Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Green. The simple fact is that Mr Dutton can't convince his own members to support nuclear power, so why should he expect Queenslanders to support him as well? Mr Dutton's deeply divisive nuclear policy is not only being snubbed by LNP branch members; it's been panned by the state leader of the opposition, David Crisafulli, who says it's not on his agenda. I notice that Deb Frecklington, the shadow energy minister in Queensland, who also happens to be the member for the electorate covering the Tarong Power Station, says she firmly opposes the federal opposition's plan to convert Tarong Power Station into a nuclear plant.

In fact, it gets worse. Mr James Lister, the member for Southern Downs, said about nuclear:

… why would I prioritise it over the fight right now to fix the hospitals and the roads, to build more houses and dams, and to lock up the crooks?

The nuclear war is set to explode at this weekend's LNP state conference. If Peter Dutton can't get his own members to support nuclear power, why should he expect Queenslanders to back him as well?