SUBJECTS: Solar power; Barnaby Joyce as Acting Prime Minister; Morrison-Joyce Government’s ridicule of renewable energy; Rewiring the Nation; Community Batteries; booster shots; Morrison-Joyce Government’s shambolic vaccine rollout and failure to meet commitments; NSW Government’s tax policies; consultation on childhood safety from abuse. 

BENN MASTERS, CEO, SOLARHUB: Thanks for coming today to Andrew and Anthony. It's great to see government support businesses like ours. I know the Labor Party have been particularly favorable towards solar over the years, and it's appreciated. You know, our business employees 75 staff here in Canberra and across the south coast of New South Wales. We've created lots of jobs. When we first started, there were just a few of us and now it's a great team. And we're doing good things, rolling solar out in this region. It reduces people's electricity bills, it's great for climate change and it's a fantastic industry to be in. So, thanks very much for your support. And welcome to SolarHub. It's a bit strange, we haven't been in the office over last few weeks. So, this is a bit of a novelty to be back in here, actually. But I think as of the week after next we’ll all be back in here again and looking to roll on continue doing what we do. So I’d like to introduce Andrew. Thanks. Thanks for coming to SolarHub.

ANDREW LEIGH, MEMBER FOR FENNER: Thanks very much, Benn. And thanks also to Benn and Gabriel for hosting us here today. It’s just terrific to see the important work that SolarHub is doing. We know that 10,000 times as much solar energy falls in Australia as we need for creating all the power usages for households and individuals. So, the potential of solar is vast, and one out of four Australians have solar PV on their roofs. They're assisted by the huge improvements that we've seen in the quality of solar cells and the technology. In 2008 a watt of solar cost $4. And now it's just down to 17 cents and continuing to fall as Benn’s been talking about today. And yet we had, in Parliament this week, Keith Pitt standing up and saying ‘well, you can't use solar because the sun doesn't always shine’. I'm guessing Keith Pitt must have been pretty surprised this morning when he woke up and he was able to turn on his tap, and yet it wasn't raining outside. The fact is that we have a technology called a battery. Benn's just been talking us through a number of battery technologies here, which are ready to go for households. And Labor’s policy on Community Batteries is going to be an important part of making solar work better. We also need connect up the grid, Labor’s Rewiring the Nation plan points to the way in which we can ensure that we get the most out of renewables. It's a real pleasure to be here with the Labor :eader Anthony Albanese. And I'll hand over now to Anthony to say a few words.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, LEADER OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY: Well, thanks very much, Andrew, and thanks very much to Benn and your team here at SolarHub, doing great work. This is a business that has grown to employ 75 people in just a decade. And it's in spite of the Federal Government's policy, rather than because of it. We have here in the ACT a government that understands the importance of providing support to individuals and to businesses to ensure that we transition and we use more clean energy. And the ACT, of course, is leading the nation in terms of its move towards clean energy.

We're now just five days from when the Prime Minister will go to Glasgow. Now in Edinburgh, they have a comedy festival every year. But the comedy festival is occurring here prior to Glasgow, just up at Parliament House. A comedy festival of a pantomime whereby a mob led by Barnaby Joyce, who we know his view of climate change policy and of renewables. This is a guy who as a local Member for New England is opposed to the New South Wales Coalition Government's Renewable Energy Zone in his electorate that's producing jobs, that's leading to a massive economic benefit for the New England region. But Barnaby Joyce is opposed to that in his own backyard, and then he's opposed to climate action and yet, what we have is he will be in charge. This time next week he will be the acting Prime Minister, while Scott Morrison heads to Glasgow to represent Australia. And the only task for the Government isn't about getting a policy that helps improve Australia's economic position, creates jobs, helps the transition to clean energy, helps to do our bit towards climate change. Their only priority is a political one. A political one of avoiding being seen, once again, as a pariah on the international stage, because that is how Australia has been seen. A Prime Minister who said that renewable energy targets were “nuts”, a Prime Minister who said that battery storage, which we see here on a smaller scale but it's available on a much larger scale of course, is as useful as a Big Banana or a Big Prawn. A Prime Minister who has ridiculed the rise of renewable energy.

Well, this isn't just the future, the future is here. The future is here, and the future is in clean energy. The future is in making sure that we create jobs and benefit our economy by lowering energy prices. That's good for households, but it's also good for driving down the cost of high value manufacturing. It's what can give us a competitive advantage in the ever-changing world. We have the Sun Cable project in the Northern Territory that will be helping to power Singapore, providing up to 20 per cent of Singapore's power needs through the largest solar farm in the world there in the Northern Territory. It's an example of the sort of planning and vision that Australia needs. But this Government just isn't up to it. This is a government that is frozen in time while the world warms around it. And what Australia needs is a government that's prepared to embrace the opportunity that comes through climate change action, not just trying to get through negotiations of how much money will be given for various projects, which we've seen the National Party specialise in pork barreling rather than actually benefiting their local communities. And that's the farce that we see up on The Hill. I have no doubt that Scott Morrison, at some stage, before he goes to Glasgow will say “yes, we've adopted net zero by 2050”. But he's not fair dinkum. And Australians know that. If they want a government that's prepared to embrace the opportunity that’s there from climate change action, we need a change of government in this country. Happy to take questions.

