Interview with Sally Sara, ABC Radio National Breakfast

Minister, welcome to Radio National Breakfast. MURRAY WATT, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER: Good to be with you, Sally. SALLY SARA: The Federal Government is launching a campaign encouraging Australians to use less fuel where possible.

National advertising will also promote tips to improve vehicle fuel efficiency. How do you see the bigger situation at the moment, Minister? What do you make of Donald Trump’s decision to impose his own blockade on the Strait of Hormuz?

MURRAY WATT: Well, throughout this crisis, Sally, we've called for de-escalation and for dialogue to occur. So it was of course disappointing over the weekend to see the negotiations between the US and Iran fall over, at least for the time being. Really, our position is that we want to see the ceasefire continue, we want to see negotiations resume, and we want to see shipping reopened for the Strait of Hormuz.

If there's any further escalation of this conflict, whether it be economic or militarily, that is going to impose further costs on the world and, of course, greater cost of human life, which is not something we want to see. So the earlier these negotiations can resume the better, and of course we want to see the ceasefire hold in the meantime. SALLY SARA: Could the US's own blockade, could that make the situation worse potentially?

MURRAY WATT: Well, we think that any action that anyone takes that risks escalating this conflict is a bad thing for the world. As I say, we've already seen thousands of lives lost throughout this conflict, not to mention, of course, the very real pain that it's imposing on Australian consumers and right around the world. So that's why I say that the sooner that negotiations can resume, the better.

And in the meantime, we want to see that ceasefire hold. SALLY SARA: We were hearing a short time ago from Sir Richard Dalton, a former UK ambassador to Iran, and he was talking about the need for middle powers to step up. Is there an update on these international talks which Australia participated in to find some other way to reopen the strait?

MURRAY WATT: I don't have a specific update on that. Obviously, that's being managed by Penny Wong as the Foreign Minister, but I am aware that we are continuing to work with international partners to do what we can to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz is opened as quickly as possible. So there are continued negotiations going on with other countries.

I'm not personally part of those. SALLY SARA: The government is rolling out this advertising campaign called “every little bit helps,” encouraging Australians to use less fuel. Do you think it will make a noticeable difference?

MURRAY WATT: I think it will in a couple of ways, Sally. Of course, even the tagline of this campaign, every little bit helps, is a reminder to Australians that we all can take actions ourselves to contribute to solving this national situation that we're in at the moment. Those basic things like, you know, taking unnecessary things out of your car to reduce the weight of your car, removing roof racks if you don't need them.

They're only little things, but they can actually make a difference. But of course, the other benefit of this campaign is making sure that Australians are aware that we do have a National Fuel Security Plan, that there are stages of it, that we're only at stage two. But as things evolve, there's the capacity to continue communicating to people about what stage we're at and what that means for people's daily lives.

So I think one of the challenges we've faced throughout this is that there has been a lot of disinformation around the situation facing Australia when it comes to fuel supplies and what that might mean for people. So I think it is important that the government plays a role in ensuring that Australians have accurate information and, as I say, it gives people some ideas about what they can be doing to help as well.

SALLY SARA: Opposition frontbencher James Paterson says he doesn't think Australians want to be lectured by taxpayer-funded political propaganda about driving less. What do you think of those remarks? MURRAY WATT: I think anyone who's seen the ads would know that they're not exactly lecturing people.

They're presenting some helpful information to people while at the same time, as I say, ensuring that people know that we do have a National Fuel Security Plan and that that's available for people to look at if they want to know more. I mean, I think James Paterson's remarks are just another sign that the Opposition only involves negativity. I cannot remember the last time they put forward a positive suggestion for the country, whether it be on the fuel security situation or anything else.

And let's face it, James Paterson was part of a government that let four of our six remaining fuel refineries close and decided to store our emergency stockpile of oil in Texas, so I don't think I'm going to take lectures from them about how to run a government. SALLY SARA: On the issue of gas, will the government introduce a windfall tax on gas exports? MURRAY WATT: Well, obviously there's a lot of speculation around about this and a whole range of other matters in the run-up to the Budget.

We haven't got too long to wait. I think it's almost a month to the day before the Budget will be handed down, and we'll obviously have some more to say about any of these things in the context of the Budget. SALLY SARA: You're listening to Radio National .

My guest in the studio this morning in Parliament House in Canberra is the Minister for Environment and Water, Murray Watt. Minister, Australia and the US have taken the next steps in a $5 billion framework for critical minerals. Will these projects be fast-tracked through environmental approvals that you oversee?

MURRAY WATT: Well, we certainly don't have an approach of blanket fast-tracking of projects. You will remember, and I talked to you many times last year, Sally, about the reforms that we made to the environmental laws, which do provide more streamlined options, more simplified options for approving the projects that Australia needs, while at the same time strengthening our environmental protections as well.

So we will take every project on its merits. In some cases, there may be a reason to fast track a project. In some cases, not so much.

But the point about those reforms is that we've now put in place a regime which will allow for much more streamlining of all projects, whatever they are. We don't want to see critical minerals projects, housing projects, renewable projects, other important projects slowed down in unnecessary bureaucracy. So we would expect all projects to have faster assessments and approvals than they have done in the past.

SALLY SARA: Just briefly on water, the Murray-Darling Basin, as the conflict in the Middle East increases pressure on fuel and fertiliser supply in Australia, the NFF, National Farmers' Federation, has warned the government not to, quote: “compound the strain with further water buybacks”, saying that it would place Australia's food and fibre supply at risk. What's your response to that?

MURRAY WATT: Well, I'd respectfully make the point that the National Farmers' Federation have been on the record opposing water buybacks all along, so this is not exactly a new position for them to take. Our government takes seriously our responsibility to make sure that our most important water system in the country, the Murray-Darling Basin, is healthy for generations to come, and that's in the interest of the agriculture sector as well.

Of course, the steps that we're taking around buybacks, but also investing in water efficiency, water infrastructure, are very much about protecting the environmental health of the Murray-Darling Basin, but we won't have any agriculture sector in that basin if we don't have a healthy Murray-Darling water system. So it's in the interest long term of the agriculture sector and the communities that rely on it to have a healthy system, and that's why we'll continue with the plan.

SALLY SARA: Murray Watt, thanks for coming in this morning. MURRAY WATT: Thanks, Sally. SALLY SARA: Murray Watt is the Federal Minister for Environment and Water.

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