Press conference, Fairfield West, NSW

MINISTER FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY, CHRIS BOWEN: Well, thanks for coming to Fairfield. I can report today that Australia has 41 days’ worth of petrol, which is one day less than last week; 37 days’ worth of diesel, which is one day more than last week; and 35 days’ worth of jet fuel, which is also one day more than last week. We have 44 ships on the water to Australia and 3.7 billion litres of deliveries locked in for the next four weeks of various types of fuel.

That’s 700 million litres more than last week. So this continues to show that Australia’s fuel security situation is solid and secure in the face of the most difficult international circumstances in many, many years when it comes to fuel supplies. Australia has been well placed all through this.

Despite the Liberals and Nationals saying that rationing was inevitable, and One Nation calling for rationing, a cool, calm and collected approach has seen Australia’s fuel security continue to be strong in the face of these international challenges and pressures. Happy to take questions. We might go to Channel Nine first.

JOURNALIST: Hello, Mr Bowen. Pauline Hanson has said that migrants coming from countries listed on Australia Do Not Travel list shouldn’t be allowed to travel here. What’s your response to that?

CHRIS BOWEN: Let me say a couple of things. Firstly, Australia needs an Australian immigration policy, not one stolen from Donald Trump. Australia needs an Australian immigration policy, not one from Donald Trump.

Secondly, look at some of the countries on that list. Some of the countries on that list have provided Australia with wonderful migrants. We know about this in Fairfield, where I am today.

Iraq, Lebanon, countries like Afghanistan. People who have fled ISIS, who have come to Australia for refuge, and knowing they’ve received refuge, have started small businesses, contributed to our community. Now, Pauline Hanson would stop Assyrians and Chaldeans and Yazidis who have fled ISIS from coming to Australia, who have been such an important part of our community.

So Pauline Hanson should front the minorities, like Christians, Yazidis, and tell them why she doesn’t want them in Australia. We need better than just carbon-copying Donald Trump’s policy. How dare Pauline Hanson have a policy which would say that those minorities, like Yazidis — and I pay tribute to the work that someone like Michael McCormack has done with the Yazidi community, as I’ve done here, as other MPs in Western Sydney have done.

Pauline Hanson would say that she would ban migration from Lebanon. Look at the contribution of Lebanese Australians. It’s amazing, since the 1980s, to Australia.

Go to the churches and mosques around Australia that have strong Lebanese communities and let Pauline Hanson explain why she wants nobody from that country, from Lebanon, to be able to come to Australia. She’s wrong, wrong, wrong. JOURNALIST: Thank you, Mr Bowen.

I just wanted to ask you another question about migration. Do you think the cuts to the working holiday maker visa will be neccesary as as we sort of tackle to find the right number [inaudible] Australia? CHRIS BOWEN: I think Tony Burke is reviewing the entire migration program, every stream of it, temporary and permanent, and he’ll have more to say.

JOURNALIST: Just one more question. Matt Canavan is giving his first speech as Nationals leader at their federal conference in Canberra today. (inaudible).

Any advice for him? CHRIS BOWEN: My advice for him is to be focused on the Australian people, like we are, on cost of living, on cost-of-living relief, and to be focused on practical policies like Cheaper Home Batteries, cheaper medicines, Free TAFE, that we are rolling out for the Australian people. JOURNALIST: Where is Cabinet standing on your own migration policy and bringing numbers down?

Are there still divisions within the Cabinet? CHRIS BOWEN: I don’t accept the premise of the question. Tony Burke has been working these issues through in his normal, very professional, methodical way.

Obviously, as he has already flagged he will have more to say when he’s completed that process of proper consideration. JOURNALIST: Just returning to the Nationals conference today, Matt Canavan is calling for an audit of all international treaties and agreements, things like the Paris Agreement, to determine whether they’re in Australia’s interests. And he says that’s in the name of restoring Australian sovereignty.

How would a review of things like the Paris Agreement go down on the global stage? How would Australia be perceived? CHRIS BOWEN: Well, how does this help with the Australian cost of living?

