Fearing fallout, state Liberals keep their distance from nuclear plan

Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy plans have fallen flat in the must-win state of WA, with his own colleagues warning the strategy lacks community support and does not make economic sense.

Victorian State Liberal leader John Pesutto. Picture: Ian Currie

Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy plans have fallen flat in the must-win state of Western Australia, with his own colleagues warning the strategy lacks community ­support and does not make economic sense.

The Opposition Leader has earmarked the coalmining town of Collie as the site of WA’s nuclear power plant. But state Liberal ­energy spokesman Steve Thomas, whose electorate includes Collie, said the community, at this stage, was largely opposed to the idea of a nuclear power plant in the town.

He also said a nuclear power plant would be too big for the WA energy grid, which is not connected to the rest of the country. Up to 80 per cent of the state’s energy needs are met by renewables, and the Liberals have argued that more gas is needed in the state to meet fluctuations in the grid.

“There should be a robust ­debate around the cost of nuclear energy and how efficient it is in Western Australia. I’m not frightened of the debate,” he said. “I’m simply saying that it has to stack up economically, and it has to have community acceptance. And the task would be for the federal opposition to deliver those things.”

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said that while her party was not ideologically opposed to ­nuclear energy, it did not appear to stack up economically compared to installing more gas-fired power capacity in the gas-rich state. “We have consistently said that given the abundance of gas in Western Australia, given the network challenges as well, we do not believe that nuclear power would stack up in the short term,” she said.

The federal opposition must win back at least some of the five WA seats it lost at the last election if it is to return to power.

ATA Consulting’s Peter Kerr, who formerly worked with WA’s electricity network Western Power, said nuclear was neither technically nor economically feasible for a WA grid.

“How do you back up the ­renewables when they’re not working? Well, that’s called gas. And we have lots of it and it’s ­affordable,” he said. “Nuclear is a distraction in the debate in WA.”

Mr Dutton’s plans also met with a tepid response from most other Liberal leaders around the country. The Liberal leader who appears closest to coming to power, Queensland LNP leader David Crisafulli, on Wednesday made it clear that Mr Dutton’s plans for two nuclear power plants was not part of his party’s planning for the state.

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

South Australian Liberal leader David Speirs. Picture: NewsWire / David Mariuz

LNP energy spokeswoman Deb Frecklington, whose electorate takes in one of the sites identified by Mr Dutton for a nuclear plant, said her party was still ­opposed to nuclear.

“We have been consistent from the start, our position has not changed, this is not part of our plan, and is a matter for Canberra,” she said. “The LNP has outlined the plan we’ll take to the next election, that’s what we’ll deliver and this is not part of it.”

The plan also met with a lukewarm response from Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto, who said his priority was on addressing energy shortages in the short term.

“We have no plans for it (nuclear) – I can’t be any clearer than that, we have no plans for it,” he said. “But we acknowledge that a future federal government may ­initiate that discussion.

“If it takes place, let it progress and involve all Australians as part of that discussion.”

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman indicated he was willing to consider Mr Dutton’s proposals as long as it fit with plans in place for the state. “I am open to lifting the ban to allow nuclear power to be considered, if feasible, as a longer term supplement to ­urgent delivery of reliable, affordable and clean energy under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap and subject to rigorous environmental assessments. In relation to specific locations, I await further details,” he said.

The strongest state-level support for Mr Dutton’s plan came from South Australian Liberal leader David Speirs.

“It’s exciting to have new ideas on the table, it’s exciting to have bold leadership from Peter Dutton, and for the state Liberal Party to be standing beside him in support of that,” he said.

“We want to see what the ­opportunities are for South Australia, we want to see what the ­opportunities are for a community like Port Augusta.”

The proposal received tepid support in Port Augusta itself, with Business Port Augusta chair Virginia Lloyd stressing that any ­assessment needed to consider the environmental, safety and community impacts.

Additional reporting: Sarah Elks, Damon Johnston, Greg Brown