Press conference with Victorian Minister for Climate Action, Energy and Resources and State Electricity Commission Lily D'Ambrosio

CHRIS BOWEN: Thank you, Aunty Hillary, for that welcome to country. I also want to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and pay my respects not only to Aunty Hillary but to elders of all the Indigenous people of our country and any other First Nations people present today.
 
Well, firstly, thank you for being so patient in waiting for me today. It took some doing to get here this morning, but it was worth it. But I do really appreciate everybody’s patience, and I know that I probably upset a few schedules and diaries today. But we were trying very hard to get here and they put up – life put up plenty of obstacles today to get here, but it was very important that I come. Because today we have a very important announcement to make.
 
I want to acknowledge Dan Tehan, the federal member. Thanks for coming, Dan. I appreciate your presence. I want to acknowledge Jacinta Ermacora, state member; great to have you here today. And, of course, my friend and colleague the Minister for Energy for Victoria, Lily D’Ambrosio, who is a powerhouse driving the renewable energy revolution.
 
Well, across Australia we know we have a massive transformation underway. That transformation is absolutely vital for the sake of our environment and for the sake of our climate. But it also presents a massive opportunity if properly managed. And a massive opportunity for regional Australia and no region more than here in Portland and the Southern Ocean.
 
And as you know, Australia is the world’s largest island, but we have no offshore wind. Offshore wind is really important for Australia’s energy future. It’s energy rich and it’s jobs rich as well. One turn of one turbine of an offshore wind turbine generates as much energy as the solar panels on your roof do all day – all day. One turn of one turbine and a turbine turns 15 times a minute, and we’re talking about many turbines, so this is very important.
 
But offshore wind is also jobs rich. Because it’s very windy off our coast, those turbines need a lot of maintenance. And because they’re offshore they need ships to take workers out there to maintain them. So there’s a lot of jobs to be created. And so we in the Albanese government have been working towards an offshore wind industry in Australia, and today is the next important step.
 
Today I’m announcing the beginning of consultation for the Southern Ocean offshore wind zone, which will run from Port MacDonnell down to Warrnambool – 5,000 square kilometres of potential offshore wind space.
 
This is a consultation that we’re starting today. We want communities’ views. This is the third area that we’re consulting on. I’ve already announced the Gippsland wind zone, and that process, frankly, shows that the consultation is real. We took on board community concerns, we took on board community feedback. We made an adjustment based on what we first announced. We’re in the process of developing the Hunter wind zone off New South Wales. I’ll be making further announcements about that in coming weeks. But that, again, has also been a very genuine community consultation.
 
Today we are opening the community consultation about this wind zone. There’ll be information sessions at key centres. There’ll be plenty of information in the community for people to respond to. The Have Your Say portal on my department’s website, the Department of Climate Change, Environment, Energy and Water’s website will be an opportunity for people to get the latest information and to provide feedback. And there’ll be an opportunity for people to provide feedback.
 
Offshore wind is a massive opportunity. It enables one of the country’s biggest aluminium smelters to potentially decarbonise, ensuring its jobs future, its secure future. It’s an opportunity to build – 3,000 jobs in construction and potentially 3,000 jobs ongoing as well. These are important jobs, and it’s important energy.
 
And one of the reasons I’m here today announcing the beginning of this consultation is the leadership of the Andrews government, Lily in particular has been driving an offshore wind strategy, and that’s why the federal government and the state government – it’s so important that we work so closely together. We have an agreement about working together on offshore wind. But, more importantly, we have an absolute intention to work together to make this a reality.
 
So it’s an important day – the beginning of consultation. I want the feedback. We take it seriously. But we’re also equally very determined to make this work for the regions to create jobs and create energy. And all feedback is very welcome, whether it’s through your federal member, through your state members, directly to us. We will be listening, but we’ll be working very hard to get an offshore wind industry which creates jobs for the future, good, secure jobs for the people of Portland and beyond for the future of this port, a great deep water port, which has a massive opportunity to service this offshore wind.
 