JOURNALIST: Mr Albanese, the Energy Minister Angus Taylor says he's happy to go to Glasgow next week and tell the world that Australia will continue burning coal to produce electricity beyond 2030. Is that the message you would send, if Labor was in government, to the world?

ALBANESE: Well, the Energy Minister last time he went to an international climate change conference, sitting the naughty corner with Saudi Arabia and with others who don't want climate change action, and that's why Australia wasn't even invited to a conference the last time Boris Johnson convened one in the United Kingdom. That's why Australia, when Joe Biden convened a conference in April, was the 26th speaker, I think from memory, Australia not being taken seriously on the international stage. And the tragedy of this is that Australia is in a position to get great advantage. Some of the technology that's in these solar panels was developed at the Australian National University. The ANU and the University of New South Wales have led scientific innovation when it comes to solar PV around the world. The tragedy is that the commercialisation of that scientific breakthrough has benefited the Chinese economy, European economies, North American economies rather than here. That's the tragedy is that we have missed out on that. What we need is a country that respects science. We respected science when it came to COVID. We need to respect it when it comes to climate change as well. We need to not just respect it but acknowledge that if we commercialise those opportunities we can benefit here, we can make more things here. Chances are a whole lot of this equipment, through no fault of SolarHub, isn’t manufactured here. We should be making things here. The silicon can come from here, lithium in batteries from here, nickel for batteries from here, copper, that will be a major component of electric vehicles, here. We have all of those natural resources. So, when we talk about mining we need to talk as well about the new resources that are high value, that are increasing in value into the future, and that present an incredible opportunity to create jobs, not just in mining but then in manufacturing. That's the opportunity that Australia is missing out on.

JOURNALIST: But what about coal? That was the substance of the question.

ALBANESE: Well, those decisions will be a matter for the market. But Angus Taylor talks a lot. There's nothing to stop a new coal-fired power station being built in Australia under this Coalition Government. But how many are under construction? None, none. Zero, because of market determinations. That's what's determining that. Now, Angus Taylor is never honest and fair dinkum. Angus Taylor dissembles. Angus Taylor is an embarrassment on the international stage. He was last time when he went. And that's why the absurdity of some of the positions he put forward, where he speaks about technology as being the solution. A government that has ridiculed electric vehicles, a government that has ridiculed renewable energy targets. A government that has ridiculed technology breakthroughs is not a government that can be taken seriously.

JOURNALIST: If Labor was to win the next election, what would be some specific policies that Labor would look at implementing around this?

ALBANESE: The first thing that we do is fix transmission in this country, through our Rewiring the Nation policy. That's a $20 billion commitment to make sure that transmission is fit for purpose for the 21st century, so that renewables can go into the grid. How remarkable is it that south of here we're building Snowy Hydro 2.0, but when it's completed it won't be able to plug into the grid? It's just extraordinary. That is the low-hanging fruit that can really power the country, make sure that through energy efficiency done in the most effective way, by creating a body that would invest and make sure that that was delivered, that would be an absolute priority.

The second is community batteries. A whole lot of people I'm sure who come to SolarHub would get the solar panels, but they can't afford the additional 7-or-$10,000 for a battery immediately. Now, the ACT government has some programs to help with that with interest-free loans. But community batteries for solar can make sure that whole communities can benefit from the solar panels on rooves by making sure that you have a larger battery that's more efficient, that is price competitive, that makes an enormous difference for communities. And Labor will fund that as well.

We, of course, also have a policy to make electric vehicles cheaper. And the best way to run an electric vehicle is to have a circumstance whereby in a place like ACT, where lots of people do have garages and off street parking, whereby you can get your EV, overnight just plug it in, and it can charge up with the excess energy that's been stored during the day. That is what the future looks like. Cheaper power for your homes, cheaper running for your car. That is what the future looks like. That's a future that's being embraced around the world. That's something that Labor will institute.

And we'll also make sure that we train Australians for those jobs. That's why we have our New Energy Apprenticeships program to make sure that Australians can fill those jobs of the future

JOURNALIST: On booster shots, the TGA is supposed to be meeting on Monday to make a final decision. Pfizer is handing in its final data this weekend. Are you urging them to hurry up with that? And the second question on that is aged care workers, whilst we know residents will be the next in line, aged care workers are worried that as we open up, more Covid will come in, they'll be left exposed. Should they receive it at the same time?

