Press conference, Melbourne, Vic

CHRIS BOWEN: Australia’s Energy and Climate Change Ministers have had another very productive meeting today, working together on the energy transition well underway in our country and in our respective states and territories. A real spirit of goodwill, a real spirit of cooperation around the table today, as is always the case.

Many, many matters were discussed, but I’m just going to highlight a few. Firstly, Energy Ministers agreed on a Consumer Energy Roadmap for our country. This is the next big reform for the energy system, making sure that those consumers who have energy resources at their disposal, whether they be solar panels or a battery, or an electric vehicle, are able to be in control of those resources to get maximum benefit out of it for themselves and also for the grid.

And what we want to do is also ensure that those Australians who don’t have solar panels or a battery or an electric vehicle benefit as well. This is about them as much as it is about the people with those things.

It’s about ensuring grid stability. It’s about ensuring maximum use of every single electron.  So things like making sure that consumers can export as much of their solar as they want to or they can. Things like making sure that people with an electric vehicle can use it to charge their home or the grid. What we call bidirectional charging, reverse charging, vehicle to grid or vehicle to X is allowed under all the rules, all the regulations. There’s some way to go. It’s got to be technically possible. We’ve got to – not every electric vehicle manufacturer enables it in their charging. But we want to make it as easy as possible for those consumers who choose to do it. And, again, everyone will benefit if there’s a freer flow of electrons through our grid.

We have 22 gigawatts of power on our roofs. It is by far our largest power station, and we want to make sure that we’re maximising the use of that and benefit of that for consumers as well as for the entire country. And, again, I thank my state and territory colleagues for very, very strong engagement in making this Consumer Energy Roadmap a reality, and now the policy of the Energy Ministers from around Australia.

Als, Energy Ministers endorsed the referral to the Energy Market Commission for better protections for consumers, ensuring energy plan benefits last the length of a contract, preventing price increases for a fixed period under retail contracts, improving the ability to switch to better offers, assisting hardship customers, removing fees and charges, approving the application of concessions to bills. All these things that we enabled in the federal budget with an allocation of millions of dollars to enable these rule changes we’ve now officially referred for those rule changes to begin, and we hope that they can receive urgent consideration by the Energy Market Commission.

We also received a very important update from the First Nations Clean Energy Network on the development of the First Nations Clean Energy Strategy, which, again, we are co-owning and co-designing with First Nations peoples, an excellent strategy on that. Of course, the federal government has more work to do to bring that to reality, but we see our states and territories as key partners, as the First Nations leaders are.

Before I hand over to Minister D‘Ambrosio to say a few remarks as our host, of course, also ministers noted the statement by 18 leading business consumer and community groups that Australia’s existing national targets, emissions and energy targets, for 2030 are the critical foundations for the investments we need to deliver reliable, affordable and clean energy, and backing AEMO’s integrated systems plan as the best roadmap we have for the NEM.

We endorse those remarks by those 18 leading business groups. Business is crying out for policy certainty. The federal government is supplying it. States are supplying it. It’s incumbent on everyone to try and deliver that investment certainty.

And I note that the ministers for the commonwealth and for those states where some have proposed nuclear reactors as part of the energy system unanimously reiterated their opposition to nuclear and ministers agreed that in Australia nuclear is too expensive and too slow as coal-fired power stations age and exit. We spent a lot of time talking about the transition and how we need to get more energy on and quicker and not more expensive energy on slower, which is what nuclear is. And ministers, particularly those who are being proposed to host nuclear reactors, were of one mind on that.

Over to Lily to make a few remarks, then we’ll take questions from the room, and then I’ll take questions from the phone.

LILY D’AMBROSIO: Thanks, very much, Chris. And I’m absolutely delighted to be host of the Energy and Climate Change Ministers here in Melbourne. We’ve had a fantastic day of great engagement but also, importantly, the decision-making that will transform and take us to the end of the transition that is underway. We know what needs to be done. It’s about getting on and getting it done. And today spoke volumes about key decisions that have been made to that effect.

I want to also highlight the fact that in Victoria what has been very important for us in terms of outcomes, notwithstanding all of the comments that Chris has made – because all of those are pertinent to every jurisdiction – in particular for Victoria, our journey towards electrification of households is really critical. It’s a cost-of-living matter. We know that the more Victorians who opt to go to all electric in their home will save significant dollars each and every year off their energy bills. And our point is that with the Consumer Energy Roadmap this will enable us to drive that work further and drive those benefits further for Victorians as we electrify.

