Press conference in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, thanks for coming, everyone. A couple of things I’ll touch on before opening up for questions. Firstly, of course, tomorrow, the 1st of July, big day for delivery for the Albanese Government. Many Albanese Government initiatives are coming into force from tomorrow, designed to give cost-of-living relief to Australians. And, importantly, of course, one of those is the Cheaper Homes Batteries policy which we took to the election and the Australian people endorsed. It comes into force from tomorrow. Typically, a 30 per cent discount on home batteries, but not just home batteries, batteries for small businesses, batteries for community groups. There’s been a huge amount of effort gone into the consultation and policy design. Been a huge amount of interest from Australians. Many, many, many hundreds of thousands of hits on our websites outlining the details. Installers across the country have been deluged with inquiries, so tomorrow is a good day for delivery and a good day for people wanting to reduce their emissions and their bills by installing a home battery. And, of course, I’ll have more to say about the implementation over the coming days and weeks.

Now, secondly, the second matter I’ll touch on, is, as you know, for the best part of 15 years reports after report indicated that while Australia has plenty of gas, we have been facing the prospect of shortfalls domestically – ACCC reports, AEMO reports showing potential shortfalls. Governments, most particularly ours, have taken steps to fill those shortfalls. We’ve had the Heads of Agreement and the Gas Code of Conduct. The previous government, the Turnbull government, had the ADGSM. We’ve delivered 660 petajoules worth of increased domestic supply as a result, particularly at the Gas Code of Conduct.

But those mechanisms are all up for review, and today I’m announcing that Minister Madeleine King and I have decided to bring together a holistic review of the policy mechanisms designed to ensure Australian gas is available to Australian users at reasonable prices. So, Minister Madeleine King and I will spend the next six months consulting, and today I’m releasing the terms of reference and a consultation paper about making sure that Australian government policy holistically – instead of having three different mechanisms – holistically is looking at ensuring the efficient supply of gas to industrial users, to domestic users and to the energy system.

We know that gas has an important role to play as we transition to renewables. It’s a flexible source of fuel. Gas-fired power stations can be turned on and off at very short notice, which makes it very useful when you’re running a renewable – increasingly renewable grid. Heavy industry relies on gas, and 5 million Australian homes use gas to heat their homes. And while many of them are electrifying, we’re also seeing a rapidly depleting supply of gas from the Bass Strait in particular.

So all this is an important management task. We’ve taken steps in the first term through the heads of agreement and the Gas Code of Conduct, but now it’s time – now is the time to consolidate and to ensure ongoing delivery.

Another report out today from the ACCC, which is of a piece with the reports we’ve seen over the last 15 years, pointing out that shortfalls are possible. The last report of the previous government just before the 2022 election from the ACCC showed potential shortfalls as soon as 2022. This report shows potential structural shortfalls from 2028. Again, this isn’t news. We’ve seen these reports before. We’ve taken action accordingly and will continue to take action, but will do so in a holistic way. I encourage all interested parties to make submissions open from today for this important holistic review being run by Minister King and I.

Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] are there questions now, are you [indistinct] concerned about the reliability of this? And does this make gas more important going into the future?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, firstly I’ll answer at a sort of high level and then get down to the details. Green hydrogen has an important role to play in to the future. I’ve seen no other option to decarbonising heavy industry and moving away from gas than green hydrogen. And the world’s great industrial nations like Germany, for example, know that and are deeply engaged with Australia on the journey to green hydrogen.

Does it face headwinds? Of course it does. Of course it does. It faces investment headwinds. And as I’ve said, including in a speech just a couple of weeks ago, these things don’t follow a linear line; you have progress, you have setbacks. But green hydrogen remains very important for the decarbonisation journey, and it remains the fact that there are a relatively small number of countries around the world – Australia and a few in the Middle East, primarily – who have the capacity to develop a substantial green hydrogen industry for export. We can and a few others can in the Middle East, but not many. That’s a remarkable opportunity for our country. It doesn’t mean it’s easy or straightforward or go smoothly all the time. But it remains a remarkable economic opportunity.

In relation to Gladstone, again, this comes as no surprise. Several months ago, the new Queensland Government instructed Stanwell to withdraw from the project. Of course, that decision by the Queensland Government made this project very, very difficult. I think it’s a sad day for Gladstone that the hundreds of jobs that would have been created now won’t be created because of that decision.

This project was shortlisted for Commonwealth Government support. Hadn’t been decided upon. Obviously it will not now proceed, and that support won’t be forthcoming.

JOURNALIST: Minister, would you say that Australia’s gas producers should now prepare for a domestic reservation scheme to be implemented in the medium term?

