James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Duniam, I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The need for the Senate to recognise and welcome the growing contribution that nuclear energy is making around the world to the reduction of global carbon emissions, including the Biden administration's "acceleration of civil nuclear deployment" to deliver clean, affordable, reliable electricity for American consumers and manufacturing industry.

According to our own Australian Energy Market Operator, last night between seven o'clock and eight o'clock in Queensland, 69 per cent of Queensland's electricity came from coal, 24 per cent of our electricity came from gas, four per cent came from hydro, two per cent came from wind, less than one per cent came from battery and biomass, and—this shouldn't shock anyone, apart from some of those Rhodes scholar runners-up on the other side!—zero per cent came from solar, because it was night-time. This is because last night in Queensland, in addition to the lack of sunlight, we did not have enough wind to generate mass electricity. We didn't have any solar, because the aforementioned sun was on the other side of the world, and we did not have any mass battery power, because that technology does not exist yet. So, 93 per cent of Queensland's power came from coal and gas. But under this Labor government, 90 per cent of that coal and gas, our base-load power source, is leaving the electricity grid over the coming 10 years. Let me say that again. Ninety-three per cent of our electricity in Queensland was generated through coal and gas, and 90 per cent of that is going to be leaving the grid.

So, what does that mean? We've got a state Labor government and a federal Labor government—a smorgasbord of geniuses—that are going to basically turn Australia off. We're not going to have the power that keeps our refrigerators running. We're not going to have the power that keeps the lights on. We're not going to have the power that keeps the hospitals running. For those who are going to be watching the State of Origin tonight, we're not going to have the power for people to watch the television.

Although renewables may be able to keep our electricity pumping when the sun is out and the wind is blowing, what happens at night? What happens when the wind stops blowing? The Albanese Labor government's only plan to deal with this energy cliff is to hope that we miraculously develop battery and hydrogen technology in the next 10 years—a hope that is highly unrealistic, a hope that's actually politically reckless and also highly reckless in terms of keeping Australians safe.

The coalition has another path. The coalition recognises the importance of renewable generation in our energy mix. The coalition recognises that, with 90 per cent of our base-load power source leaving our energy system over the next 10 years, gas plays a pivotal role as a lower-emissions technology in our near future. However, and most importantly, the coalition recognises that we need to develop a base-load power source that keeps the lights on at night while reducing our carbon emissions, and we need to start developing that technology now. For those who are listening at home, the answer to the energy crisis is zero-emissions nuclear technology.

Under a coalition government, zero-emissions nuclear energy will complement renewables and gas to reduce electricity prices and keep the lights on as we decarbonise. Nuclear is about lower energy prices and it is about reliability.

Under a coalition government, Australia would join the rest of the world's 20 largest economies that are using nuclear energy or moving towards it. Don't forget that, last night in Queensland, 93 per cent of our electricity was generated through coal and gas, and 90 per cent of that coal and gas is leaving our electricity grid within the next 10 years. Labor does not have a plan to fix our energy crisis and lower energy bills that does not involve them praying to the Almighty. The coalition does have a plan, and that is through zero emissions nuclear technology.