JAMES GLENDAY, HOST: All right, it is time to talk federal politics, and we are joined by the Industry Minister, Tim Ayres, who is in Canberra today. Minister, welcome back to the program.

SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: James, g’day. Really good to be on the show.

HOST: Now, you've got an announcement about data centres, which we will get to in a moment. But I just wanted to start with our top story in the nation's fuel supply. Should Australia be using our plentiful LNG and coal exports as a bit of leverage to make sure our trading partners keep the oil tankers coming here?

AYRES: Well, we're certainly focused on working with partners to maximise deliveries. The fuel reserve that has been built by the Albanese Government since we were elected in 2022 is standing Australia in good stead. But we're not complacent about that, both on the international scene, working with partners, as I've said, to maximise our fuel supply, but also the appointment last week of the Coordinator-General in this area to make sure that the work that is going on in the states together with the Commonwealth is all coordinated effectively to do the best that we can, particularly in regional areas, to make sure that diesel and petrol get to where they are needed.

HOST: You're being very diplomatic, which is totally understandable, but I think a lot of people will be wondering, we send a lot of LNG, a lot of coal offshore, particularly to some of these countries that refine a lot of fuel. Should there be a bit of a quid pro quo here? Should they be saying, “Yep, we'll keep the fuel coming because you're going to keep the gas and the coal coming?”

AYRES: Well, you're right to say that we are an excellent partner on energy security for a range of our partners in the region. In terms of refined fuel products and crude oil, Australia is, of course, dependent upon imports. We don't have economic fuel reserves of our own. The Bass Strait reserves are well and truly in the rear vision mirror in terms of scale and substance. So, we require imports. That requires good international partnerships. And Australia, for our part, in terms of coal and gas, and increasingly in my area of activity, our capacity to use our low-cost solar and wind to process industrial products here, we are a renewable energy superpower emerging in our region, and we have significant reserves of coal and gas that we're supplying the world.

HOST: It sounds like we're gently reminding some of our allies of that. I just want to take you to this idea that's been around now for a few days about working from home. Should Australians who can work from home be working from home now to conserve fuel, in your view?

AYRES: Well, people will make those choices, of course. Of course they will. Don't forget that in the last election, the position of the Liberal Party was to ban it.

HOST: Well, we have Jane Hume on the show a little later. I'm going to ask her the same question. I can get to them. But I just want to know, what's your view? Are we there yet? Should we be saying, “Hey, if you can work from home, why not work from home now?” There's, you know – that'll extend our supply and our reserves, if nothing else.

AYRES: Well, we're focused on the work that we are doing through the Coordinator-General, but of course – and all of the other measures, you know, giving the ACCC more power, heavier fines, the fuel reserves themselves, changing our standards to make sure there's 100 million more litres a week, I think, out of that measure alone. But of course, Australians will make their own decisions, and work from home's a viable option for many, many, many people. And they'll make that call. We're not going further than that. But we want a flexible industrial relations system where Australians can take advantage of these rights and continue to contribute in a productive way at work. The Liberals wanted to ban work from home.

HOST: Ok, yeah, we remember what happened in the election. We don't need to go back there. I just wanted to take you to your portfolio specifically. There are a lot of industries that use a lot of gas that are pretty worried at the moment about what might be coming down the line if we see prices soar. Will your government put in place a windfall profit tax to ensure that Australian gas goes to Australian households and businesses first, before it goes offshore?

AYRES: Well, as you know, we have moved for the first time at the Commonwealth level to impose a reservation scheme so that Australian gas is there for Australian households and Australian business. The details of that reservation scheme will be decided in the normal way at a proper Cabinet process. I'm in the position, as you know, James, of just having to say at this point, we'll release those details when it's been properly decided. We made that announcement before Christmas. Threshold announcement –

HOST: Just at a high level, though – yeah, so sorry to interrupt. Just at a high level, though, can you reassure businesses who'd be using a lot of gas at the moment for their everyday use, can you reassure them that prices in Australia are going to stay low, given that we have so much LNG in the system?

AYRES: The last time that there was a significant price spike, the Albanese Government acted, following Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine. We're watching prices in the economy very closely. But as I say, those kind of measures will be announced in an orderly way when they're appropriate and if they're appropriate.

HOST: Just before I let you go, you've got this announcement out about data centres today. Data centres, of course, use a lot of power and water. They're a big opportunity, of course. But are you at all worried they're going to put pressure on our utilities and potentially drive up demand and prices in this space?

AYRES: Well, there is, of course, a queue of data centre and digital infrastructure investors who want to invest in Australia because we are a very good place for data centre investment: limitless sun and wind and space, a capable workforce on the edge of the fastest growing economies in the world. And these data centre expectations, principles that we've outlined today, really send a clear message to the investment community and the data centre community about what we expect in order to get projects on the fast track. It sends a message to the states and territories: we don't want to see a race to the bottom on these standards. And it makes it very clear, if you've got a data centre investment for Australia, we want to see you underpin additional electricity through power purchasing agreements that mean you're contributing to Australian resilience, not undermining it. You're contributing to lowering prices, building generation and building transmission. That's the core principle that underpins these data centre expectations, and I look forward to rolling them out around the country.

HOST: Minister, thanks for joining our program.

AYRES: Thanks, James.

ENDS.