MR PAUL BROAD, CEO OF SNOWY HYDRO: Welcome everybody to what is a momentous occasion in the building of this mighty 2.0. A very warm welcome to the Prime Minister on his third trip down here, his support for this project is enormous. Minister Taylor. Angus, your involvement right from day one, from your grandfather right through to your direct involvement in this project is much appreciated. This is a huge milestone in our project, commissioning of Kirsten, magnificent machine behind us, which is, which is described globally as the most complex tunnel boring machine on Earth. It will, it will create, it'll create the opportunity to bring water down 700 metres. This machine, will be able to bore up hill, there's no other tunnel boring machine on the Earth [inaudible]. Congratulations to our contractors FG, Marco and the whole team of designers, etc for coming up, this coming up to this machine. So it's a very warm welcome to the Prime Minister and I ask him to address you. 

PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much Paul, and to you Angus and Emily, who's driving this. Congratulations. This is quite, this is, it doesn't get much bigger than this Angus, I don't think, when we look at the size of the engineering feat, that's before us here with this incredible project, I know something that Kirsten would be feeling really proud of to see her name on this incredibly amazing piece of machinery and more importantly, the role it's going to play in Australia's energy future. And this project is truly nation building, just as the first Snowy was and truly exciting. This is a project which we're talking about 2,000 megawatts, that's twice the size of what Liddell coal fired power station does now, this is 2,000 megawatts. And this project, as Angus will tell you, enables us to have the firming capabilities not just for a little while but significantly, which enables our energy system to be able to reduce emissions, but also have affordable, affordable, reliable energy. This is what getting to net zero looks like. This is what reducing emissions looks like. You have to build things like this to make that happen, and that doesn't happen easily. It takes more than $5 billion in investment that our government has committed to this, through the Snowy Hydro project and in addition to that, 4,000 jobs. And it was really great to see earlier today when we were meeting the apprentices coming on board, not just building Snowy 2.0, we are building an incredible workforce here in this project, which not only will build this project, it will go on to build and build and build as our nation gets stronger.

So whether you're from Tumut or Adaminaby, whatever you used to do with the people, particularly a lot of younger women coming and getting involved in these big, heavy industry construction jobs. I've seen it all around the country, the mines of Western Australia. I've seen it in the manufacturing plants up in the Hunter and here we are in the Snowy and we're seeing wonderful people getting great skills. And Emily, you are a great example of that in providing that example and for Kirsten, who for young Kobe has been a light on the hill, and for his people the Wiradjuri people and see what is possible, and that's what's really exciting about this project. It is showing Australia what is possible. You know, we're looking at 2022 right through the front windscreen. We're not looking in the rear vision mirror. It's been a tough couple of years for Australia. We all know that. Australia has come through strong. One of the strongest economies in the world. Lowest fatality rates from COVID anywhere in the world. And one of the highest vaccination rates anywhere in the world. And that sets us up to be very successful as we go into 2022. But for that to happen, these big projects are a reality. Whether it's this or the Western Sydney International Airport, where I was at Nancy-Bird Walton airport just a week or two ago, or the Inland Rail, which is chugging along strongly, putting in place the big infrastructure that fuels our country. And this has been a project of great vision, and it's a project that is building Australia and securing our economic future. And with that I'll ask Angus to say a few words. 

THE HON. ANGUS TAYLOR MP, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY, ENERGY AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION: Well, thanks PM. It’s absolutely fantastic to be with you here, and Paul and Emily, to celebrate the second tunnel boring machine getting moving, we've got two capable strong tunnel boring machines now getting started on the job, getting moving on the job. Named after two strong, capable women. And that's a wonderful thing to see. I also want to celebrate the extraordinary snowy workforce we've got here today and thank them for being here today. The snowy workforce from the beginning from the 1950s was always a diverse, capable one and it sure is a diverse, capable one now with people like Emily on the team. It's brilliant to see them in the spirit of the original Snowy doing, doing this hard work up here in the mountains. And of course, this work is all about firming up the record levels of renewables we're seeing being invested in Australia right now. We have the highest level of household solar in the world, the highest level of renewables per capita outside of Europe, and it's being invested at a rapid, rapid rate. But with that, we need to make sure it's firmed up. We have that reliable, affordable power that Australians need 24-7, whether they're households, small businesses or heavy industry reliant on that. And that's what Snowy provides. Flexible, 2,000 megawatts of capacity that can be turned on and off in a flash so that people can get that energy they need. Prices can be contained and reliability can be there at all times. That's what Snowy is all about. Can provide 175 hours worth of storage, a massive battery [inaudible], a battery that can store the solar that is generated on people's roofs at a record rate around Australia now and then give it back to them when the Sun goes down in the evening. It's the biggest battery in the southern hemisphere and of course, a crucially important part of our energy policy and our emissions reduction policy. 

