Press conference with Mick de Brenni, Queensland Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen - Brisbane

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, thanks for coming, everyone. It’s great to be here in Anthony and Emma’s house. Anthony and Emma know, as Australians know, that the cheapest form of energy is renewable energy. That’s the case for a family that has been to put solar panels on and, ideally, install a battery. It’s the case for the Australian grid as well. The more renewable energy we have in our grid the lower energy prices are.

We see that just in the latest figures out – quarterly figures show us that wholesale energy prices are down 71 per cent on the same time last year. That’s the result of two things: the coal and gas caps that the Albanese government put in place with the governments of New South Wales and Queensland and, importantly, big increases in solar production, rooftop and grid-scale utility.

We know that renewable energy is good for emissions and good for bills. We also know it’s difficult for families to make the upfront investment. Hence governments – both the Albanese government and the Palaszczuk government – are helping families make those choices. Our $1.7 billion household energy savings plan that we announced in the budget, for example, a billion dollars worth of low-interest loans, $300 million to help social housing tenants make the transition to renewable energy and energy efficiency, our solar banks policy - $100 million across the country – is very much focused on renters and apartment dwellers. We’ve already announced the deal with ACT and Victoria, and I’ll be announcing other states in the coming period.

This is really important. We need more renewable energy to reduce our emissions. We need more renewable energy to reduce our bills. Now, some people have other plans and other ideas. Some people think the answer to high energy prices is to put the most expensive form of energy available in the world – nuclear – into our grid. It’s a fantasy. It’s a unicorn. It’s many, many decades away at best. It’s the most expensive form of energy. We need to make the transition now and helping Australian families now. And that’s what we’re doing. That’s what our government’s doing. It’s what Annastacia and Mick’s government is doing – helping families make that transition.

As we say, we know it’s not easy. We know the upfront cost can be difficult. Hence that’s why we’re helping Australians, and that’s why we’re working to get more renewables in our grid more broadly with our capacity investment scheme, which is going very, very well in its early stages. Much more to do but it’s already seeing big uplift in behaviour and activity in getting more renewables into the grid, and we’re going to keep going. We’re not going to be distracted by this attempt to distract us by this fake nuclear debate. We are getting on with the job.

Can I ask Mick to say a few words and then Wayne, the Acting Chief Executive of the Smart Energy Council to add, and then, of course, we’ll take your questions.

MICK DE BRENNI: Thanks very much, Chris. Well, isn’t it terrific to have the nation’s Energy Minister here in Queensland. Today we’re at the – an average suburban home – two storey, two adults, two children, a swimming pool, and it’s like four out of every 10 Queensland homes that have the opportunity to install solar. And talking to the owners here just a few moments ago, they made the decision to get into solar, the installation of a battery and an electric vehicle because it saves them on their cost of living.

We know that Queenslanders have a huge appetite to leverage our incredible natural resources to put money back into their pocket. And, of course, because Queensland’s energy system is publicly owned here in Queensland, like nowhere else in Australia, we are able to lead the transition to a low-cost renewables-based energy system. In fact, around over 9,000 megawatts of renewable capacity in the system in Queensland, and around half of that is on the rooftops of homes just like that one – like this one.

That’s why we’re so energetic about supporting more households to be able to make this choice to put money back into their pockets. We welcome the figures that are out today. They reenforce what Queenslanders already know – the switch to renewables will save you money. That’s why the Palaszczuk government is working so closely with the Albanese government to make sure that more families and small businesses plus some of the biggest energy users in Australia are supported to make the switch to renewables.

It's terrific to be working with the Smart Energy Council as well. We’re putting the finishing touches on programs that are designed to help more households make this switch. We look forward to having more to say about that very, very soon.

We know that whether you’re in Eight Mile Plains where we are today in South-east Queensland or you’re in Cairns, Townsville or Mackay, you can significantly reduce your electricity bills. That’s why the Palaszczuk government will absolutely support the Albanese government in their push to ensure more Queensland households can make this important choice. It puts money back into their pocket, it cuts emissions.

