Labour’s climate change minister Chris Bowen has been criticised online for posting a bizarre screenshot of a text, purportedly between him and a staff member, patting each other on the back over energy prices.
The screenshot was posted on Mr Bowen’s X profile on Wednesday afternoon and appeared to show the minister’s media adviser asking his “boss” whether he should post energy data on social media.
It said: ‘Hi Boss, new ABS data released today shows our government’s energy bill rebates helped reduce energy bills by 6.4%.
‘Without them, bills would have gone up and Australian households and businesses would be paying more.
‘Do you want me to post it on your social media?’
Mr Bowen replied: “Good stuff, yeah, post it immediately, thanks mate.”
The message referred to a $300 energy rebate that Labor unveiled in the 2024-25 Federal Budget in May, which was widely criticised at the time because the scheme was not means-tested.
Users criticized the post and questioned whether the text was genuine.
Chris Bowen (pictured) has been criticised for a “disgraceful” tweet about Labour’s energy rebate
On Wednesday, a screenshot of a text was posted on Chris Bowen’s X page, purportedly showing an exchange between him and his media staff.
One user said: ‘Siri, give me an example of second-hand embarrassment.’
Another wrote: “I’m just here for the comments… they’re great. I’m hoping you’ll delete this but in the end you’ll never get over it.”
A third person said the refund was funded by taxpayers: “Well, technically, you’re just paying part of my bill, with my money, before I get it. Magical finances.”
Some questioned whether the screenshot was a text Mr Bowen sent to himself.
One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts commented: “Oops. Bowen has made another mistake. As always, the people pay for his mistakes. It seems he has sent the message to himself.”
Another wrote: ‘Just when you think Bowen couldn’t get any worse… he posts a screenshot of himself texting himself.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Bowen for comment.
The text exchange marked a departure from his usual routine of criticising opposition leader Peter Dutton.
Australians were quick to criticise Bowen for the “embarrassing” post (pictured)
Bowen’s team has written around 30 tweets directly mentioning Dutton since the beginning of August, with criticism of Nationals leader David Littleproud sprinkled in between.
He has only written about five posts praising his own government during the same period.
On Tuesday, he uploaded a video of himself reacting to Dutton’s plan to build seven nuclear power plants on the sites of decommissioned coal plants by 2050.
Holding a newspaper, he said, “Can you believe it?”
‘Two months ago, Peter Dutton announced seven sites for nuclear reactors and told us he had done all the homework and all the studies, and now he says if there are earthquakes there, he will cancel those sites.
“Well, Peter, if you cancel those sites, where will the power come from? Will other sites be chosen? Will there be nuclear reactors in other communities? This policy is a complete disaster.”
Earlier this week, Mr Dutton said nuclear reactors could face seismic tremors in the Hunter Valley area near a proposed site.
Social media users have urged him to stop his constant attacks on the Coalition.