Now, as the Prime Minister said, we are on track to net zero and this behind us is what technology, not taxes, looks like. This is what net zero looks like. One of the most sophisticated tunnel boring machines in the world doing this extraordinary, this extraordinary job. Now part of this is about jobs in this region as well. 4,000 jobs from Snowy, already 1,400 in place, many of whom are locals. Investment in local business. $70 million of contracts handed out to small local businesses, whether they're cafes or providing supplies up here to the [inaudible] elsewhere across the projects. The job creation around Tumut, Adaminaby, Cooma, Talbingo has been extraordinary and it's an important part of what we seek to achieve with this crucial project. 

Let me finish with a final comment on Labor's policies that are being announced as we speak. We understand that they're targeting 43 per cent as a medium term target. Anthony Albanese had previously said that 45 per cent was a mistake. He's now saying 43 per cent is okay. There's nothing safe about a target that would drive up electricity prices, that would drive out jobs. We'll look very closely at what he's announcing. But there is nothing safe about a policy without clear plans to ensure that those crucial industries for Australia, whether it's agriculture, mining, manufacturing, continue to be sustained for many years to come. And that's the centrepiece of our policy. Getting it right, the balance right between getting to net zero and at the same time maintaining Australian jobs and containing electricity prices and energy prices across this great country. 

PRIME MINISTER: Happy to take questions. 

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, just following on from that, the BCA has called for ambitious, ambitions closer to 50 per cent, the UK has set [inaudible] at 58 per cent. Your government's projection are 35 percent. Labor's now set its projections, mid-term, at 43 per cent. Why won't you increase your commitment?

PRIME MINISTER: Because I don't agree that that's the right policy for Australia. I don't think that policy does get the balance right. Getting to net zero by 2050 means you invest in the technologies that get you there by 2050. You don't do it by forcing people's electricity prices up or forcing people out of jobs. A 43 per cent target isn't safe for the Hunter. It's not safe for Gladstone. It's not safe for Bell Bay. It's not safe for our manufacturers. It's not safe for jobs. Our balanced target, I think, does get that right. We are going to meet and beat the target that we took to the last election and we're going to beat that and we believe we will get about 35 percent. And that's what I advised when we went to Glasgow together with the Minister. We're on our way to net zero by 2050. We're not on our way to drive people out of their jobs and force up their electricity prices. Labor's learnt nothing since the last election. They've learnt nothing. That's what today's announcement showed. And, you know, when oppositions don't learn in opposition, that doesn't mean they're safe, they're just as dangerous as they've always been. 

JOURNALIST: Minister Taylor, the ABC revealed this morning that federal government figures about methane emissions in the Bowen Basin, you're only reporting about a third of those methane emissions. Why is there such a significant disparity in the figures that are being reported and what technological advances are you putting in place to try to ensure that that recordkeeping is correct? 

THE HON. ANGUS TAYLOR MP, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY, ENERGY AND EMISSIONS REDUCTION: We reject those assertions. There is very close record keeping now, very close monitoring. Australia has low emissions per gigajoule of gas produced relative to nearly all countries in the world. We've been very strong in environmental standards and making sure that we have strong standards right across our gas industry. And we're very confident that our figures are not only conservative, but they're in line with what's actually happening on the ground. And those who are making these assertions with as yet very approximate data from spatial sources, which are not yet credible, they are certainly not, we know, to be the case on the ground. 

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, last week, when you were in South Australia, you were questioned about Senator Alex Antic and his positions on vaccine mandates. You told ABC radio that Senator Antic was double vaccinated. Overnight he's been placed into hotel quarantine on arrival from Canberra. Did he mislead you about his vaccination status or did you mislead the public? 

PRIME MINISTER: I certainly didn't. That was certainly my understanding that he'd been double vaccinated. And I had discussed vaccinations and made it very clear that that's what I understood him to be, double vaccinated. So I was surprised to …

JOURNALIST: So did he explicitly tell you that? 

PRIME MINISTER: I was advised that he was double vaccinated and in our conversation I said to him that I understand you've been double vaccinated. He didn't correct me. 

JOURNALIST: Will there be consequences for Senator Antic for misleading you in that way? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, being vaccinated is not mandatory for many Australians. And it's certainly not the Commonwealth Government's policy except for health workers and aged care workers and so on. I believe, I believe people should get vaccinated. I think it's good for their health, I think it protects other Australians. I also respect other Australians about the choices that they make. Senator Antic has made his choice and he's entitled to that choice. I was labouring under the understanding that he had been double vaccinated and I'd been advised that he had been double vaccinated, so I could only work on that assumption and that assumption proved to be incorrect. 

