PATRICIA KARVELAS: Joining me now is the Resources Minister, Madeleine King. Welcome to the program, Minister.

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: It's good to be back, PK.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Well, the NFF made it quite clear they think it's a dud deal for farmers, so why did Australia sign it?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Yeah. Well, I mean I understand the NFF are disappointed in some regards. I daresay many other farmers may not share those same views. I mean it's a very good deal for a number of producers who were really worried about losing their rights to use certain terms, like feta, or Prosecco, or even the manufacturers who make kransky sausages. So, you know, for many it's very important what we've protected. We have though also opened up the market to a lot of agricultural industry.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: The EU has given better deals on agriculture to other countries though, so the farmers are pretty cranky that we didn't hold firm.

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Yeah, I'm not quite certain about that. But I mean there are other deals to do with beef, but this is certainly much, much bigger access to the beef market in the EU than there previously has been. And you know, what I really admire about the beef industry in this country is its ambition is, you know, supreme, it's out of this world, and I support that. At the same time the Trade Minister, Don Farrell, who's a great Trade Minister, has to get out there and balance up all the things that are in a Free Trade Agreement which includes like investment, access as well.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Yeah, and critical minerals, they get more access essentially, they say they'll be on a level playing field now; how does that change things?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, they will   they've always been able to access critical minerals, to be fair, it's just they choose that they put a tariff on entry, and    

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Surprising.

MINISTER MADELEINE KING:    yeah. So that is really a matter for the EU. I think what's even more important than the FTA, which is important around critical minerals, is the Critical Minerals Security Partnership that the EU Commissioner mentioned today in the speech in the Parliament, and that is about working together to make sure we have investment from EU, the EU itself, but also EU countries who have a really high interest in making sure they have diverse supply chains around rare earths.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: The Government has just announced diesel standards will be lowered, I think that's for a six month period, from memory, of the announcement. That obviously is a big shift. Level with Australians: how bad are things going to get in April? The Government keeps telling us the supply is going as planned. But it's really going to hit consumers and business in April, isn't it?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Look, it is going as planned, and there is enough fuel.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: But there won't be in April, isn't that the point?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: No, no, the point is, and the Prime Minister has been very clear on this, Minister Bowen has as well, we want this country to be over prepared. If we reflect back to 2022, it felt in some moments there that we weren't quite prepared for what was coming, especially we saw spikes in prices. And I mean it was a bit of a perfect storm. I don't want to lay any blame. But we don't want to see that repeated, so we are over preparing at the moment and looking at contingencies. And that's what a sensible, thoughtful government does. And you would have heard our National Security Committee meets very frequently, Cabinet is   always meets frequently. But these things are important for Government to consider and have options, and Minister Bowen has exercised those options, and we know there will be a bit of a tail to this, if everything    

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Certainly will.

MINISTER MADELEINE KING:    Yeah. If everything comes good tomorrow and we hope this conflict deescalates, we still have to get these trade routes back to normal. So, you know, we're preparing to make sure we can be ready.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Minister, the BHP boss has met, it's Minerals Week, there was a lot of discussion, it's very much in your portfolio, the BHP boss has spoken and said energy security right now, very much surpasses global climate concerns. Is that your view?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, energy security is really vital, there's no doubt about it. Everyone, you know, we are accustomed to the lifestyles, and that's a good thing. There's a lot of good comes from energy security. One of those things is peace and prosperity, and that's what we want to make sure we play a part in the region. Having said that, we still must try to do both. I mean I don't think there's any   and certainly I would not say there's any need to abandon efforts to decarbonise, that's a really important objective of the Government--

PATRICIA KARVELAS: But right now, we're in a phase which will increase fossil fuels, won't it?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, not necessarily. I think it's about making sure supply is met. At the moment in Australia, that's absolutely not the case. And I don't have the specific statistics, but my understanding is that Victoria's at one of the highest rates of renewable energy into its grid in the country's history. And that's a really significant moment. So this is an effort we will continue; we've legislated for it. What we know is the work we do, and providing energy security to our region is equally as important. So I think we have to do both, we have to try and do both, but there's no doubt, energy security    

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Do you think wars, though give fossil fuels a lifeline?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Oh, not   well, I mean    

PATRICIA KARVELAS: They kind of do, don't they?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: No, when there's conflict, a lot of things bubble up, there's no argument there. But I think we still stick to our overall objectives, the legislated objectives    

PATRICIA KARVELAS: We have to be honest, though, don't we?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, I think    

PATRICIA KARVELAS: I think that meeting those objectives, it can't possibly be the same trajectory if we're seeing this shift.

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, I think we have to   we actually do have to maintain the same trajectory and the same will to do it. But we always act in the interests of the Australian people, and fuel security is part of that. But in Australia, we're very fortunate that part of our fuel security is renewables. So we, you know, you can't bomb the sun, right, you know, so that has to stay as part of our mix, and if we've got wind turbines producing power in Australia based on the wind, well, that's its own security. So   and batteries, we're rolling out around the country. So renewables and our drive to net zero plays an absolutely essential part in Australia's fuel security, energy security.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Minister, let me ask you about the proposed levy on gas exports. Is that a big and active reform idea being considered?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: I'm not going to comment on the processes leading up to the budget. There's a    

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Okay. Let me ask you a specific question. Have you been contacted about it from the WA Premier, for instance?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, actually no, but    

PATRICIA KARVELAS: No?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING:    I would also say I don't talk about everything with the WA Premier. I mean it's really important people remember that the current taxation regime on the gas industry is a profit based tax.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: The PRRT    

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: The PRRT.

PATRICIA KARVELAS:    This week is Resources Week; how many companies have raised concerns about the PRRT?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: None have raised concerns.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: No?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: No, I mean, this is more Minerals Week, so we talk more about, I guess, the rocks rather than the gas this week, so I've not had concerns raised with me, but I think    

PATRICIA KARVELAS: But if this was floated, the export levy on gas, I'm assuming you have had that raised with you.

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, the proposal has come out of a particular part of the community, a think tank that provides some information, and I don't think all that information is the whole story around what the gas industry contributes to this country. There's a lot of misconceptions around where our gas goes, what taxation it attracts, how many people work in it. The thing about Australia's gas industry is that it's really important to Australia's position in the Indo Pacific. It's really important to our domestic gas provisions. If we didn't have international investment and international exports, we wouldn't have a domestic gas industry to be able to provide a lot of gas to the Southern States, and Western Australia, for that matter. So, you know, it plays a really important role in our own energy security, and it does raise billions upon billions of dollars’ worth of tax that goes to the Australian people.

PATRICIA KARVELAS: Minister, it's been great to have you on the show, thank you.

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Thanks very much, Patricia.