Press conference, Bunbury, Western Australia

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, thanks for coming, everyone. Today is a great day for jobs and investment and energy, for Bunbury and for Western Australia.

Today I'm declaring the Bunbury offshore wind zone. This will create 7,000 construction jobs and 3,500 ongoing jobs if it's fully utilised. It will also provide, if fully utilised, more than 11 gigawatts of energy for Western Australians. That's a lot of energy for Western Australians as Western Australia's energy needs grow.

We know from State Government work that Western Australia because of the growth in industry and population, we need 50 gigawatts of new generation by 2042.

Now that is going to be made a lot easier with offshore wind. Offshore wind is energy rich and jobs rich. One turbine, one move of one turbine creates as much solar power – sorry, as much energy as the solar power on your roofs do all day. So one turn of one turbine of offshore wind is as much electricity as the solar panels on your roof generate all day, and they turn around 15 times a minute.

So this is a lot of energy for Western Australia. It's also a lot of jobs, as I said. Big construction project and big ongoing maintenance.

And today, as well as declaring the zone, I'm also opening feasibility applications which will be closing in November. Now those feasibility licence applications will need to show me not just that they can create energy, but they will create jobs and economic opportunity for this region, that they'll have local content plans, that they'll have good labour standards, and they'll have good plans to make sure that the region which hosts offshore energy benefits from offshore energy, and the best bids on those criteria will win approval to proceed.

It's also important that we get the balance right, and we have listened to community concerns as well. We had community concerns about visual amenity, about what it would look like from Bunbury and Busselton and elsewhere, about recreational fishing and about impact on the environment.

The zone that I'd initially consulted on was roughly double the size of the zone that I have declared today. We've removed 60 per cent of the overlap with recreational fishing. The zone will now start 41 kilometres from Bunbury and 55 kilometres out from Busselton.

Now at those distances, they'll be very, very hard to see indeed, even on a good day. You won't see the offshore wind turbines.

I do want to just spend a moment talking about recreational fishing, because I know a lot of people enjoy recreational fishing, and they will be able to continue to.

There's been a lot of lies told by Andrew Hastie and others about recreational fishing. The proponents will need to show when they put in a feasibility licence application that they can co exist with recreational fishing.

We know from overseas that there's often an exclusion zone of around 50 metres around each turbine, but that leaves a lot of room for recreational fishing 'cause the turbines tend to be two kilometres apart from each other, where recreational fishers can continue to do what they've always done and enjoyed.

And indeed a lot of evidence shows that fish come in to explore around the wind turbines, to feed off the ecosystem that's created by the wind turbines, so fishing improves.

So this is a balanced decision which gets the balance right. Jobs for the port as the offshore wind is constructed and maintained, jobs for local workers.

Yesterday I was with the Prime Minister in Collie where the coal fired power stations will close, and the Collie community is looking for investment today, not in 2040s, but today. Now these are concrete plans to create the jobs and investment. This area needs jobs. Jobs needs investment, and investment needs certainty, and by providing the certainty of a new offshore wind zone today we are going to see jobs, jobs, jobs for Bunbury and Collie and this region. We're going to see renewable energy, clean renewable energy, cheap energy, but importantly, as I said, the local environment protected.

So the next phase is feasibility licences. And as I said, local content and local benefit will be important. That's important for First Nations communities. I want to thank the Gnaala Karla Booja community for their engagement with me. I want to ensure that First Nations people benefit, and they are real partners, and the proponents will be asked to provide First Nations engagement plans as well when it comes to the feasibility.

They will have to explore the area for any ancient artefacts, for example. All this will be done hand in glove with local First Nations communities. I want to see apprentices, I want to see jobs, all of which will be criteria for the feasibility licences.

This is a good day for Bunbury, a good day for our region, and your region, and a good day for energy and jobs.

Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: What's the total area of the new...  

CHRIS BOWEN: 4,000 square kilometres.

