...this is MADNESS!
...it is unlikely this policy will ever get pass and secure all approvals.
...Yet have a thought for the poor landowners in those nominated regions, their land values would instantly be eroded just with this announcement!
Peter Dutton has told his Coalition colleagues he will go to the next election promising to build seven nuclear power stations.
Mr Dutton will promise the first two sites can be operational between 2035 and 2037, several years earlier than the timeframe the CSIRO and other experts believe is feasible.
As had been previously flagged, the stations are all on retiring or retired coal sites.
The seven sites are:
- Tarong in Queensland, north-west of Brisbane
- Callide in Queensland, near Gladstone
- Liddel in NSW, in the Hunter Valley
- Mount Piper in NSW, near Lithgow
- Port Augusta in SA
- Loy Yang in Victoria, in the Latrobe Valley
- Muja in WA, near Collie
Five of the seven are in Coalition seats: Muja in Rick Wilson's seat of O'Connor, Loy Yang in Darren Chester's seat of Gippsland, Port Augusta in Rowan Ramsey's seat of Grey, Callide in Colin Boyce's seat of Flynn and Tarong in Nationals leader David Littleproud's seat of Maranoa.
Mount Piper is in the seat of Calare, held by independent Andrew Gee who was elected as a Nationals MP in 2022 but quit the party.
Liddel is in only site in a Labor seat, the seat of Hunter, held by Labor's Dan Repacholi.
Further details are expected later this morning, including about how much government funding would be required and whether the proposal is for large-scale nuclear reactors, small modular nuclear reactors, or a combination.
The Coalition had been promising a nuclear policy, including specific sites, for several months amid expert concerns over the cost and timeframe.
Last week, Mr Dutton also revealed the Coalition would campaign against the Labor government's legislated target to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030, and would not outline a 2030 emissions reduction target of its own before the election.
This morning, Treasurer Jim Chalmers told The Australian's energy conference the Coalition's nuclear plan is "
the dumbest policy ever put forward by a major party" and sought to contrast the Coalition's plan, likely to require significant public funding, with Labor's plan to encourage private investment in renewables and gas.
Coalition energy spokesperson Ted O'Brien and Nationals leader Mr Littleproud will address that conference later today.
Their full announcement is also expected to clarify whether financial incentives or compensation will be provided to communities near the proposed sites. Anticipating possible local consternation, deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said this morning community consultation would be "critical".
As well as any local hurdles, the Coalition would also face federal and state hurdles to achieving its plan.
Nuclear power is currently illegal in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and federally. All of those laws would need to be overturned, and a regulatory regime for safety and waste management introduced.
No major party leader in any of the relevant states has indicated support for Mr Dutton's nuclear plan. And the current makeup of the federal Senate is also unfavourable, given Labor and the Greens oppose nuclear power. The Coalition would be four short of a majority with the current Senate even if it secured the support of One Nation, the United Australia Party's Ralph Babet and Liberal-turned-independent David Van.
