Peter Dutton has announced he will go to the next election promising to build seven nuclear power stations.
Mr Dutton has promised the first sites can be operational between 2035 and 2037, several years earlier than the timeframe the CSIRO and other experts believe is feasible.
As had been previously flagged, the stations are all on retiring or retired coal sites.
The seven sites are:
- Tarong in Queensland, north-west of Brisbane
- Callide in Queensland, west of Gladstone
- Liddell in NSW, in the Hunter Valley
- Mount Piper in NSW, near Lithgow
- Port Augusta in SA
- Loy Yang in Victoria, in the Latrobe Valley
- Muja in WA, near Collie
Five of the seven are in Coalition seats: Muja in Rick Wilson’s seat of O’Connor, Loy Yang in Darren Chester’s seat of Gippsland, Port Augusta in Rowan Ramsey’s seat of Grey, Callide in Colin Boyce’s seat of Flynn and Tarong in Nationals leader David Littleproud’s seat of Maranoa.
Mount Piper is in the seat of Calare, held by independent Andrew Gee who was elected as a Nationals MP in 2022 but quit the party.
Liddell is the only site in a Labor seat, the seat of Hunter, held by Labor’s Dan Repacholi.
In a press release, Mr Dutton and colleagues said the locations offered “important technical attributes needed for a zero-emissions nuclear plant, including cooling water capacity and transmission infrastructure, that is, we can use the existing poles and wires, along with a local community which has a skilled workforce”.
The SA and WA sites are tapped as suitable for small modular reactors only, with the other five slated for either small reactors or larger-scale plants, depending on what is deemed to be “the best option”.
Mr Dutton has indicated a 2035 start date if small modular reactors are chosen and 2037 if larger plants are chosen.
Smart Energy Council on nuclear: “all you get is high power bills”
The acting CEO of the Smart Energy Council, Wayne Smith, has slammed the Coalition’s nuclear policy, saying it won’t benefit Australians. Speaking on ABC Radio National, Smith said the policy would cost billions but wouldn’t provide any obvious benefits and wouldn’t affect energy bills:
We’re talking about $20bn to $25bn per nuclear reactor. And guess what? There’s no tax deduction for that. All you get is higher power bills.
What will happen is that we’re not going to see nuclear power plants before 2040, probably at the earliest. What’s likely to be announced today is an extension of coal-fired power stations.
[Under a nuclear policy] coal-fired power stations will continue to probably about 2040 at taxpayers’ expense … that’s the reality of what’s being announced today.
Jacinta Allan says ‘we will not stand’ for nuclear energy in Victoria
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan is now being asked about the federal Coalition’s nuclear plan, which is being announced by Peter Dutton at a press conference at 10am.
She said while she is premier there will not be nuclear energy in the state of Victoria:
This is the Liberal party solutions to the challenges of transitioning our energy mix in this country. They want to bring more expensive, more risky, more toxic energy solutions to the people of this country. We won’t stand for that. We absolutely will not stand for that.
Because we know what works. What works is exactly what we’re doing now … investing in renewable energy, solar in wind and battery storage.
Allan said she’d stand with the La Trobe Valley community, to oppose the federal opposition’s plans.
My message to the Latrobe Valley in the community is that Labor governments will always stand with you, stand with you through the challenges that this community has experienced in recent decades with an industry that is in transition … So unlike the Liberal and National parties who have abandoned time and again the Gippsland community, we will stand with them, we will support them in fighting against this proposal to bring toxic and risky nuclear reactors to the beautiful Gippsland community. The question is will their state Liberal National party representatives also do this?
Allan also said the Victorian Liberal leader, John Pesutto, must now make his position on the plan clear. So far, he has said he was waiting for more detail.
“We’ve been absolutely clear on behalf of the Victorian government our position on … the proposed federal Liberal-National’s proposition to bring toxic, risky, expensive nuclear energy reactors to the state or indeed to a country.
We haven’t heard from the [state] leader of the Liberal party [about] what he would do. Would he stand up for Victorians? Does he support more expensive, more risky, more toxic energies solutions for the state? Or should he just get on board with what we’re doing now and be part of that renewable energy future? Because we know it works.”
Premier Jacinta Allan
Victorian Liberal leader says ‘no plans for nuclear’
Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto is speaking to reporters outside parliament following the announcement by his federal colleagues of plans for a nuclear reactor in the La Trobe Valley.
“We have no plans for nuclear as a state opposition. It may well be that a future federal government initiates a national discussion on nuclear power noting that there is a moratorium currently in place nationally. Our focus as a state opposition and as the alternative government is on addressing the current shortfalls in energy, particularly with gas shortfalls”.
Victoria Liberal Leader, John Pesutto
The Nationals leader, Peter Walsh, reiterates this:
You wouldn’t be surprised that our [the Nationals] view is exactly the same as John … the Victorian Nationals haven’t been [campaigning for nuclear], we are very much of the view that we want to make sure that we guarantee price of power, the affordability of power, the availability of power in the short to medium term, which is why we’ve been talking about the need for more gas into the system.
Chris Minns rejects Coalition’s nuclear energy policy as potential ‘pipe dream’
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has rejected the idea of nuclear energy powering his state.
“It would cost maybe $200bn for small-scale nuclear reactors to replace existing coal-fired power stations in the state.
I don’t know where that money’s going to come from. It certainly can’t come on the backs of hard-working taxpayers in New South Wales, they just can’t afford it.
We’ve got a prohibition on nuclear power in the state, and my government’s not going to waive it. My understanding is that the Queensland opposition and government won’t waive it either, so I think there’s a few questions about whether this is a fantasy or a pipe dream or a legitimate energy policy”.
NSW Premier, Chris Minns
Chalmers attacks coalition nuclear plans
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, is speaking at the the Australian Energy Nation this morning, where he has called the Coalition’s nuclear policy the “dumbest policy ever put forward by a major party”.
He says the policy is a “road to nowhere” and that “nothing could be more economically irrational or fiscally irresponsible”:
Our plan for net zero is mainstream and middle-of-the-road. It recognises a role for gas in supporting the transition to renewables. It relies heavily on mining and resources, especially critical minerals.
It works with, not against, the ambitions and aspirations of private investors and employers. It relies on better informed and designed markets for capital, and tax breaks for production, more than it relies on grants.
In all these ways it couldn’t be more different to the economic madness peddled by our opponents.
Today we’re expecting to hear a bit more about the Coalition’s nuclear road to nowhere. With Australia’s advantages and opportunities, nothing could be more economically irrational or fiscally irresponsible.
Nuclear takes longer, costs more, and would waste Australia’s unique combination of geological, geographical, geopolitical and meteorological advantages.
“This might be the dumbest policy ever put forward by a major party. It is the worst combination of economic and ideological stupidity”.