JOURNALIST: So if Senator Antic then misled you, will there be consequences for Senator Antic in misleading you in that way? 

PRIME MINISTER: I'm disappointed that that was unclear. And I'm glad that it's been resolved.

JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, yesterday in question time, you announced that there would be an independent inquiry into Minister Tudge, that he is stepping aside from his role pending the outcome of that investigation. Why didn't you launch such an inquiry a year ago when the revelations about his affair with his then media adviser were first revealed? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, at that time there was none of the suggestions that were made yesterday. At that time, both parties had indicated that this had been a consensual relationship. This was a matter that occurred some time ago, occurred under my predecessor. I was not the Prime Minister. It's not something I had knowledge of at the time. I have very clear standards about how ministers are to behave. And I certainly don't allow ministers to have those sorts of relationships with members of their staff, and I have a very strong rule on that. This occurred before I was Prime Minister. These new matters have been raised in the statement, which I read very carefully yesterday. And so that's why I have asked my Department to provide me with advice on potential implications for the ministerial standards, and I know we'll be doing that through that process involving Vivienne Thom. I think that's the, I think that's the fair way to deal with this. There are clearly issues that have to be resolved here. There are two accounts. And, and as a result, someone independently assessing those, I think is the fair and reasonable way for that to be done.

JOURNALIST: Rachelle Miller said she wasn't supported when she came out with her allegations. Will you undertake to support her now, so she feels safe in coming out with.

PRIME MINISTER: The reach out was yesterday through the body that was set up with the same [inaudible] we set up, the independent complaints mechanism and there's also the counselling support and I understand yesterday that organisation, reached out yesterday. That's my understanding, that's what I asked to be done.

JOURNALIST: There's been a lot of discussion over the last couple of weeks about China and about the sporting arena. The tennis player, Peng Shuai, her safety there, discussion about whether or not countries should boycott, at least in their diplomatic presence at the Winter Olympics next year. Would Australia be, be joining such a boycott of the Games in Beijing?

PRIME MINISTER: We're considering those matters at the moment and working through those issues.

JOURNALIST: The Jenkins Review, one of the recommendations included gender quotas, the New South Wales Liberal executive has just set a 50 per cent target for federal female candidates at the next election, is this something that should be implemented nationally and long term? 

PRIME MINISTER: The Liberal Party, works different to other parties. The preselections are done by state divisions. So that's a matter for each state and territory division. Whether it's the LNP in Queensland, or the party in Western Australia, Victoria. But, I'm very proud and pleased that my home division, the one that I'm a member of, has such a target. And we're making good progress towards that.

JOURNALIST: Will you implement that nationally though? 

PRIME MINISTER: Well, that's a matter for the federal executive and I'm supportive of those things. But the way these things work in the Liberal Party is that edicts aren't issued. We have a Federal President, we have a Federal Executive, we have a Federal Council and we are a federal party, which means that these decisions ultimately reside with each of the state and territory divisions. So they are matters for the party organisation. I lead the parliamentary party. And I'm very pleased that my home division has made that target.

JOURNALIST: Do you think the finding, or the recommendation, by Commissioner Jenkins that there should be quotas to try to clear up the toxic culture. 

PRIME MINISTER: She didn’t say that. She said there should be targets.

 

JOURNALIST: She also mentioned quotas as well. 

PRIME MINISTER: No, the recommendations says targets. 

JOURNALIST: Okay, so if you're, there's been discussions, and there's also been, there has also been there has also been discussion about you and senior ministers intervening in some preselection battles in New South Wales, wanting to put women into those seats there. If you are having to intervene, isn't that almost a quota, but just by a different name? Like you're putting in place a target and still intervening. 

PRIME MINISTER: I want to see great female candidates running for us in seats right across the country and I’m very determined to achieve that. We have some outstanding female candidates already running right across the country. And you heard my dear friend Greg Hunt making that same point when he stands down at the next election. He's very hopeful to see a female candidate to replace him, but these are ultimately matters for the party organisation, so I really do want to see that. 

I just want to touch on another matter that you raised earlier about that 43 per cent target. Labor's already gone to 43 per cent. Just two percentage points different from what they took to the last election. Now that is before they have even had the Greens put pressure on. So a Labor Government supported by the Greens. Do you think the Greens are just going to be safely happy with that? There's nothing safe about 43, so a Labor-Greens government would see their target, which is 75 per cent, by the way, 75 per cent. This is the starting bid from Labor. It's not the final outcome. And if they have to get into that option with the Greens to form government, it won't be 43, that will be the opening bid and it's going to end a lot higher than that. And there's nothing safe about a Labor-Greens government. Thanks very much everyone.

[ENDS]