Press Conference, Sydney Airport, NSW

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, thanks for coming out everyone. Obviously I'm about to leave for COP, for the Conference of the Parties 30 in Brazil, where the rest of the world understands that renewables are the cheapest form of energy. That's why the world is getting on with it. Renewable energy investment doubled the investment of fossil fuels around the world, $2 trillion, which shows that the rest of the world understands that what's good for the planet is good for your pocket. And we understand that in Australia as well. The Australian Government knows it, the Australian industry knows it, the CSIRO knows it, Australian households know it, with 125,000 household batteries being installed as of today. They're getting on with the job. Meanwhile, as we continue to fight for Australia and for Australians, the Coalition fights themselves. And this week we've seen the spectacle of the Coalition walking away from science and from economics. And, in no small way, pressures on energy bills we saw as a result. Four gigawatts of energy leaving the grid under the Coalition, only 1 gigawatt coming in. Now, I see the now shadow minister talking about supply and abundance, while on their watches they failed on 23 different energy policies, as they saw 22 out of the 26 coal-fired power stations announced the closure under their watch. They had no plan for energy. And now they're expecting- they expect the Australian people to believe that they are the ones with a plan for energy prices. We know that the biggest threat to reliability in our energy system today is coal-fired power. We also know that when a coal-fired power station breaks down, that puts upward pressure on prices, we see spikes in prices. We see that all the time. And yet, the Coalition's grand plan is to put more pressure on prices by sweating the assets longer, that's what they say.

So their plan is a recipe for chaos. It's a recipe higher emissions, of course. It's also a recipe for higher prices. We didn't seek this debate, I would prefer a degree of bipartisanship about these matters. But we won't be walking away from it. We will make this argument every single day. The Coalition wants this between now and the next election. The National Party is calling the shots. And within the National Party, Barnaby Joyce is calling the shots. Barnaby Joyce is very effective at setting the agenda of the Coalition. They have walked away from net zero, their plan is a recipe for higher prices. We know, from modelling from the Clean Energy Council, that prices could increase around $400 if we have coal in the system for longer. This is the plan, the explicit plan, that the Coalition wants the Australian people to believe. The Australian people are smarter than that. And today we've seen the unbelievable spectacle of the National Party saying we think the Liberals have gone too far. The policy's a bit too extreme. That says it all, the fact that the Liberal Party is so out of touch.

Happy to take some questions. I might go to journalists who are here first, and then to the phone.

JOURNALIST: What do you believe the chances are that Australia can lock in hosting rights to COP while you're over there? And if not, will you continue to fight for it in the months after, or is the bid done?

CHRIS BOWEN: The COP bid will be decided at this conference. So it's not a matter of fighting on and on for months afterwards, it gets decided at this conference. Look, the situation remains that Australia has the overwhelming support of the world to host COP31, but that's not how the system works. It's not a ballot process in that sense. That means we need to reach an agreement with Turkey, that makes- that's difficult. I do know it's in Australia's best interest to be COP president and to host COP. I'll continue to have conversations with my Turkish counterparts in consultation with the Pacific over the next week or so, and we'll see how we go.

JOURNALIST: How do you think Australia is doing on the world stage regarding climate [Indistinct]… are we seen as a protector of the climate on the world stage?

CHRIS BOWEN: Yes, now we are. For a decade we weren’t. And the fact- I think the fact that Australia has the overwhelming support of the world to host COP31, regardless of- we don't know whether we'll get to host it or not, but we know we've got the support for it. I think that all goes well. Also, I've been asked to chair the- co-chair the negotiations on technology at this COP. This is the fourth year in a row that Australia has been asked to share [Indistinct]… for a decade and now it's happened four years in a row, I think that tells you something about how Australia is regarded internationally.

