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‘Not a place for respectful debate’: Chris Bowen quits X

The Energy Minister says the Elon Musk-owned platform does not allow for informed conversations on issues like climate change.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen holds a press conference in Sydney. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen holds a press conference in Sydney. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Climate Change and Energy minister Chris Bowen has quit Elon Musk’s social media platform X for BlueSky, saying X is “no longer the place for informed and respectful conversation”.

Mr Bowen’s left X about four months after he was pilloried online for a “cringe” post that other X users suspected was a contrived text exchange with a staffer.

He had posted a screenshot that began with a text message to him that read: ‘Hey boss, new ABS data out today shows that our Govt’s Energy Bill Rebates helped lower energy bills by 6.4%.

‘Without them, bills would have gone up and Aussie homes and businesses would be paying more.

‘Want me to post it on your social media?’

The screenshot shows a reply from Mr Bowen: “Good stuff, yeah post right away, thx mate”.

The message was about a $300 energy rebate that Labor unveiled in the 2024-25 federal budget in May last year.

Some users asked whether the text exchange was genuine.

On Friday, Mr Bowen told The Australian: “In considering my approach to social media in 2025, I reached the view that X is no longer a place where you can have an informed, respectful conversation on important issues like climate change.

“So despite having more than 140,000 followers, entering 2025 saw the deactivation of my X account,” he said.

Mr Bowen used the platform formerly known as Twitter to underscore his political messages, attack the opposition and sometimes to document life outside work such as a trip to the theatre. Last year on his first Father’s Day since the death of his dad, he wrote: “it’s not an easy day for many”.

In recent days Mr Bowen has begun posting regularly on Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s Bluesky, which describes itself as “social media as it should be”. His BlueSky posts appear identical to those on his other social media accounts such as Instagram.

BlueSKy, founded by 33-year-old software engineer Jay Greber, distinguishes itself from X with features that is says give users control of their experience and a chance to “shape the culture of the platform as a whole”.

Read related topics:Climate ChangeElon Musk

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/not-a-place-for-respectful-debate-chris-bowen-quits-x/news-story/7b798fbadb391c4d83c290d8328b49f4