CATHERINE KING MP: Welcome to McCain a major employer here in my electorate of Ballarat, not only are they a major employer, they are a leader in climate change. We know our climate is changing. We know that that is providing a challenge for our economy, and particularly when it comes to manufacturing that uses significant amounts of energy, and particular gas. McCain have been innovating. They haven't just sat still. They have understood the challenge that is posed for everybody, and are very much being part of that. Behind us, we have the first stage of that, 17,000 solar panels, 8.2 megawatts of energy, really transforming the way in which this site, which has operated here for a long time in Ballarat, operates. They're in the process of establishing an anaerobic digester, you know, and what better place to do that? There's a lot of waste that comes out of our fries that we make here at McCain so being able to actually use that and convert that to energy. But today, I'm really pleased to announce that McCain have been one of the successful projects chosen by ARENA to now also trial some new technology here at this site. It's a very familiar site to those of us who live here in Ballarat to see all of the steam that comes out you know, McCain, and the plant is in operation when that is coming out of the stacks here at McCain. Well, the new project, $7.38 million from the federal government, is going to capture that heat, and actually turn that back into energy for the plant here. And again, that significantly reduces the cost that McCain are spending on energy, actually being able to generate what will use, what is being generated on site already, but also really, again, contribute significantly to our national efforts on climate change. McCain has a long and proud history in my electorate, in employing people, and they've also got a really proud history in terms of climate change innovation as well. And really delighted they are one of three projects being announced today. Sugar Australia and Blackmores are the others, two really big companies, big investments being made right the way across the country. And I'm really proud that McCain right here in Ballarat is very much part of heart and centre of our efforts to reduce climate emissions and get electricity and gas costs down. Happy to take any questions.

JOURNALIST: There's also $180 million more open…

CATHERINE KING MP: Yeah, so next round is open as well. So again, for manufacturers who are using, you know, have high energy intensity, this is really about changing the way you do business and ARENA is, you know, is there for exactly that. We're also trialing technology as we go. A lot of this, you know how this actually works within within plants, the engineering that's required to actually get that energy back into the manufacturing process is a really complex one, so we're trialing that as we go. And they're the sorts of projects that ARENA is obviously looking at, ones that demonstrate innovation, but then demonstrate that application can be made in other settings, across other manufacturing plants as well.

JOURNALIST: And this is obviously more to do with emissions, but the federal government obviously has those really bold Net Zero targets. So how will this funding and these projects feed into that?

CATHERINE KING MP: Well, this is all part of our sector plans that we have. You know, obviously, manufacturing is incredibly important. We want a future made here in Australia. I want our potato farmers across our district to continue to be able to sell their amazing product here to McCain. To ensure that we have a strong future of manufacturing, we have to deal with this issue around both energy costs, they have been a real challenge for manufacturing, particularly high energy use manufacturing, but also contributing to our global efforts to reduce emissions and make sure that we're actually tackling climate change. But really, this is smart. It's smart economically for the for the company, but it's also smart for the environment. 

JOURNALIST: Any more questions on this?

JOURNALIST: I've just got some questions from Melbourne.

CATHERINE KING MP: Yep, sure.

JOURNALIST: So you wrote to the states and territories about what they could do to keep learner drivers safe from sexual harassment and assault by their instructors. Have any of them replied yet? And what have they told you?

CATHERINE KING MP: Well, again, as I've said, I've written to the states and territories, and I will continue to talk to them about this issue. This is a matter for the states and territories. They look after the licensing system in the country, and they also have the mechanisms to ensure that driving instructors are certified and how that system works. But be in no doubt, like everybody, should be safe, whether you're a young person learning to drive, whether you're a worker here at McCain, in a workplace, everyone deserves to be safe. And if there's criminal activity being undertaken, it's also important that the police are involved in that as well. But important that you know, in terms of driving instructors, the states and territories, I'm sure, will continue to do the work. There's already work, significant work, that's been undertaken, I think, over a year ago in South Australia, and we'll continue discussions with the states and territories on that.

JOURNALIST: And will you commit to discussing this in person with your fellow transport Ministers?

CATHERINE KING MP:I've already discussed it with a number of state and territory ministers. When I talk to them, it obviously has been raised in the media, so you know, I talk to them regularly, and this issue has been raised with them as well.

JOURNALIST: So hundreds of women told the ABC they face this problem. Many are calling on you specifically to spearhead a response. Why won't you commit to discussing it? 

CATHERINE KING MP: Well, I want to make it very clear that driving instructors and the way in which that industry is regulated is for the states and territories, they have the power to deal with that. The Commonwealth does not. But in order, if there is to be a consistent approach across the country, then that is really something states and territories, we work together, we do that on a raft of issues, and do that. We've had the issue of E-Scooters and E-Sooter safety raise recently, again, an issue that's regulated largely by states and territories. The Commonwealth will do what it can, but obviously this is a matter for states and territories to deal with.

JOURNALIST: And have you set a date for the next transport minister’s meeting?

CATHERINE KING MP: No.

JOURNALIST: Lyn, how is this investment going to help McCains?

