Press conference at Fairfield West, New South Wales

MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY, CHRIS BOWEN: All right, thanks for coming everyone. Well, today is obviously the weekly petrol update. And I'm very pleased to say that we have record amounts of fuel in Australia in the face of ongoing international difficulties.

We have 45 days worth of petrol, which is up on last week. 39 days worth of diesel, which is up on last week. And 32 days worth of jet fuel, which is up on last week. In fact, when you look at diesel and the total amount of fuel we have in Australia across all the fuel types, we have more fuel in Australia today than we did at any point since 2023, when the minimum stock obligation came into force of law.

More than at any point since Iran was bombed, and more than at any point over the last few years. In the face of international supply pressures, this is a remarkable achievement for the country. This is Government and industry working together to ensure strong fuel supply.

We have 54 ships on the way to Australia. We have 54 ships on the way to Australia with various types of fuel and 3.5 billion litres of fuel deliveries locked in over the next four weeks. Again, this shows that Australians can take confidence in the amount of fuel that we have in Australia.

This has been the government working hard with industry, securing extra fuel supplies through the Export Finance Australia arrangements, diversifying our fuel supplies across the board from different countries, and working to ensure that our refineries are working full pelt and delivering all their fuel to Australia, and this is the result of all those efforts.

I want to thank again everyone who's been involved in this effort. This has been the government focused on the task at hand. Meanwhile, the opposition's been scaremongering, warning of rationing, warning of shortages.

At first they said there'd be shortages and rationing around Easter. Then, just a couple of weeks ago my shadow minister said there were shortages in June. Well we're now in June and we have record amounts of fuel in Australia.

So it's time, frankly, for the Opposition to admit they got this wrong. It's time for the Opposition to admit they've been scaremongering with no facts. While the Government's been insuring fuel supplies, the Liberals have been scaremongering, and they have got their basic facts wrong.

We've avoided rationing, we've avoided shortages, we have more fuel in Australia than at any point in the last few years and we'll continue to work in the face of the international uncertainty and the ongoing war in Iran to ensure that we have as much fuel in Australia as we possibly can do. That's what the Government will do, focus on the job, while the opposition has been involved- engaged in their irrelevant scaremongering.

Happy to take questions. We'll go to the journalist here first. JOURNALIST: Thanks, Minister.

The- I suppose, the fuel excise is going to end at the end of this month. I know you say you've got a record of fuel, but with escalations still going on in the Middle East, will Australians see an extension? MINISTER BOWEN: We've been very clear this was a temporary reduction in the excise.

It was always intended to be temporary. The Prime Minister and Treasurer have been very clear that we'll always examine the latest information, the latest situation, but our intention has been for it to come off at the end of the month and that remains the plan. JOURNALIST: You've just returned from Bonn with focuses on renewables and transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Your government has approved more than 30 fossil fuel projects since 2022. How has that received- how is that received, rather, in those global forums like the UN conference? MINISTER BOWEN: Well, you can look at the fact that Australia was asked to be President of Negotiations for the upcoming COP31.

We've gone from being a pariah under our predecessors to being president under this government, which is a recognition of the fact that Australia's progress has been recognised internationally. Australia's policies in relation to renewable energy and the fact that we're leading the world in battery take-up. You know, we have 430,000 Australian households that have installed cheaper home batteries under the Albanese Government so far. 12 gigawatt-hours, got a lot of interest from ministers around the world in that policy, for example.

Now, of course, every government around the world knows that we are in a transition. That transition involves the use of fossil fuels in the short term, and- while the new energy is being built. But also ensuring that we're building new, reliable, renewable energy and Australia's leading the world in that.

JOURNALIST: The Coalition and One Nation have vowed to scrap net zero. Is that a concern to our trading partners who are committed to net zero? MINISTER BOWEN: It is and it would be.

And the Liberal Party used to say that. The Liberal Party, when they were responsible on these matters, or more responsible than they are now, when they committed to net zero, pointed out that the world is moving in this direction. And there's plenty of quotes including from my now shadow minister about how it was important for trade to engage in the journey towards net zero.

Liberal Party has just embarked in this sort of climate denialism, and are refusing to recognise that the world is moving. Well, under this government, we will maximise and seize the opportunities of jobs, investment, growth and cheaper electricity from renewables. Angus Taylor and Dan Tehan choose a different approach to ignore those opportunities.

That's bad for Australia's economic growth. It's bad on many, many, levels. And they used to know that.

JOURNALIST: How would it position Australia on the global stage? MINISTER BOWEN: We would go back to being an outlier. We would go back to being completely out of touch with direction of travel around the world and missing massive economic opportunities.

JOURNALIST: One Nation have been on a bit of a whirlwind election rally-esque tour this week. Do you acknowledge the support for Pauline Hanson is more tangible than just polling results? MINISTER BOWEN: Well, I'd say this.

We've always acknowledged that Australians are looking for change. That's why we're providing change. That's why we've provided tax cuts, that's why we've provided cost of living relief through cheaper medicines.