JOURNALIST: What money has the [Indistinct] spent on bids so far, and will the Prime Minister be trying to [Indistinct]…?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, we've spent $7 million so far on it in preparation for COP31, should we be hosting. The Prime Minister has been in correspondence with the President. He indicated he would fly to Belem if the President was going to go to Belem, but the President is not. So that's okay. We'll continue to show him [Indistinct]... and no doubt the Prime Minister will be seeing the President at G20 as well. So those are the conversations will continue.

JOURNALIST: What do you make of a UN representative intervening in three Federal Court cases against the extension of the North West Shelf?

CHRIS BOWEN: I think I'll leave Minister Watt to comment on that. Minister Watt is the Minister who's been dealing with that. I saw the report this morning. That said, that’s the extent of my knowledge.

JOURNALIST: Do you think that it's linked to the International Court of Justice findings that countries that don't take appropriate action on climate could be breaching international law?

CHRIS BOWEN: I'll leave it for Minister Watt.

JOURNALIST: Sussan Ley is claiming renewables and climate [Indistinct]… for higher power prices, do you agree with this notion?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, [Indistinct], not only do I not agree, economists don't agree. Scientists don't agree. The Australian people don't agree. I mean this is Sussan Ley being driven by the extreme right wing of her party to come up with an excuse to delay climate action so she gets to hold onto the leash. That's what's going on here. The fact of the matter is Sussan Ley used to say net zero was ‘perfect’, her words not mine. The Liberals used to understand, and I think they do still understand, that renewables are the cheapest form of energy. We have scientific studies, economic study after economic study showing that if you remove renewables or slow the rollout of renewables, then that will push energy prices up. We saw Griffith University just a few weeks ago show massive increases in energy prices if we didn't have renewables. Their- the policy they’re- sorry, it’s not a policy. The document they've released is a grab bag of contradictory, nonsensical, internally-inconsistent statements which they can't ever explain.

JOURNALIST: When will the review into the gas market be finalised? And is the Government aiming to set up a domestic gas reservation system to help with prices?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, you just asked me when it will be finalised and you've asked me to announce it. I can tell you I'm not announcing it today. We're looking to try and announce that before Christmas, Minister King and I are working on that.
We might go to journalists on the phone, if there’s

JOURNALIST: [Inaudible].

CHRIS BOWEN: Very well, Mark. Thank you.

JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] talking about the decision to drop net zero, she said that if there are reasons why people like her are [Indistinct]… deal with that. What do you think that says [Indistinct]…?

CHRIS BOWEN: Well, I think it says that Ms Ley doesn't understand the process. And Australia should act in Australia's best interest, but Australia's best interests are to be, one, rolling out renewable energy because it's the cheapest form of energy. Two, trying to export that renewable energy and the elements of it like [Indistinct]. And three, be fully engaged in international conversations. It wasn't that long ago that people like Josh Frydenberg and Scott Morrison were explaining to us that net zero was important because it's important to be involved in international negotiations. It tells you a lot as to how the Liberal Party has fallen that Scott Morrison, who literally held up a lump of coal in Parliament, understood these matters better than Sussan Ley does.

JOURNALIST: Thank you.

CHRIS BOWEN: Any other journalists on the phone? Final go for journalists here.

JOURNALIST: Pauline Hanson has warned that Australian data centres will go bust without coal-fired power. What’s Labor's specific plans deal with the huge energy that those data centres produce?

CHRIS BOWEN: We are one of the hottest markets in the world for data centres. There's lots of data centres who want to come and invest in Australia. That's a good thing, and it's a vote of confidence in Australia's energy transition. It's a vote of confidence by data centres who want to come and open up their operations here in Australia because they know that we have a great energy system, a good economy, a good workforce. Ms Hanson just doesn't understand the benefits of renewable energy and how data centres work.

JOURNALIST: Do we need a specific plan to power them?

CHRIS BOWEN: No, they're powered by the grid, like everything else. Obviously, we'll continue to work with data centre proponents to ensure that they're integrated in the grid in the way works for everyone.

All right, we might leave it there. Thanks, guys.