Australian Energy Minister Bowen said in an interview on Saturday that he did not think every coal and gas company would welcome price caps, but that the intervention was necessary in the national interest to protect consumers from price increases caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. . Australian Prime Minister Sergey Cyprus on Friday announced a package of domestic energy price caps aimed at relieving pressure on living costs from soaring global commodity prices. The Australian Association of Petroleum Production and Exploration responded by saying the moves could stifle investment confidence and reduce future energy supplies. Bowen dismissed that notion, saying gas was traded at the same level as the proposed price cap last year and businesses were still investing.