That's why we're providing cheaper home batteries, particularly taken up in outer suburbs and regions. That's why we're providing urgent care clinics. One Nation has anger, but not answers.

One Nation has slogans, but not solutions. We're providing answers and solutions and real change. Real change.

Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce have made clear they'll be working with the Liberal Party. If you want a stable government, Anthony Albanese will lead a stable, reforming, changing government. Angus Taylor, Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson would give us chaos.

That'll be the choice before the Australian people at the next election. We take every election very, very seriously. We take every seat, we take every vote as one to be earned.

There's a lot of water to go under the bridge before- between now and the next election. We'll be continuing to make the case for change, the changes we want. One Nation and the Liberals and the Nationals don't want change.

They don't want to change the rules around taxation, for example, to give younger Australians a fairer chance at housing. They don't want to change those things. We do.

I might go to journalists on the phone, and then come back for more questions for journalists who are here. Journalist on the phone, Mike? JOURNALIST: Minister, in relation to your advice that there's greater fuel in stockpile than ever before, with- in March there were some outages at service stations, which was evidently a problem of distribution.

I'm just wondering how the fuel supply chain across the country is prepared, or if there's been any changes, if there's future shocks or surges in demand? MINISTER BOWEN: So the number of petrol stations without fuel is very much back at normal historical levels, one to two per cent, which is you know what we have on any normal given day where a petrol station runs out of fuel.

That's been the case now for weeks. We've worked very hard, again, across the board with industry to ensure that's the case. We did see a massive spike in demand early in this crisis, doubling the demand, which did inevitably lead, with any product, to shortages.

And that was particularly the case in some rural areas, particularly in New South Wales, but across the board we are seeing petrol station outages of around that one per cent level, which is about standard, what we would normally have. Of course, we'll continue to closely work with industry to ensure that we- and together with states, that there is as much fuel being distributed as needed.

JOURNALIST: Just a couple more questions. We're still a long way away from the election. That's a lot of time for One Nation to rally more support.

Do you think that that's the direction this is heading? MINISTER BOWEN: Well, we are a long way from the next election, as I said. We'll take no seat, no vote for granted.

But we'll be putting the case for real change, real reform. That's what we're doing. One Nation and the Liberals will continue to argue for the status quo and no change.

They'll continue to promote anger, not answers, slogans, not solutions. We have a different approach. Now, Angus Taylor and Pauline Hanson can fight each other over their seats, but they'll also, as they've made clear, be working together in a way which we will be arguing against them, because they are really just combined parties of the right, whereas we are a reforming government trying to give Australians a better go, a fairer go, and we'll be putting that case to the Australian people.

JOURNALIST: It was reported today that taxpayer funded cash from each vote is rising from about $3.49 to $5. What do you say about politicians benefiting from the votes during this cost of living crisis? MINISTER BOWEN: Well, public funding of election campaigns is a policy that's been around for 40 years or so in order to reduce reliance on donations.

It’s not, with respect, about politicians. Political parties fund the election campaigns and are supported, as I said, through long-standing bipartisan policy of government support to reduce reliance on donations, to ensure that those donations aren't influencing, and therefore we have public funding at state and federal levels of election campaigns. That's been the case for many, many years and that is the correct approach.

JOURNALIST: How do you get support, coming back to the election question, from people swaying towards Pauline Hanson and One Nation? How do you get support back to the main parties? Labor- how do you bring them back?

MINISTER BOWEN: Well, by focusing on reforms and changes and improving fairness in the system, which is exactly what we're doing. You know, opening urgent care clinics around the suburbs of Australia, including here, to give Australians better access to health care, providing cheaper medicines, providing tax cuts, reducing electricity bills through cheaper home batteries and rolling out the cheapest form of energy, which is renewables.

That's what we do. Now, there'll be lots of speculation between now and the next election. I remember before the last election, everybody thought there would be a hung parliament.

We made the case that we would be putting our views to the Australian people and we would be going after a majority. That's the way it turned out. There'll be a lot of speculation between now and the next election, I know that, I understand that.

But we'll be focused on policies which really give Australians a better chance and a fairer chance than what they've got over recent decades. And that's what the Government's doing with a big reforming budget, which gives younger Australians in particular a better chance to get into the housing market, which gives Australians doing it tough tax cuts, which gives cheaper medicines, and which gives support for reducing electricity prices.

JOURNALIST: Going back to that [Indistinct], especially at the moment with things being quite expensive, don't you think that some of that money could be used for better use? MINISTER BOWEN: Well, as I said, public funding of election campaigns is a very long-standing policy over many decades, state and federal. It's designed to ensure a fairer system.

It goes to all political parties and independents. It doesn't favour one party over another, and that has long been the case to reduce reliance on donations and fundraising. It doesn't go directly to politicians, it goes to political parties to help support the administration of a robust and strong democracy.

Okay, might leave it there. Thanks everyone. 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.