Anthony Albanese calls on voters to reject Coalition’s ‘nuclear fantasy’

Speaking to business leaders, the Prime Minister hit out at the Coalition’s ­nuclear energy plan that he said delayed “real action” on climate change.

The Prime Minister called on voters to reject the Coalition’s mooted nuclear energy policy. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Anthony Albanese has ramped up his attacks on the opposition’s nuclear energy plans, calling on voters to reject a Coalition ­“nuclear fantasy, dreamed-up to delay real action on climate change”.

Speaking at the Sky News/The Australian Economic Outlook lunch in Sydney on Friday, the Prime Minister told business leaders that there were “big opportunities” in the transition to a net-zero economy as a pre-election fight over energy policy intensifies.

“Australia cannot afford to go back to the days when energy policy was about fighting for power in the Coalition party room rather than powering the nation. And we cannot afford to waste 15 years down a rabbit hole about nuclear reactors,” Mr Albanese said.

The Prime Minister’s comments come amid an intensifying political debate over energy policy. Picture: NewsWire/ Britta Campion

“Because just as we will not find our security in isolation, we will not build our prosperity by standing still. Every business leader in this room understands that the world isn’t waiting around for Australia.”

While the Coalition had originally promised to unveil its nuclear plans before the federal budget in May, it has since delayed their release, with further details expected before year’s end.

In late May, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear plans suffered a further setback when the CSIRO estimated Australia’s first large-scale nuclear power plant would not be operational until at least 2040 and would cost as much as $17bn in today’s dollars.

Promoting Labor’s Future Made in Australia Act, Mr Albanese said Australia would be instrumental in global decarbonisation efforts through exports of rare earths, critical minerals and green energy.

“We know the destination and we know how virtually every nation plans to get there – by embracing clean energy: solar power, wind power, green hydrogen,” he said.

“And in order to meet their targets, every nation will need more of the resources and technology that go into producing this energy: the metals and critical minerals and rare earths Australia has in such abundance.”

Asked about his government’s target to increase overall renewable generation in the national electricity market to 82 per cent by 2030, Mr Albanese said he did not accept analysis put forward that claimed that goal would not be met.
“It doesn’t go in a straight line, it ramps up, and that is one of the things that you will continue to see,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Albanese took aim at Peter Dutton’s nuclear power policy. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Further questioned about the viability of nuclear energy, Mr Albanese said while it made sense “for some countries” to adopt nuclear power generation, the proposal had little merit in Australia due to the “natural advantages we have” that made renewable generation much more feasible.

“We have all the critical minerals (and) green hydrogen … the advantage that we have is space

“We have a comparative advantage in this country. We don’t have a comparative advantage (in nuclear energy), but we have a disadvantage because we don’t have an industry and it would be more than a decade and a half before anything could happen.”

In separate remarks made on Friday morning, Mr Dutton accused Labor of pedalling its own “fantasy” with its plan to have the grid overwhelmingly powered by firmed renewables.

“We need to – as we decarbonise – have a credible pathway to reducing those emissions,” Mr Dutton told reporters in Melbourne.

“We can’t have a situation where the Prime Minister says we’re not gonna have gas, we’re not gonna have coal, and we’re not going to have nuclear. But somehow the lights are going to stay on prices will come down – it’s just fantasy.”