We know that there are triple benefits for Victorians in terms of electrification. We know that a new all-electric home can save a consumer in that new all-electric home a thousand dollars off their energy bills each and every year. And if they’ve got solar it’s $2,200 off their energy bills each and every year. Those on an existing home, if they go all electric, they can save $1,700 a year on their energy bills and $2,700 off their energy bills each and every year. These are significant dollar savings.

Transformation is not just about the big assets that are absolutely vital for us to improve our energy system and decarbonising, but it’s absolutely also about what happens in the home and in the workplace. The Consumer Energy Reform package, the roadmap today, is a really fantastic step towards this very important work to facilitate the uptake of new technologies in the home, giving power back to consumers. Money is better in their pocket and not in the pocket of retailers. This is our mantra and today is a real testament to our efforts on that front.

Offshore wind, of course, is a really big agenda item. I do want to acknowledge and thank Minister Bowen for the stewardship of actually making things happen at a national level. We’ve spent years in the doldrums of not having licences issued for projects that are proposed in Commonwealth waters. We are well on the way to that happening, and I’m really delighted that just yesterday, I believe, Chris, Chris announced the full suite of feasibility licences issued for the Gippsland region. And we’re absolutely on track to run our first auction, kicking off next year in Victoria and having contracts awarded late in 2026.

This is not just about getting new electrons into the system, however important that is. We know that these projects will give us clean energy, reduce our emissions, putting downward pressure on energy bills.

But it also is about creating a new industry which squarely fits within the Made in Australia framework, the policy that the Commonwealth Government has implemented and will deliver not just, of course, new energy supply but the really important change in industrial development in particular regions of this country.

We know that Gippsland and parts of western Victoria will benefit greatly from industrial development, new jobs, new technologies, transferring of skills from one energy source to another technology, and supporting local content and local supply chains. This is not about just electrons; it is about creating new industries, one that will serve us very well and continue to support well-paying jobs, increase skills and, of course, keeping the lights on and those power bills down.

CHRIS BOWEN: Thanks very much, Lily. I’m going to go to journos in the room first and then journos on the phone.

JOURNALIST: Minister, on the energy affordability, was there prevailing opinion on how that challenge is tracking?

CHRIS BOWEN: Of course energy affordability was one of our key focuses. I think I can speak on behalf of all ministers when I say we agree that the cheapest form of energy is renewables, and the best thing we can do is work to continue to get more renewables into the system as fast as is practicably possible, supported by transmission, supported by storage and supported by firming and peaking with gas. So this is what we’re working on.

Of course we have all had various consumer relief, in particular $300 commonwealth consumer relief but every state and territory has had some form of consumer relief as well, as we deal with the implications of the global energy crisis. And we’re seeing, of course, welcome reductions in the Default Market Offer, but we all know there’s a long way to go.

JOURNALIST: Minister, what’s your position on the [ACOSS call for] accelerating [household] upgrades and [indistinct]?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, we have moved on energy efficiency and support for households with the $1.7 billion program in the budget before last, which we continue to roll out. It’s a big effort. It’s not rolled out yet because it’s a big job. A billion dollars for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to assist households, $300 million to work in partnership with the states on social housing, and that’s being rolled out in Victoria and other states as we speak. Social housing can’t and won’t miss out on our watch. Support for local government - $100 million for local government decarbonisation. So all this is part of the package.

Now, there’ll always be more to do. But let’s not forget that we started from a position where this government has already invested $1.7 billion in that task.

JOURNALIST: On the roadmap, there are big picture investments here moving towards 2030 and there are steps on the way to that. Where does this roadmap fit? Is that what the immediate response is or is that [indistinct] longer term?

CHRIS BOWEN: I think it’s short term, medium term and some things longer term, but we start today. Some of these timelines will be ambitious to achieve, but we’re all committed to doing our best to achieve them. Over the course of this calendar year and next we want to see real runs on the board when it comes to making progress on vehicle-to-grid charging and consumer energy resources across the board.

JOURNALIST: You mentioned the united [group of 18s] support for the ISP and opposition to nuclear [indistinct]. Given you were all in the same room together, I wondered if the ministers of the states who have had nuclear proposed under the coalition’s proposal see any future scenario where they would potentially support under a coalition government the introduction of nuclear?

CHRIS BOWEN: We can go through them. Here we go.

LILY D’AMBROSIO: Look, I’ll give you a one-word answer – no.

