TRANSCRIPT – ABC NEWS BREAKFAST

Angie Bell MP

Shadow Minister for the Environment

Shadow Minister for Youth

Federal Member for Moncrieff

TRANSCRIPT

ABC NEWS BREAKFAST

24 November 2025

Subjects: The Coalition’s pathway forward to fix Labor’s unworkable environment laws; Energy policy; Strong, united leadership under Sussan Ley.

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

JAMES GLENDAY:

We want to take you to Canberra, where the Albanese government is looking to get its overhaul of the nation’s environmental laws through Parliament in the final sitting week of the year. The Shadow Environment Minister, Angie Bell, joins us now live. Angie, welcome back to the show.

ANGIE BELL:

Thanks, James.

JAMES GLENDAY:

So, what are the prospects of a deal here, do you think? Business has been pretty clear. They want you and the government to work together to get this done as soon as possible.

ANGIE BELL:

Well, the Coalition is offering a constructive pathway forward with the government. We’re not in a rush to fail, however, and so we want to make sure that the process is in place. But I have been meeting with the Minister now, I think, seven or eight times, and we have discussed a way forward with these bills. And so, what I would say is that the Minister has our substantive changes that we want to see made in the bill, and so the ball is in his court. I look forward to receiving amendments from him and they will be judged on their merit.

JAMES GLENDAY:

So, what do you need specifically to see before you support this?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, certainly we want to make sure that we safeguard jobs, industry, investment in our country, but also we want good outcomes for the environment. As you’re aware, this has been five years now since the Graeme Samuel review. The government failed in the last term to overhaul these laws, which are well overdue. And so we want to see a pathway forward to make sure that we can deliver for Australians.

JAMES GLENDAY:

Just… That was sort of quite a broad response to my question. Is there something specific you want to see changed in order to support this?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, certainly, we have highlighted seven changes at a minimum that we would like to see, which we have obviously listed for the Minister. There are more changes. There’s a secondary list of changes as well that the Minister has around areas that we’d like to see improved. Some of them, if you’d like me to go into the details of those, are the scope of the new Environmental Protection Authority, the definition of net gain and the definition of unacceptable impacts are in the top three. There are very many other measures that the Minister needs to look at in order to come back to us with those amendments so that we can find a pathway forward.

JAMES GLENDAY:

There has been some consternation within the federal government about how committed the Coalition is to these changes. We saw the Nationals seem to set the tone on the net zero debate. Is this going to be another case where Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan come in and scuttle things at the last minute?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, we’ll take the government’s amendments on their merit and make sure that we deliver, as a coalition, good outcomes for jobs in particular across our country, to make sure that there is certainty around investment and productivity, which this government has been going on about now for some time since Jim Chalmers’ talkfest roundtable, that they will deliver productivity. But we want to really deliver a pathway forward, if we can, to make sure that we safeguard that. And we improve environmental protections as well, based on the recommendations of the Graeme Samuel Review, which we commissioned, by the way.

JAMES GLENDAY:

Yeah, of course, yes. This has been debated in three consecutive parliaments now. Plenty more to come on this, no doubt, through the week. I just want to take you to net zero. Your colleagues say that in the party room you spoke out saying that net zero by 2050 is a target that should be retained. Does the Coalition have a credible position where it’s saying, on the one hand, it is committed to the Paris Agreement, but it’s going to wind back climate targets, which is not really permitted under the Paris Agreement.

ANGIE BELL:

Well, what we really needed on energy in this country is a circuit breaker, and that’s what Sussan Ley has done here when it comes to energy affordability and responsible emissions reduction. And that is what our new policy will outline. Yes, we will stay in the Paris Agreement because we want to make sure that we deliver a year-on-year reduction in emissions, and that is responsible. Unlike the government’s current energy policy, which is irresponsible, which is running over regional Australia without social license.. [interrupted]

JAMES GLENDAY

Sorry, just to get back to my question, Angie. I mean, is this a good policy, though? Is this a policy you’d like to see overturned in the long run?

ANGIE BELL:

This is a policy that will deliver affordable energy to Australians and responsible emissions reduction, reduction, that is what the Coalition is focused on, getting behind Sussan Ley to make sure that Australians understand that a government led by her will deliver that.

JAMES GLENDAY:

And you’re fully and personally committed to this idea of rolling back net zero?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, we’re staying in the Paris Agreement. Obviously, net zero would be a welcome outcome, but it comes back to responsible emissions reduction because the government will have to speed up its energy policy right now and it will run over regional Australia even faster, James, than it is currently now. And I don’t think Australians want to see that. They want to see lower power bills and they want to see responsible emissions reduction.

JAMES GLENDAY:

You’ve avoided giving me your personal view, but maybe that’s fair enough. Just before I let you go, we have seen opposition leaders in New South Wales the ACT and Victoria replaced. How is Sussan Ley going to go this week? Is there any chance she’ll be ousted? Because a number of moderates who wanted net zero kept are pretty angry with her.

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think Sussan’s doing a terrific job communicating to Australians our new energy policy and it will deliver lower bills, and it will deliver lower emissions under a coalition policy as it did last time we were in government. So, I would say to my colleagues to rally behind Sussan Ley, to get behind our energy policy, and also she has made some announcements around lower taxes, that is tax cuts. And also to address housing for young people and the inequality of the generations right now where young people can simply not afford to buy a house under this government.

JAMES GLENDAY:

Is she the right person to take you to the next federal election?

ANGIE BELL:

Absolutely.

JAMES GLENDAY:

Angie Bell, thank you so much for joining our show.

ANGIE BELL:

Thank you.

ENDS.