Wild moment Chris Bowen's press conference is HIJACKED by rogue journalist: 'Sit down'

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 03:26, 8 April 2026 | Updated: 03:53, 8 April 2026 Energy Minister Chris Bowen has lashed out at a high-profile journalist during a fiery press conference, telling him to 'sit down' while being grilled over the government's renewable energy policy. The confrontation began when Channel Seven journalist Liam Bartlett interrupted the minister's daily press conference on the fuel crisis and war in Iran to accuse the Albanese government of refusing to shift its renewables agenda despite global instability and Australia's reliance on fossil fuels. 'Hasn't this war shown us that your obsession with renewables will only lead us down the track to another energy crisis?' Bartlett asked. 'That's pretty loaded - that's a comment, not a question - I reject the premise of your question.' The minister defended the government's renewable strategy, arguing it offered greater long-term security. 'Renewable energy is secure. The Australian sun cannot be interrupted by a war or anything else,' Bowen said. Energy Minister Chris Bowen clashed with a journalist during a fiery press conference on Wednesday Channel Seven journalist Liam Bartlett interrupted the minister's daily press conference on the fuel crisis and war in Iran to accuse the government of refusing to shift its renewables agenda 'Solar energy has to travel 150 million kilometres from the sun. It doesn't have to travel the 150km of the Strait of Hormuz.' Bartlett continued to interject, accusing the government of 'playing catch-up' during the unfolding crisis in the Middle East. Bowen snapped back, insisting supply lines remained intact. 'That's why I'm able to say not a single ship that has been expected to arrive in Australia has been interrupted,' he said. Tensions escalated when Bartlett questioned whether Bowen should resign. 'I've been trying to ask you questions since January… Why can't you sit down and answer open, honest questions?' he said. Bowen accused Bartlett of disrupting his press conference in a stern dressing-down. 'I've held a press conference every day. This is the first press conference you've been to,' the minister fired back. 'I think you need to show a bit more respect to your colleagues.' 'Your focus has been wholly and solely spending billions of dollars we haven't got on questionable green infrastructure… You're totally hypocritical on this, minister,' he said. 'That's a comment, not a question,' Bowen replied, before telling him to sit down and accused him of grandstanding. Bowen responded: 'I hold a press conference every day. This is the first time you've turned up. Despite the interruption, Bowen used the exchange to double down on the government's energy transition. 'Net zero and climate action are unquestionably in Australia's economic best interests,' he said. Bowen also defended the pace of the rollout, saying Australia was 'absolutely blitzing it' on renewables, with more batteries being added to the grid than any other country on a proportional basis. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.