Press conference at Parliament House

JOURNALIST: - why they're looking at the prospect of blackouts today and throughout summer?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, let's just stick to the facts. The system is in place. Loss of Reserve notices are not a blackout. Loss of Reserve notices were quite common under the previous government. They are an indication that AEMO is getting more electricity into the system. That is working. Of course, when you've got a massive heatwave, you're going to find pressure on energy systems, particularly in NSW, as we have five coal-fired power units down, three of which were expected, two of which are breakdowns, which is happening more and more in our energy system; breakdowns of coal fired power. We've got two units out in NSW at the moment. That needs careful management. AEMO is managing that carefully. Talking to the Federal and State governments, they have advised me that they believe, providing no other coal-fired power units break down today, there should be enough power in NSW today.

JOURNALIST: That's a key condition though, isn't it, providing no more breakdown, it's -

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, I mean, you can always - there's enough electricity in the NSW system today. Obviously, AEMO is always on the lookout for unexpected events which they need to prepare for. They've put all the necessary protections in place as they can at this point.

JOURNALIST: Labor's trying to get through a number of migration laws this week. The Greens have labelled them Trump-style. Is Labor just siding with the Coalition again?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, Labor and the government are implementing sensible laws which are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our moderation system. The Greens generally don't support those sorts of laws. That's a matter for them.

JOURNALIST: Do you welcome the discussions about a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah?

CHRIS BOWEN: That's broken just while I've been on the radio. So, I obviously won't comment in detail other than any progress is welcome in this terrible conflagration over the last year. I'll leave the Foreign Minister to comment in more detail once she's had a chance to digest the full information.

JOURNALIST: What's your message to the hundreds of Rising Tide protesters out the front of Parliament House today?

CHRIS BOWEN: Protest is legitimate if it's done in accordance with the law. But what's more important is progress and progress is what this government is delivering. I mean, today I've released the indications of the department's forecast for 2030. We are on track for 43 percent emissions reduction, 42.6 emissions reduction. That's real progress. That's not achieved by protesting. That's achieved by real policies put in place by this government.

JOURNALIST: Does the election of Donald Trump impact your preparations to set 2035 targets, does that impact your thinking at all of what that target might mean?

CHRIS BOWEN: All international developments are taken into account, not just the election of Donald Trump. There are other developments in other countries. Australia is an integral part of the world's energy supplies, so obviously what other countries are doing does impact on us. It's one of the many factors we take into account, including domestic opportunities, domestic challenges. Our targets are achievable and ambitious, as is shown by the fact that the targets that we previously set for 2030, data show today we're on track to achieve.

JOURNALIST: Is Donald Trump a threat to that 2030 target being achieved, or -

CHRIS BOWEN: We're taking into account all things and no. At 2030? No, because we're on track.

JOURNALIST: What's the future of COP with, we're in a tug of war now with Turkey over hosting the next one.

CHRIS BOWEN: I'm very pleased with the amount of support we're getting. There's a constituency of 29 countries that decides the COP venue and the COP president. I'm very, very, very pleased with the amount of support we're getting, but the process works on consensual discussion between Australia and Türkiye, which I've had, and they'll continue over the next little while.

JOURNALIST: Has Matt Kean indicated when he expects to provide advice to you about the 2035 target?

CHRIS BOWEN: Matt Kean is doing a great job, as Chairman of the Climate Change Authority, and they will give me advice when they're ready. All right, thank you.

JOURNALIST: Thank you.