Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Emergency Management) Share this | Hansard source

The senator is correct: CSIRO's GenCost report confirmed that firmed renewables continue to be the lowest cost of new generation, and nuclear power, which is proposed by those opposite, is one of the most expensive. Independent analysis from IEEFA shows that nuclear could add an average of $1,200 a year to a four-person household's bills. One of the very big questions that those opposite are yet to answer is how they would ensure that affordable and reliable energy was available during the decades that it would take to build taxpayer funded nuclear power plants. Well, as the Chair of the AER explained to a House committee a few weeks ago, nuclear can't really fill the role of coal. Coal can't last until you'd have nuclear power available. She went on to say:

… we see the reluctance of coal fired generators to offer contracts now because they're worried about the reliability of their own plants.