And offshore wind exists around the world, co-exists with fishing, co-exists with shipping, co-exists around the world. But we have taken in our early view, we’re taking into account what we think are the community issues. We have taken into account the importance of Deen Maar to our First Nations people. We’ve taken into account the important commercial fishing operations. This is 10 kilometres from the shore, so we’ve taken into account community concerns. But we have more listening to do.
 
So, as I said, this is a partnership with the Victorian government. I’m delighted to work with Lily who is, as I said, such a driving powerhouse of the renewable energy revolution and a champion of regional Victoria in particular. And while this is a federal process we are doing so hand in glove with the Andrews government because that’s what gets jobs done, gets things done.
 
So I’m going to ask Lily to say a few words and then I’ll take questions.
 
LILY D’AMBROSIO: Thank you so much, Chris. I’m absolutely delighted that you’re here. Before I talk more about that, I do want to acknowledge Aunty Hillary for her welcome, of course, to Gunditjmara country and my respects go to you, Aunty Hillary, and to all of your peoples and any others who may be here amongst us here today. And I also, of course, want to lend my voice to an important decision that the country will be faced with in coming months, and this is really simply to share my view, and that is to say I’ll be voting yes on the Voice to Parliament.
 
What I do also want to say, of course, is acknowledge the great leadership that Chris has demonstrated from day one. This is someone who’s not left one day wondering what the next thing was on his desk or on his list to do. And what a breath of fresh air, Chris. I’ve got to say this – you know, we could have been much, much further advanced, but the fact is right now we’re making up for a lot of lost time with offshore wind energy. And today’s announcement to begin the consultation for this additional zone, a declaration, if you like, for offshore wind energy projects or licences is really demonstrative of how quickly you’ve been responding to what the demand is and also the transition that we need to just get on and get done. And I really do want to thank you so much for that.
 
Partnerships are what enables us to achieve the outcomes that we’re seeking for community. And that is why we’ve been working very hard here in Victoria to set very ambitious offshore wind energy renewable energy targets of at least 2 gigawatts by 2032 and then ramping up to double that by 2035 and then 2040 with 9 gigawatts. And here off coast of Victoria, certainly Gippsland but absolutely here, off the coast of Portland and Warrnambool – and I do acknowledge the this zone also goes into South Australia – but just here off the coast of Victoria we’ve got amongst the best wind energy resources in the world. That is offshore wind.
 
So why not, of course, have the first projects, if you like, for the country located off the coast of Victoria? So Portland and its local communities are in a really great position to be able to reap the benefits of the jobs, the investment, the skills, the benefits for local economies through this fantastic opportunity that Chris has put in front of us now.
 
So we really very much encourage everyone to take part in this consultation and then we’ll be certainly looking forward to those projects coming forward and seeking Commonwealth approval. And we know, of course, that this is going to be so important, that partnership will be so important, in us being able to meet our renewable energy targets of 95 per cent by 2035. Really, really critical. We’ll get there absolutely, and we’ll do it in a way that really optimises all of the economic and job opportunities, and regional Victorians are going to be the ones benefitting most from these types of projects.
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Thank you, Lily. It’s been agreed I’ll take easy questions; Lily will take hard questions, and Dan Tehan will take really, really hard questions.
 
DAN TEHAN: Sounds good, Chris.
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Any questions from the journalists present?
 
JOURNALIST: Yeah, are there any changes likely to happen to the Port of Portland and, if so, what sort?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Well, there will be job-creating changes. There’ll be ships required to service these wind turbines and, you know, place them out there and then service them going forward. But that’s a matter for the consultation process going forward. I welcome, you know, very strong feedback from the port. But this is great news for the port. This is job -creating news for the port. And the future is bright.
 
JOURNALIST: Will we know when the first turbines might be out in the ocean?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: There’s a fair way to go yet. This consultation will be open until the 31st of August, then I’ll need to consider the feedback. I’ll then designate the area then we’ll call for expressions of interest from actual wind farm proponents. Then they’ll have to get the wind turbines built et cetera. I would envisage we would have first power by 2030. Ideally it would be ahead of that, but, you know, let’s say 2030. Gippsland is a bit of ahead of that. We’re a bit more advanced. But, you know, Lily and I will be working together to get it on as fast as possible, as fast as humanly possible. But obviously it’s not going to be next year or the year after. These are big projects which require on behalf of the private sector long lead times.
 
