Australian Minister Appears to Doze Off at Taxpayer-Funded Climate Conference

Australia's Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Chris Bowen, was captured on camera appearing to fall asleep during a taxpayer-funded climate conference held at a luxury resort in Fiji. The incident occurred at an event estimated to cost $20 million, organized as a preliminary gathering before the United Nations' annual COP climate summit.

The conference, intended to precede the main UN climate summit in Turkey, saw significant Australian investment in accommodation, event management, and logistics in Fiji. Bowen was scheduled to deliver remarks on the need for regional electrification and was expected to appear alongside former leaders Julia Gillard and Jacinda Ardern.

Footage circulating from the event, held at the Sheraton Fiji Golf and Beach Resort, shows Bowen with his eyes closed while seated in the audience. The resort boasts amenities including an 18-hole golf course, tennis courts, and lagoon-style pools.

While approximately 4,000 climate advocates, bureaucrats, and 14 government leaders or heads of state were expected to attend, reports indicate that only two non-Pacific leaders, from Mauritius and Timor-Leste, had confirmed their attendance at the key meeting in Tuvalu. The conference venue in Fiji also includes the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa, the luxury Vatu Tale, Crowne Plaza Fiji, Nadi Bay Resort, Wyndham Garden Wailoaloa Beach, Warwick Hotels and Resorts, Tanoa International Hotel, Novotel Nadi, and the Radisson Blu Resort Fiji, with accommodation contracts alone exceeding $5.6 million.

The pre-COP talks in Fiji were arranged as part of a compromise after Turkey secured the bid for the main COP31 summit over a joint Australia-Pacific proposal. Opposition energy minister Dan Tehan criticized the event, suggesting Bowen was "dreaming of what the meeting might be like if some leaders had turned up" and implying he had a "big day" by the pool. He further commented on the perceived farcical nature of the situation.

Critics have pointed to the substantial expenditure on the offshore event, arguing that the funds could have been utilized within Australia's domestic economy. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water entered into multiple contracts with Fijian resorts, including a $2,113,467 agreement with Barton Pte Limited for the Sheraton Fiji Golf and Beach Resort and a $2,083,706 contract with Richmond Pte Limited for the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa and Vatu Tale. Additional contracts were issued to other resorts, totaling nearly $1 million for the Crowne Plaza and Nadi Bay Resort, among others.