REECE WHITBY: No.

MICK DE BRENNI: No.

PENNY SHARPE: No.

CHRIS BOWEN: Pretty clear?

JOURNALIST: Peter Dutton has said that he would do it with or without the states’ support and has mentioned compulsory acquisitions. Is that something that you think is correct [to just] push ahead?

CHRIS BOWEN: State ministers might want to comment, but I just find this dripping with arrogance. You know, that Peter Dutton knows better than every energy minister in the country, he knows better than the people who actually own the sites. Six out of the seven proposed sites the owners have said they’re not interested.

So this alleged parties of states’ rights and free enterprise says they’re going to come in and override the states and override the owners with compulsory acquisition and a constitutional arm wrestle which he says he’s going to win with the states.

I mean, this is not how you run a federation and it’s not how you run an energy transition. It’s not going to work. And if you want to be at war with the states, then you’re not going to get things done. Now, we have different perspectives on some things and, you know, different jobs to do. But we all have the same objective, which is get on with the job, and we do so in partnership. And if Mr Dutton and Mr O’Brien think they’re going to walk into a meeting like this and arrogantly tell their state ministers what to do and override their powers, then that is going to be a blow to consumers who need new energy now. State ministers might want to comment.

MICK DE BRENNI: Thanks, Chris. Queenslanders know that there’s a state election later this year, and they also know that the LNP Opposition Leader, David Crisafulli, if he had the opportunity he would immediately roll over and deliver exactly what Peter Dutton wants. The only thing standing in the way of that is the Miles Labor government. We have been unequivocal in our pursuit of cheap, clean renewable energy. Only a Miles Labor government will continue to do that.

CHRIS BOWEN: Any other questions in the room before I go to the phone?

JOURNALIST: I’ve got one. Do you believe that Fortescue’s decision to slash 700 jobs will impact your hydrogen policy?

CHRIS BOWEN: No. Reports of the death of the green hydrogen industry are greatly exaggerated over the last 48 hours. Of course our thoughts are with the 700 workers impacted, absolutely. But let's remember a few things: we have a pipeline of hydrogen projects, green hydrogen projects, in Australia of more than $200 billion, the largest pipeline in the world. There’s more green hydrogen in development in our country than any other country in the world.

We’ve had one project by one company deprioritised. That does not mean the hundreds of other projects under development have been deprioritised. It does not mean that $200 billion – more than $200 billion, the pipeline of investments is not on track. Building a new industry has challenges, of course. We’re building a new industry in partnership.

I note that Fortescue wasn’t shortlisted to receive any support under Hydrogen Headstart. None of these projects were Fortescue projects, including the one that they have deprioritised. So, no.

Let’s focus on our opportunities as a country. A quarter of the green hydrogen projects in Australia are already under development, physical development. So we remain committed, as does Fortescue, and I note that Andrew Forrest says he’s doubling down, not backing out of green hydrogen. He’s got a different way of getting there.

I’ve been disappointed to see the federal opposition luxuriating and celebrating challenges in green hydrogen while they embark on a nuclear frolic and fantasy. We’re getting on with the job. Ministers actually received a little bit of an update on the green hydrogen strategy, which we’ll continue to work on and announce soon, a jointly owned product on our national refresh of our national hydrogen strategy.

The previous government had a hydrogen strategy. Now they say it’s snake oil. We’ve updated it and refreshed it, and we look forward to announcing it soon, and our commitment is unparalleled and unquestioned, and Australia will be a green hydrogen superpower.

Okay, I might go to the phone. You’ve been patient. Who have we got on line and who wants to ask a question?

SIMONE GROGAN: Hi, Simone Grogan here from The West Australian. One for you, Minister. Just on that Fortescue note, do you think you perhaps should have given Fortescue and even Woodside Hydrogen Headstart grants in hindsight instead of foreign companies? Do you think that could have helped Fortescue?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, given your from The West Australian I will just say it’s remiss of me not to mention that Reece Whitby and I signed a renewable energy transformation agreement today, the second state to do so. And in discussions with the other states and territories as well. But good day for Western Australia and our partnership on renewable energy.

No, the Hydrogen Headstart – to answer your question, Hydrogen Headstart is a competitive process. We received many bids. ARENA considered those bids, recommended a shortlist to me, which we have accepted. And that shortlist will reach a final list in the next few months later this year for projects to get support. It is right and proper that every single project goes through rigorous analysis and support, and these projects that ARENA has shortlisted are the ones with the maximum benefit for the taxpayer, the maximum bang for buck in terms of energy and jobs. And that is the right way forward. And I note that two out of – and I think I’m right in saying that two out of the six shortlisted are from Western Australia, so good news for Western Australia.

