Press conference, Sydney, New South Wales

MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY, CHRIS BOWEN: Thanks for coming, everyone. I've got three issues to touch on today. Firstly, as you know, the Prime Minister and I last week announced that the government, through Export Finance Australia, had reached a deal with Viva and Ampol, to enable them to go and get Australian cargos or to get cargos on the international market for Australians.

I'm pleased today to announce that deals have been struck with two more companies, IOR and Park Fuels, have now finalised their agreements with Export Finance Australia, and they are now equally able to go out and secure those cargos that are available around the world for Australians, with support from the government to manage their risk and make commercial decisions that would otherwise not be commercial for them.

That's particularly good, because IOR and Park are both smaller players, but players focussed very much on the regions, on Australia's rural and regional areas, and fuel distribution to where it's most needed. So now they'll be able to go and get those cargos and deliver it straight to the regions of Australia, which is a good thing. Secondly, I just wanted to update you on the service station numbers, as I do very regularly so that Australians are aware of how many service stations are lacking fuel.

In New South Wales today, we have 84 without diesel, which is down 25 on my last update, which is 3.5% of New South Wales service stations, 17 without any fuel at all. Victoria, 18 without diesel, which is down 16 on my last update. That's 1.1%. of service stations in Victoria, 11, with no unleaded petrol.

Queensland 33, with no diesel, and 20 without regular unleaded. South Australia, 3 with no diesel, which is down 1 on my last update, 15, with no unleaded, which is down 2. Western Australia, 8, without diesel and 22, without unleaded fuel.

Tasmania, 7 without diesel and 5 without unleaded fuel. Northern territory, 3, without diesel, 1, without unleaded fuel, and the ACT, no service stations without diesel, and one without unleaded. That's a total of 156 service stations across Australia, without diesel.

That's 2% of the service stations. As I said many times, I want to thank everyone who's worked so hard to get those numbers down, the truck drivers, the refinery workers, right up and down the supply chain, dealing with very high demand, particularly in regional Australia, and making sure that those service stations that have fuel, have diesel in particular, is now around 98%.

The third matter I just wanted to update you on is something quite separate. Today, the government through the Clean Energy Regulator has released the latest data on emissions in our big industrial facilities. The safeguard facilities that are covered by the safeguard mechanism and I'm very pleased with the results.

This is a policy, reform that was put into place last term, to cover those emissions from our very big industrial emitters. I'm pleased to say that emissions on site, this is not counting offsets, but emissions on site are now 5.8 million tonnes lower than they were when our reforms were made 2 years ago. That's the equivalent of taking two million cars off the road, or around 60% of domestic aviation emissions.

This is good policy working well, providing that investment certainty for industry, to make the investments they need, to make sure that their operations are viable on an ongoing basis but also reducing emissions as they go. I note that, really, the only climate policy the Opposition has so far released is to abolish a safeguard mechanism. Based on my reading of Mr.

Tehan's comments, not only abolish our reforms, but abolish the entire mechanism, which was introduced by Greg Hunt under Tony Abbott. Which just shows how far the Liberal Party has fallen when it comes to climate policy, that they're now abolishing policies that Tony Abbott put into place and policies that are working, that industry has welcomed very solemnly, and that are seeing emissions come down, which I think is a good thing.

The Opposition thinks a bad thing, but I think most Australians think is a good thing as well. So that's good progress, a lot more work to do. And of course, we'll conduct the safeguard review later this year, as I previously said, but good and encouraging signs, and I know that some people focus on the offsets that are allowable under the safeguard mechanism.

But what I'm talking about here is on site, direct emissions from the facility. So, we're not talking about offsets, we're talking about firms making the investments, to reduce emissions on site, which is a very good thing. And of course, the Prime Minister's doing great work.

I'll just finish on this point in Malaysia and Brunei building on his very successful trip to Singapore. I know he'll be saying more to you later today. But this is vital work that the Prime Minister's undertaking to ensure that our chances of securing oil, petrol, and diesel in the Southeast Asian market are heightened, and as good as they possibly could be, as the international supply chain continues to be under pressure from the closure of the Straits of Hormuz, and that we'll continue to work and leave nothing on the field to ensure that Australia and Australians are best placed in a very competitive environment, to get that fuel, if and when the supply chain becomes even more constrained than it is now.

Happy to take questions. JOURNALIST: Former US President Joe Biden's special coordinator, for energy security, Amos Hochstein, has said renewable energy will not have any impact on solving the oil crisis. I'll just read you his quote “ renewables don't compete with oil, they don't provide solutions to aviation.