JOURNALIST: And how much has that reduced the energy output?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, it's still 11 gigawatts. It would have been roughly double if the area was roughly double, but that depends on how many proponents we get. But this is, as I said, 11 gigawatts is the entire energy needs currently of South West, Western Australia, that's far bigger. The average coal fired power stations are around 2 gigawatts, so 11 gigawatts is a lot of power.

JOURNALIST: Are you disappointed to have had to reduce the...  

CHRIS BOWEN: No, that's what – this is good consultation. I mean, as I said when I launched it, no zone that I have started has been exactly the same when it finished. If it was, it would mean the consultation is not right, not working. If you're going to have exactly the same zone when you're finished, it means you've done a whole consultation process which hasn't been meaningful.

When people raise legitimate issues and concerns, the Government listens, and I listen.

JOURNALIST: Can I just clarify, are the main reductions out of the zone relating to recreational fishing?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, it's a combination of issues. There's recreational fishing, there's amenity offshore, there's a shipping corridor down the middle. We've avoided the ancient coastline for First Nations reasons in respect of the ancient coastline where First Nations people gathered thousands of years ago. This is a very balanced decision.

JOURNALIST: We've always known though that there was that shipping route through it.

CHRIS BOWEN: That's what consultation is for.

JOURNALIST: But why – that was already there.

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, that's what consultation is for. Now the process is we consult with AMSA at the beginning, AMSA runs maritime planning. AMSA agreed with the original zone, further consultation then ensues, and you get the balance right in the final consultation.

You would be very entitled to say to me if I came, you know, six months later and said, "Oh, by the way, I've consulted, and the final zone is exactly the same as the original zone". You would say the consultation has not been real. And you would have a point there.

JOURNALIST: But the AEIC's review into how consultations are done late last year said that you should start off with the smallest possible size, so it's not [indistinct] –

CHRIS BOWEN: That was not about offshore wind. Other questions.

JOURNALIST: What kind of assurances can you give to community concern about the environmental impacts of building on offshore wind zone?

CHRIS BOWEN: So this is, if you like, Stage 2. Stage 1 is when I was here launching the consultation, Stage 2 is declaring the zone, Stage 3 is feasibility licences, Stage 4 will be commercial licences, and Stage 5 is environmental approval, separate to me, handled by the Environment Minister.

So, at each stage, environmental concerns get considered. So feasibility licence applications will need to show their environmental management plans, as will commercial licence applications. As well, separately, environmental approvals are necessary. So whether it is whale migration, whale breeding, again, which can co exist with offshore wind, but all must be carefully considered at each stage.

JOURNALIST: Will those zones have recreational and commercial fishing exclusion zones in them? Will there be any room for fishing within those zones?

CHRIS BOWEN: Absolutely there's room for fishing. Obviously during construction there's separate rules in place because there's very heavy equipment, but once it's constructed, based on experience overseas, remembering the first offshore wind turbines went in the early 1990s off Denmark. So we have the rest of the world to see how it works.

Usually there's an exclusion zone of just 50 metres around each turbine, the turbines being two kilometres apart leaves lots of room for offshore – for recreational fishing.

I can understand why somebody looks at the map and says, "I can't fish here anymore". It's not right. Particularly when you've got people like Andrew Hastie spreading disinformation deliberately.

I can say this to recreational fishers: I completely understand what an important part of the world this is for you, and your rights will be protected going forward.

JOURNALIST: So what environmental research has been done up to this point?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, the proponents have been preparing their work. We've been consulting with the environmental section of the Federal Department of Environment. That has been a key input. The Environment Minister has been consulted twice in relation to this proposal, and now, as I said, at Stage 2, any particular development application will need to receive full approval under the EPBC.

JOURNALIST: Given how many concerns there were though in the consultation phase over environmental issues, and a lot of the questions that were asked were met with, you know, "We'll find those answers out down the line," do you not think that maybe the environmental research should happen before... 

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, I don't accept that research hasn't happened. But I make this point. You made the point...  

JOURNALIST: In the final phase I'm talking about...  