ALBANESE: Aged care workers need to be a priority. They were supposed to be fully vaccinated by Easter of this year, and of course, they got left behind like a whole lot of other vulnerable groups. Booster shots are needed. Booster shots are being rolled out around the world. And I'd encourage the TGA to examine what's happened around the world. But more importantly, I'd encourage the Government to once again, not be left behind. The problem for this government is that it's always following never leading. Whether it's solar energy, whether it's action on climate change, whether it's ensuring that there's a supply of vaccines, whether it's responding to women's safety – on a whole range of issues, this government always follows, never leads.

JOURNALIST: The New South Wales Government is floating the idea, or is asking the Federal Government to reconsider its position on capital gains tax, and look at addressing that issue. This was obviously a former Labor policy. Given that Dom Perrottet is now on board with adjusting capital gains tax will Labor look at it again?

ALBANESE: No.

JOURNALIST: Why not?

ALBANESE: I can’t be clearer than that. No.

JOURNALIST: What do you think of the New South Wales position then?

ALBANESE: It’s a matter for New South Wales.

JOURNALIST: On the boosters, has the Government achieved what they set out to achieve of vaccinating the majority of the country by October, the end of October?

ALBANESE: No. Let's be very clear here. The reason why we've had lockdowns and why we're still got restrictions is because this government didn't roll out its vaccine supply fast enough. When you speak about the Government's objectives, they said 4 million Australians would be vaccinated by the end of March, they said vulnerable communities would be fully vaccinated by Easter. None of those were achieved. And yesterday, Scott Morrison was out there boasting about Australians being home by Christmas. He said they'd be home by last Christmas, not this Christmas. Christmas 2020. This government dropped the ball when it came to vaccine supply. And not only that, they said that was their plan, because Scott Morrison said “it wasn't a race”. The supply of vaccines was always a race, people getting vaccinated was always a race. Australians have shown that they understood that, because as soon as supply becomes available, Australians go out there and get vaccinated. And that's consistent with what Australians have done on other diseases, from child immunisation rates, we have a history of being prepared to understand the science and get vaccinated. The Government failed Australians by failing to fix vaccine supply and failing when it comes to quarantine.

JOURNALIST: Do you think the booster rollout is in danger of being a shambles, like the original vaccine?

ALBANESE: Well, I certainly hope not. I hope that the Government has learned the lessons and that they stop the arrogance that I think characterised their response. They kept saying it wasn't a race, there wasn't a problem, when indeed there was, where there was a significant problem. And Scott Morrison needs to accept responsibility, just once. Who knows – if he tries it he might like it? He never accepts responsibility for anything, it's always someone else's fault. Always someone else to blame is what he looks for.

JOURNALIST: Scott Morrison's received a list of requests around Net Zero from the Nationals. The Nationals, will meet again tomorrow, or possibly Monday, to perhaps make a final call on this. What sort of support do the regions need in adjusting Net Zero by 2050?

ALBANESE: The first thing that's got to be said is that this is about Australia's future, and the future of the planet. And here we have secret lists. Where's the involvement of the Australian people in this? How is this part of the democratic process, whereby you have four or five people submitting a list that you don't know what's on it? And if you think this is the way that good public policy should be formed, it's just extraordinary. This is an insult to the Australian people. This is a government that has contempt for the Parliament, and contempt for proper processes, and always does everything just as a part of a deal. And what that exposes is that it's about them. This is about the Coalition's internal politics, not about the nation, not about jobs, not about the environment, not about dealing with climate change. This is all about an internal fix, and what we need is a government that governs for the nation.

When it comes to regions, all of the modeling that has actually been released publicly, whether it be by the Business Council of Australia, whether it be by talking to individual companies who have such a strong presence in regional Australia, whether they be energy companies, whether it be resources companies, banks, manufacturing, they all support net zero by 2050, the National Farmers Federation, because they can see the opportunities which are there. The opportunities which are there to grow jobs in regional Australia. If we can have lower energy prices, we can really have high value manufacturing and the best place for that to be located in is in the regions. And that's why the pantomime which is going on is so farcical. But it's always about them. It's never about proper involvement.

And to give an example, as well, of this government and the way that it operates, I just must say that I find it extraordinary that on the issue of childhood safety from abuse this government has failed to consult properly. The Australian of the Year, Grace Tame, who has brought great honor and dignity to our country, a tireless advocate based upon taking what was her own awful experience and trying to do that to change lives, and the fact that this government hasn't even consulted the Australian of the Year properly says a lot about its priorities.

Thanks.


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