ALAN JONES: Well it's a good thing the Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor, a former Rhodes scholar, is of calm temperament. How on earth could you in one week, as a Federal Government, announce a gas-fired power plant in the Hunter Valley to replace the 1000 megawatts that would be lost when the Liddell coal power plant closes in 2023? I'll say that again; the Prime Minister announces on 15 September a gas-fired power plant in the Hunter Valley. Tuesday night, this week, the New South Wales Government Environment Minister Matt Green, Matt Kean, whatever he's called, the darling of the left and the bureaucracy, who write this stuff for him, claimed that gas was a hugely expensive way of generating electricity. He also drove down the alarmist route of climate change, quote: “It's the biggest challenge that will face our society and our economy in our lifetime.” Matthew, people like you are a joke and you can't read. I know the United Nations global internal poll, seven million respondents, not many, quote: “Action taken on climate change ranked last on global issues.” A Federal Government Liberal Minister announces with the Prime Minister a gas-fired energy plant in the Hunter Valley and New South Wales Liberal Minister Matt Kean buckets the proposal with the fanciful notion that we shouldn't use coal, nuclear or gas. Goodness knows what we do use. I mean, these people are humbugs. Angus Taylor joins us. Angus, thank you for your time. The public are entitled to think that the Liberal Party are schizophrenic on this issue.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well Matt Kean's comments - I've already commented on today - but the truth of the matter is he's out of line. He's at odds with his leader, he's at odds with the Liberal Party, and he's at odds with those comments with the interests of New South Wales and the people of New South Wales, Alan. We need affordable, reliable energy. Gas and coal are critical to that. His comments went so far as to say that we can power our electricity grid cheaply through solar and batteries. Well, the truth of the matter is we can't.

ALAN JONES: Nope.

ANGUS TAYLOR: And we need gas and coal in our system. Fifty-six per cent of our electricity is generated by coal. Gas plays an enormously important role, gas also plays an enormously important role for industrial manufacturing, for fertiliser manufacturing, for the mining industry, for plastics, for bricks, for other building materials. These are critical inputs to our industry, to our manufacturing and to our cost of living of course.

ALAN JONES: Angus, just on one point, I think we should concede that Minister Kean's claim that gas is expensive does have some merit. I mean, the geological nature of our gas fields means that gas extraction costs are higher than those of coal. I mean, 90 per cent of our coal resources are mined for less than $1.74 a kilojoule. Almost all our gas resources cost more than $6 per kilojoule to extract. So that's three times more expensive than coal. How do you respond to that kind of criticism?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, let's be clear, the price of gas at the moment in Australia, the spot price of gas is below $5, Alan, and there's lots of production still happening. So I hear those numbers; it doesn't fit with what's happening in the marketplace. In fact, the price of gas, wholesale price of gas in Australia, has come down dramatically, had done before COVID struck and it's gone further since. There's very low-cost gas coming out of Bass Strait, for instance, we think there's low cost gas potential in the Northern Territory, in the Beetaloo Basin. So it just depends where you are.

ALAN JONES: Yeah. I mean, primarily because a lot - I know. I mean businesses have been shut down. So there's a reason there as well, the demand is less.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Sure.

ALAN JONES: Listen, you're almost probably smarter than I am, but we can't have coal they say, by all these lefties, because of carbon dioxide, even though carbon dioxide is 0.04 per cent of the atmosphere. But natural gas is a fossil fuel. It emits carbon dioxide. But I mean, you can burn natural gas and you can't burn coal. What's the story here?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, 56 per cent of our electricity comes from coal.

ALAN JONES: Yeah.

ANGUS TAYLOR: And Newcastle, we were just talking about, it is the biggest coal export terminal port in the world, Alan. So it's going to continue to play a very, very important role for this country. But so is gas.

ALAN JONES: Yeah.

ANGUS TAYLOR: And, you know, I make the point, gas is important for electricity generation, but it's also important for our industrial manufacturing. Fertiliser - I mean, the food people are eating on their plate tonight, the dinner they're having, it's only made possible because of nitrogen fertiliser, which is made from gas.

ALAN JONES: Absolutely.

ANGUS TAYLOR: So absolutely critical.

ALAN JONES: Absolutely.

ANGUS TAYLOR: We can't do without it.

ALAN JONES: Why don't we have a gas reservation policy? I mean, we export so much of our gas. Why don't we grant licences to international organisations, to mine it and say: ‘Look, the terms of the licence are 20 per cent of this will be kept for local production.’ Is the Morrison Government, Angus Taylor, the Minister, contemplating a national gas reservation policy?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Yes, we're working on a gas reservation policy for new developments. The good news is all the new developments that have happened in recent times have had at least a portion of the gas reserved for domestic use. We've got to make sure that Australian gas is being used for Australia's interests …

ALAN JONES: Dead right. Dead right. Okay. One final-

ANGUS TAYLOR: And that's - yeah, sorry, Alan.

ALAN JONES: No, I agree with you entirely. Just one final point. Does it make sense to be announcing a gas-powered electricity generating plant in the Hunter Valley, which is the home of coal, and it's got some of the best thermal coal in the world?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, it is a great coal region and as I said, the greatest, the largest coal exporter in the world, but it's also a very important hub for gas. It has a very big gas generator there now, Colongra. Orica, major manufacturer of fertiliser and ammonium nitrate for the mining industry and that's all made from gas. So it is a big customer gas region now, but it's also a coal region and it can be both. Look, what really characterises the Hunter Valley and Newcastle is an extraordinary industrial workforce, extraordinary manufacturing base. We want to keep it that way. And that means having access to the coal and gas available in the region. And that will be good for the Hunter, good for New South Wales and good for Australia.

ALAN JONES: Good on you. Good on you, Angus. Good to talk to you. Have a good weekend. We'll talk again soon. There he is.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Thanks, Alan.

Media contact:

Minister Taylor's office: 02 6277 7120