CHRIS BOWEN: Oh, sorry. If you asked a question, I'll answer it. This consultation has been occurring under the legislative regime of the previous government. Andrew Hastie might want to explain his role in that, but the Liberal Party set up a consultation regime which said, "First consult on an area and then environmental approvals come later".

That is the regime that's been legally in place, it's required 60 days of consultation, I've consulted for a lot longer than that, because that's right.

But until I declare a zone, no proponent can even prepare a proper plan. This is Stage 2, and it's right and proper, you can't do an environmental approval before you declare the zone. It just can't work that way.

JOURNALIST: So you've been quick to put that on the previous government.

CHRIS BOWEN: Just stating a fact.

JOURNALIST: Do you think the consultation regime then does need to be fixed? Would you like to see it [indistinct]?

CHRIS BOWEN: That's the legal regime that we have been consulting carefully across the country, but I'm making the point specifically to your point about why environmental approvals come after the zone, that it was a decision of the previous government, but it's also a sensible one, let me be very clear.

JOURNALIST: So you agree with it?

CHRIS BOWEN: It's also a sensible one because you can't have an environmental approval for a particular proposal until you've declared a zone for that proposal to get into.

JOURNALIST: There's been an inquiry launched into the consultation process. What do you think went wrong here?

CHRIS BOWEN: There's a Senate Inquiry on offshore wind generally, and we'll put in a submission, and it will –

JOURNALIST: But do you think the consultation here in the South West was done well? Are you happy with it?

CHRIS BOWEN: I think the consultation was done as well as it could be. You had people with very genuine issues, you had other people who didn't support the zone and came to the consultation processes with that particular viewpoint in mind already.

The process is a multi stage one. Now I understand some people want to know exactly where will the wind turbines be at the early stage before the proposals come in. It's not how the system works. The consultation works on declaring the zone and then taking it from there. Other questions?

JOURNALIST: You spoke early about the community consultation, the need to focus on fact based feedback. How would you characterise the feedback you've gotten from the community?

CHRIS BOWEN: Oh, look, the feed –

JOURNALIST: What kind of percentage of that would you say was fact based?

CHRIS BOWEN: Oh, look, I'm not going into percentages, but when you're consulting across the board, and this is the case in every zone, this is not just about the Western Australia zone, you get a mix of people who have genuine issues and concerns that need to be addressed, quite rightly, about visual amenity, environmental concerns, recreational fishing, who are not necessarily against it, but have very genuine issues to be worked through.

You get other people who are against offshore wind, against renewable energy, against action on climate change. You'll get a mix, and you'll get other people spreading misinformation and disinformation. I engage very, very carefully and solidly with those people with genuine concerns, hence the changes. I make no apology for the changes. The changes are based on genuine community feedback.

JOURNALIST: What would you say to those people who are just fully against offshore wind and don't want to see them out here?

CHRIS BOWEN: Western Australia, as I said, needs 50 gigawatts of new energy. It's going to be a lot harder without offshore wind. The fact of the matter is, if you're concerned about the environment, I'll tell you the biggest impact on whales, biggest impact on marine life is climate change.

You know, a small increase in temperature of the oceans massively changes the food supply for whales and is the biggest impact, the biggest threat to their continued existence. Getting renewable energy is a big part of the solution for a better environment for less climate change, which is better for marine wildlife.

JOURNALIST: And when do you anticipate the actual wind farms to be up and operating and providing energy?

CHRIS BOWEN: There's a lot to go yet. I would envisage around the 2030, between 2028 and 2032 is when we're going to see most activity.

JOURNALIST: The last time you spoke you said it was, you know, the consultation phase was to decide lots of things, including even if it was to go ahead, like there was a slim chance that it could just be scrapped altogether. What would have had to happen for that to not go ahead?

CHRIS BOWEN: I would have needed to have made that decision, and that's not the decision I've made.

JOURNALIST: But what would have altered your decision today? Because a lot of people are saying it was a sure thing from the beginning.

