Australia’s lack of appetite for nuclear power is likely to prolong the life of natural gas, says Westpac chairman John McFarlane, arguing the country has put up a barrier to achieving net zero emissions by designating nuclear power “politically unpalatable”.

“When you’re thinking about base-load power, if that [position on nuclear] is not going to change here then gas is going to be with us for some time and maybe for longer than people think,” Mr McFarlane told an Australian Institute of Company Directors conference in Melbourne on Thursday.