LYN RADFORD, MANAGING DIRECTOR McCAIN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND: It's going to help us improve our, you know, sustainable and efficient manufacturing here at our Ballarat potato facility.

JOURNALIST: And in terms of, obviously, you've got these solar panels here as well. How much is this, you know, reducing emissions and helping with climate change?

LYN RADFORD: Yep, enormously, actually. So we're generating about 16 kilowatt, just over 16 kilowatt of energy. And so that would be about 2100 homes in Australia, that in the Ballarat area, that we're that we're powering, and we've got plans to double the size of this solar panel facility as well. We're in conversations with that at the moment.

JOURNALIST: And in terms of, you know, this heat recovery system, I know you said no technical questions, but just run us through a bit how that will actually work and how that will help.

LYN RADFORD: Yep. So obviously, what we do when we manufacture our french fries, we're generating a lot of heat from our fryers, from our peeling system, etc. So what we're trying to do is capture all of that heat that we generate and turn it back into powering the plant to make more french fries.

JOURNALIST: And what would that look like from, what systems would you need to install, and how would that actually all work? 

LYN RADFORD: Lots of technical questions there for our engineers, Avinash is probably the best to answer that one. But lots of, in terms of recovery systems, what we're trying to do is draw the heat from those systems and turn it back, in particular for this project, back to our boilers, so that we can generate more heat to power the plant again.

JOURNALIST: And in terms of you are obviously such a major employer as well. Will this create more jobs during this process?

LYN RADFORD: At the moment, no more jobs are created through this process, other than the jobs created whilst we're installing the technology for the project. But ongoing, no more jobs are created as part of the project.

JOURNALIST: And why is leading in the climate change space so important to you as such a big manufacturer. 

LYN RADFORD: Look, we really care about the environment. At McCain, obviously we have to. Because, you know, part of what we do is we we buy potatoes from our growers, and it's really important that we take care of the environment that we operate in and live in. And so for us to get great quality potatoes, we need to take care of the environment. So we're really committed to reducing our emissions overall, and certainly have some pretty ambitious targets to do that, which the team have done some great jobs in terms of local projects to help support those emissions reductions.

JOURNALIST: Can you run me through what those those targets are?

LYN RADFORD: Yep. So we've committed to 50% reduction by 2030.

JOURNALIST: And anything else that you think is important to add that I might not have asked about?

LYN RADFORD: Well, certainly, we're really proud we generate over 600 jobs here in the local community in Ballarat, and indirectly support about another 1700 jobs locally in the Ballarat area. We really want to thank the Australian Government and ARENA for the support. It's a big project for us in terms of capital outlay, so the money that the government and ARENA have helped us with here will definitely go a long way to supporting the overall project for us. So we're really grateful for the support. We're grateful to have Minister King here today to see the facility as well. So really welcome the addition of her visit today to Ballarat.

JOURNALIST: And just timeline. Is there any sense of when this might be completed? 

LYN RADFORD: Yep, so early 2027. 

JOURNALIST: Thank you so much. Thank you appreciate it. 

JOURNALIST: You’re obviously leading the way with this project. I guess this is your baby here at McCain. Run me through your involvement and why it's so important from your perspective.

AVINASH SAMPATH, PROJECT ENGINEER: So I have been looking after the sustainability portfolio from the project side and helping our team with the sustainability portfolio over here. And this project forms pretty much a stepping stone for us with our 2030 vision that we have as a team. So as as Lyn, our managing director, said, we have, we have to cut down our our emissions by 50% so this particular project, contributes to 5900 tons of carbon emission reduction. So like you said, it's my baby, but it's our baby at the end of the day.

JOURNALIST: And how does the project actually work in terms of this, the heat reduction?

AVINASH SAMPATH: Yeah, so with this project, it's into two phases. The phase one involves around sending, so we have the fryer which uses steam, and the condensate from the fryer is being sent directly to our boiler house. In that way, we are not venting out steam and wasting it. But the second phase, which is the very important one, is that we are recovering heat from our fryer exhaust, and we'll be using that for various utilities. And with regards to all the things it's used for, it's basically we have blanchers, dryers and different systems. We're going to use heat exchanges, and we're also going to install MVR, which is mechanical vapor recompression. It's a kind of steam heat pump that we are going to use over here.

JOURNALIST: As you said, you do produce a lot of emissions - that just can't be helped. So why is looking at innovative ways of reducing those, you know, compared to your traditional ways? 

AVINASH SAMPATH: Oh, that's a pretty good point. And it's not only for our industry, but also for all the industries around, you know, around this place, is that you always, when you start looking into reducing opportunities, the first one is the low hanging fruits. Once all your low hanging fruits are finished, you look out for the emission, the basically the projects that can help you with the emission, which has to be technologically advanced in terms of requirement. So with this particular project, that's what has happened over here. What we have been trying to do is we have finished at making, not only this facility, but also the other facilities around the globe. Our first target was to reduce the low hanging fruits, reduce the emissions from the low hanging fruits. And then as we stepped on to the next projects, we had to look out for technical advancement, and that's where this project comes into play.