26 August 2025
E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………………
KIERAN GILBERT: Joining me now is the Shadow Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister, Dan Tehan. Thanks for your time. My colleague, Andrew Clennell, reporting some of the debate out of the Liberal and Coalition party room. Is there an urgency now to bring on a debate about net zero?
DAN TEHAN: Look, I'm not going to talk about what happens in the party room. That's sacred. People should be able to voice their opinions in the party room and they should be able to do that, knowing that it's not going to be reported outside the party room. But as I've said all along, Kieran, we've got a process in place and we're continuing with that process. And we've got gas people in, meeting with our committee tomorrow. I've said gas is one of the first areas that we want to look at. Obviously, emissions reduction will be another area that we're looking at as well, and we will follow the process and step through that as we've said we would all along.
GILBERT: Seven backbenchers, though, speaking up. Is there patience to await the outcome of that process? It looks like there's not, particularly that they're doing that in the party room. And you don't have to look at the party room. Look at what's happening in parliament with Barnaby Joyce. Garth Hamilton spoke yesterday. Other backbenchers speaking up in support of that bill to scrap net zero.
TEHAN: Look, there's no doubt that people are concerned with what's happening in the energy space. What they're seeing from the Labor Party is that electricity prices are going up, gas prices are going up. The electricity grid is looking more and more unstable. We've seen the South Australian Government have to step in and say they're going to have to keep their gas peaker going for longer. New South Wales are in conversations with their coal-fired power generators, as are Victoria, so they can provide more stability in the grid. And we've seen yesterday from the report out, and the report said quite clearly on page nine, emissions are flatlining. So people are concerned with what the Government's approach is. And we've said that we want to work through it, and that's what we're going to do.
GILBERT: Can you do it in terms of nine to 12 months, will it last that long? Because you look at the noise that's being made around the place, and one of the MPs that spoke up said they want to know what the process is for backbenchers to get involved. Have you explained it more to them?
TEHAN: Well, you know, talking generally, we've got a very thorough process that has been established. It's actually the most thorough that I've seen since I've been a Member of Parliament on the Coalition side. There's a legislation process, so any legislation which comes to the parliament we will take through. And then there's also a policy process which has been set up separately as well. So we've got a very thorough process.
GILBERT: But do the MPs know about it though? Because I had one message me saying, no one knows what the process is for them to get involved in.
TEHAN: Well, they've been outlined quite clearly and set out quite clearly. And as I've said, it's one of the most thorough that I've seen, if not the most thorough. So we've got a policy process which is separate then to a legislative process. So this is quite unique. It's all been set up and established. The party room have been taken through and that'll be how we consider these things.
GILBERT: Yeah, OK. Well, you have, in the past said, expressed support for net zero. Do you still have that view? And you said you were supportive of it for agriculture, particularly, specifically it's important to get to net zero by 2050 if not sooner.
TEHAN: So when we had the initial debate in the party room, it was very clear, you’ll remember I was Trade Minister at the time, if we were going to continue to be able to reach trade agreements and finalise trade agreements, that adopting net zero by 2050 was going to have to be an important part of that. So when it came to the UK Free Trade agreement this obviously came up. Now, it wasn't an essential part of that agreement ultimately, but it was becoming more and more important with what we do. And you will have seen reported out of the UK just over the last 24 hours, you know, we were able to nail an incredibly good agreement when it came to the UK Free Trade agreement. And we've seen our beef sales, as a result of that, continue to grow and grow to the UK, which is a winner for their consumers, and obviously a winner for our beef export.
GILBERT: Yeah, so you've said that you were supportive, are you still supportive of net zero?
TEHAN: We're working through a process at the moment but I've said quite clearly on the record on a number of times that I support net zero by 2050.
GILBERT: Can you keep the party together, the Coalition together, through this process? I don't envy your job.
TEHAN: Well look my aim, … no, thanks Kieran. Look, I've always had tough jobs in politics and I've thrived on that. I've loved it. That’s what it's all about. If you've just got the easy ones, well, you know, you're not earning your keep. So, I'm looking forward to it. And there's a lot of hard work that’s involved, a lot of consultation. I’ve been out, you know, for the last three to four months working my backside off, getting briefed by people, seeing where things are at. And there's three things that keep getting said to me.
One is, electricity and gas prices keep going through the roof and that's hurting households and industry.
There is a serious concern about grid stability, serious concern about grid stability.
And when it comes to emissions reduction, and you had an ANU expert out in the last week saying Labor's approach is flatlining.
GILBERT: Chris Bowen says that … I'll read exactly what he said, “6.5 million tonnes reduction in emissions in the year to March." Is that not true?
TEHAN: Well, what's happened that's in a quarter. But if you have a look overall, what's happened since the Government has been in office, emissions are about 28.1 or 28.2%, lower than what they were on the baseline of 2005.
GILBERT: He said 6.5 million tonne reduction in the year to March is what he said.
TEHAN: Yes, so that's what's happened in the quarter. But if you have a look, what has happened, the baseline figure, how that looks to the baseline, where they're at at the moment, 28.2% is not too dissimilar to where we were at when we were in government in 2022 and you had an ANU leading expert out over the last week saying that emissions have flatlined. So emissions have flatlined, gas and electricity prices going up, and people worried about the reliability of our grid. It's a mess, and it's a mess of Chris Bowen's making.
GILBERT: Dan Tehan, we thank you as always, we appreciate it.
Ends
Contact: Phil Connole 0417 063 605 | phil.connole@aph.gov.au
