McCORMACK WELCOMES RATIONAL, NATIONAL NUCLEAR DISCUSSION
Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack has welcomed today’s Coalition nuclear energy policy announcement and the release of the Frontier Economics report on the inclusion of nuclear energy in the national energy grid.
“I have always said Australia needs to have the rational, national discussion on the merits of including nuclear energy in the Australian energy grid,” Mr McCormack said.
“Today’s announcement by the Coalition is exactly that — a crucial step in advancing the debate which makes it clear to Australians that costly, unreliable and land-inefficient solar and wind ‘farms’ are not the only option for Australia’s future energy production.
“Australians need not resign themselves to a future of increasingly expensive and unreliable power, as would be the case under Labor.
“Indeed, according to the latest analysis by Frontier Economics, the introduction of nuclear energy into Australia’s energy mix will save us $263 billion, a 44 per cent saving, compared with Labor’s renewables-only approach.
“So far, under Labor’s plan we have seen families pay up to $1,000 more per year for energy than was promised.
“Between May 2022 and October 2024, the cost of electricity, excluding taxpayer-funded rebates, has increased by 31 per cent and gas prices have increased by 32 per cent. All whilst Labor promised a $275 cut to power bills.
“Australia is one of the most energy-rich countries in the world, particularly when accounting for our population size.
“We have a third of the global coal reserves, we are the second-largest natural gas exporter and we have the world’s largest Economic Demonstrated Resources of uranium.
“Already, Australia is the third-largest uranium producer.
“It is only prudent to leverage our natural resource advantages to produce reliable and affordable power.
“Across the world, 32 countries are safely and effectively using nuclear energy, including many of our closest partners, such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Japan.
“In fact, Australia is the only country among the world’s 20 largest economies which is not using nuclear energy or moving towards it.
“In Ontario, Canada, nuclear energy represents 60 per cent of its energy supply and residents are paying 18 cents per kilowatt hour. In contrast, in South Australia, which gets more than 75 per cent of its electricity from wind and solar, families pay up to 56 cents per kilowatt hour.
“If we are to continue under Labor’s plan, Australia will never fulfill its destiny as an advanced manufacturing nation.
“I understand there is a range of views in the community when it comes to nuclear energy and the energy transition, but I encourage the public to learn more about the Coalition’s plan and Frontier Economics’ modelling at https://www.australianeedsnuclear.org.au/”
Mr McCormack said he knew many people were justifiably concerned about the impact solar and wind projects were making upon prime agricultural land and the communities surrounding them.
“The Coalition’s plan for nuclear energy will avoid the installation of more than 50,000 megawatts of industrial scale renewable projects and thousands of kilometres of transmission lines by making use of existing energy infrastructure at seven retired or retiring coal power plants,” Mr McCormack said.
“This will ensure our prime agricultural land remains doing what it does best — producing the best food and fibre in the world.
“Our country needs to have a vision for a better future. Without the ambition for a better tomorrow, we would never have built the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Snowy Hydro or the irrigation schemes which allowed much of inland Australia, including the Riverina, to be the breadbasket it is today.
“It is only the Coalition which has and can deliver that vision.”
ENDS