Opposition leader Peter Dutton will today present costings for the LNP’s $300 billion-plus nuclear energy policy, which it claims will be $263 billion cheaper than Labor’s renewable energy plan.
Announcing the plan, Dutton said, “If you look at every other comparable economy around the world, they have adopted or signed up to the use of nuclear energy.”
Related article: Draft report shows renewables’ cost advantage over nuclear
He claims there is “no hope” of reaching net zero without nuclear power to firm a renewables-powered grid.
Dutton said the cost of the LNP’s plan would be $263 billion cheaper than the cost of Labor’s policy at an estimated $600 billion—a figure Labor disputes.
The Coalition believes it can save money on “unnecessary infrastructure expenses” if nuclear power plants are “plugged in” to transmission lines currently used by coal-fired power stations.
Its plan also relies on the longer life of Australia’s coal plants, with its first nuclear power station to be operational by 2036.
Labor has labelled the LNP’s nuclear policy as “fantasy”, citing this week’s report by CSIRO and AEMO which found nuclear more expensive than renewables.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said, “What the Coalition is asking the Australian people to believe is this: that they can introduce the most expensive form of energy and it will end up being cheaper. It won’t pass the pub test.”
Meanwhile, Education Minister Jason Clare appeared on Sunrise where he quipped the plan had “the shelf life of a seafood milkshake”.
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NDIS Minister Bill Shorten was equally deadpan.
“Their numbers won’t stack up. Mike Tyson once said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. All I can say about Peter Dutton’s plan is, wait until they get punched by the facts,” he told the Today Show.
