Nationals to push Labor for national energy summit

Leader David Littleproud is calling on the Albanese government to convene a national energy summit to stimulate ­energy policy development amid soaring electricity and gas prices.

David Littleproud believes a ­national energy summit could pave the way to create reliable power and certainty for investors. Picture: Brad Hunter

Nationals leader David Littleproud is calling on the Albanese government to convene a national energy summit to stimulate ­energy policy development amid soaring electricity and gas prices, as he pushes to reignite a national discourse on nuclear power.

In his first correspondence to Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, Mr Littleproud formally advocates for the government to ­investigate the potential of emerging nuclear technologies.

Mr Littleproud writes that the current energy crisis has exposed the need for a broader conversation into “long-term agnostic sustainable energy solutions”.

Consumers and businesses are bracing for a second week of skyrocketing energy prices, with the wholesale electricity price up five times compared to last year’s prices, regularly topping $400 a megawatt hour across the main states. Spot gas on the east coast has also jumped up to $50 a gigajoule from less than $10 per GJ at the start of the year.

“While I appreciate that there has been a long-standing opposition to nuclear energy by most political parties and the broader community in Australia, the ­Nationals believe sentiment is changing with the emergence of new technologies albeit some years away,” Mr Littleproud writes in the letter, which has been obtained by The Australian.

“The Nationals are not advocating for large-scale nuclear power plants but want to explore the opportunities that emerging nuclear technology may provide Australia in the future once proven,” he continues.

Mr Littleproud believes a ­national energy summit could provide an appropriate forum to bring political leaders, pre-eminent scientists, energy experts and economists together in a bid to pave the way to create reliable power and certainty for investors.

He has pledged to work “constructively” with the opposition on immediate solutions to ease energy prices for Australians, and welcomed the Prime Minister’s promise to reshape the nation’s political dialogue.

“The Nationals believe there is an opportunity for political leaders in Australia along with your leadership to create an environment for a national conversation not only about nuclear energy but a broader agnostic debate on all energy sources available to Australia,” Mr Littleproud writes in his letter to Mr Albanese.

The Coalition is reheating a debate on nuclear, with Liberal leader Peter Dutton saying he is “not afraid” to have a discussion about the alternative energy.

Ahead of a potential parliamentary fight with Labor and the crossbench on a push for more ambitious emissions reductions targets, Mr Dutton appointed Queensland MP Ted O’Brien as s climate and energy spokesman.

Mr O’Brien is a known supporter of nuclear power, after he chaired a 2019 parliamentary committee that recommended a partial lifting of the moratorium on nuclear to allow for “new and emerging technologies”.

“I’m not afraid to have a discussion on nuclear if we want to have legitimate emissions reductions, if we want to lower electricity prices, then that is exactly the path (French) President (Emmanuel) Macron has embarked on, and Prime Minister (Boris) Johnson is talking about in the UK,” Mr Dutton said on Monday.

On Tuesday, Mr Littleproud told The Australian he would be pushing for small-scale modular nuclear power to be part of the ­nation’s energy mix.