We rely on more shipping that doesn't rely on that does run on renewals. Yes, we should invest more in renewables, but that won't solve this crisis anytime soon. ” Do you reject what he said? Well, I have a different perspective.

I see the electrification and renewables take up as being an important part of the mix, not only for emissions purposes and affordability purposes, but reliability purposes, not the only answer but an important part of a well calibrated mix. So, if you look at electric vehicles, for example, in Australia, it's not for everyone, right now, but every electric vehicle on the road is less petrol being consumed and more petrol available for those for whom EVs aren't a viable option right now.

So, if you look at the EVs, which is relatively modest at the moment, high take up, but relatively modest percentage of the fleet, that's already avoiding 15 million litres of petrol and diesel consumption. That's good because of that 15 million litres is available for farmers and for people in the bush for whom they haven't. They don't regard EV's a viable option for them right now.

Plus, as I've said, moving to a more renewable mix is also good for reliability and sovereignty when you think about electricity, for example. So, one of the reasons we are better placed in this international energy crisis, than we were, even in 2022 for the last one, was that we are using a lot less gas. Uh, 1.5 terawatt hours last summer compared to 2.7 terawatt hours in the summer of 2022.

That means that, yeah, if the gas price goes up, we are less vulnerable to that. Still have impact, but less vulnerable than we were because we're using less gas and one of the big reasons, we're using less gas is we're using more batteries to get us through the night. So, I think renewables are part of a common sense, careful, calibrated approach to a more reliable energy system.

I'll give you one more before I go to someone else. I can feel you've just got one more in you. JOURNALIST: On gas, though, Anthony Albanese said we do need new gas fields to come online.

Do you support an expansion of the gas sector? Yeah, look, I've made this point many, many times. We need gas to support renewables.

We need gas for heavy industry, for which green hydrogen is not yet in many instances, a viable option. And we need gas for home heating for those five million Australians who use gas to heat their homes. The Bass Strait is rapidly depleting.

I don't think, you know, that's received as much attention in the public debate as maybe it is. The Bass Strait is rapidly depleting, so to keep that gas to supply up we've always said we would need new sources. So, the Prime Minister is, of course, 100% right.

I'll go here. JOURNALIST: Western Australia announced yesterday it will stockpile 4 million litres of diesel for its own consumption, and New South Wales also said it would consider adopting similar measures. Are we at risk of giving rise to a perverse situation where states might compete with the Commonwealth for fuel?

No, no, because we're not, we're not directly procuring. We're helping companies procure. I welcome Western Australia's news.

I think this is good policy by them. They've sought and received assurances that the diesel that they've procured is additional to Australia, so it's not taking diesel off another state. So that's a good thing.

They're working hard to bring more diesel into Australia. I find their approach complementary to our approach, not in any way in conflict with it. JOURNALIST: Just on that point, I mean, do you, I think on Monday you said that you supported that move by WA?

Do you actually think that all states, though, should be proactively looking at doing this? I think it's a matter for state by state. You know, I support Western Australia doing it, whether other states should do it, it's entirely a matter for those states to weigh up their particular needs at a particular time.

Western Australia's got, you know, obvious issues in the Pilbara and with their heavy industry. I think it's a matter for each state to assess. JOURNALIST: I just want to say, like, what do you make of figures from the National Road Transport Association, which suggests that up to three quarters of trucking companies will be closed in the next 6 months?

I mean, is that a national emergency for you being providing up some kind of… Well, we've made very clear, we understand. I mean, that's not a supply issue. That's a price issue.

Diesel is very expensive. And the cost of diesel is going up more than the cost of petrol around the world. It's just the way the markets working the moment, that's why we took the road user charged to zero, the heavy vehicle road user charged to zero.

That's the most direct lever the Commonwealth has. Of course, as the PM, the Treasurer, has said, we'll always look at what other options are required going forward. Yes, we've always said this is going to put a lot of pressure on various industries.

Obviously, heavy vehicles are right up there and that flows through to the supply chain across so many sectors. That's a result of the diesel price around the world being so high, not a result of particular supply issues to Australia, which we've been working hard to fix. JOURNALIST: Minister, what’s your position on whether the government should extend the cut to the fuel excise.

Are you worried about the inflationary impact this could have, in light of the IEF’s warning of a possible recession? My position is it was 100% the right thing for the government to do, the most direct and immediate support we can give. We've said it'll be three months, obviously.

We'll see how we're going in three months, but you know, it's a good thing it will apply for that three months. Do you expect that it should be extended? Well, we're not, we're only, I don't think we're even at a month point yet.

We're only in a few weeks. Let's see. JOURNALIST: Excuse my French, has the force majeure been declared on any ship that had been bound for Australia, and are there any indications that the force majeure will maybe a risk to [inaudible] The only force majeure has been the six forward contracts, which I previously announced some weeks ago.

