TRANSCRIPT – Sky News Regional Breakfast with Nikolina Kharoufeh

Angie Bell MP

Shadow Minister for the Environment

Shadow Minister for Youth

Federal Member for Moncrieff

TRANSCRIPT

Sky News Regional Breakfast with Nikolina Kharoufeh

28 October 2025

Subjects: Net zero; Energy and emissions, Labor’s lack of detail in environmental law reform; Great Barrier Reef.

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

NIKOLINA KHAROUFEH:

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie is renewing his push against Australia’s net zero target, despite the coalition’s potential compromise. The opposition is considering a shift that would involve stripping the 2050 date from legislation, making the target more aspirational rather than legal. The former Shadow Home Affairs Minister says the party needs to evolve from the Howard years. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, some MPs presented third-party party polling during private Liberal meetings, which showed 52 per cent of voters want the 2050 target watered down. A third of voters were satisfied with the existing target.

Joining me live now to talk more is Shadow Environment and Youth Minister, Angie Bell. Good morning, Angie. Thank you so much for your time this morning. Let’s talk about the opposition considering a shift that would involve stripping the 2050 date from legislation. As said before, they would like to make it more aspirational rather than legal. Do you think this shift is the solution to the disagreements?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, it’s great to be with you and your regional viewers this morning, Nicolina. When it comes to energy and emissions policy, the Coalition is going through thorough steps, investigations, robust discussion, which we welcome on our policy position. And my view is that we owe it to the Australian people to have these robust discussions. So, we’ll continue to have meetings here in Canberra yesterday, today, Friday, and of course next week when we meet again in Canberra, and the following sitting week when we return to get to that position of energy and emissions policy for the Coalition. I think this is a normal process that we owe the Australian people to look at all inputs. I’ve said this before. We have been the passengers, can I say, of the Labor-Albanese government’s energy policy, which is failing Australians. That’s what we need to be focused on.

NIKOLINA KHAROUFEH:

Well, speaking of the Australian people, Angie, I also want to talk about this polling that was revealed as well during meetings. So, 52 per cent of voters want that 2050 target watered down, a third of voters satisfied with the existing target. We’re also hearing though about, you know, these, I guess, warnings that were given to Chris Bowen and the team about rising electricity prices as a result of these sorts of environmental policies. Do you think your party is really aligning with what Australians want here?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think what Australians want is lower energy prices. And now, it’s been released a report showing that electricity prices will continue to increase under this Government. What Australians need and what Australians want is affordable, reliable energy. And what we’re doing with our energy policy is making sure, that the two things that Sussan Ley outlined, is that energy is reliable and affordable, the grid is stable, and also, we’re doing our part in global emissions reduction. I think Australians should be concerned about the Labor government’s energy policy, because we are paying more for bills and the proof is in the pudding.

NIKOLINA KHAROUFEH:

I want to talk also about these environmental laws. So, Labor will soon be able to approve major projects. This is like mines and even renewable energy projects, even if they do not comply with the law. This is part of new sections of the Environmental Protection Reform Bill. And I wanted to ask your thoughts on this and changing the Bill to be able to be allowed, for the Environment Minister to be able to be doing this.

ANGIE BELL:

Well, the national interest test already applies in the EPBC Act, so I’m not sure why the Minister is standing up and hailing that as something new. This just further highlights the concerns that Australians should have around the uncertainty of what the Government is putting forward when it comes to EPBC reforms. We have received two lots of draft policy from the Government in terms of their legislation that they’re going to introduce on Thursday. We haven’t seen the full legislation. It’s extracts that we have seen.

And so, we’re working through all of those details to make sure that we understand exactly the changes that the government wants to put in place. But at the moment, what we’ve seen is unworkable because what it signals is a red light for jobs and an amber light for productivity and a green light for investment to flow offshore. We need to make sure that our country has investment and people investing in our country in order to deliver jobs. So, this is families and communities who could be affected through these reforms, and we are scrutinising it and we’ll go through our party processes as we do. We haven’t seen the bill in its entirety. We’re told that it may be introduced on Thursday. We’ll make our decision clear then.

NIKOLINA KHAROUFEH:

Okay, Angie, I also wanted to touch on the Federal Assistant Tourism Minister Anita Green, says Queensland’s plans with coal for the future could really put the reef, the Great Barrier Reef at even greater risk. And experts are really warning that an intervention to protect the reef from climate change is needed immediately. Do we need to be reassessing these coal plants in considering this impact?

ANGIE BELL:

Well, I think this is in relation to the Queensland Government’s Energy Roadmap. And I’ll leave questions on that or answers to those questions to Premier Crisafulli and Minister Janetzki. But what I will say is that the Federal Coalition, harking all the way back to 1979 under Malcolm Fraser, has a strong history of protection for the reef. He listed the reef as a marine park. We, under the last Scott Morrison government, we outlined $1 billion to the reef to preserve the reef. So, we have a strong history in preserving the reef. It is important to all Australians. It’s important as a World Heritage listed area and so it should be protected. It’s a beautiful part of Australia.

NIKOLINA KHAROUFEH:

Thank you very much, Angie.

ANGIE BELL:

Thanks so much, Nikolina.

ENDS.