you explain what that was towards?

CHRIS BOWEN: Indeed, yes. So as you know we've been talking for some time, we went to the election with a Future Made in Australia policy, and part of that is our Solar Sunshot policy, which is to encourage more solar panel manufacturing in Australia, and things that go with it, and 5B is a great Australian company that manufactures in Adelaide, in Salisbury South, and they were the first recipient of support under Solar Sunshot. So a $46 million investment in 5B, which will enable them to cement their presence in manufacturing in South Australia, and indeed eventually expand, and the Chief Executive said to me yesterday, we're running out of room here, we're going to have to get a new site in Adelaide as well as the existing site, so that's great news.

Now 5B, just very briefly, it's a very sort of special company, they specialise in solar panels and a particular product called the Maverick, which is like a half, you know, an accordion, it rolls out very quickly, it's very quick to install, and it's particularly good for mines and resources projects to help them decarbonise and to have renewable energy powering the mines.

JULES SCHILLER: Minister, another policy Labor took to the federal election was more than $2 billion home battery program, which will be accessible from July 1. Who is eligible and how can they access it?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, everyone's eligible, so it's not means tested, and basically it will work very much like the solar panel scheme existing, and we chose that because we know that works and everyone understands it by and large.

So you don't apply for the rebate, your installer will look after all that for you, and so when you get a quote for a battery, whether you've already got solar or you're thinking of getting solar and battery together, basically the quote the installer gives you will include a 30 percent discount on the battery.

JULES SCHILLER: In South Australia, we had a home battery subsidy scheme that was scrapped three years ago by now Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis. What gives you confidence, at a national level, this scheme will be successful given what happened here in South Australia?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, because a couple of things, because we based it on the existing SRES program, without nerding out all your listeners, which is the scheme that has supported 4 million houses to get solar panels on their roofs, so we know that that existing infrastructure and architecture works.

We know that there's literally hundreds of thousands of households and families that have thought about getting a battery, that have solar panels, that haven't been able to make it financially stack up, and particularly with feed in tariffs having fallen so dramatically now, for reasons I think most people would understand, getting a battery makes more sense. But the upfront cost is still quite high, so 30 percent off the cost of a battery will really drive behaviour, and in fact installers, including an installer I saw yesterday in Adelaide, said, you know, inquiries are through the roof, orders are through the roof already based on the 30 percent discount.

RORY MCCLAREN: Adelaide hosting COP31, now this will happen next year I believe. Where are we in that bid? I know the other bidder is Turkiye. Where do you think we are in that bid, and how likely do you think Adelaide is to get COP31, Minister?

CHRIS BOWEN: We're hopeful of getting that sorted relatively soon. So, you're right, we're in the international bidding process with Turkiye. Now we are getting lots of support, so it's a complicated voting system but basically there's a smallish group of countries that decides. Our group, we have, you know, lots of support in that group, I would say the majority of support, but there's also, you know, it tends to work on consensus on an agreement. The two bidders are encouraged to come to an arrangement. So, I've had several discussions with Turkiye, and we'll keep those conversations going.

But Adelaide will do a great job. Premier Malinauskas is, you know, dead set keen and he came to the last COP in Baku and saw how it all works. And I'm very confident if we win this bid that Adelaide will really knock it out of the park, and particularly with a great story to tell the world, one of the most successful jurisdictions in the world with a transition to renewable energy.

SONYA FELDHOFF: If we win that bid, are you likely to get the role at the United Nations?

CHRIS BOWEN: One step at a time. We've got to win the bid.

RORY MCCLAREN: Just give our listeners an idea of how big this conference will be, Chris Bowen, if Adelaide gets it, because it's, you know, we're not talking 10 years, we're talking next year. How big would it be?

CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah. It's a big deal. Now I do want to run a focused COP, like, you know, there are COPs that have had 100,000 delegates, I think that's, you know, a bit too big frankly, and I want to run a focused working implementation COP that really focuses on delivering for, you know, Australia and the world and the Pacific as well.

But it's the most important climate gathering in the world, it's also in many senses the world's largest trades fair. So, you know, renewable energy and energy companies come and talk about what they're doing and their products, so it's a great opportunity again for Australian and South Australian businesses. There will be investors and people from around the world who, you know, in the normal course of events wouldn't come to Adelaide or Australia who will be at COP. So it's very much a win win win.

SONYA FELDHOFF: It also comes with a whole heap of security concerns, and our Police Commissioner has already raised concerns about his capacity under current funding to deliver the police numbers needed for that. Will the Federal Government supplement or support that?

CHRIS BOWEN: It will be a joint funding arrangement between the State and the Federal Government, and you know, again, we've got to win the bid. So South Australia put in a very strong and compelling case, a whole of government case, that you were the best place to host the COP in Australia. We've accepted that case, we agree with you, and yes, there will be lots of Ministers and dignitaries in Adelaide at that time, and that does come with certain, you know, logistical issues, but we'll work on those together, and it will be a great success for Adelaide.

Just I mean, you know, Adelaide has really, under your government, developed a name as a wonderful host of important events, whether it's Golf or the Gather Round, et cetera, and I think the COP just puts that on the international stage.

