A fiery alternation almost turned physical between a Channel 7 reporter and an EV influencer at a press conference featuring federal energy minister Chris Bowen.
Spotlight’s Liam Bartlett reported on Sunday night’s program that ‘dirty’ nickel mining by Chinese-owned companies in Indonesia is destroying the local environment there with toxic pollution.
The nickel is being mined for EVs – seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to petrol – but Bartlett claimed the mining in Indonesia is killing workers because of unsafe practices and undercutting ‘clean’ nickel production in Australia.
He confronted Mr Bowen at a recent EV expo and bombarded him with questions about a 2024 memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Australia and Indonesia ‘to work together on mapping EV supply chains, improving environmental and social governance’.
After getting very few answers from Mr Bowen, EV influencer Sam Evans – known as the ‘Electric Viking’ intervened and blocked Bartlett’s path as the minister fled towards the exit.
‘Hey mate, I don’t appreciate that,’ a furious Bartlett told Evans. ‘I’m talking to a minister of the crown.’
The Spotlight star appeared to not know who Evans was and demanded answers from another man who stepped in to try and the calm the situation.
‘Who is this guy … who is he to step between the media and a minister of the crown?’ Bartlett asked.
Channel 7’s Liam Bartlett (left) almost came to blows with EV influencer Sam Evans (right)
Energy Minister Chris Bowen, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Industry Minister Ed Husic are pictured with an electric vehicle at a Sydney car dealership in 2021
Bartlett and Evans pointed fingers and squared up to each other during the heated exchange while repeatedly accusing each other of getting in each other’s faces.
‘You got in my face, you wanna do it on camera?’ a fired up Bartlett asked.
‘You wanna do it on camera, you really wanna do this?’
Just when the confrontation looked like it may escalate into blows, Evans, who has almost 300,000 YouTube subscribers, eventually walked away.
Having subsequently looked into who he was, Bartlett explained that Evans calls himself the Electric Viking who is ‘a self-styled EV zealot who backs the Chinese industry’.
Backing that up, Spotlight played a YouTube clip of Evans saying ‘Automakers and governments are clearly very afraid of Chinese EVs.
‘I’ve just been in China, the cars there are far superior, Evans explained.
Bartlett commented that Evans ‘clearly has a major issue with anyone who doubts his version of the green dream’, adding that Mr Bowen has since refused all requests for a formal interview.
‘Hey mate, I don’t appreciate that,’ a furious Liam Bartlett (left) said to Sam Evans (right). ‘I’m talking to a minister of the crown’
Nickel is being mined for EVs – seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to petrol (stock image)
Industry minister Ed Husic also declined to be interviewed, despite celebrating the signing of a special agreement with Indonesia on nickel mining, less than two years ago.
When the MOU was signed on August 9 last, Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams said the two countries ‘are partners in the clean energy transition and we have a shared interest in growing diverse clean energy supply chains’.
The MOU followed an agreement between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Joko Widodo ‘to advance cooperation on the EV ecosystem’.
The Australian Government committed $2million in funding for conducting joint EV project research, including on transport decarbonisation and battery recycling.
Before he walked away from Bartlett, Mr Bowen said ‘Well, obviously there’s nothing wrong with mutually beneficial cooperation if you can achieve it.
‘Now, there’s a new government in Indonesia, we will work with them as best we can, to ensure that any developments are in our mutual best interests.’
Bartlett tried to push him for a more concrete answer, asking ‘what does the memorandum of understanding mean?’
The Spotlight reporter was confronted by Sam Evans, aka The Electric Viking (pictured), who has almost 300,000 YouTube subscribers
‘Well, there’s a range of memorandums of understanding with different countries which will apply in different ways,’ Mr Bowen replied.
‘If it’s not in Australia’s best interest at any particular time, then nothing would happen under the MOU.’
Battery-powered vehicles had just 5.9 per cent of the Australian car market in February, dropping from 9.6 per cent 12 months earlier.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries figures included EVs sold by Tesla and Chinese-owned Polestar, using sales data supplied to the Electric Vehicle Council.
They showed Tesla Model 3 purchases fell more than 80 per cent in a year, while sales of the Model Y more than halved ahead of its upcoming update.
Polestar sales have also plummeted by two-thirds compared with 2024.
