These Politicians Just Held An Extremely Passive Aggressive Trainwreck Of A Press Conference

Over the past few weeks the South Australian and federal governments have been in a dumb fight about energy policy. Recent power shortages across the country have kicked off a debate about energy security, and the federal government has been keen to blame renewable energy, despite the lack of much evidence.

The South Australian government is a national leader in renewable energy generation, and hasn’t taken too kindly to these attacks. They’ve decided to go solo and announce their own energy security plan. The federal energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, escalated tensions with SA by declaring the plan “a failure”. He announced the federal government was going to spend $2 billion on an upgrade to the Snow Hydro scheme.

Instead of resolving these complex and important issues like adults, Frydenberg and the SA premier Jay Weatherill decided to trade insults during an incredibly surreal joint press conference. This morning Frydenberg and Weatherill were both attending an event at AGL’s new virtual power plant in Adelaide. The problem was that neither of them were aware the other was attending… so things got very awkward very quickly.

This is Frydenberg sandwiched between Weatherill, and SA’s treasurer and energy minister, Tom Koutsantonis:

NOT AWKWARD AT ALL @JoshFrydenberg wedged between @JayWeatherill & @TKoutsantonisMP clutching energy plans @abcnewsAdelaide pic.twitter.com/kjYLCsmuxV

— Nick Harmsen (@nickharmsen) March 15, 2017

That is some intense body language.

Weatherill and Frydenberg both made short speeches congratulating AGL on their new solar battery system and talked up their respective plans for energy security. It was kind of boring so the ABC, who were broadcasting the event live, decided to cut away and talk about the third test match in India instead. Fair enough, it’s way more exciting than energy policy.

But then things escalated. As the tension at the press conference ratcheted up, ABC ditched the cricket and went back to SA, just in time to catch a reporter asking Frydenberg whether the whole spectacle “was all a little awkward”.

“Hahaha, no,” Frydenberg replied.

But Weatherill was more savage: “It’s about to be.”

His mates up the back absolutely lost it:

Weatherill knew he’d laid a devastating own on Frydenberg, and the federal energy minister looked like he was about to cry. Seriously:

Frydenberg responded by ramping up his attacks on SA’s energy policy, accusing the state of failing to plan for the future. Which is a bit rich for a guy who’s own treasurer wanders around parliament clutching lumps of coal.

When asked if his comments were designed to embarrass the SA government, Frydenberg replied “To be honest, I didn’t even know Jay was going to be here.”

Weatherill hit back by describing the whole event as “galling”, before laying the boot into the federal government.

“It is a disgrace the way in which your government has treated our state. It is the most anti-SA government we have seen from a Commonwealth government in living memory,” Weatherill said.

The journalists at the press conference, clearly overwhelmed with excitement with the fact they had two politicians standing just centimetres away from each, willing to sledge away, asked Frydenberg if there was “anything you would like to say to the Premier face-to-face while he is standing right next to you labelling your actions disgraceful?”

And, because this is politics, of course there was.

“Jay Weatherill has come here to crash-tackle us when we are making an announcement about a financial commitment to the energy system of SA,” Frydenberg said.

It just kept going and going. Eventually Frydenberg decided to walk away, but that still wasn’t the end. Weatherill stuck around to get the last word in, telling assembled reporters that he “didn’t realise Mr. Frydenberg was coming!”

Then it was over. Almost. Frydenberg couldn’t handle Weatherill having the final say, so he held another press conference outside where he basically called on the premier to step down.

“Maybe Tom [Koutsantonis] will be the next premier of SA because I think after Jay Weatherill’s conduct today, the public would think that is pretty unbecoming and childish and pretty unacceptable for a senior political figure of their state to behave.”

Brutal.

But that still wasn’t the end of it. Koutsantonis jumped on Twitter to defend Weatherill:

Our Premier @JayWeatherill will alway fight for us, defend us & always shows leadership. South Australians will not be pushed around.

— Tom Koutsantonis (@TKoutsantonisMP) March 15, 2017

And then Frydenberg decided to have another dig:

Poor form @jayweatherill to gatecrash announcement where the Cth not the State Gov has invested in a $20m battery storage project in SA

— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) March 15, 2017

Guys, time to move on.