Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yet again I have to stand in this place and speak on a motion moved by those opposite that just doesn't make sense. But it's a pleasure to rise today to speak on this matter of public importance, because renewable energy is an issue of vital importance to Australia's future energy security. I must admit, I'm baffled by the opposition—their renewables policies and their obsession with nuclear power. It's as though they've been watching too much sci-fi, imagining a future powered by reactors that, let's be honest, will take decades to come online and will cost taxpayers an absolute fortune.

I've had the joy of spending time with the shadow minister recently, and I'd be the first to say that he's not a terrible bloke. But let's call it for what it is: he doesn't give a stuff about facts; he doesn't give a stuff about regional Australia. Here's the difference between you and me, champ: this isn't a political game to me. I'm a former coalminer who lives in one of these regions. I actually care about the future energy needs and the future of our region, because they're my mates and they're my family. I actually think people in the regions deserve facts on this nuclear dream of his. It's a costly nightmare for the regions and for the taxpayers.

But let's look at the facts, because someone in this chamber has to. Building a nuclear power plant in Australia will take at least 20 years, even if everything goes smoothly. Meanwhile, coal-fired power stations like Callide and Tarong are closing as soon as 2028. That's a gap we just can't afford in terms of jobs and energy security. Electrical Trades Union Secretary Michael Wright told a committee: 'No worker engaged in a coal-fired generator anywhere in the Hunter or more broadly in Australia will be able to transition straight into a nuclear generator. It is simply not conceivable.' The committee has heard from experts telling us it will take eight to 10 years just to get a regulatory framework in place for nuclear energy in Australia. The shadow minister's own US based experts let slip this week that it will take at least 12 years to build a single nuclear reactor. That's 20 years lead time before we see a watt of electricity for their nuclear fantasy.

I notice he's just left the place; he didn't want to hear this. So, that's mid-2040s. And what's the price tag for this? The best estimate is tens of billions per reactor—and that's before we account for cost overruns, delays and the massive subsidies required to make it remotely viable. We trust the experts. We have crunched the numbers. Replacing a fraction of Australia's retiring coal-fired generation with nuclear will cost $600 billion. This is money we simply don't have. The experts of the Smart Energy Council predict that Dutton's seven nuclear reactors will provide only 3.7 per cent of Australia's energy mix in 2050.

Instead of spending billions on nuclear power that won't come online until the 2040s or 2050s, we could invest in renewables and storage solutions, firmed up by gas, that are cheaper, faster and ready to deliver now. But here's the kicker: the opposition hasn't provided a single detail of their nuclear plan—sorry: policy, or so-called policy. All they have provided is a list of sites. They haven't told us how many generators they will be putting into each site, just that it will be a multiple. Where's their plan for waste disposal? Where's their funding model?

The shadow minister can't even answer these questions, because he hasn't done the work. And do you know why? It's because he doesn't give a stuff about regional communities, who will be left holding the bag when the costs blow out.

The opposition's lack of detail is, frankly, insulting to Australians, who just want answers. It's easy to throw around buzzwords like 'clean' and 'reliable', but when you dig beneath the surface, their nuclear plan is little more than wishful thinking.

Australians deserve better. They deserve leadership that prioritises solutions, not delays. They deserve policies based on facts, not fantasies. Most of all, they deserve an energy strategy that delivers affordability, sustainability and jobs, not a nuclear black hole that will leave us all poorer.

We care about creating jobs now, not decades down the track, so those opposite should stop drinking the nuclear Kool-Aid and get on with the job of powering Australia's future. Ignoring facts does nothing to provide cheap and reliable energy to Australians. Those opposite misled the Australian people on energy prices, and now they're misleading them about our energy policies. Peter Dutton can't be trusted on energy, or on anything else for that matter. Have a good, hard look at yourself, Mr Dutton.

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