Peter Dutton on nuclear power helping during natural disasters

Peter Dutton says nuclear energy will transform the way Australians respond in times of natural disaster.

The Callide Power Station in Biloela. Picture: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Peter Dutton says nuclear energy will transform the way Australians respond in times of natural disaster.

The Leader of the Opposition was in Ingham, in north Queensland, on Saturday, which was inundated by floodwaters in recent weeks.

Mr Dutton, 54, wants the nation to embrace nuclear power and says towns such as Ingham would benefit during disasters.

“Take the example of Ingham here… when you have a rain events like this and the power goes out, the batteries last for three hours on the mobile towers or they don’t work at all,” he said.

“We need to have a stable electricity system, we need to have a reliable base load power and we need to ensure that underpins the renewables.”

Mr Dutton said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s renewables energy plan wasn’t working.

“Australians now are realising not only are they paying much more for their electricity in households comparable to those in Canada or the United States or the rest of the world but we’re also now facing blackouts and brownouts,” he said.

“The Albanese government has created one hell of a mess when it comes to our energy system.”

Mr Dutton thanked the Mayor of Ingham Ramon Jayo and Queensland Premier David Crisafulli for their hard work during the floods and pledged his commitment to improve the “inadequate” Bruce Highway.

“People had their lives destroyed,” he said.

“It’s really been confronting as you fly in to see and it’s important to see it from the air so that you can get an understanding of the bridges, the road networks and the inundation on farms.”

He said more needs to be done to improve insurance access for residents and businesses in disaster prone areas.

“It’s not good enough there are only a few businesses in the Main Street here who can get flood insurance, that is just not acceptable,” Mr Dutton said.

“This can’t be an uninsurable risk and we need to sort out that mess in relation to insurance as well.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says nuclear is the future. Picture: Paul Harris

With speculation the federal election will be called imminently, Mr Dutton said he was the underdog going into the race but that he felt confident.

“I just don’t think our country can afford three more years of the Albanese government,” he said.

“(Australians) can see that it’s been a wasted three years for our country.”

But with both major parties facing the prospect of a minority government, Mr Dutton said he was prepared to work with like-minded independents.

“There are only two possible outcomes, that is an Albanese Greens government, a minority government, and as we know from Julia Gillards period as Prime Minister, that was a disaster for our country,” Mr Dutton said.

“The second alternative is that we have a coalition government, either in majority form or minority form.

“I’ve said before, we’re working in good faith with those on the crossbench, but the opportunity (is there) for Australians is to have a majority coalition government after the next election, so that we can sort out Labor’s mess.”

He further blasted the Greens as a “radical, anti-Semitic party” that would destroy the Australian economy.

“If you vote for these candidates, for these Green and Teal independents - pretending to be independents but they’re really Greens - all those votes just go back to Anthony Albanese.”

Originally published as Peter Dutton on nuclear power helping during natural disasters