TRANSCRIPT – ABC Radio Gold Coast Drive with Bern Young

Angie Bell MP

Shadow Minister for the Environment

Shadow Minister for Youth

Federal Member for Moncrieff

TRANSCRIPT

ABC Radio Gold Coast Drive with Bern Young

10 October 2025

Subjects: The Crisafulli Government’s Energy Roadmap, EPBC reform, Net zero, climate and energy policy, Supporting the leader as a unified Coalition, AI and music.

E&OE…………………………………………………………………………………………………

BERN YOUNG:

Well, a lot of conversation today around climate policy here in Queensland. Or is that energy policy? Well, really, that’s what it is. We’ve seen the state government’s energy roadmap released. I have with me federal opposition environment spokesperson. So not state, but I’m very interested to know where Angie Bell views the state moves today. Member for Moncrieff, of course, and me here in the studio. Hello to you, Angie.

ANGIE BELL:

My favourite part of the week to come and see you, Bern.

BERN YOUNG:

Usually I play a dance song, but anyway, a Powderfinger will do for this afternoon.

Coal for longer is the headline really out of this. Backtracking on what the previous Labor government had promised here in Queensland that they would be rid of coal by 2035, and they would have 80% of the state’s power with renewables by that same year. We’ll get on to what the state’s saying about renewables in a minute. But what do you make of the state moves at the moment?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think it is about emissions at the end of the day and also the power stations in Queensland are much younger than many of the power stations across the nation. I think in Queensland, the grid is 65% coal generated, and that’s very important. So, what this does is gives a roadmap for certainty around the debate when it comes to energy, but also it will deliver the supply for Queensland demand.

It will meet the needs of Queenslanders, and I think that’s so very important. It also provides certainty for investors when it comes to gas and when it comes to renewables as well, because this is a transition to net zero. And this was a decision of the previous Labor government who wanted to shut down prematurely the coal-fired power stations that we have in Queensland in the next decade. And what the LNP in Queensland is saying, ultimately, it’s a decision for the state government. But what they are saying is that’s not really achievable. So realistically, this is the new roadmap for energy certainty in Queensland.

BERN YOUNG:

Interestingly, the Crisafulli Government still supports net zero by 2050, something I know you haven’t made a decision on yet as the LNP federal opposition. They’ll abolish that renewable energy target that the previous government had but they’ll keep the legislated emission reduction targets. How do you get to net zero by 2050 in Queensland if you’re not meeting renewable opportunities?

ANGIE BELL:

Sure. Well, that is something that we are looking at on our Energy and Emissions Committee at the moment, the process that we’re going through federally for our energy policy. And there are ways to abate carbon emissions because at the end of the day, what our leader has said, is that she wants to see certainty in the grid, that is energy delivered to Australians that need it. So, we don’t want blackouts when it comes to power supply. And we want to do our part in global emissions. It is about CO2 There are ways to abate emissions, such as carbon capture and storage, such as kelp forests in the ocean. So, there are ways to abate emissions apart from transitioning to renewables that do not deliver that baseload power when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing. We know that. And the Queensland Government has said this is a realistic roadmap and that’s what they’re sticking to.

BERN YOUNG:

Federally, obviously, there are other decisions to be made and you’re not in power at the moment. So really, it’s about what the federal government decides to do at this point. But internally, this is a problem for you guys in the LNP because you’ve got the Nationals who are your partner, but this is a point of tension. This time last week, Andrew Hastie, your now backbencher colleague, was just about to announce that he’s, you know, can’t abide by the charter that your leader was asking him to abide by. And so, he’s a net zero opponent, of course. I want to play you something that Andrew Hughes, our regular weekly political expert from ANU had to say about Andrew Hastie.

[Start excerpt]

ANDREW HUGHES:

They have to get this sorted out sooner, not later.

BERN YOUNG:

Do you see a time soon? Because you’d always said it would be next year that you thought Andrew Hastie would make his move? Do you think it could be pre-Christmas?

