SUBECTS: PEP 11.

SCOTT LEVI, HOST: Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, good morning.

ALBANESE: Good morning. Good to be with you.

LEVI: Yeah, good to talk. Ms Wicks there saying this issue shouldn't be politicised. Why are you campaigning on this when the PM says it won't happen?

ALBANESE: Well, they say one thing on the Central Coast but they do something else in Canberra. And the fact is that the Prime Minister could make this decision today and order his cabinet minister Keith Pitt to just sign the document that would say no to PEP 11. It's been on the desk since February. This has been something that the Labor Party has been long opposed to, the Central Coast community is opposed to it as are communities up and down the coast. Not surprisingly, this is a crazy proposal for oil and gas exploration up to five kilometres so pretty close into the coast, from the Sydney coastline right up through the Central Coast up through Newcastle, to Port Stevens. It's something a project that the proponents of which have been going out there and raising money for it. Keith Pitt, we ask questions in Parliament, Emma McBride, after that vote in the Parliament where they refused to have a debate or vote on the private member's bill and Keith Pitt continues to basically defend the position and and to not make a decision. The fact is that this is a proposal that's entirely inappropriate. And the Morrison Government could end the debate today. This is all about politics. And very clearly you have Dr. Gordon Reid would ensure that that occurs as Emma McBride and other members have been out there campaigning and and the only local members who voted against having a debate in the Parliament on this issue were Lucy Wicks and Jason Falinski, along with their Liberal National Party colleagues all voted to stall a decision on this PEP 11 proposal.

LEVI: Dr. Reid, that you're mentioning is the candidate for Robertson, nominated candidate by the Labor Party. According to the company behind the license, it's full steam ahead. This is what Director of Advent Energy David Breeze told us a couple of months back now,

BREEZE: We are in a process indeed, where you have research and exploration off the coast. And that is in compliance with the NOPTA and NOPSEMA who are the two regulatory bodies who control offshore operations. And of course, Australia has successfully developed over 3000 wells offshore and the NOPSEMA process is one of the most rigorous and stringent in the world and Australia has been extremely successful in the operation of those hydrocarbon projects offshore and a substantial source of of employment for Australia, and taxation income.

LEVI: That's David Breeze Director of Advent Energy talking to us from WA, about their plans. They're also planning. We're speaking with Mr. Albanese, the Leader of the Opposition, they're also planning to carbon capture under the sea floor, they said that it's been happening in the gas wells in the North Sea. The Norwegians have been doing it and they feel that that would make it a greener project. We also know Mr. Albanese, that gas will be an important transitional fuel to get us to renewables. Surely we need those resources.

ALBANESE: You can't greenwash this project. This project is entirely inappropriate, entirely inappropriate to explore for oil and gas so close to the pristine coasts, so close to the communities, there's a massive difference between the Northwest Shelf of Western Australia, and places like the Browse Basin, and the community of Avoca Beach and of Terrigal optical in the local community. This is a proposal that should be rejected. There is money going into this project as the proponents there just said, and the Government has sat back and allowed this to happen. Keith Pitt is the Minister who has allowed this to happen. We are nine years now into this government, they should be prepared to make a decision. But the problem is that everywhere they're there, they never ever intervene in the interests of the environment. And here you have a local community that have a very strong view, but common sense tells you the idea that this proposal would go ahead. I mean, if there were an incident, the consequences for our economy, and for the local environment are catastrophic.

LEVI: MP for Robinson, Lucy wicks, said this to us on what Minister Pitt said about it, what his views are. 

WICKS: I just want to pop the bubble there again a little bit by referring to what the Minister for Resources said in the Parliament just yesterday, he said the application, there is an application that's being considered right now. But what he said is it's not an application for a rig. He said it's not an application for an exploration well. He said it's not an application to go drilling holes looking for oil and gas. That's what he said. But he went further and said that the only the only government that's approved that in the PEP 11 area is actually the Labor Government when they were last in 2010.

LEVI: What are your thoughts on that?

ALBANESE: Complete, complete nonsense. This Government have been in office towards the end of their third term, they're shooting for a fourth term. And anytime issues are raised with them, they pretend there's nothing to see here and that they haven't been in office for nine long years. They have presided over this, there comes a point in time, whereby they have to accept responsibility for their own actions. But with the Morrison Government, always there is someone else to blame. They have paperwork on the Minister's desk right now. The Minister when he was asked in Parliament could have stood up with a question from Emma McBride, could have stood up and said PEP 11 will not go ahead. I will block PEP 11 with my ministerial powers, and it's done, a stroke of a pen. We could end this debate and give certainty to the local community. But Lucy Wicks, it's alright to say things on the Central Coast. How you vote in the Parliament is what you're accountable for. And Lucy Wicks voted to stop any debate. And it wasn't a Labor Party Bill. It was Zali Steggall's Bill but we had a range of speakers from Labor opposed to the PEP 11 proposal and the community here continue to have this cloud over them because of a failure of the Minister to make a clear decision. Well, the Labor candidate for Robertson, Dr. Gordon Reid, he's pretty clear and unequivocal. And he won't be coming up with excuses. He will be a part of a decision that will block this proposal.

LEVI: Just a final one, jobs in the economy are important for many Australians what's Australia's what's the ALP's alternative when it comes to ensuring we have enough energy for our needs. We also have jobs in the sector you know, while balancing the economy.

ALBANESE: The cheapest form of new energy in Australia overwhelmingly is renewables. And we can create significant jobs not just directly in terms of renewables, but by fixing the electricity transmission grid. By making it more efficient through our rewiring the nation plan, what we'll do is lower energy prices, which will allow for high value manufacturing for onshore jobs that are high value, that create skills and manufacture more things here. We need to be more resilient as an Australian economy. And the solution to that isn't oil rig five kilometres off the Central Coast.

LEVI: Right. That's another interview, isn't it? We might see if we can get you back on and talk about your alternative energy plans. 

ALBANESE: Always happy to.

LEVI: Yeah. And what we do with people in that sector. You know, we've got a lot of people working in that, that coal mining sector and they seem to have been left high and dry at the moment. You see many other countries, putting them into clean energy transitional businesses. Anyway, plenty of time down the track to talk about that Mr. Albanese we will let you get to Avoca Beach.

ALBANESE: Thanks very much. Thanks for having me on the program.

LEVI: Good to talk to you.

 
ENDS