It's been no more since then, and they've been fully replaced with other orders and more and more. And that's why we're put into place too, this EFA mechanism, so that if there are any more then we have the mechanism to go and get more cargos to replace them. But at this point, only the six and more than replaced.

JOURNALIST: Any indications that may occur in the future? No particular indications, but I've always said that, you know, the supply chain is very constrained and under a lot of pressure with the closure of straight to Hormuz. So that's when I talk about ongoing challenges and risks, that's what I'm talking about.

Oh, sorry. Just, yeah, this gentleman hasn't had to go, I'll come back to you. JOURNALIST: Polling publish by Capital Brief, and [inaudible] , found significantly more Australians disagree that the US is a reliable military ally than Australians who agree.

Is the social license for AUKUS being lost in Australia? I wouldn't, well, I don't generally comment on opinion polls on any matter. And two, I wouldn't necessarily conflate the two issues.

JOURNALIST: Workers at Impex LNG facilities are voting this week on whether to strike, which comes at an especially volatile moment. Um, in gas markets, in global gas markets, is the Government in touch with Impex and the union about this, and are there any contingency plans in place? Or if strikes do go ahead, um, and the ultimate impacts of them?

We always prefer these batters to be resolved amicably. Ultimately, there are processes under the industrial relations system for them to be resolved, and Minister Rishworth’s portfolio, through the commission. Obviously, we'll keep closely monitoring.

And I have no further comment to make on the matter. JOURNALIST: Impex did agree earlier this week it would keep its condensate in Australia, should every producer that has access to condensate or oil keep it onshore in Australia rather than sending it offshore? I think it's good what Impex has done.

That's welcome. We're not talking, you know, huge proportions of the greater demand, but nevertheless, every bit helps, and I welcome that. Obviously, that comes from predominantly offshore and that can be difficult to get to Australian refineries, but it's horses, of course.

It's a good thing that's happened and if others choose to do it, I'd certainly welcome it. JOURNALIST: Are you concerned about more airlines, potentially cutting back on routes following Qantas's announcement yesterday? Well, Qantas and Virgin, as I understand it now.

And this is, again, a reflection of cost, not supply. So, this is not about a shortage of jet fuel. This is about the cost of jet fuel, which is way up.

I just want to make that point, because some people might, understandably, conflate the two issues. The cost of jet fuel way up around the world, just as the cost of diesel is way up, and that's impacting on airline operations around the world, around the world. And so, um, that's not an Australian only issue, obviously.

It's a matter for the airlines to manage, in terms of their own commercial decisions, and what they're doing is trying to manage those very high costs, in a way which gives as much notice to Australians as possible about what routes will be affected. Um, and so, you know, ultimately, you ask if I expect more, well, that's a matter for the airlines ultimately.

I'm not really, I'm not really in a position to predict what other airlines might do. JOURNALIST: Can we get an update on jet fuel supplies in Australia? Same as I updated on Saturday.

Uh, we have 29, sorry. Sorry, we have 30 days’ worth of jet fuel in Australia under the minimum stock obligation. JOURNALIST: Just on that, is Australia weighing any financial assistance to the national carrier in light of this?

No, I'd refer you to my previous answer. We'll always consider what might need to be done in the future. But at the moment, we are not contemplating any particular action.

JOURNALIST: Farmers are saying, at the moment they're having to shoulder the increased fuel costs and net inputs and also freight to retailers, and when you're saying they're going to go under them, because like other businesses, they can't set the prices of their goods. Should Coles and Woolworths be dipping into some of their profits and helping shoulder some of this cost without even passing it onto customers?

Oh, look, I think sensible people would expect and hope that Coles and Woolworths are working very cooperatively with their suppliers and their best interests. They're, you know, very long term suppliers and in the best interests of all Australians. And I think Australians would trust and expect that to be the case.

JOURNALIST: On the previous answer to my question, are you suggesting that the differences with the US over Australia's participation in the Iran War and the war's unpopularity in Australia has no bearing on... I'm saying they’re separate issues. We will make our foreign policy and defence decisions always, exclusively based on Australia's best interests and Australia's values, not the best interests of any other nation, or values of any other nation, including the United States, we’ll make our decisions based on our own values and our own best interests.

JOURNALIST: Since the Singapore deal was finalised, has any extra fuel been secured? Well, the Singapore deal was ensuring that reliability of supply, and that supply continues from Singapore. So that Singapore deal is not about extra shipments.