ANDREW HUGHES:

I think it might be pre-Christmas now. Yeah, they have to get it done. And it’s not going away. I mean, they’re hitting each other internally, but then, now they’re leaking publicly. Normally, the only reason you’d do that is to bring about a leadership challenge of some description. So, it’s interesting that both camps are using other people at the moment to do the heavy lifting on their attacks on the other side.

[End excerpt]

BERN YOUNG:

Yeah, attacks from all sides. The leaking of supposedly very confidential information showing Andrew Hastie in a bad light according to Peter Dutton who of course is out now for those who didn’t catch up on that earlier in the week. Why was that leaked by your side?

ANGIE BELL:

Look, I have respect for Andrew Hastie, particularly for his time defending our nation. But what I will say is that we need to unite, we need to get behind our leader and we need to be a strong opposition. That’s what we have been sent to Canberra to do, Bern. That’s what certainly the constituents of Moncrieff have sent me to Canberra to do, is to be a strong and fierce opposition who holds the government to account and that’s what we need to be focused on. That commentary is not helpful. I won’t comment except to say it sounds like he has a bat phone to Andrew Hastie.

BERN YOUNG:

I don’t believe he does.

ANGIE BELL:

No, I don’t believe he does either. But I think disunity in politics, as we know, is death. It’s not unusual for it to be unsettled this early in the election cycle. We’re only five months in. There’s a lot of work ahead of us. And I would urge my colleagues to focus on uniting and being a strong opposition, a strong Coalition. And I know that you don’t want to hear that.

BERN YOUNG:

No, I respect what you’re saying. No, I do respect the fact that you say it’s early in the election cycle. And so, this is a bit of politics at play. But it is a little bit different after the absolute drubbing of your side of politics and the importance of Sussan Ley’s stability as a leader. How dangerous can Andrew Hastie be from the backbench?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think Andrew has outlined his support for Sussan’s leadership, just yesterday. And so, I think he himself has said it’s not about leadership. He can make his own decisions about whether he wants to be in the shadow ministry. Shadow ministry solidarity is very important and he’s taken this decision and that’s his decision to take. But what I’m saying and the message that I want to give my colleagues and my party is to unite behind our leader and be a strong opposition who holds this government, very bad government, to account for what they are doing to our country.

Because Australians are hurting. We’re in a cost of living crisis. It hasn’t gone away and we’re still talking about it because Gold Coasters are absolutely hurting. You know, I had OzHarvest (sic) in my office this week talking about Moncrieff as one of the top five electorates for food insecurity. Now, Gold Coasters would be aghast to know that. But the fact is that families here on the Gold Coast are choosing between what sort of meals they feed their children and their school fees. And so, this is the biggest issue for Australians. That’s what my party should be talking about, is good economic policy.

BERN YOUNG:

Andrew Hastie probably needs to listen to you more than your other colleagues, but I don’t think he tunes in to 91.7 ABC Gold Coast. It’s 20 past five, 20 six across the border. Angie Bell, Member for Moncrieff and opposition spokesperson for the environment.

You’ve had a sit down. This doesn’t happen all the time where the two sides of politics on environment and the Environment Minister, of course, is Queensland Senator Murray Watt, sit down and actually talk. It doesn’t seem to happen very often. You’re talking about the future of our federal environment laws. What have been the main points of contention as far as you’re concerned?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think environmental law is too important to get wrong, and the Minister agrees. Last term, the Labor government under Tanya Plibersek failed to reform the EPBC Act, and these laws are well overdue for reform. We need certainty for jobs and industry, but we also need to protect our environment, which is degrading. And so, we’re up to our third meeting now with Murray Watt and we are discussing various elements of the EPBC Act because I would hope that the two parties of government could come together to the same point, or close to the same point, to an agreement in order to pass these law reforms. We really need to make sure that environmental law reform is a priority in this term.

BERN YOUNG:

Does this happen very often that people sit down in this way from both sides of politics and work towards reform?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, we have entered this in good faith. Obviously, the devil is in in the detail, particularly with this Labor government, where it’s usually all spin and not much substance. But in this regard, we are working through the sticking points, the red lines, if you like, about ministerial approvals. And obviously, the Coalition welcomed the Minister’s announcement, during Senate estimates that there won’t be a climate trigger included in the legislation.

