Kieran Gilbert, Sky News: Let's go live to Tokyo now. I'm joined by the Trade Minister, Don Farrell, who joins us live. You're there for talks on the trade front, obviously. Energy is a big focus of a Trade Minister. I want to ask you first of all about this latest deal done with China. Following, the PM spoke to Premier Li, apparently. How much are we talking about in terms of supply at 600,000 barrels of jet fuel? How long does that last?
Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell: Well, I think the important. Good, good to talk with you, Kieran here from Tokyo. I think the important point here is that each and every week of this time since the war in the Middle East began, we have got a greater supply of petrol, of diesel and now airline fuel. My job up here is to keep the good relations going that we have with both Japan and with China to ensure that we continue to be able to supply the Australian fuel industry with, with petrol, with diesel and with airline fuel.
Gilbert: Okay, so in terms of the deal done with China, you're there in Tokyo and I know a big part of our arrangement with Japan as well is not just people talk about the gas. But I was looking through the numbers. We actually sell more coal to Japan than gas. Do people need to be reminded of the contribution that coal continues to make to our economy?
Don Farrell: Yes, well, gas and coal are very important to the Japanese economy. You'll see Tokyo right behind me now. The first eight hours of electricity every morning in Tokyo comes from gas that's provided from Australia. The INPEX Company based out of Darwin is a very significant supplier of gas into the Japanese market. You will have noticed just recently that INPEX have said that in addition to supplying gas into Japan, they'll also feed some condensate into the Australian market. One of the things that I'd like to do while I'm here in Japan is talk with the Japanese government about how they can help us increase our supply of gas, both domestically and internationally.
Gilbert: Is there an issue with them on-selling our gas though? Because that's been raised by those who've been advocating a greater tax on our gas exports that the Japanese are buying more than they need and then on-selling it.
Don Farrell: Look, I don't think there's an issue with it, to be honest with you, Kieran. They want to ensure that they have a reliable supply of gas. Of course, we have been a very reliable supplier we have not failed to deliver on one kilojoule of contracted gas into Japan. But from time to time, I imagine because we are such a reliable supplier, they may have an oversupply up here. I don't think it's an issue that they on-sell it. What we would like to have with the Japanese and the Japanese companies and the Japanese government is greater support for our domestic gas supplies. And that will certainly be one of the things I'm talking to them about up here. We've got a number of new gas fuels coming on. We've got the Beetaloo, we've got the Barossa, and perhaps even one day the Narrabri will be off and running. So, we've got plenty of respective gas supplies. But of course, we need investment and Japan in the past has been a great source of investment. They're our third largest trading partner. We'd like to do more with them. I want to encourage them to do more. We had the Prime Minister, the Japanese Prime Minister come to Australia in the last couple of weeks. We've got good relations. Penny Wong was here just a few weeks ago. So, we want to keep the discussion going.
Gilbert: Has the war counterintuitively helped fossil fuels in a way that it said to people, has the war in the Middle East said to people, you know, there'd been an argument that we need to shut down gas and so on? Do you think this has opened the eyes of many and flipped the debate to an extent that there's a recognition more broadly now that we will need gas and coal, but particularly gas well into the future as part of our, as part of the structure of our energy mix. There's no shutting it down.
Don Farrell: So, Kieran, the objective of the Australian government and most governments around the world is that we get to a position of net zero by 2050. But you can't simply switch off gas and coal today and still get to that 2050 target. These fuels are transition fuels, Kieran, but they're important. The gas industry is going to be very, very important to Australia for a long time. That's why our government supports the gas industry. That's why we've been supporting the extraction of gas from Beetaloo and now Barossa, and we'll continue to do that, but gas will continue to be a very important transition fuel. If you can just look at what happens with Singapore, we are getting now 26 per cent of all of our fuel supplies out of Singapore. They process all of that fuel with Australian gas. So, Australian gas is going to be very important for a long time into the future. And one of the things I'll be telling my Chinese, my Japanese counterpart in a moment is that we will continue to be very reliable suppliers. And as you say, the dispute in the Middle East, of course has raised the issue of, you know, can you continue to get reliable supplies, particularly of gas out of the Middle East while this dispute is going on, Australia continues to be a very reliable supplier of fuel into our region.
Gilbert: I want to, before you go, I know you've got that meeting coming up and I've got to let you go to do that, but I want to ask you. Comments made by Lachlan Harris, former adviser to Kevin Rudd - Labor stalwart. He says that CGT changes need to be rethought. He says that it's going beyond, going beyond housing will create economy wide perverse incentives and a very significant change to the incentive structure of starting a business and employing people. What do you say to concerns from some of the Labor Party faithful now who argue the CGT changes have gone too far Minister?
Don Farrell: Look, everybody is entitled to their point of view, Kieran, including Lachlan. But can I say this? I think Treasurer Chalmers has done a terrific job in this last budget in repositioning Australia to maximise the economic advantage of our country. We're redirecting capital that might have otherwise gone into other forms of investment into housing. And right now, Kieran, housing is the number one issue in terms of making sure that young people get access to a home. So, I think the Treasurer is absolutely correct in ensuring that the way in which we direct our capital investments is into those areas that are most needed by the Australian economy. And I don't think there's any area that needs it more right now than homes, particularly new homes for young Australians.
Gilbert: You don't worry about the fact it might discourage investment startups and so on?
Don Farrell: Well, when you're talking about startups, we are talking to the industry about how best to operate this system and we'll continue to do that. Just about every day Kieran, I get a startup company that comes to chat to me about opportunities that they have both in Australia and around the world. I'm very confident that the abilities of particularly young people in that start up industry have a great future. And I don't think there's anything that this government will do that will discourage that. I think the opportunities are there for Australia. As I say, every day I get a call from a new company telling me about some program that they've got and we're always happy to listen to them, to talk to them, to promote them and make sure that they're a great success not only in Australia, but right around the world.
Gilbert: I better let you go to that meeting with the Japanese Minister. Thank you, Don Farrell in Tokyo.