Labor targets Gen Z, takes fight against Coalition’s nuclear pitch to TikTok

What do the Grinch, Gossip Girl and a popular Christmas carol have in common? They’re all subjects of Labor’s anti-nuclear attack ads aimed at Gen Zs.

Labor has stepped up its fight against the Coalition’s nuclear pitch with a series of meme-filled ads on TikTok to target the Gen Z crowd.

The latest around of videos, shared on the Australian Labor Party’s TikTok on Thursday night, featured references to Gossip Girl, the Grinch and popular social media trends as the party fights back against the Opposition’s nuclear policy.

One video takes inspiration from hit-teen TV show Gossip Girl, centred around an anonymous rumour blog, and says: “Spotted: Peter Dutton pushing a risky nuclear scheme that will push up your power bills by $1200 a year”.

A second video splices together several negative news stories about nuclear which question its $331bn price tag, and the impact on electricity prices, with a scene of The Grinch in which he says: “Hate, hate, hate, double hate, loathe entirely”.

Labor’s attack ad borrowed from hit teen show Gossip Girl. Picture: Supplied.

And popular Christmas film, The Grinch.

The video is captioned with: “Australia finding out the details of Peter Dutton’s risky nuclear scheme”.

Labor has seized on Peter Dutton’s claims that nuclear energy would reduce costs by 44 per cent compared to renewables, after the Opposition Leader said the figures had been revealed in its costings, when they had not.

However Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor has not been able to confirm when power bills would start coming down.

Instead he said that the total spend on electricity bills to 2050 would be 44 per cent with nuclear, than with Labor’s renewable’s policy.

In response, Employment Relations Minister Murray Watt has called on Mr Dutton to come forward and explain his costings.

“I think all Australians, at a time when people are dealing with cost of living pressures, want to know very clearly from Peter Dutton, what is his nuclear plan going to mean for their household power bills,” he said.

The Coalition has suffered two more blows to its nuclear election promise after Country Liberal Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro and LNP Queensland Premier David Crisafulli both rejected hosting nuclear energy in their states.

On Thursday, Ms Finocchiaro said: “We’ve always been really clear that the Territory doesn’t have a nuclear future. What we know is we have gas right now that could power this country for generations”.

Earlier this week, Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said it was a “Canberra battle” that he didn’t want to wade into.

This is despite two out of the seven reactors slated to be built in his state.

“We’ve said we weren’t going to be part of that battle, and we didn’t support that plan,” he said.

“Our plan is what’s going to drive down prices for Queenslanders sooner rather than later.”