Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I've not seen the bill that Senator Bernardi speaks to. Of course, the government gives full and proper consideration to any proposal that comes to this Senate, and I'm sure that that bill will receive the full and proper consideration of the government as well. But I would make the point—and it has been made by many people over the years; I particularly remember former Prime Minister Howard making the point on a number of occasions, and I think former Senator Minchin has made the point over the years, too—that, ultimately, the economics are a challenge, in terms of investment in nuclear, and those economics are of course particularly prohibitive, so long as the alternative party of government in Australia basically denies any investment certainty to anybody who wants to consider such a proposition.