And I just want to wrap up by acknowledging that today we are facing severe bushfires in many parts of the state. And if you ask those – if you ask citizens in the Queensland outback do they want us to take action on climate change, they will tell you because of what they’re experiencing today absolutely the answer is yes. And so each time we add another megawatt of renewable energy, we take action on climate and we reduce the cost of living. And so we’re absolutely committed to ensuring more households can make these important choices, and we’ll do everything that we can to support households like Anthony and Emma into the future.

WAYNE SMITH: Thanks, Minister. Solar saves money. It’s as simple as that. The best thing that you can do to save money on your power bill is to get solar. And if you have solar and a solar battery like the one behind you, not only are you slashing your power bill but you’re also taking control of your own energy. You’re deciding when and how to produce electricity. That’s an extraordinary thing.

You know, there’s something like three and a half million Australian homes now have got solar. That’s just an incredible figure, and Australians get it. Australians know that solar saves money. And I really want to pay tribute to the Australian Government and to Minister Chris Bowen for the work that he’s done with the renewable energy target, the Australian Government’s renewable energy target, that’s helping families right across the country save money on their power bills.

I just want to pay tribute also to Minister De Brenni and the Queensland Government – similarly, extraordinary amount of support for families throughout Queensland about solar, installing solar and installing batteries as well. So, look, fantastic. And very happy to take questions. Thank you. 

CHRIS BOWEN: Over to you guys.

SPEAKER: I might just bring in – 

CHRIS BOWEN: Sure, sure. It’s your house. Your press conference. 

ANTHONY TSENG: So after installing solar panels on my roof and having this battery pack in the back, we’re saving around $600 to $700 every quarter in our energy bills, which is great, especially during summer. We have two kids at home. Heat travels up to the second floor. They can’t sleep at night sometimes. The fan sometimes just won’t do it. So we’re having that saving and knowing that we have air-con on, it gives us peace of mind at night. So, yeah, I thank you. Thank you very much. 

SPEAKER: Thank you so much.

CHRIS BOWEN: Okay. Over to you guys.

JOURNALIST: Minister Bowen, the Queensland government has the energy and jobs plan. Can – will the – is the Federal government committed to assisting the State government in that plan, and when can we, I guess, expect, you know, funding commitments or – 

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, we do. We do. Mick and I work very, very closely together. And the Queensland jobs and energy plan is a very good one. And we can support that through the capacity investment scheme, as we’ll do next year. We’ll be rolling out options in Queensland next year. We’ve already started that process, and that happens. We also have ongoing discussions.

Our social housing plan, for example, is complementary. We have ongoing discussions about making sure that we bring that together in announcements. So our plans are all about making this transition together. We’re all in. This can’t be done together by the federal government alone. It can’t be done by the Queensland government alone. We need to make sure that our policies are complementary, and they very, very much are in terms of the Commonwealth and the Queensland government.

JOURNALIST: I just have one for Minister De Brenni, if that’s okay. 

MICK DE BRENNI: Sure.

JOURNALIST: Minister De Brenni, while I just have you, the Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke has said that – has asked the state governments to take action to keep workers safe when it comes to engineered stone. Safe Work Australia has commissioned – their report has called for a blanket ban on engineered stone. Will Queensland do the same? 

MICK DE BRENNI: Well, if there’s a workplace product or practice out there that puts workers’ lives at risk, quite frankly it should stop. And so we have said we support a ban. I believe that the nation is progressing towards that. And we should get on and ban those sort of products. 

JOURNALIST: When can we expect Queensland to put in place legislation of that form?

MICK DE BRENNI: As I understand it, the process is designed to achieve a national ban on these products. Workers right across the country, here in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, all the states and territories, should have the highest level of protection in the workplace. And so a product like this one that has been proven to be a killer needs to go. 

JOURNALIST: So will it – will Queensland wait for the federal government to put in legislation instead of doing it ourselves? 

MICK DE BRENNI: The specific timing you’d need to put to the Industrial Relations Minister. But we’ve been very clear that these products that pose a significant work to workers’ lives need to be out of the construction sector. 