JOURNALIST: So have you heard much from private sector companies?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Absolutely.
 
JOURNALIST: Have any expressed interest?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Every single offshore wind renewable energy company in the world is looking at Australia now as their key market. Absolutely all of them – looking at Gippsland, looking at Portland, looking at Hunter, Illawarra as the key market in the world. The world’s largest island, no offshore wind. We are where the action is at. Now, we are having to compete with the rest of the world in terms of supply chain and getting things built, getting things to Australia. But I meet with the chief executives of large renewable companies across the world. They tell me Australia’s offshore wind market is one of the most exciting.
 
JOURNALIST: And do you think we’ll see offshore wind farms off Warrnambool itself?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Well, here we are.
 
JOURNALIST: It’s in the zone.
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Here’s the zone. It’s open for consultation – 5,000 square kilometres. Up to 14 gigawatts. That’s potentially enough for 8 million homes, to power 8 million homes in this zone. That is – that would make this area one of the energy powerhouses of Australia. Already a great economy with the aluminium smelter, but this would take the economy to a new level.
 
JOURNALIST: And how many turbines all up would there be?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: That’s a matter – that’s a matter we’ll have to assess when we do the expressions of interest. There will be, you know, many different wind farm proposals. Just as we are in Gippsland, we have to work through each one. They’re not all compatible. You can’t have two wind turbines in one place. But we work out how to get the maximum bang for buck for the community and for the energy grid.
 
AUNTY HILARY: Minister, sorry, I have a question, and it’s a little bit off centre, and to you, Mr Tehan. As you know, Melbourne has a housing crisis. Well, we have one here as well. And I’m sure Warrnambool does as well. How will this help our housing crisis and how can we help our housing crisis through this, building these turbines?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Well, Aunty, thanks for the question. Obviously this is mainly about energy, but, yes, we do have a housing crisis across Australia. That’s why we want to have a national housing fund. That’s why we’re having build to rent to build new houses. That’s why we invested $2 billion just a few weeks ago in social housing across Australia in partnership with the states and very much in partnership with the Andrews government.
 
One of the things that we’ll look at as part of this process is the number of workers required to build these turbines and put these turbines in place, where they’ll be housed, how we can work with the companies to make sure that new housing comes on board. These are all the many issues that we need – and it can be part of the positive legacy of a project like this. If you have a company coming in investing and when they’ve finished the construction, they leave the housing and infrastructure behind, that’s certainly something with all the mayors here – I recognise and acknowledge all the mayors; too many to mention by name, and there’s many here. As a former mayor I, you know, very much welcome local government engagement. We’ll work with them, work through, as I said, with the local members of Parliament and ensure all those issues are taken into account.
 
And, of course, Aunty, it goes without saying First Nations consultation more broadly will be front and centre. As I said, I recognise the spiritual significance of Deen Maar. You’ll see a big, if you like, gap around Deen Maar out of respect for Deen Maar. We’ve already factored that in, but we want to get other feedback as well.
 
JOURNALIST: And probably one other question in relation to the housing, what is this going to do for the cost of living crisis, the rising price of energy?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy available without question. The sun doesn’t send a bill, and the wind doesn’t send an invoice. It is by far the cheapest form of energy. All the scientific evidence shows that. You get more renewable energy into the grid you get cheaper energy. It’s – you know, a process we need to manage. It takes time, but our plan is to get to 82 per cent renewable across the energy grid by 2030. Lily’s plans, which are very ambitious, for Victoria are not only for the climate; they’re for bill relief as well.
 