I mean, how does this distraction help Australians? Australians are focused on cost of living and Matt Canavan’s focused on treaties. I don’t get it.

JOURNALIST: Scrapping net zero is, of course, one of their main platforms. They say it will bring down energy costs. We do know people are feeling the pinch of the cost of living.

Would that ultimately help bring down costs? CHRIS BOWEN: No, it’d put costs up, because renewables are the cheapest form of energy. Matt Canavan just doesn’t get it.

He would see Australia more reliant on the most expensive forms of energy, gas and coal, and the most expensive form of energy of all, nuclear. I think Matt Canavan should explain: how does introducing more of the most expensive forms of energy reduce any of your bills? JOURNALIST: Just on a different matter, Murray Watt was meeting with the states and territories to discuss water deals for data centres yesterday.

Do you have an update on how that meeting went CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah, Murray Watt has been leading a process similar to the one I’ve been dealing with on energy. We want data centres in Australia to be in our national interest. We won’t allow a race to the bottom of data centres at any cost.

We welcome data centre investment if it’s in our national interest. That means bringing your own renewable energy and minimising your water use. Murray took that to state water ministers yesterday.

Every state and territory, except for Queensland, participated constructively in that meeting. Murray’s going to have further conversations with the Northern Territory, who are still considering their position, and that’s fair enough. But Queensland indicated they will oppose Commonwealth measures to minimise water use in data centres, as they’ve done on energy.

Now, we are not going to let Queensland veto the views of every other state and, frankly, the vast majority of Australians. I don’t know what is motivating Queensland to say they want data centres at any cost with no rules; that they want to let data centres use as much water as they want and not bring their own electricity. That’ll see water bills go up and electricity bills go up.

Maybe the Queensland LNP is okay with that. We’re not. So we’ll proceed with our national plan.

We would prefer to do it with unanimous agreement of the states. Clearly, we’re not going to get that. Queensland is one out.

They’ve chosen to be one out. Other states and territories aren’t going to let them get away with leading a race to the bottom and nor are we. JOURNALIST: We do know that data centres have a substantial environmental footprint.

How do you balance that with net zero ambitions? And are those data centre companies seeming willing to come on board with some of those measures that you’re putting in place? CHRIS BOWEN: Yeah, the vast majority of data centre developers want to use renewable energy because it’s cheap, and that’s a good thing.

So, as I said at the Press Club, well, a bit more than a week ago now, and as the Prime Minister’s made very clear in his comments, and Andrew Charlton and Tom Ayres have, we will develop Commonwealth legislation for our requirements. We’re well advanced on that. I outlined our plans at the National Press Club a bit more than a week ago, which is that they must bring their own new, additional renewable energy to add to the grid, so that we’re not putting more pressure on the existing grid, and that will see them not putting any bills up.

But if Queensland got its way and they could just, you know, use any old energy, including existing energy from coal-fired power, then that would see wholesale and retail bills go up for every other Australian. We’re not going to let that happen. JOURNALIST: The arrangements that you’ve had with other countries to help fuel keeps flowing has (inaudible) through quicker than anybody expected or hoped, will there come a point where you need to negotiate with those countries that you have arrangements with to keep this supply going?

CHRIS BOWEN: No. I mean, we’ve been in constant contact with our trading partners all the way through. This is not a set-and-forget arrangement, and that has paid off.

It’s paid off in terms of Australia’s fuel security continuing to be very strong, just as I’ve worked closely with Australian refiners. We stay in close contact, of course. And this is the benefit of strong diplomacy that’s occurred under our government, having good relations with our trading partners.

That’s something that the Anthony Albanese has prioritised. It’s something which has paid off in the difficulty of international times. And as I said, as others warned of rationing, as Dan Tehan predicted shortages, as Barnaby Joyce called for rationing, we took the approach that we would just get on with it in a calm, methodical way.

And that’s exactly how we’ll keep going until this international crisis end, whenever that is. 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.