RORY MCCLAREN: You're listening to Climate Change and Energy Minister, Chris Bowen, who joins us on 891 ABC Radio Adelaide with Sonya, Rory and Jules.

Can I ask about gas. Let's go from renewables to gas, and people are already texting in about their concerns around power prices. We know we're a big exporter, you know, there's been news out the last few months that Japan takes a lot of our gas and then on sells it as a profit. Are Australians being stiffed by our gas policy and it's leading to higher power prices unnecessarily, Minister?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, the thing about, there's a lot in that question, right, so I'll do my best to unpack it as quickly as I can. Gas has got a very important role to play in Australia and around the world, particularly to support renewables. So the benefit of gas is that it's flexible, you can turn it on and off very quickly, a gas fired power station. So when you're managing a renewable grid, having that gas available as a backup is very important, what we call firming and peaking. We are obviously a big very source of gas for ourselves and the world, and that's important as other countries decarbonise.

Now Japan does rely on Australian gas very strongly to keep the lights on. They do have, you know, surpluses from time to time that they trade, but you know, the fact of the matter is that they do rely on Australian gas for their energy system.

RORY MCCLAREN: Yeah, but they don’t sell it at a profit, don't they?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, they sometimes have surplus, but I'm not going to pretend that they don't actually also use a lot of Australian gas and need a lot of Australian gas, and we'll be a reliable supplier, because we also want to be a reliable supplier of green hydrogen and other things into the future, that's important for our trading reputation.

Now, again, there will be some people who say gas is the answer to all our problems, they're wrong. There will some people who gas - there should be no gas, that's also wrong. A balanced, evidence-based, careful approach says gas has a role to play in Australia and around the world for some time to come.

SONYA FELDHOFF: Chris Bowen, obviously you're part of a government that's been elected in a landslide, and a part of the promises you made was about an energy rebate, but there's a timeline to that energy rebate, and people are hurting out there. We're getting texts every day from people who are suffering under those prices. Do you have a plan to address power prices, energy prices into the future beyond the rebates?

CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah, so I mean the rebates have been very important in helping households and businesses adjust in the global energy crisis. Many governments around the world have done similar things. We've done three rounds, opposed by our political competitors, but there's been an important adjustment mechanism to assist families, and every round we've done, we've said we'll consider what more we need to do into the future.

We've never suggested that they're permanent and they're forever, but we've also said we'll consider each round as it comes to an end and consider where we're at.

But ultimately, we also need to continue with a long-term plan of a carefully designed energy mix, which is introducing more of the cheapest form of energy, which is renewables. There's deniers and delayers and the Liberals and Nationals who say, "Well, if renewables are so cheap why are my energy prices going up?" That's fundamentally dishonest, because the fact of the matter is that renewables are the cheapest form of energy and the more we have in our carefully designed system, backed and designed by the experts, is the best way of delivering lower prices. And you saw that in the Australian Energy Market Commission’s report recently which showed energy prices coming down over the next 10 years if we keep going with this plan. That's not a political promise, but it is a statement of fact that the experts have, you know, produced from all their expert work, and that remains the best plan, and you know, frankly, the Australian people did look at what we've done a few weeks ago and asked us to keep going.

JULES SCHILLER: Minister, you mentioned hydrogen in an earlier response, and speaking of things that have happened in recent times, what are your thoughts on hydrogen, because we know that the South Australian Government has parked its plans for a hydrogen plant. Does it still have a future in South Australia?

CHRIS BOWEN: I think green hydrogen is a number of things: it's difficult, and it is important, and both things can be true. So just because it's difficult doesn't mean you don't keep working on it and delivering it. And yes, there's going to be, you know, you don't draw a linear straight line and things, you know, roll out just as a glossy document always suggests they will, but it doesn't mean you give up, and you know, we're not giving up on green hydrogen and nor is the Malinauskas Government, but there are going to be setbacks from time to time.

So recently I announced the first project under the Hydrogen Headstart Program, pretty similar to Solar Sunshot, that one's in Western Australia. We'll have more to say, because ultimately, green hydrogen is the best way of getting a long term industrial solution to decarbonisation…

JULES SCHILLER: But isn't the problem here though, Minister, that the market just isn't there yet?

CHRIS BOWEN: No, well, yeah, well, but I just said, with respect, it's also difficult, it takes time to build up. It's a new industry, unlike nuclear which has been around for, you know, 70 years and gets more expensive, green hydrogen is starting, and you often get businesses that are expensive to start with, the cost comes down as you build the critical mass, that's what we're doing. We've never said it will be, you know, up and running tomorrow, or it will be the answer to all our problems in the next year or two, but it does have a long term future. The world knows that. You know, the German Government just changed, they're still committed to working with us on green hydrogen, they're funding green hydrogen projects in Australia, for example. That work continues.

So again, these things are never, you know, simple or easy, but it doesn't mean they're not important as well.

RORY MCCLAREN: All right. Chris Bowen, it looks like you might be fighting another war on nuclear in the next election.

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, I'd like not to, but you know, the other side appears not to have got the memo from the Australian people a few weeks ago.

RORY MCCLAREN: All right. Chris Bowen, Climate Change and Energy Minister, thank you for your time.

CHRIS BOWEN: Good on you, nice to chat, guys.