SIMONE GROGAN: Okay. So there wasn’t a reliance on Fortescue to develop the technology, you feel?

CHRIS BOWEN: No, on the contrary. As I said, Fortescue wasn’t shortlisted, hasn’t been shortlisted, is not part of Hydrogen Headstart. So there’s been some misreporting by the opposition saying how somehow this is a blow to Hydrogen Headstart. It’s not. They’re not even in Hydrogen Headstart.

SIMONE GROGAN: Thank you.

CHRIS BOWEN: Thank you. Who else is on the phone?

PHILIP COOREY: It’s Phil Coorey, Minister Bowen.

CHRIS BOWEN: Hello, Mr Coorey.

PHILIP COOREY: How are you, sir? So because we can hear you but not see you, four states ministers responded no to that nuclear question. Can you just say what states they were from?

CHRIS BOWEN: We’ve had Queensland, WA, New South Wales and Victoria. The ministers from Tasmania and South Australia are already at the airport.

PHILIP COOREY: Okay. And just can I ask Minister D’Ambrosio a question?

CHRIS BOWEN: Of course you can.

LILY D’AMBROSIO: Yes, Phil, hello.

PHILIP COOREY: Hi Minister D’Ambrosio, Phil Coorey from AFR - how are you? Thank you for taking the call. Gas in Victoria – do you envisage sort of stepping up efforts to develop gas in your state? I know that you gave approval for a project a while ago and people in the industry say, “Off the record I’ve been told to go and increase exploration.” Is that something you’re now having to do or wanting to do because of the [shortfalls]?

LILY D’AMBROSIO: Well, there’s no off the record or on the record as far as Victoria is concerned. We’re very clear that it was our government that lifted the ban on onshore exploration and development of conventional gas. We did that. We also released funds for the exploration of any gas that could be found in state waters. And we continue, as we have now for a number of years, to encourage any developers out there if they can find it, well and good, bring it forward. But we can’t just sit and expect it to come when the evidence is very clear that we are - the supply of gas is diminishing at a faster rate than what the new supply is that has been identified.

So we can’t sit on our hands and not do anything, but so far as I’m concerned – and I’ve been really clear on this, Phil, for a long while now for people who choose to listen – the challenge is geology and not ideology. So there’s prospective – there are opportunities for the explorers to go out there and search, and I meet from time to time, as I do with any developer, whether it’s renewable energy or whether it’s gas developers, to talk about what the future looks like. And so that’s the answer to that, on the record and off the record.

PHILIP COOREY: Thank you very much.

LILY D’AMBROSIO: Thanks, Phil.

CHRIS BOWEN: Anybody else on the telephone?

COLIN PACKHAM: Chris it’s Colin from The Australian here. How are you?

CHRIS BOWEN: Hi, Colin. Very well.

COLIN PACKHAM: A quick question on the CIS, if I may. When do you expect to announce the winners from the first round of CIS applications? And how do you ensure that those who are selected develop the projects that they apply for?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, it will be a little while before I announce the winners because when you’ve had 40 gigawatts bid in, and more than I think 26 gigawatts moved to the next stage, that will take a while to work out the winners. There’s a lot for AEMO Services, who are running the auction on our behalf, to work through. So that is not imminent, that will be some time off. It will be this year but it’s not next week.

In relation to how you ensure that they proceed, they won’t get any support if they don’t proceed. That’s why the CIS was designed that way - to proceed, to get support under the Capacity Investment Scheme, you have to produce electrons. So they’ll need to proceed to get the support. Okay?

COLIN PACKHAM: Thank you.

CHRIS BOWEN: Thank you. Are we all in, all done? Final call?

JOURNALIST: Could you just speak about the roadmap just for 2 seconds [for the broadcast].

CHRIS BOWEN: Sure. Well, this roadmap is a very important roadmap for Australia’s future, for Australia’s energy consumers. Whether you have solar panels or you have a battery, if you have an electric vehicle or you don’t, you’re better off because this roadmap has been agreed unanimously between states and territories and the commonwealth as a way forward. Consumer energy resources are energy resources that need to be deployed in the best interests of every single Australian, and under our governments they will be.

Okay. Thank you. Thanks, guys. Appreciate you coming. Appreciate you ringing in, guys.