Every Australian deserves and should expect access to cheaper,...

Every Australian deserves and should expect access to cheaper, cleaner and consistent electricity. But under Labor this isn’t happening. Right now, in households and businesses around the country, Labor’s expensive renewables-only approach is failing. The Government is now talking about a 65 to 75 per cent emissions reduction target by 2035, but won’t release modelling and won’t tell us how much higher power prices will go up. Power bills have already increased by up to $1,000 for many Australians, when they were promised a $275 cut. And Labor’s climate target of 43% emissions reduction by 2030 has become unachievable. The Coalition believes Australia must have a balanced energy mix to deliver cheaper, cleaner and consistent 24/7 electricity. Ninety per cent of baseload electricity, predominantly coal fired generation, is coming to the end of life over the next decade. Nuclear energy for Australia is an idea whose time has come. Today, we announced that a future Federal Coalition Government will introduce zero-emissions nuclear energy in Australia, which has proven to get electricity prices and emissions down all over the world, to work in partnership with renewable energy and gas as part of a balanced energy mix. And today, we announced seven locations, located at a power station that has closed or is scheduled to close, where we propose to build zero-emissions nuclear power plants: Liddell Power Station, New South Wales Mount Piper Power Station, New South Wales Loy Yang Power Stations, Victoria Tarong Power Station, Queensland Callide Power Station, Queensland Northern Power Station, South Australia (SMR only) Muja Power Station, Western Australia (SMR only) Each of these locations offer important technical attributes needed for a zero-emissions nuclear plant, including cooling water capacity and transmission infrastructure. That is, we can use the existing poles and wires. The local community also has a skilled workforce. A Federal Coalition Government will initially develop two establishment projects using either small modular reactors or modern larger plants such as the AP1000 or APR1400. No country in the world relies solely on solar and wind as Labor is proposing. Labor’s 82 percent renewables target by 2030, requires 4.5 gigawatts of additional large scale wind and solar every year. Last year less than one-third of this was delivered. Labor is leading Australia toward an unnecessary energy crisis. In contrast, our plan will deliver a net-zero electricity grid by 2050 and a strong and resilient economy. It will set our country up for decades to come. Zero-emissions nuclear power plants will be national assets delivering cheaper, clean and consistent energy for 80 years. And local communities can benefit from high paying, multi-generational jobs and be empowered to maximise the benefits of hosting an asset of national importance. Getting started now on establishing a civil nuclear programme is the right decision for you, your children and your grandchildren. Our plan is bold, visionary and what Australians need to secure our energy and economic future. You can read more about it at AustraliaNeedsNuclear.org.au LEARN MORE

Kind regards, Peter Dutton Leader of the Opposition