LAURA JAYES, HOST: Joining me live now is the Industry, Innovation and Science Minister, Tim Ayres. Thanks so much for your time, Tim. First of all, congratulations.

SENATOR TIM AYRES, MINISTER FOR INDUSTRY AND INNOVATION AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE: Thanks, Laura. It's terrific to be on the show and I'm thrilled with the opportunity that I've been given to really contribute here. We've got the largest pro-manufacturing package in Australian history and my job is to deliver that, to implement that framework, to collaborate across government and to deliver it with real impact.

LAURA JAYES: Well, how important is cheap and reliable energy to do that? And surely, you're very interested in new gas projects?

SENATOR AYRES: Yeah, well, all of these things form part of the challenge for Australia. We've got enormous opportunity here in Australia. We’ve got a government that's actually got its shoulder behind the wheel. As I said, the biggest pro-manufacturing package. And I'm here, for example, today, at the Centre for Eye Research Australia, announcing a National Reconstruction Fund contribution. $27 million for a glaucoma product that is going to change the world and is developed here in Australia and is being commercialised here in Melbourne because of the Federal Government's National Reconstruction Fund programme delivered by my predecessor, Ed Husic, in terms of the legislation and building that capability and now being rolled out around Australia. More commercialising of Australian IP, rather than going offshore, being developed here in Australia. That means good jobs. But all of the levers that you talk about, modernising our electricity system, making sure that we've got sufficient gas for the manufacturers who use gas in their production processes, all of these challenges are there and you've got a government that's determined to meet them with coherent policy and a careful framework of working with the private sector to deliver the best outcome for Australians.

LAURA JAYES: We've already seen Murray Watt approve that massive gas expansion on the west coast. This has been a project that’s been around for 40 years, it's going to be around for another 40 years now. But when you talk about domestic consumption of gas on the east coast, where the market is way more complicated, Narrabri, it's been tied up in red tape for more than a decade and that would be completely and wholly to supply the domestic market on the east coast, surely, you know, having a little word to your colleague about getting that done.

SENATOR AYRES: Well, we're going to work through these issues as a government in a mature and collaborative way across government that doesn't involve me telegraphing particular approaches on the media in advance of us making collective Cabinet decisions about our approach to these issues. The Resources Minister, Madeleine King, has been out there, of course, talking about the mechanisms that we currently have in place. We've delivered in the gas market well over 600 petajoules of gas. We've got our focus on what happens over the next three to five years and Madeleine King has made it pretty clear: we are focused on looking at making sure that the mechanisms that are there and the packages that are there are delivering the purpose that they need to deliver. And we're asking the industry to step up. Everyone's got a right to speak up and say whatever they like, but we want everyone to lift together, support Australian industry and to support capability.

LAURA JAYES: Alright, sure. So, there were reports this morning that despite not looking at it during the campaign, Labor would now look at a gas reservation policy on the east coast. Can you rule that in or out this morning?

SENATOR AYRES: Well, what we're not going to do is do what the Coalition did during the election campaign. It's policy on the run. They mugged the sector, that's what they did. They pretended to be the friends—

LAURA JAYES: Sure, but you ruled it out before the election. So, is it back on the table?

SENATOR AYRES: Just let me finish this point, Laura. The Coalition ran around pretending to be the best friend that the gas industry had. They made all sorts of claims about the propositions that they would develop if they were elected in government and then at the last second hobbled together a pretend reservation strategy that would have delivered one sixth of what the government had already delivered and was just derided by anybody who had any level of literacy in economic policy or gas strategy.

LAURA JAYES: Right, so you’re on the side of the industry because the industry says this reservation wouldn’t actually help. It wouldn't bring down prices. So, are you in favour of it?

SENATOR AYRES: I'm on Australia's side. I'm on Australia's side here and the national interest side. These are important national assets, and I want to see, and the government wants to see, security of supply for east coast manufacturers in particular. And that's why the government has delivered in the course of the election battery strategies, not unrelated to making sure that we're delivering more gas for the industry. We've delivered a range of processes and programmes, the gas supply mechanism, all of those things. We're working those through carefully as a Cabinet-style government. Not telegraphing our approach, ruling things in, ruling things out. Won't be doing that. But we'll do it in a sober and sensible way in the national interest. Not sort of hyperventilating for three years like our opponents did and then mugging one section of Australian industry. We won't be doing that.

LAURA JAYES: Ok. Well, we look forward to speaking to you in the future, Tim, and trying to squeeze some of that detail out of you. We won't stop talking about it.

SENATOR AYRES: Good luck, Laura. Good to talk to you.

LAURA JAYES: Appreciate the time, as always. See you soon.

SENATOR AYRES: Thank you.

ENDS