BERN YOUNG:

Can you explain what that climate trigger was about?

ANGIE BELL:

So, it’s all about reporting emissions. And the Samuel Review that Sussan Ley commissioned when she was the Environment Minister recommended that emissions reporting remain in the energy portfolio and reported under the safeguards mechanism. And so, that is something that the Coalition and many stakeholders across the country have been concerned about.

BERN YOUNG:

Do you feel, or what sense of pressure do you feel on your shoulders, even in opposition, something that is this important? We saw, I think, a Guardian survey recently and I haven’t got it in front of me, so I can’t quote it. But needless to say, it was the younger generations who are most worried about the future of climate, environment, energy. It’s their future.

ANGIE BELL:

Absolutely.

BERN YOUNG:

We are but travellers here and we’ll be out of here before they are. So how much pressure do you feel on your shoulders, Angie Bell, to not play politics and actually get something that is good for this country?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think I’ve made a pretty good start on that, Bern, and for that very reason, that I have 34 beautiful schools here in Moncrieff and I visit them as regularly as I can. And I’m also the Shadow Minister for Youth and speak to young people daily in the portfolio. It is important that we get this law reform right. It is important that we bring down emissions and that we transition away from fossil fuels. That is the way of the future. But we can do only our part in Australia in that endeavour. And I’m doing my best to make sure that we have good environmental law reform, where we can. And I’m working closely with Murray Watt in our negotiations on that and we hope to come to a position. We won’t know, of course, until he introduces the legislation, which will be sometime in the next few sitting weeks, where we’ll look over the detail and we’ll go through our party room processes.

BERN YOUNG:

We might talk again then here on ABC Gold Coast. Angie Bell, opposition spokesperson for the environment and, of course, local Member for Moncrieff. Thank you for coming into the studios this afternoon.

ANGIE BELL:

Happy weekend, Gold Coasters.

BERN YOUNG:

Can I just ask one question, actually, before you run away? First, let me check the traffic because this has nothing to do with politics. That’s why you’re allowed to do this. Hang on a minute.

[Traffic report]

BERN YOUNG:

And it really is, Jase, I promise you, not just some AI-generated voice looking at the Google traffic maps and coming up with a traffic report.

[Music clip]

BERN YOUNG:

Aptly titled State of the Nation, by the way, Angie Bell. Now, you’re a musician.

ANGIE BELL:

Indeed.

BERN YOUNG:

Trained?

ANGIE BELL:

Yes.

BERN YOUNG:

Not quite professional as such?

ANGIE BELL:

I was for 35 years, yeah.

BERN YOUNG:

You were professional at one stage?

ANGIE BELL:

Professional saxophonist for 35 years, that’s right.

BERN YOUNG:

How do you feel about computers taking over every instrument, the lyric writing, the musical creation, the voice, everything.

ANGIE BELL:

I think the work that goes into being a professional musician when you’ve got to do 10,000 hours of practice for your craft, it is a little bit offensive that you can perhaps put into AI, a “Simon and Garfunkel sounding song”, and that comes out. The other question would be who gets paid the royalties for that when it’s actually AI that’s come up with that. So, this is going to be quite challenging for governments as well into the future in terms of what are the parameters around AI.

BERN YOUNG:

Yeah, and how do you view what the Gold Coast Music Awards have done with this? They let it through at the first gate because they didn’t have the rules in place to stop it. It didn’t make it to the finalists, but it did make it to the shortlist.

ANGIE BELL:

I think what it’s done is highlighted for all of society, really, what the parameters need to be around AI because they had no choice but to do that. And that’s probably the right thing for them to do within their rules. But, now we have this song, which I actually don’t mind the song.

BERN YOUNG:

Well, that’s the interesting thing isn’t it?

ANGIE BELL:

I think it’s quite good, isn’t it?

BERN YOUNG:

That’s what a few people are saying. So, that’s perhaps what makes it even scarier. All right, Angie Bell, now you can leave. Make sure you take your saxophone with you this afternoon. Thanks for joining me on ABC Gold Coast.

ANGIE BELL:

Pleasure.

ENDS.