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, if it was a sure thing, then I wouldn't have made changes. I mean I consider all the feedback, all the submissions, and I make a balanced decision, and that's what I've done on this occasion.

JOURNALIST: Will the turbines be fixed or do they have to be drilled into...  

CHRIS BOWEN: They'll either be fixed or floating. Fixed tends to be closer to the shore where it's more shallow, floating tends to be further out where it's deeper.

JOURNALIST: Do you have an idea of what the life span of the turbines would be that would go in this area?

CHRIS BOWEN: Oh, turbines last a long – I mean, again, there's a myth, there's some disinformation out there saying turbines only last 10 years, and they're toxic, they can't be recycled. They can be recycled. 85 per cent of what's in a wind turbine is recycled, doesn't hit landfill. That's a myth spread by people who don't like offshore wind, or onshore wind, or solar panels for that reason, that they can't be recycled. It's not true. They last many decades, and when their life span is over, they can be recycled.

JOURNALIST: Do you know what will be required from Southern Ports in terms of expansion, how extensive that will be?

CHRIS BOWEN: No, that's a matter for Southern Ports to work through, but there will be a lot of work for the port, a lot of work, and I regard that as a very good thing. I mean this area's gone through hard economic times, and whether it's jobs for direct workers in offshore wind maintenance or jobs for the port workers to support them, or the jobs created when workers working here come in and have dinner in Bunbury or do their grocery shopping, these are all jobs for Bunbury, and that's good news.

JOURNALIST: That same AEIC review of consultation phases, which, as you say is into renewables more broadly, but they have a section on offshore wind, said that when consultations are taking place, they should always be tailored to the unique community that you're consulting in or engaging with. How was the consultation process tailored to the South West  

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, we consulted in many different locations here.

JOURNALIST: And how was it tailored?

CHRIS BOWEN: And I read through all the submissions, and the different issues identified in them by different communities along the coast.

JOURNALIST: That same review also espouses the importance of communication and allowing for multiple different mediums of communication, including traditional media, like ourselves. At those consultations we weren't allowed to record, and in certain instances we weren't allowed through the doors. Is that okay?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, they're community consultations, they're not media events. This is a media event. I'm a politician accountable to the public through the media and other means. Hard working public servants trying to provide information to the community in an information session is not a media event.

JOURNALIST: Well, they were held in the middle of the day, a lot of people couldn't attend, and they were relying on others to share the information.

CHRIS BOWEN: There are also online consultations and many different forms of consultation. Okay. All in, all done. Thanks very much.

JOURNALIST: We have some – can we ask a question? The Nationals leader now says he's seeking community approval before presenting of plans for nuclear plans. If communities want nuclear plans, are you willing to tell them they can't have them?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, I'm not the one proposing nuclear power stations with zero consultation. You've asked questions about consultation; you might want to ask Mr Littleproud what consultation has he done with the people of Collie? Has he been there?

The Prime Minister and I were in Collie yesterday. First Prime Minister to visit Collie in 40 years. Mr Dutton hasn't been there, Mr Littleproud hasn't been there. We've been there talking to communities. This is consultation where the Government is talking about plans and making changes.

Now this has been a joke and a mess from the beginning. Mr Dutton announced seven nuclear sites, no costings, no details, no modelling, no impact studies, no consultation with the communities. Then he said recently, a couple of weeks ago, "Oh, if there's too many earthquakes, we'll cancel the site". Well what sites then will he replace them with if that's the case? Or will he just proceed   now he's changed his mind, is he going to proceed regardless? It's up to Mr Littleproud to explain what consultation he's done with the people of Collie and the six other sites. But I can tell the answer is a short one: zero.

JOURNALIST: Is the Government planning on paring back its planned environmental watchdog in order to secure parliamentary support?

CHRIS BOWEN: We obviously work hard to get our measures through the Parliament, and we talk to the people who have the votes that the Government doesn't have, and Minister Plibersek will continue to do that.

JOURNALIST: Will the tranche of Nature Positive laws be put to Parliament before the election?

