Nationals ask Anthony Albanese to consider nuclear power ahead of energy crisis talks

Anthony Albanese has been called on to consider nuclear power as part of Australia’s energy mix, as leaders hold crisis talks on the power crunch.

National Party leader David Littleproud has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to consider nuclear power as part of Australia’s energy mix as state, territory and federal energy ministers prepare to meet to decide on a way out of the east coast’s power crunch which is threatening to see power prices skyrocket.

“I’ve written to the prime minister asking him to consider nuclear power as part of our energy mix,” Mr Littleproud tweeted Wednesday.

“We need to have this conversation and if opportunities exist – back ourselves.”

Australia has some of the world’s largest uranium reserves, but by law is currently unable to exploit them to produce energy domestically.

National Party leader David Littleproud and Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton speak to the media. Picture: Richard Walker

Mr Littleproud’s remarks come as Origin Energy boss Frank Calabria denied that the rush to decarbonise Australia has contributed to the current energy crisis while agreeing with federal resources minister Madeleine King that more coal power needs to come online to get the east coast through the current power crunch.

I’ve written to the Prime Minister asking him to consider nuclear power as part of our energy mix.

Can we make it safe, affordable and reliable in Australia?

We need to have this conversation and if opportunities exist—back ourselves.

— David Littleproud MP (@D_LittleproudMP) June 7, 2022

Speaking to 2GB’s Ben Fordham Wednesday, Mr Calabria said that coal fired generation was coming back on line as “we’ve been prioritising coal on rail networks … and getting coal cargo into those power stations is a priority.”

Origin Energy CEO Frank Calabria. Picture: AAP Image/James Gourley

The energy CEO’s comments came in response to Ms King’s call for more immediate coal generation.

“What we really need to do is to have the coal power stations come back online, because that is the missing piece in the puzzle right now,” she said Tuesday.

However, Mr Calabria denied that the rushed transition away from coal was responsible for the current crisis.

“It’s fair to say that because we have an ageing coal plant fleet, and by the way it still produces 65 per cent of power on the east coast, progressively they are going to close as they come to the end of their life.”

Asked why Origin was shutting its massive Lake Macquarie coal fired power station seven years early in 2025, Mr Calabria said that the “acceleration” was because of “new generation from renewables sources and what’s required to back that up.”

Federal energy minister Chris Bowen said that the crisis was all the more reason to move to renewables faster.

“The policy we took to the last election is now more important than ever to get the stability and certainty around investment to get the transition to renewables underway and to invest massively in transmission and increased storage,” Mr Bowen told the ABC.

“This system is so unstable. That’s why we’re so ill prepared for this crisis that we’re facing. Just hasn’t been any effort to do any of those things.’’

Originally published as Nationals ask Anthony Albanese to consider nuclear power ahead of energy crisis talks