Peter Dutton cops backlash over push to build seven nuclear power stations in Australia

Australians have hit back at plans to build nuclear power stations in the country as the coalition steps up efforts to establish seven sites as part of its election promise.

The parliamentary committee on nuclear energy is examining the proposal and traveling around the country to hear the views of local communities.

At a meeting in Traralgon in Victoria’s Gippsland region on Tuesday, angry locals blasted the plan, which would see one of the new nuclear power stations built at the currently winding down Loy Yang coal-fired power station just 10 minutes outside the city.

The other six locations Peter Dutton has outlined for nuclear power stations are at the Tarong and Callide coal-fired power stations in Queensland, Liddell and Mount Piper in NSW, Port Augusta in SA and Muja in WA.

“We don’t need nuclear power in Australia. We need to encourage more renewable energy and the technology will continue to evolve as we keep the lights on,” Wendy Farmer, president of the community group Voices of the Valley, told the meeting.

Shadow Energy Minister Ted O’Brien, who is also vice-chair of the committee, asked whether it was “just a no” from Ms Farmer or whether she was interested in exploring whether nuclear energy could be a safe and effective form of electricity.

“The coalition told us they would consult with us for two and a half years, but then they would go ahead with nuclear whether we wanted it or not, and that our community would have no veto,” Ms Farmer shot back.

“How can we trust that the coalition will conduct an independent investigation if you say: proposal, but where is the proposal?”

Darren McCubbin, the chief executive of Gippsland Climate Change Network, received a standing ovation when he told the meeting that renewables were “ready to go”, while nuclear power stations would require years of consultation and reports.

“I want to congratulate Mr O’Brien for recognizing that we don’t have the science, that we need a work plan, that we need two and a half years of consultation,” Mr McCubbin said.

“Good thing he came here and said we don’t know the answers and we have to find them because they don’t have the answers.”

Mr McCubbin pointed to the 2GW of Victorian offshore wind projects expected to come online by 2032, increasing to 5GW by 2035.

‘Look, at the moment we have a trend towards renewable energy sources, we have formulated objectives. We have an industry waiting to disappear, we have people from all over the world looking into Gippsland and saying we have a way to get out [of coal-fired electricity].

“We have the science, we have the community [support]. We have had Star of the South [wind farm project] I have been doing community consultation here for five years and I appreciate you recognizing that you have not done that.

“So we’re ready to go and we’re putting things off for two and a half years to get work plan after work plan, and work plan is not a solution for jobs and growth in our region.”

A recent DemosAU survey of 6,709 adults between July 2 and November 24 found that 26 percent of women said nuclear energy would be good for Australia, compared to 51 percent of men.

But only one in three men surveyed were willing to live near a nuclear power plant.

Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of women say they don’t want to live near a nuclear power plant and more than half (57 percent) say transporting radioactive waste isn’t worth the risk.

The report follows the poll Farmers for climate action which found that 70 percent of rural Australians support clean energy projects on farmland in their local areas, while 17 percent were opposed.

This support was subject to conditions, including good consultation and better access to reliable energy.

Research by the Regional Australia Institute While communities in countries see significant opportunities in the energy shift, net zero targets are under threat unless properly consulted.

Mr O’Brien said on Tuesday the Coalition alone was committed to delivering “cheap, clean and consistent energy” to all Australians.

“We need a coalition government elected to build nuclear power stations and get more gas into the market so all Australians can get cheaper and more consistent energy,” he said.

But Sanne de Swart, coordinator of the Nuclear Free Campaign with Friends of the Earth Melbourne, claimed nuclear power would “increase energy bills, increase taxes and increase climate pollution”.

The independent Climate Council said it was concerned that the coalition was dependent on one private sector.base case‘ for nuclear cost calculations instead of expert advice such as from the Australian energy market operator.

“What is critical is that any new investment is made at the lowest cost to Australian consumers,” a council spokesperson said.

“Only sustainable energy sources – solar energy, wind energy, hydropower – together with energy storage can achieve this, and construction is currently underway,” the city council said.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen recently took a swipe at Peter Dutton and the coalition’s nuclear proposal, saying it would take too long to get the plants up and running.

“Net zero by 2050 is not optional. That means the critical decade has now arrived.”

With six years to go to reach the legal target of a 43 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, he said the country is on track to achieve this target and produce 82 percent renewable electricity in the national grid by 2030 .

On Wednesday the House Selection Committee was told lIt will take decades of rehabilitation before the former coal sites can be safely built for nuclear reactor construction.

“We’re talking about significant time periods of two or three decades,” said Jen Brereton, chief executive of Victoria’s Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority.