Media Statement: Dutton's nuclear fantasy a disaster for the Australian economy, energy prices and climate action
19 June 2024
The Coalition and Peter Dutton’s nuclear pipe dream is not only economically irresponsible, but pure fantasy that would deliver nothing more than another decade of delay and uncertainty to investment in our transition and new industries, and a dangerous delay to emissions reduction. It would result in higher energy costs and commit Australians to a massive unrecoverable debt while bringing risks of nuclear disaster to our shores.
Australia’s only pathway for cheaper, clean energy is with renewables. It will never be nuclear for Australia, the timeline, logistics and numbers simply don’t stack up.
If Dutton thinks nuclear energy will keep the cost of living down, he is dreaming. The reality is that climate change is making every aspect of cost of living worse. And the longer he delays sensible action, the more costly it gets.
This is a Trojan horse policy to justify keeping coal and gas powered energy in our systems longer, blowing out our carbon budgets and accelerating climate change impacts.
Australia has serious climate and transition issues to solve. For example, a huge number of Australians are facing unaffordable insurance premiums due to accelerating climate risks. Without insurance, communities will be unmortgageable.
We are fast exhausting carbon budgets to stay within safe temperature rises so it is vital to have clear targets to drive investment, accelerate our transition with policy stability and keep our communities safe.
The Coalition are becoming a fringe political outfit with no responsible policies for the biggest challenges facing our country with every region and every sector of the economy exposed to physical and transition climate risks.
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