‘Strong supporter’: Dutton makes bold Hawke claim

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has declared that if the late Bob Hawke were alive today, he would back the Coalition’s nuclear power plan.

The late Bob Hawke would back the Coalition’s push to build nuclear power plants if the Labor legend were alive today, Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton claims.

Mr Dutton has also declared that Australia could be a “natural home” for the world’s personal data – if reactors become a reality.

Asked by this masthead why the Coalition didn’t seek to establish a nuclear energy industry while it was in government, Mr Dutton replied that it was because there was no hope until Labor threw its support behind the AUKUS submarine deal under then Opposition leader Anthony Albanese in 2021.

Speaking in Sydney on Monday, Mr Dutton said “Labor gave up any pretence of being concerned about safety when they signed up to AUKUS.

“It was a difficult debate before that.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has declared that Australia could be a “natural home” for the world’s personal data – if reactors become a reality. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Mr Dutton then implied that if Mr Hawke was still alive, the former Labor PM would be a supporter of the Coalition’s plan to introduce nuclear energy.

“Bob Hawke looked very closely at it, and up until his death, was a very strong supporter of nuclear,” Mr Dutton said.

“We know that there are many people in Labor’s ranks, including the union ranks, who are strong supporters of the nuclear industry in our country.”

This masthead sought a response from federal Labor Energy Minister Chris Bowen.

Mr Dutton also said he believed Australia had a “huge play” in data storage and artificial intelligence (AI), but “at the moment, I think we’re playing ourselves out of that game.

“We’re a country with low or limited sovereign risk. We have a governance arrangement that’s the envy of much of the world. We have stable policy settings, generally speaking.

“We are a natural home for data storage and for countries … to look to us in the defence space, in health, in storage of personal data,” Mr Dutton said.

“But it comes with enormous power usage. The reality of AI is that it is going to need that baseload power. It’s not going to rely on intermittent power. It’s not going to rely on the storage capacity that we have now. And I think Australia has a huge play here. And at the moment, I think we’re playing ourselves out of that game.”

Mr Dutton implied that if Mr Hawke was still alive, the former Labor PM would be a supporter of the Coalition’s plan to introduce nuclear energy. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

In June, Mr Dutton revealed a plan to build seven reactors around Australia. The first would start producing power in 2035.

To become a reality, the Coalition would have to overturn federal and state bans.

Mr Dutton has not said how much the reactors would cost.

Between now and the nuclear age, the Coalition would increase gas supply.

Former Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce last month said the Morrison Coalition government did not pursue nuclear power plants because polling showed it was unpopular.

That led Mr Morrison to disclose that “it was determined and agreed that there was insufficient runway before the election to prosecute the case for a civil nuclear energy capability… especially given there would not be bipartisan support (from Labor) for the change.”

Originally published as ‘Strong supporter’: Dutton makes bold Hawke claim