CHRIS BOWEN: What I’d say, Mike, is that we have already taken steps to ensure Australian gas for Australian users. As I said, 660 petajoules through the Gas Code of Conduct. We make no apologies for doing that. It wasn’t controversial – sorry, it was not uncontroversial when we did it. Gas companies complained. But it was the right thing to do. And it was opposed in the Parliament. It was opposed by some in the sector. But it’s worth it.

Now, that’s not to say there isn’t more to do, and Minister King and I will look at sensible, holistic, carefully designed, well-calibrated opportunities to ensure that Australian users get access to Australian gas. I think that’s reasonable. That’s a reasonable request by the Australian people and one that we will continue to work to deliver. [Indistinct].

JOURNALIST: Just on that CQ-H2 decision, have you spoken to the Queensland government in the past few months about that call, and should the Federal Government be the one to step into the breach given the importance of the project?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, as I said, we’d already shortlisted the support under the Hydrogen Headstart project, as the Queensland Government was well aware. So, it wasn’t a lack of Federal Government support. That support was there. It could have continued. The Queensland Government chose not to proceed. There were – of course there were discussions between the two governments at the departmental level. The Queensland Government, though, made clear they’d made their decision.

JOURNALIST: Does the – the [indistinct] has called for the acquisition of Santos to be an opportunity to look at how you might force a company to [indistinct]. Do you see that potential opportunity? And, secondly, it cost about 600 million Australian dollars when you do the conversions for the UK to host COP. How much will it cost Australia?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, on the two issues – you’ve put two quite separate issues there in one question, Ron, but fair enough. On the Santos potential acquisition, that’s, of course, a matter for the Foreign Investment Review Board and the Treasurer, power of the Treasurer, which he takes very, very seriously. The Foreign Investment Review Board overseas all the processes and will consider what recommendation they make to the Treasurer, including what conditions to put on. And that will be a matter for the Treasurer. So, there’ll be all sorts of suggestions made. I’m sure the Treasurer will take them all into account and he’ll work through the issues very carefully [indistinct].

In relation to COP31, we’re bidding with Türkiye, that has not yet been resolved. While we have much support from the Western Europe Group, which determines the matter, we have much, much support, Türkiye has indicated they wish to continue with its bid.

This is a remarkable opportunity for Australia. It’s the world’s largest trades fair. It gives us an opportunity to talk to the world about Australia’s capacity to help them decarbonise. It’s a remarkable opportunity for the Pacific to put their issues on the table. If and when we’re successful, of course, we’ll have more to say about costs. There will be costs, but there’ll also be revenue opportunities through sponsorships and other things to which balance out.

JOURNALIST: Minister, is there any frustration in the government that you haven’t been able to close the deal? The expectation was that Turkey might be negotiating for some other outcome?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, of course I’d prefer it was resolved by now. But I’m also a realist and a pragmatist in international negotiations. We’ve always been respectful of Türkiye’s bid. I’ve been engaging with my Turkish counterpart. I haven’t sort of given public updates about that because of the respect that we show. But the way these things work is that the Western Europe and Others Group is the group which chooses a candidate. We have overwhelming support in that group. Having said that, I’m respectful of Türkiye’s rights to continue to pursue their willingness and their interest in hosting the COP.

JOURNALIST: Minister, back on the gas review, sorry, is a potential outcome of the review that Australia exports less gas, and will the North West Shelf decision or the North West Shelf be relevant to the environmental approvals [indistinct] at this stage? Will that be part of the [indistinct]?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, thanks for the question, Josh. I probably – you’ve prompted me to say something I could have said in my opening remarks. One thing we won’t contemplate is ripping up existing contracts, creating sovereign risk, engaging in behaviours which would see Australia as an unreliable supplier. We won’t be doing that. What we will be looking at is sensible, forward-looking prospective measures to ensure that Australians get access to their gas. That’s what we’ll be looking at.

JOURNALIST: Do we need more supply, or is this all about ensuring that we –

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, it’s important, Greg, that if there is new supply that Australians have the chance to get access to it. New supply wholly for export will not help Australia’s domestic gas needs. New supply with appropriate standards to ensure Australians get access obviously potentially play a role.

JOURNALIST: The Prime Minister is going over to China in a couple of weeks. Are you looking for any assurances about, you know, China on the energy market with Australia, either for imports, exports, things along those lines?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, Australia, obviously, has a role to play working with countries from around the world on the decarbonisation journey. China is currently investing more in renewables than the rest of the world combined. That is something that we certainly continue to encourage. The Prime Minister will be engaging in conversations across the board with his counterpart about areas of potential collaboration. I’m not going to pre-empt what those discussions are.

JOURNALIST: On another matter, Queensland’s Treasurer is calling foul over the GST cover, claiming Victoria and New South Wales are getting a fairer slice – 

CHRIS BOWEN: Of course he is – he’s a state treasurer. That’s what they do.

