Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australians are clearly facing significant challenges at the moment. The cost of living has risen, and there are global security concerns. The world is undergoing its most significant shift in energy production since the industrial revolution. This why I joined my esteemed colleague the honourable Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, at Mt Piper, the coal-fired power station in Lithgow just a couple of weeks ago. This site is, potentially, set to become the location, under the Liberal and National parties, of a nuclear site. Clearly we have a different vision, and it will be the location of a new renewable energy hub very, very soon.

What the Liberal and National parties are promising is 30 to 40 years down the track. It's a speculative policy at best, and it lacks economic sense. The projected cost of this foolishness from those opposite is $600 billion, and it would generate, at best, about 3.7 per cent of Australia's energy mix. This is nearly double the cost of AUKUS. It's $20 billion more than the total tax revenue of $580 billion collected by the Australian government in the 2023 financial year. Not only is it financially crazy but it could lead to financial ruin for less than just four per cent of our energy grid.

During the recent roundtable discussion with Minister Bowen in Lithgow, where we went when those opposite didn't bother, the community representatives gave very clear feedback. They are pressing in their demand for jobs and support now, not on some flight of fancy and a potential of a job 30 to 40 years down the track. Nuclear is no solution for the people of Lithgow.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time for senators' statements has expired.