CHRIS BOWEN: That's a question for Minister Plibersek.

JOURNALIST: The Climate Council says Australia's national environment law is broken, and without reform nature will be left vulnerable. What's your response?

CHRIS BOWEN: That's why we're reforming the environmental laws.

JOURNALIST: Are there concerns about the roll out of green hydrogen projects in WA given high energy and the Gascoyne is the latest to have stalled?

CHRIS BOWEN: Reports of the death of the green hydrogen industry are greatly exaggerated. We have a pipeline of green hydrogen projects across the country of more than $200 billion, 20 per cent of them underway already. We have around a quarter of the world's green hydrogen projects in this country. Obviously there are going to be some who have hurdles to overcome. But whether it's Western Australia or Queensland or anywhere else, green hydrogen has a very important role to play in our future.

JOURNALIST: Does there need to be a better framework for agreements at all government levels?

CHRIS BOWEN: About what?

JOURNALIST: I'm not sure. I'm guessing it relates to that one.

CHRIS BOWEN: I can't answer a question if you're not sure what it is.

JOURNALIST: Sorry, it comes from Gascoyne. And there are reports of rental companies selling off their EVs because demand is so low. Is that concerning to you in terms of uptake?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, in my experience, support for EVs is very, very strong. Many people are considering an EV for their next purchase. They want to be reassured that there's charging in place. That's why we have a Driving the Nation charging policy, charging is up 100 per cent over 12 months. But I do understand people's concerns, and I know a lot of companies are investing heavily in EVs, whether it be Splend, the company which provides EVs for share ride drivers, who've recently made a big investment or rent a car companies who are getting EVs because increasingly customers want EVs, and in my experience that demand is very strong, and EV demand in Australia's been growing and will continue to grow.

We've got a long way to catch up with the rest of the world, where it's a lot stronger.

JOURNALIST: I've called around rental companies throughout the South West and none of them have them.

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, I...  

JOURNALIST: Is that a problem?

CHRIS BOWEN:  ...well, I drove an EV here today, and it's a rent a car.

JOURNALIST: From Perth though, right?

CHRIS BOWEN: Yes.

JOURNALIST: So that's not the South West.

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, yes, but I'm in Bunbury today, in a rent a car, which is electric.

JOURNALIST: What company?

CHRIS BOWEN: Hertz, as it happens. Right, okay.

JOURNALIST: Last one?

CHRIS BOWEN: Last one for you. You've been very quiet.

JOURNALIST: I've been taking in all the questions. So Kalgoorlie had its second major power outage last week. What do you think needs to change to prevent more major ones happening?

CHRIS BOWEN: What needs to happen is continued investment and cooperation between the State and Federal Governments, and that's exactly what we're doing.

JOURNALIST: Can I just ask one?

CHRIS BOWEN: Over here?

JOURNALIST: Yeah, just got one more. Bunbury's had a couple of severe weather events this year.

CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah.

JOURNALIST: As the Climate Change Minister, are you worried that they are going to get more common as climate change  

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, [indistinct] about every natural disaster apart from volcanos and earthquakes, climate change makes them more frequent and more severe, all of them. Not just bushfires, cyclones, flooding, they get worse, they get more frequent. That's one of the reasons why we're doing everything we're doing.

JOURNALIST: Will there be more financial report for regional towns like Bunbury to prepare for the future?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, we're developing a national adaptation plan, and a national risk assessment, State, Federal and Local Governments are working close together, but as I said, natural disasters are becoming more frequent, more severe and increasingly unnatural, because of the result of man made climate change.

JOURNALIST: I'm not sure if you stayed at Bunbury or Collie last night, but obviously the protests here were getting pretty heated. We had someone tail   try and tailgate us into the port today. Is it   have you had any safety concerns for yourself, or how have you found just like walking around when you're now such a recognisable face [indistinct]  

CHRIS BOWEN: I was in Bunbury last night; I had a lovely dinner at the Bunbrewery, and I have had no concerns. All right. That's it. Thank you.