Anthony Albanese has ramped up his attacks on the opposition’s nuclear energy plans, calling on voters to reject a Coalition “nuclear fantasy, dreamed-up to delay real action on climate change”.
Speaking at the Sky News/The Australian Economic Outlook lunch in Sydney on Friday, the Prime Minister told business leaders that there were “big opportunities” in the transition to a net-zero economy as a pre-election fight over energy policy intensifies.
“Australia cannot afford to go back to the days when energy policy was about fighting for power in the Coalition party room rather than powering the nation. And we cannot afford to waste 15 years down a rabbit hole about nuclear reactors,” Mr Albanese said.
“Because just as we will not find our security in isolation, we will not build our prosperity by standing still. Every business leader in this room understands that the world isn’t waiting around for Australia.”
While the Coalition had originally promised to unveil its nuclear plans before the federal budget in May, it has since delayed their release, with further details expected before year’s end.
In late May, Mr Dutton’s nuclear plans suffered a further setback when the CSIRO estimated Australia’s first large-scale nuclear power plant would not be operational until at least 2040 and would cost as much as $17bn in today’s dollars.
Promoting Labor’s Future Made in Australia Act, Mr Albanese said Australia would be instrumental in global decarbonisation efforts through exports of rare earths, critical minerals and green energy.
“We know the destination and we know how virtually every nation plans to get there – by embracing clean energy: solar power, wind power, green hydrogen,” he said.
“And in order to meet their targets, every nation will need more of the resources and technology that go into producing this energy: the metals and critical minerals and rare earths Australia has in such abundance.”
More to come