Peter Dutton doubles down on nuclear energy plans as he vows to override state bans - SBS News

Key Points

• Peter Dutton has criticised the prime minister for sticking with "unachievable" emissions targets.
• The Opposition leader said state-level opposition to the Coalition's energy plan would not stop its rollout.
• The Coalition on Wednesday unveiled plans for seven nuclear reactors across five states, should it win government.

States opposed to building nuclear power plants will be overridden if he wins office, Peter Dutton says, after name-calling Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a "fraud" and a "child in a man's body" over the issue.

The Opposition leader continued to promote his nuclear pledge to Liberal officials during an address to a meeting of the party's federal council on Saturday.

This time, he took a decidedly more personal swipe at Albanese, veering from pre-written notes distributed to the media.

"He's a man with a mind still captured in his university years; he's a child in a man's body," Dutton said.

"We need a mature conversation in this country," he added, referring to cartoon memes posted on social media by senior Labor MPs since he outlined the coalition's nuclear plan.

Describing Albanese as "a political appeaser, not a leader of conviction", Dutton said he "places a higher value on political survival than statesmanship".

Pledge to override state laws

Dutton responded to promises of refusal from NSW and Victorian premiers Chris Minns and Jacinta Allan to build nuclear power plants in their states.

"I don't answer to them," he shot back.

"Commonwealth laws override state laws … so support or opposition at a state level won't stop us rolling out our new energy system."

Dutton made clear his nuclear energy policy would form the centrepiece of the election debate.

"The next election will not only define the next political term — it will define the future and fate of this nation," he said.

But Assistant Climate Change and Energy Minister Jenny McAllister said Dutton lacked any policy detail or costs, accusing him of proposing "a risky, untested experimental technology with no costs associated with it, and lack of clarity about how it will be rolled out".

"(He) is always about the politics and never about the policy," she told reporters on Saturday.

"Mr Dutton may wish to resort to personal attack but it is no substitute for actual policy."

"The bill will be met by energy users, the risks will be borne by taxpayers, and the costs will be borne by the communities that miss out on the jobs that will come about as the world moves to net zero," she said.

Safety concerns over nuclear reactor plans

The Coalition on Wednesday unveiled plans for seven nuclear reactors across five states on the sites of coal-fired power stations, should it win government.

The plan prompted safety concerns in regional areas where the reactors are due to be built, as well as criticism the Coalition had not released any costings.

Albanese was panned for adhering to "unachievable" renewable emissions targets, which the Opposition said were blowing the budgets of Australians.

"He's more interested in appeasing the international climate lobby than sticking up for the interests of everyday Australians," Dutton said.

Opposition frontbencher Paul Fletcher dismissed fears the nuclear policy could make metropolitan electorates harder to win at the next election, saying it demonstrated the party's commitment to achieving net zero by 2050.

The Coalition faced significant challenges at the 2022 federal election in blue-ribbon, inner-city seats from teal independents who pledged greater action on climate change.

While the reactors would be built in regional locations, Fletcher said those in inner-city areas would also embrace the idea of nuclear.

Under the plan, it would take until 2035 to 2037 at the earliest for the first facility to be built.

A 'back-to-basics' economic election plan

Dutton also said a Coalition government would deliver a back-to-basics economic plan to rein in wasteful spending while delivering lower taxes and supporting small businesses.

"I will lead a government for all Australians as we work together to get our great country back on track."

Cutting unnecessary spending and removing red tape for small businesses were key to the Coalition's 2025 election plan, in a return to the roots of the party's favoured battle lines of economic frugality, Dutton said.

He criticised the government for what he claimed was a cost-of-living crisis of its own making due to failed economic management and evidenced by inflation reaching record highs and two years of interest rate rises.

"Our country is in a per capita recession and has been for five quarters," he said. "We need a back-to-basics economic plan."

Focus on small businesses and lower taxes

Dutton promised to remove regulatory roadblocks to allow small businesses to flourish and doubled down on delivering lower and fairer taxes.

That pledge follows Labor's enactment of stage-three tax cuts to financially bolster Australians on lower and middle incomes but halve the break offered to wealthier Australians, which the Coalition has called a betrayal of high-income earners.

The Coalition would seek to extend asset scheme write-offs of up to $30,000 and change the definition of a casual worker to a more "simple" explanation, he said.

Curbing high energy costs

He argued continuing tax contributions from primary industries like miners and farmers were essential to fund infrastructure, healthcare and defence, and backed in his new nuclear power plan as the right one to ensure lower energy prices and more money in people's pockets.

"Across the economy — in every aspect of production, in the supply of all goods and services — higher energy costs mean Australians are paying more for everything," Dutton said.

Curbing migration by 25 per cent, encouraging more Australians into the housing market by freeing up stock, stronger border and detention policies, and , were also put forward in what was a broad-based address.

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2024-06-22 09:22:30Z
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