Katy Gallagher (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you for the question. The advice the government has—and I think this is understood by everyone who's been following the energy discussion—is that nuclear energy is very slow to build. It's the most expensive form of new electricity generation. It cannot beat renewables, which are the cheapest, fastest and cleanest form of new electricity generation. The analysis that was done showed that there was a significant cost burden. Our position is about cost. We are looking for the cheapest form of energy generation, which is renewables, which includes wind and solar. Australia obviously has a very significant comparative advantage when it comes to that form of energy, with more sunlight hitting our landmass than any other country. We also don't have a workforce to support that nuclear energy generation. So the time involved means it would be decades before anything became operational and it would do nothing to reduce the energy costs for Australian households and businesses in the meantime.

So our position—and I think there is a lot of support for that position—is that this transition to renewable energy is the quickest and cheapest path as we shift away from fossil fuel generation. That is the path that the government was clear about before the election. That is the path that we are implementing under Minister Bowen's and Minister McAllister's leadership, leading for the government, and we will continue on that path. We will leave the nuclear energy debate for those opposite to convince people of.