Australia election 2025 live: Abbie Chatfield hits out at ‘media frenzy’ and Liberals after being cleared by AEC over social posts of PM interview​on April 4, 2025 at 2:33 am

NSW’s first renewable energy zone to begin construction in coming months

The New South Wales government says the state’s first declared renewable energy zone (REZ) will begin construction in coming months after it finalised the contract with the building consortium ACEREZ and reached financial close to deliver the transmission project.

EnergyCo has appointed ACEREZ – a consortium of Spanish renewable multinationals ACCIONA and COBRA and Endeavour Energy – to design, build and finance the Central-West Orana REZ transmission project and operate and maintain it for the next 35 years.

The project will deliver at least 4.5 gigawatts of new network capacity by 2028, to connect 7.7 gigawatts of wind and solar projects, which the government said was enough to power more than 2 million homes each year.

The NSW climate change and energy minister, Penny Sharpe, said:

Getting this deal done brings us closer to delivering more affordable and reliable renewable energy to NSW households and businesses.

With three out of four of the state’s remaining coal-fired power stations set to close in less than 10 years, this renewable energy zone will help us meet our future energy needs in order to keep the lights on and avoid price spikes.

Victorian police minister on men allegedly carrying loaded firearms at MCG

Victoria’s police minister, Anthony Carbines, held a press conference this morning where he was asked about the men arrested at the MCG last night who were allegedly carrying loaded firearms. He said:

These are very serious matters. It’s concerning for all Victorians … We’re very thankful for the work of both security and Victorian police that made arrests.

Carbines said sport and major events minister, Steve Dimopolous, would be meeting with the AFL, MCG and Victoria police later today to review the matter.

When these matters happen, they need to be thoroughly investigated and understood, and any and every security measures can be taken to ensure that people feel safe and are safe.

Lawyers in Victorian public housing tower case respond

Lawyers acting on behalf of the public housing residents in a class action against the Victorian government over its plans to demolish three towers have issued a statement after a supreme court decided against them (see earlier post).

Earlier this morning, the supreme court ruled the government did not have a legal requirement to consult prior to making the decision to demolish the towers and that the interference with the human rights of the residents was reasonable and justified.

Inner Melbourne Community Legal’s managing lawyer, Lousia Bassini, saod while she respected the decision it was “very disappointing and disheartening” for residents, including lead plaintiff Barry Berih.

The legal team and Mr Berih will now consider the judgement in full and if there are any grounds for appeal.

Dueling speeches in Western Sydney: through the lens

Here’s how the candidates looked attending the Daily Telegraph’s Future Western Sydney event.

A reminder that the rolls for the upcoming federal election close at 8pm on Monday night.

Voting is compulsory, and to vote you must be registered on the electoral roll. You can check your enrolment here. If you are not enrolled, you must do so before 8pm on Monday.

For everything else you need to know, you can have a read below:

Albanese interviewed by content creator Ozzy Man

The prime minister has sat down at the pub with the content creator Ozzy Man for a 45-minute interview spanning conflict in the Middle East, Contiki tours and his three months of sobriety.

The West Australian YouTuber, who has more than six million subscribers, reviews “wildlife, sport, WTF vids, and the odd tv show or movie”. In a comment on Facebook, Ozzy Man said he secured the interview by putting in a request via Anthony Albanese’s Instagram account.

It isn’t Albanese’s first light-touch interview with a popular internet personality. He has also appeared on Abbie Chatfield’s podcast, It’s A Lot (which the Liberals put in a complaint to the AEC about, which has been rejected) while the Labor party invited around a dozen influencers, content creators and podcasters to attend the lockup for last month’s budget.

Asked what it was like being prime minister, he replied “pretty good”:

It’s an incredible honour … the fact that you can make a difference to people’s lives.

Albanese also pointed to “increased polarisation and anger” in the United States, which he said wasn’t a good thing for democracy.

One of the things you have to have the strength to do is to have the moral fortitude … not just appeal to division, get out and look for easy answers, but to explain things, to have the courage of your convictions.

Albanese’s advice for cattle farmers amid US tariffs

Taking a final question, Anthony Albanese was asked what his advice is for cattle farmers and producers in their strategic planning, amid uncertainty in the US market?

The prime minister said he had only spoken directly with two farmers in the 24 hours since the announcement was made, and “they are confident that they’ll continue to be able to sell into that market”:

Tariffs are a cost on the country that’s imposing them, on those consumers in the United States. That is what will occur. There aren’t more head of cattle today on cattle stations in the US than there were yesterday. Everyone’s cost has gone up by at least 10% and, therefore, the competitive position of Australian beef has not changed.

Will Labor recognise Palestinian state if re-elected?

Speaking in western Sydney, Anthony Albanese was asked if he would “act on the wishes of party members and recognise a Palestinian state” if elected in May?

The prime minister said he would “act in accordance with the position that we have taken of principle, which is that we support two states.”

We don’t believe that Hamas has any role in a future Palestinian state and we understand that this isn’t a time just for gestures, this is a time for real progress. And one of the things that’s occurred during this debate is that there’s been too much performative actions and gestures and not enough real advance that makes a real difference to people’s lives.

Is recognition, then, a performative gesture? Albanese answered:

Who you recognise at the moment? Quite clearly, we need to acknowledge that Hamas can have no role in a Palestinian state. That is my position.

Albanese said his position his entire political life has been “the right of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security”:

The way that I have acted for a long period of time, and my government – and we’ve had some criticism from people across the spectrum – is to take that principled view to make sure that we always have our eyes on that solution, and that’s something that the prospect of which has gone up and gone down and gone up and gone down again in recent times. I think it’s essential that out of this crisis emerges a better future for everyone in the region.

PM says nuclear energy ‘risk to our economy and to our energy security’

Anthony Albanese was asked if it’s a good idea to build a nuclear power plant in the Hunter region, because of the number of recent tremors and an earthquake there. He answered:

No, I think the main risk with nuclear is shown by the fact that no-one in the private sector will touch it with a barge pole. That it doesn’t add up.

So not so much a safety risk? Albanese said he has repeatedly outlined “it’s about the economy”:

I make this point as well, that Matt Canavan and Christopher Pyne have both belled the cat and said this is about Coalition internals, this is about a “look over here” moment from a Coalition that still has climate sceptics front and centre, including on their front bench.

This will stop investment that we need, the rollout in supply that we need, and that is why it is such a risk to our economy and to our energy security.

PM on how soon he would visit Trump if elected

Asked if he would visit Washington “as soon as [he] can” if elected prime minister, and “eyeball Donald Trump”, Anthony Albanese said he would “go as soon as possible”.

But, the PM said he was “not getting ahead of myself here.”

The first visit that I want to make after the election is to Government House in Canberra, to Yarralumla. I’m not getting ahead of myself. Elections are hard to win and there are four weeks left in this campaign …

So I’m not getting ahead of myself and I’m not planning beyond May 3.