JOURNALIST: A large slice of that, they’re saying, comes down to coal-boosting revenue and coal royalties. Does the cover need a rethink?

CHRIS BOWEN: I mean, in all seriousness, that’s what state treasurers do, and in no small regard that’s their job – you know, to try and get the most for their state as they can. We respect that. But there’s also a GST distribution arrangement that’s been worked through carefully. I’ll leave further comments on it to the Treasurer.

JOURNALIST: Just back on COP30, if that’s all right, Minister, is Australia –

CHRIS BOWEN: COP31.

JOURNALIST: Sorry, COP31. Does Australia need to, like, intensify its diplomacy in order to get this over the line? Or are you hoping to resolve it before COP30?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, I think what I would say is that we have been very engaged diplomatically. That’s not to say we’ve issued a press release every time or held a press conference because that’s not how diplomacy works. There’s been a strong degree of diplomatic engagement. But I make this point: it’s not like we need more support from the rest of the world. You know, we have very, very strong support to host COP31 in Adelaide. But the process works on consensus, it works on really the two candidates being expected to come together and come up with a mutually agreeable solution. We haven’t quite done that yet. But it’s not like Australia needs to go out and get more votes and more support, because the support has been extraordinary and overwhelming.

JOURNALIST: Do the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister need to take a more active involvement –

CHRIS BOWEN: Again, you’re assuming they haven’t been. You’re assuming they haven’t been. But the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and I have all been engaged and will continue to be.

JOURNALIST: Minister, you’ve said that a potential gas reservation wouldn’t be retrospective. But what’s your message to, you know, LNG producers – some of the biggest export industry in Australia, huge royalty revenues – what’s your message to them to encourage them to invest in prospective fields, given that they went berserk when Peter Dutton floated the idea of a reservation a couple of months ago?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, Peter Dutton had a dot point in a press release, to be fair. I mean, I understand people being concerned about that. What we have is a very substantial methodical process with a, you know, very significant consultation paper that I’m releasing now. It’s not a one-pager. It goes through the issues. We’ll be engaging with the gas industry, but we’ll also be engaging with heavy industry – gas users. We’ll be engaging with the community. We’ll be engaging with experts and economists. And everyone will have their chance to have their say to Minister King and I.

Two of these reviews were due anyway, the reviews of the – two of the mechanisms. The other one expires next year. It was a good opportunity to bring it together in a carefully designed holistic process.

We have a couple more.

JOURNALIST: Minister, BUPA have admitted to engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct. They’ve now paid back tens of millions. How disappointing is this for the millions of Australians who’ve essentially, you know, been rorted?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, firstly, I’d say congratulations to the ACCC on bringing this action. Their job is to stand up for Australians and Australian consumers, and they’ve done that. So that’s encouraging and they deserve our congratulations. Yes, of course, it’s disappointing that they had to. This was poor behaviour, bad behaviour, by BUPA. But it’s been dealt with by the ACCC, and we’re pleased about that.

JOURNALIST: Minister, you mentioned before that you want to see new gas projects delivering gas to Australians, not just going to export. How does that principle apply to projects like Browse. Do you want to see that sort of gas going to the North West Shelf, landing on the east coast and –

CHRIS BOWEN: I’m not going to start going through prospective projects one by one –

JOURNALIST: It’s a big project.

CHRIS BOWEN: – whether it be Browse or, you know, Narrabri or Beetaloo or any of them. I’m just making a point of principle that new supply that doesn’t have any allocation for Australia doesn’t help us with our domestic needs.

JOURNALIST: Minister, the – what is the future for green hydrogen in Australia?

CHRIS BOWEN: You might have missed the first question, Jason.

JOURNALIST: Okay. Apologies.

CHRIS BOWEN: The future of green hydrogen globally is one that’s very important because it’s the only game in town for decarbonising heavy industry. You know, you look at industries which need high-process heat, which electricity just can’t provide, whether it is cement making or fertilisers or plastics, or there’s a few options in steel, but it’s hard work, then green hydrogen is the only game in town. And does that mean it’s easy and straightforward and smooth? No. But it means it’s very important. And as I said before, Australia is one of the very few countries with the capacity to deliver a green hydrogen industry for export, and we’re not giving up on that. You know, there’s been progress. Murchison in Western Australia is an example of what can be done when a federal and state government work together and when private industry leans in. Murchison in Western Australia, which has been announced and we’re working on it together, and it’s a good opportunity. I’ll have more to say, including potentially in coming days, on other opportunities.

JOURNALIST: Does the slow down in hydrogen make gas more important in the short term?

CHRIS BOWEN: Look, green hydrogen has never been a short-term option. It’s never been about, you know, decarbonising heavy industry in 2025. It is about decarbonising heavy industry into the 2030s. That remains the case.

That’s a wrap. Cheers, guys.