It’s all-out war over nuclearpower

Peter Dutton will seek a mandate to overturn Australia’s ban on nuclear power and build seven reactors across the country, setting up the next federal election as a referendum on electricity costs and climate change.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will seek a mandate to overturn Australia’s ban on nuclear power and build seven reactors across the country, setting up the next federal election as a referendum on electricity costs and climate change.

The Coalition says its nuclear “vision” will ensure Australia has an “always-on” source of baseload power to drive prices down and “keep the lights on” in the transition to net zero by 2050.

But Labor has vowed to fight the proposal, describing the uncosted nuclear option as a “fantasy,” “risky” and a contender for the “dumbest policy ever put forward by a major party”.

State leaders have also thrown up roadblocks for Mr Dutton, but he insists regional communities would prefer nuclear reactors to the 28,000km of transmission lines required to connect renewables to the grid. Mr Dutton on Wednesday announced the Hunter Valley and Central West NSW, Gladstone and South Burnett region in Queensland, Collie in Western Australia, Port Augusta in South Australia and Latrobe Valley in Victoria would each host a nuclear reactor on the site of retiring coal fired power stations under a future Coalition government.

He promised two nuclear plants would be built by 2035 to 2037, and the remainder would be operational by 2050.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton is finalising the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy. Picture: NewsWire

Mr Dutton did not put a price on the reactors, saying those discussions would be had “in due course”, adding: “It will be a big bill, there’s no question about that.”

But he said the costs would not be as high as the renewables rollout — , pointing to the longer life of nuclear reactors compared to wind or solar infrastructure — as a key economic benefit. Mr Dutton has previously rejected modelling produced by the CSIRO that one nuclear reactor would cost about $8.5 billion and take at least 15 years to build.

A majority of Coalition MPs are confident nuclear will win over voters concerned about cost of living and the impact of large-scale renewable projects, while a Labor strategist said they believed it would become a “toxic” distraction for Mr Dutton.

The seven nuclear plants would be built, owned and operated by a Commonwealth-owned corporation, which would have the power to compulsorily acquire land or reactor sites by applying a national interest test.

The Coalition would have to negotiate the overturning of not only a national moratorium, but also state laws, banning nuclear energy in NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

Despite Labor Premiers lining up to condemn the proposal, Mr Dutton said states would be “pretty malleable” once Commonwealth cash was on offer and voters had backed the plan at a federal election.

Support for nuclear among state opposition leaders is mixed, with Queensland’s David Crisafulli opposed, NSW’s Mark Speakman open to the idea and Victoria’s John Pesutto saying his party had no plans to introduce it. Mr Dutton said communities were supportive about having nuclear in their backyard because there was “higher energy IQ” in the regions compared to cities.

A concept design of a zero emissions small modular reactor the Coalition proposed on Wednesday.

“These are families who have worked around the mining sector and coal plants for literally generations,” he said.

“They know that it’s safe.”

There was confusion within the Coalition, however, about what would happen if a community did not want nuclear.

The Liddell Power Station in the NSW Hunter has been slated as a nuclear power site.

Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey said if a community was “absolutely adamant” about its opposition to a reactor, then the Coalition “will not proceed”.

But she was later contradicted by Nationals leader David Littleproud, who said this was “not correct”.

“(We) are prepared to make the tough decisions in the national interest,” he said.

Mr Dutton said radioactive waste would be initially stored on the site of nuclear plants and later moved to a permanent national dump, likely on Commonwealth-owned Defence land.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the announcement raised more questions than answers, describing the policy as a “risky nuclear scam”.

“No costs, no details, no modelling,’’ Mr Bowen said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the policy was the “worst combination of economic and ideological stupidity”, adding: “This might be the dumbest policy ever put forward by a major party.”

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Originally published as It’s all-out war over nuclearpower