JOURNALIST: Minister De Brenni, new polling has shown that the Premier’s popularity is sliding and she is no longer the preferred premier against David Crisafulli. What are your thoughts on that? 

MICK DE BRENNI: Well, this week we saw Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk bring to the Queensland parliament laws to put downward pressure on cost of living, laws to keep public ownership of Queensland’s energy system and laws to take real action on climate change. You won’t see that from David Crisafulli and the LNP. What we know about the LNP is that when they were in office energy prices went up. They stitched up every single Queensland household with the bill. That’s in stark contrast to the approach that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has brought and she’ll continue to bring. 

I know that she will work incredibly hard every day to the election and then every single day after, just as she has before, to support households like this one, to support households like this one to make sure that they’ve got good jobs, that their cost of living is as low as possible. I’m very confident that Queenslanders know the difference between a premier that they can rely on, that they can count on and that they can trust and David Crisafulli. You know, they said before they were last in office that workers had nothing to fear. They sacked 14,000 workers. Energy prices went up 43 per cent, and they stitched up Queensland households with all of that cost. No help. They didn’t care about households then. They didn’t care about workers then. And Queenslanders know they can’t be trusted at this election either.

JOURNALIST: But why is the State government’s popularity sliding amongst Queenslanders? 

MICK DE BRENNI: Look, the facts are that at all times in an electoral cycle the polls go up and down. Now, we are very attuned to what Queenslanders have been saying, and we are resolving matters as they come forward. The important thing for us is to demonstrate to Queenslanders that we are hearing what they are telling us, and we absolutely are. I’m very confident that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her entire team will be responding to what Queenslanders are telling us. We are out on the ground every single day meeting with families like this one standing in this garage today. They’ve told us that cost of living relief is good for households. That’s why we’ll continue to support progressive coal royalties. We’ve seen from the opposition that they have said that they won’t continue, or won’t commit to continue that after the election. They – you know, the Leader of the Opposition is slippery. He won’t say what he’ll do in office. What Queenslanders know is that they can trust the Palaszczuk government to back Queensland families, Queensland workers and Queensland businesses. And that’s what matters.

JOURNALIST: The Premier said that she’ll have an update of some form about CopperString when cabinet heads to Townsville this week. What’s the update on CopperString? 

MICK DE BRENNI: Well, CopperString 2032 is really now a lifeline for the northwest of Queensland. We saw the announcement, the closure of the copper mines, putting at risk, you know, hundreds if not thousands of jobs in that community. Building CopperString 2032, connecting the northwest minerals province to the national electricity grid opens up a huge – half a trillion dollars worth of critical resources to make the batteries that we see behind us here, the minerals that the whole world is craving for. We committed to build CopperString 2032. The LNP don’t support it.

In fact, what that means is that the LNP has decided to set Mount Isa adrift. Queensland and the Palaszczuk government believes that workers, families in every community should be supported. That’s the difference between Labor and the LNP. We’ll support those families, and CopperString 2032 will absolutely open up new opportunities. The Premier will have more to say about that in Townsville at the start of next week.

JOURNALIST: And just before we go, we might just get a few specifics on regional Queensland, just talking up the fact that those numbers are the best as well. 

MICK DE BRENNI: Okay.

CHRIS BOWEN: Sure. Tough questions. The – every Australian benefits from renewable energy, especially when it’s on their roof. But regional Queenslanders are right at the front of the queue when it comes to the benefits – very sunny in regional Queensland. And thanks to the confluence and the combination of the weather and policy, regional Queensland have some of the best benefits of any Australian when it comes to solar power – over a thousand dollars a year from solar panels, close to 2,000 if you have solar panels and a battery. Really big difference for regional Queenslanders. And, of course, Queenslanders lead Australia when it comes to solar on the roof and regional Queenslanders are right up there when it comes to that because it is the sunshine state, and you can capture that sunshine on your roof. And Queenslanders across the board benefit, particularly regional Queenslanders. Okay.