THE HON DAN TEHAN MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR ENERGY AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION
FEDERAL MEMBER FOR WANNON
INTERVIEW WITH MEL CAMPBELL
ON ABC RADIO NATIONAL
Monday, 15 December 2025
Topics: Energy Policy
E&OE……………………………………
MEL CAMPBELL: The government says a deal to keep the Tomago aluminium swelter in New South Wales open is still being finalised. The company announced in October, it didn't think operations would be viable beyond 2028, blaming the high cost of energy. It comes ahead of the release of a government review into Australia's gas market which is expected within weeks. Dan Tehan is the Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. Dan Tehan, welcome back to Radio National Breakfast.
DAN TEHAN: Mel, pleasure to be with you, and just before we start, can I just please add my condolence and thoughts and prayers to everyone who was, who was wounded, or sadly lost their life yesterday, and to their families, and to the Jewish community, just an absolute tragedy, and I know everyone is still deeply still in shock, and, and obviously in mourning.
MEL CAMPBELL: You're right, there's still a lot going on at this case, where we're getting an update at the moment that is happening from the Prime Minister and New South Wales Premier, and New South Wales police or authorities. I'm sure the opposition would be standing with the government in any response that it can give to this. What is it that the opposition sees as a priority to deal with at this point in the immediate aftermath of what has happened?
DAN TEHAN: Well, obviously we have to make sure that justice is swift and, and that we act as quickly as we possibly can to provide security to the Jewish community. And the second thing is, I think there has to be a collective understanding that we have failed, and there's been a failure of leadership to properly address anti-Semitism in this country since October 7, and there has to be, has to be a redoubling of efforts to stamp out anti-Semitism across the nation. Because if we don't, it erodes who we are as a people and as a nation. And I think that in the medium to longer term has to be the absolute priority.
MEL CAMPBELL: Do you think the anti-Semitism on Voyagerly and Segal's report that was handed to government a couple of months ago, do you think that's the blueprint for the way forward now, or do we need to start afresh in light of this extraordinary attack?
DAN TEHAN: Well, I think making sure we implement that blueprint immediately, it would be a very good start. But I think also there needs to be a complete re-evaluation and re-look at how we have failed when it's come to dealing with anti-Semitism. And I think that has to be an absolute priority, because the sad reality is, there are Jewish Australians today, and there have been since October 7, who have been scared and fearful about living in this country, and that simply is not good enough.
MEL CAMPBELL: Dan, I'm sure we'll talk more about this issue for some time into the future, but I do want to talk to you about some of the areas of your portfolio. We've had an announcement from the government about a deal to keep the Tomago aluminium smelter in New South Wales open. It says it's working with the company and with the state government on a long term renewable energy solution to support the smelter’s long term viability. We don't have all the details but what do you make of the government's language in announcing this?
DAN TEHAN: Well, the first thing is we do need the details and we need transparency around the details because we have no idea what the cost of this bailout will be, and we should know what the cost of this bailout will be. It's like we don't know what the cost is of many of the things that the government is doing when it comes to the energy space, and Australians should know. So, the first thing is, what we need from the Minister is a clear articulation of what it's going to cost to do this, because as Rio Tinto, the owner of Tomago, has made very clear, the reason that this is happening, and the reason that the government has to conduct this bailout, is because energy prices are just too high in this nation. And if it's Tomago now, we've already seen other smelters have to be rescued as well. Where does this stop, and how much money is this going to cost the nation and when is the government going to be able to start putting downward pressure on energy prices? These are all the things we need to know.
MEL CAMPBELL: We've certainly seen a rise in energy prices but we see this cycle every time, energy deals expire with the major smelters around the country. They look to strike deals with the support of federal and state governments to get the lowest possible energy cost. So is this materially different from the kinds of negotiations we've seen in the past with equivalent facilities?
DAN TEHAN: Well the problem is we don't know because there's no transparency around it, and so how much the taxpayer is up for this time is not clear. And that's why we do need transparency because what we fear is that we're seeing a number of smelters now reaching out for bailouts since not just the large aluminium smelters we're seeing, other smelters across the country also reaching out. And we've got no idea what the cost is of these bailouts. And as our debt grows towards a trillion dollars and as we see more and more money going out in these schemes to prop up industries as a result of the government's energy policies, there is a deep concern that it's simply going to become unaffordable, and as we've seen, some CEOs warn overnight, there is a real risk that we're starting to see deindustrialisation in this country.
MEL CAMPBELL: You're listening to Radio National Breakfast and my guest is the Shadow Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Dan Tehan. On the government's announcement that it is going to put more money into its home battery scheme, this is the cheaper home batteries program that has been oversubscribed, the Treasurer has said that they're going to put a few more billion dollars into it to bring it to $7.2 billion, and they're adjusting the scheme to encourage households to get the right size battery for their needs. Given that this helps reduce demand at the peak times in the network, is this a good move by the federal government to expand this scheme?
DAN TEHAN: Well, it's another mess of Chris Bowen's making, sadly. This scheme was meant to run till 2030 and was meant to cost the taxpayer $2 billion. Now, sadly, the scheme was incredibly poorly designed. It led to everyone who could afford it, who could afford it, and there's many, many Australians who can't afford it to go out and buy a battery. But they ended up buying the biggest battery they possibly could. So, we've now seen the Minister have to redesign the scheme and also put another $5 billion behind it. Now, we do not know whether this new design will lead to the type of outcomes that we need, but it still goes to one big, big problem with this scheme is, for those who can afford it, then there is likely that they will see some relief from the 40% increase in electricity prices. For those who don't, and there is no modelling on this, which the government should have done, but it's likely that you could see higher prices as a result of this scheme.
MEL CAMPBELL: How's that? Because the government and the market operators say that any moves that help reduce the peak demand reduces peak pricing for everyone else. So, how, questions of equity of who can access the scheme aside, how would it lead to pushing up prices for households?
DAN TEHAN: Because what we're seeing is, while this brings wholesale prices down in the middle of the day, and those with batteries who can store that power then, will be beneficiaries. But for all those who can't do that, what it does is ultimately push up the overall price for them because they of course have to pay for the network costs as well. So they end up paying more in their bill, and that's why even though we're seeing these types of schemes roll out, energy affordability is becoming more and more of an issue because no matter what the government is doing, everything that it's trying, and especially with its ideologically renewable bent, is leading to higher prices. And this is something that we need to get greater transparency on, as you know the CSIRO who've done the modelling on this will not release that modelling, because they aren't, I'm sure, are confident in what they're doing and their model that it is ultimately going to lead to cheaper energy prices, because everything we're seeing is the alternative.
MEL CAMPBELL: Dan Tehan thank you very much for joining me on the program this morning.
ENDS
Contact: Phil Connole E | philip.connole@aph.gov.au
