Interview with Andrew Clennell - Sky News Afternoon Agenda

ANDREW CLENNELL, HOST: Joining me live is the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Pat Gorman. Pat Gorman, thanks for your time. Now tell me the truth. Is Anthony Albanese secretly, kind of, a little bit glad that this COP bid appears to be falling over?

PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER TO THE PRIME MINISTER: You might want to write it off, Andrew, but I certainly don't. We have got Josh Wilson, the Assistant Minister for Climate Change over there right now, putting the case for Australia, just as our diplomats have done, just as the Prime Minister has done, and the Foreign Minister and, of course, Minister Chris Bowen. What we know is that when you host these conferences, you do get the opportunity to share the great things that are happening here in Australia. My electorate of Perth, some 15 years ago, was the host of the CHOGM - Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. To this day, people still talk, in Perth, about what a great opportunity that was. So I am not someone who likes to wave the white flag. I am an optimist, and so I know that we will keep that determination to put forward the case that Australia and our Pacific Island friends in this Pacific family in which we live, will be great hosts - co-hosts of COP31 should Australia be chosen. 

CLENNELL: You reckon the heft of Josh Wilson will do it? I mean, it looks like Anthony Albanese is not even bothering to go? 

GORMAN: As you know, Andrew, and as your viewers know, these conversations happen over months and years, not just at the conference that is happening right now, but over a period of time. Also, Josh is a very persuasive person. I am confident that he is putting the case for Australia right now, as we have done, from the Prime Minister and a range of ministers - I have put the case at different points in time as well. I am hopeful that the good hosting that Australia is putting on the table for the world to join us here in Australia next year, I hope that opportunity is taken up. But I recognise it is one of the more complex ways of deciding a location, as the Prime Minister outlined yesterday. 

CLENNELL: Couldn't it be a bit of a millstone around your neck, though, as I've just alluded to like the Voice? 

GORMAN: When I think about these things I think about putting Australia on the world stage. To say that we are a great place for investment, and we also understand the complexities of this global transition to a low carbon economy that we are all going through. I am from a resources state. I get this is not easy, but it takes determination to get it right, and that is what we want to do here in Australia. So we have got lessons that we can share with the world. We will gain understanding from other partners if they come here and again, you have got leading Australian business people at COP30 right now, Dr Andrew Forrest, is there. They are making billions of dollars of investment into decarbonising the iron ore industry, pretty carbon intense industry. So there is a lot of opportunity and money on the table from investors. I think it is about $2 trillion - is around the figure that is used in terms of global investment in low and zero carbon technologies. I want to get as much of that money to Australia as we can, and this is all part of that. 

CLENNELL: It is a bit of an irony, though, isn't it, that I think the last PM to have attended a conference of the Party's climate conference was Scott Morrison?

GORMAN: We had Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott, all having commitments to different ways of getting to a zero-carbon future or net zero future to make sure we take action on climate change. I think what we have seen is that this is becoming overly politicised by some in the Liberal Party. We have seen obviously, when it comes to other Opposition Leaders in New South Wales and the Liberal Leader in my home state of Western Australia, saying they support climate action. This is the sensible path forward, and it is the path that so many of our partners in the world are taking, because they see the opportunities that we see - to back Australian jobs and to grab the opportunities that are there when it comes to things like our critical minerals industries -

CLENNELL: The Coalition. The Coalition - 

GORMAN: - in the world - things that - 

CLENNELL: Yeah, sure. Sorry, to cut you off there. The Coalition keep saying to your side though, that you haven't reduced emissions. So power prices have gone up, and you haven't reduced emissions in four years. Do you accept that? And why is that?

GORMAN: We are on the right trajectory to meet the interim targets we set for 2030, of a 43 per cent reduction in emissions. We are going to go further when it comes out to 2035. We took the independent advice from the Climate Change Authority, chaired by Matt Kean, that tells us we can get to some 62 to 70 per cent emissions - 

CLENNELL: Why is it stuck at 28?

GORMAN: We will keep putting - well, I can tell you the sorry story of the wasted decade that we had under the Coalition. At the moment, I'm more focused on what we need to do right now - 

CLENNELL: You've been in now for four years, though Pat Gorman - 

GORMAN: renewable energy into grid - 

CLENNELL: You've been in for four years. Isn't that enough time? I mean, you basically, you said you're going to cut our power bills in three years, by the way. But I mean, you've been in power for almost four years, and yet you're still blaming the other mob. Isn't it time to sort of say, well, your policy might have something to do with the fact that emissions aren't going down further? 

GORMAN: I am happy to take responsibility for the job the Australian people elected us to do. I wouldn't mind if, over the course of the conversation about emissions reduction, if the Coalition also took responsibility for the ten wasted years, where they sat in office doing very little. We have legislated our commitment to get to net zero emissions, to act on climate change and make sure we have reached those targets that we signed up to, that the Coalition signed us up to at the Paris accord. We have taken action to put that into domestic legislation. We have got the capacity investment scheme, again, driving investment in renewable energy. We have got the work that we are trying to do where it comes to making sure that we have a more secure environment, for things like technologies that we do need to capture existing emissions by capturing carbon that is currently vented out into the atmosphere. So we have got to keep doing what we want to do. We have got our safeguard mechanism in place, which is bringing down emissions [inaudible] - 

CLENNELL: Alright. Pat Gorman, I don't need a shopping list of your policies, as much as, you know, much as it is fair enough to list them. But there's been a bit of talk the past few days re energy rebates. I assume the government won't keep these going, because if you're going to turn the tap off, it's easier politically to do that earlier in the term?

GORMAN: We have obviously got the current round of rebates that are still rolling out for a range of jurisdictions. So I would encourage all of your viewers to check their power bills to make sure that they have got the rebate, we the Commonwealth have committed to and have funded through the states - 

CLENNELL: But you're turning the tap off, aren't you? You're turning the tap off? 

GORMAN: What you are asking about is, how do we best support Australians with cost of living relief? We have been really open about the policies that we are pursuing right now - big investments in Medicare. Making it easier to see a bulk billing doctor. End of this financial year, on 1 January, you will see those medicines come down to $25. I appreciate that you want me to speculate on future government decisions, but the rebate that we have got right now is rolling out. I encourage your viewers to check their bills to make sure they are getting it. 

CLENNELL: Just finally, Greg Melick, the outgoing president of the RSL, has made some comments concerning the need for more defence spending at a Remembrance Day ceremony - have a listen. 

[Audio playback]  

GREG MELICK: Our defence minister is keenly aware of the issues facing his portfolio. So the challenge before him is to convince his colleagues to rebalance our priorities. Otherwise in future Remembrance Day ceremonies, we may well regret the conflict we didn't deter and remember those who we demanded to protect us without the necessary wherewithal. 

[Clip ends]

CLENNELL: What's your reaction to that? 

GORMAN: It is the first time I have heard those comments. I always listen carefully when those who have served give us advice, and I welcome that discussion. I am proud of the work that we have done, both in terms of getting support to those who have already served by clearing those veterans waiting lists that we had when we came to office, and the significant new investments that we are making when it comes to investing in more capability. If I think about my side of the country, it was just a month ago that we had the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister, who is Deputy Prime Minister, announce $12 billion for the Henderson precinct to make sure that we have the maintenance and shipbuilding facilities we need on our West Coast. These are significant investments, and so I am pretty proud of what we have been able to do in terms of taking that Defence Strategic Review into action with significant increases in spending. But we will always listen to those who have served Australia in uniform and take their advice seriously and consider it carefully. 

CLENNELL: Pat Gorman, thanks for your time.