Labor headkicker Chris Bowen’s bizarre ‘boss’ post has baffled Australia

Labour Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has been criticised online for posting a bizarre screenshot of a text message, reportedly between himself and a staffer, in which he pats himself on the back about energy prices.

The screenshot was posted to Mr Bowen’s X profile on Wednesday afternoon and apparently showed the minister’s media adviser asking his ‘boss’ if he would post energy data on social media.

It said: ‘Hey Boss, new ABS data released today shows our government’s energy bill rebates have helped reduce energy bills by 6.4%.

‘Without these measures, bills would have risen and Australian households and businesses would have had to pay more.

“Should I post it on your social media?”

Mr Bowen replied: ‘Good stuff, yeah, will post it right away, thanks mate.’

The report referred to a $300 energy rebate announced by Labor in the 2024-25 federal budget in May. The rebate was heavily criticised at the time for not being means tested.

Users reacted strongly to the ‘cringe’ post, questioning whether the text was authentic.

On Wednesday, a screenshot of text on Chris Bowen’s X page was posted, reportedly showing an exchange between himself and his media representative

A user said, “Siri, give me an example of cringe.”

Another wrote: ‘I’m just here for the comments… they’re amazing. I’m waiting for you to delete this but ultimately you’ll never get over this.’

A third person said the cut was taxpayer-funded: “Well, technically you’re just paying part of my bill, with my money, before I… [it]. Finances of magic pudding.

Some wondered if the screenshot was a text Mr Bowen had sent to himself.

Senator Malcolm Roberts of One Nation commented: ‘Oops. ANOTHER blunder from Bowen. As usual, the people pay for his blunders. It seems he sent the message to himself.’

Another wrote: ‘Just when you think Bowen can’t get any worse… he posts a screenshot of himself texting.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Bowen for comment.

The text message exchange marked a departure from his usual routine of criticising opposition leader Peter Dutton.

Australians were quick to criticise Mr Bowen for the ‘cringe’ post (pictured)

Since early August, Bowen’s team has written about 30 tweets directly mentioning Dutton, with the occasional dig at Nationals leader David Littleproud.

During the same period, he wrote only five messages praising his own government.

On Tuesday, he posted a video responding to Dutton’s plan to build seven nuclear power plants on the sites of former coal-fired power plants by 2050.

He held up a newspaper and said, “Can you believe it?

‘Two months ago Peter Dutton announced seven nuclear reactor sites. He told us he had done all the homework and research, and now he says he will cancel those sites if there are earthquakes.

“Now, Peter, if you cancel those sites, where will the energy come from? Will other sites be chosen? Will other communities get nuclear reactors? This policy is an absolute mess.”

Earlier this week, Mr Dutton said nuclear reactors could withstand earthquakes in the Hunter Valley region near a proposed site.

Social media users suggested that he stop the constant attacks on the Coalition.