JOURNALIST: Minister, I’ve got a question: thank you very much for being here and acknowledging the state ministers as well. Representing the [indistinct] we also represent a number of manufacturers, and there’s some here today. What guarantees can you put in place that there will be local content as part of this project?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Well, that’s something Lily also regards this just as importantly as I do, and Lily might want to add as well. But in all our processes – not so much the area, because that’s done on its merits – but when considering expressions of interest, when considering how it works with the Victorian scheme as well and considering all the licensing of various places, we’ll be having a very strong look at local content. And we’ll be regarding local content very positively. Obviously we need to get cracking with the process of building offshore wind. And at the moment many offshore wind turbines – you know, there’s an international race to get offshore wind turbines. But I know that there’s a very strong manufacturing sector in Victoria and the more local content there is the more impressed Lily and I will be when we come to consider the various applications.
 
Do you want to add something to that, Lily?
 
LILY D’AMBROSIO: Thank you, Chris. Absolutely. Local content is at the – is a hallmark of our Victorian government. So all the projects that the Victorian government builds or contracts out for building has local content requirements, and they’re very robust. We will be working through a procurement process here in Victoria for the first offshore wind energy projects. That will kick off in the second half of next year, but will go into the year after that. And what will be very much at the forefront of our mind is how we’re going to drive proposals to come forward, put their best foot forward in terms of local jobs, local content, boosting local supply chains. So this has got the makings of something really big in terms of the industry, and we’ll drive it as hard as we drive every other project that the Victorian government commits to.
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Okay. Any others? Back there yes?
 
JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] in terms of scientific research have you undertaken to mitigate the risks to the southern right whales that, you know, obviously birth along that corridor as well as [indistinct] other animals in the ecosystem they need to travel that pathway that have a deep affiliation on a spiritual level to First Nations people? Obviously they are totems for individuals, so what’s the scientific research surrounding that, because they are endangered species?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah, sure. That’s a very important question and one that we do take very seriously, not just marine life but bird life as well. Again, around the world offshore wind co-exists with marine life, co-exists with migrating whales et cetera right around the world. But it’s got to be carefully managed. So that’s one of the reasons why we’ve taken into account – that’s why the zone isn’t even bigger than what we’re proposing. We consult with the other side of my department – not the climate change side but the environment side of my department. They have all their expert advice. We consult with the state environment department who have experts in this field. And, again, this is a consultation process. So if we’ve missed something, then we listen as part of this process.
 
So if there are local experts who know something about marine life which we’ve missed, whether they be First Nations or local environmental experts, we take that on board as part of the consultation, which is open till the 31st of August. So, you know, I’m not saying you’ve got to put your submission in next week. Have a think about it, do your research and put in a submission. It will be very carefully considered as part of the process.
 
JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] but is the zone flexible to move?
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah. Yes, that’s the whole idea of the consultation.
 
JOURNALIST: Right.
 
CHRIS BOWEN: So if I’m convinced by public feedback that there’s a change necessary, then I make the change, as I did in Gippsland when I heard community feedback. I thought some of it was fair enough. You take on board – we don’t have – we’ve got lots of answers in Canberra; we don’t have them all. That’s why our door is open and we are listening as part of this consultation process. Okay.
 
DAN TEHAN: Chris, I might just say a couple of words. Can I just thank you for coming down. Really great to see you, Jacinta. Aunty, thank you for your welcome to country. The scale of these offshore wind farms is something to behold, and it’s going to need all the community coming together to make sure that we benefit from it, whether it be Alcoa, we want to make sure that it continues and continues to provide jobs, and offshore wind can provide that renewable. Keppel Prince, their jobs here are with onshore wind, but they want to be part of offshore wind as well. And we’ve got to make sure that Keppel are part of that. And this port which provides so many jobs locally, we want to make sure it’s part. And it’s going to need all of us coming together because the scale is something the like of which we haven’t seen before.
 
So all of us as a community are going to have to make sure that we’re part of it to benefit. And I say to the union who are here with us, I look forward to working with you as well because we want to make sure that our community gets the maximum benefit from this. So if I can just say to everyone – please be a part of this consultation process because that’s how we as a community will benefit from this. So thanks very much for coming along today.
 
CHRIS BOWEN: Well said, thank you. All right, thank you. Thanks for coming.