It was about securing ongoing commitment from Singapore to remain a reliable energy supplier. So, I think they’re separate issues. JOURNALIST: Minister, with Western Australia's stockpiling announcement, does that risk undermining the sort of national approach that your government's favoured so far?

No, I don't think so. The Western Australian government gave me a heads up that it was coming. I appreciated that.

I think it's complimentary to federal efforts, not contradictory. So therefore, I don't see it in any way, states are doing different things, you know? Many states have stepped up in various ways.

Suitable for their own state circumstances. They won't all be the same. That's how our Federation works.

I think that's perfectly manageable, and, indeed, welcome. The states are taking those sorts of actions. JOURNALIST: Will the federal budget have any money to potentially expand the strategic reserves?

It's not budget day, mate. JOURNALIST: Has the ACCC reported to you any action against propheteering petrol stations? If so, can you give us some updates?

Well, ACCC makes its own updates. It's not in my portfolio, ACC answers to the Treasurer, not to me, and they make their own independent updates. JOURNALIST: You're not aware of anything like that.

They'll make their own independent updates. JOURNALIST: Just speaking about the EFA, have Ampol or Viva bought any fuel under this agreement? Well-advanced, well-advanced discussions.

Well, I'll give further updates. JOURNALIST: OK, so if not, how soon will these discussions be finalised? Well, well advanced, and, you know, I'm here before you very regularly at these press conferences, I always give full updates, including today's progress on IOR and Park, which I said is very welcome because they're smaller players, focussed on the regions.

There are other discussions as well with other companies that are very well advanced. And that's a good thing. JOURNALIST: State, and federal government is clearly pushing people to consider electric vehicles rather than regular cars.

Do you have any regrets that Australia’s not as a bigger player in the manufacturing space here, given the dominance of the US and China, in this context of talking about us being more self-sufficient. Yes. Well, of course, car manufacturing finished in Australia under the Abbott Government, and it's very hard to bring back.

Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey wiped it away. And once you've lost an industry, it's very hard to bring one back. We are component manufacturers in various points, including my own electorate in Western Sydney.

That's a very good thing. We want to build sovereign capability through the future made in Australia agenda. We’ve made great progress, you know?

Just at the end of last year, I was turning the first sod at the solar foundry in Newcastle, which will make, you know, a lot of solar panels in Australia, as well as our support for Tindo and other players to expand their production of solar panels. That's not about EVs, but it's about sovereign capability. JOURNALIST: [interrupts] Well, we'll always look at options, but, you know, I'm not here to pretend to you that you can rebuild a car manufacturing industry.

We had one. And Australia was de-industrialising under Tony Abbott, and chose not to have one anymore. JOURNALIST: What's your response to, um, I guess, uh, I guess Angus Taylor today, you know, accusing the government of being dishonest with the closure of the, you know, the closure of the refineries, noting that, you know, it happened, began, I guess in 2011, they're saying that it happened under Albanese when he was transport minister, and they're saying that that's being dishonest, what's your response to that?

Well, here's the fact. Here's a fact for Mr. Taylor.

There were six refineries in 2013, when we lost office, and two, when we came back to office in 2022. And he was energy minister for a big chunk of that. And I heard him say the other day, only one closed when he was Minister, Kwinana.

Well, he actually issued statements when Altona closed, while he was energy minister saying, don't worry, there's no impact on fuel supply. Well, there is the impact on fuel supply when an Australian refiring closes. They're the facts.

Four closed in the liberal period in office. That's just a fact, and Angus Taylor can, you know, duck and weave those facts all he likes. That's the situation.

The maths is pretty simple. Six when we lost office, two when we came back. JOURNALIST: [Inaudible] I think I just answered that question.

JOURNALIST: As industry, commits more new capital investment to comply with the safeguard mechanism, um, how important do you think it is that uh, carbon border tax be brought in to, um, ensure these trade exposure industries remain competitive? Well, I mean, I perceived the Jotzo review, which is public. We've said we'll consider that in terms of the safeguard review.

It would only, you know, even the Jotzo review only applies to a very small number of facilities, but we haven't considered that yet. and won't consider it until we undertake that process. Probably the last one, yep. JOURNALIST: How many scheduled shipments of fuel have been disrupted in [inaudible] The six that I previously announced, that had been more than replaced, more than replaced.

We have 57 ships. My last update was 57 ships on the way to Australia. Some have landed since then.

So that, and some have, you know, left their port, but I, you know, update that weekly, and the last update was 57 on their way to Australia, with 4.1 million litres locked in to be delivered over the next four weeks. All right? Did I say 4.1 billion litres?

Did I say that, right? 4.1 billion litres to be locked in over the next, is locked in for delivery over the next four weeks. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.