Dutton goes nuclear, will oppose Labor’s emissions reduction target

Nuclear power could form part of the emissions reduction policy the Coalition takes to the next election, as the Opposition confirms it will vote against Labor’s 43 per cent target.

Nuclear power could form part of the emissions reduction policy the Coalition takes to the next election, as the Opposition confirms it will vote against Labor’s 43 per cent target.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has revealed that the Coalition will take a new emissions reduction target to the next election – but won’t finalise the number or the details until closer to polling day.

The Coalition, opposing Labor’s climate change bill which includes legislating a target of 43 per cent emissions reduction by 2030, means the Albanese Government will need the Greens support to get it through the Senate.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Dutton said it was “high time that Australia had an honest and informed debate on the benefits and costs of nuclear energy”, as he announced the Opposition would conduct an internal review on its nuclear policy.

“If we are serious about reducing emissions, while at the same time maintaining a strong economy and protecting our traditional industries, all technologies need to be on the table,” he said.

A Coalition-led parliamentary committee last conducted a review into nuclear power and handed down its findings in December 2019.

There is a moratorium on nuclear power in Australia and it took 40 years for the parliament to agree on where low-level radioactive waste from medical facilities should be stored, the South Australian town of Kimba.

Mr O’Brien, who will lead the policy review, said the Coalition was open to all “sensible policies’ which support practical action in reducing emissions.

But he said it would not support legislation Labor’s 43 per cent reduction target, labelling it a political stunt.

“Experience overseas shows that legislating targets hands control over major infrastructure projects to green activists,” he said.

Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

There has been a growing push within the Coalition for years to overturn Australia’s ban on nuclear power – with Mr O’Brien one of the leading voices in the debate.

Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said by backing nuclear power the Opposition was “supporting the most expensive form of energy”.

“Their answer to rising energy prices is to put more of the most expensive form of energy, nuclear, into the system,” he said.

Opposition treasury spokesman Angus Taylor said there was a strong case to consider nuclear power, but it was “getting ahead of yourself” to discuss where a reactor could be built.