The federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has claimed his nuclear energy plan will cost a fraction of Labor’s pursuit of renewable energy.
Mr Dutton has used a speech to the Liberal party federal council in Sydney to rally the party faithful around his policy, which would see a Coalition government put nuclear reactors on the sites of retired or soon to be retired coal fired power stations at Tarong and Callide in Queensland, Liddell and Mount Piper in New South Wales, Port August and South Australia, Loy Yang in Victoria and Muja in Western Australia.
In his speech, Mr Dutton said the plan would “see Australia achieve our three goals of cheaper, cleaner and consistent power.”
He is yet to reveal what his plan will cost, but said he would soon be providing more details to the Australian people.
“As Australians will soon see, our plan will cost a fraction of the government’s $1.3 trillion dollar plan — a figure not even the prime minster cricket team of Labor spin doctors can conceal,” he said.
But Assistant Climate Change and Energy Minister Jenny McAllister said Mr Dutton was making a baseless claim about the cost of Labor’s policy.
“Mr Dutton really should make clear where these numbers come from,” she said.
“We listen to the experts and the Australian Energy Market Operator has costed what it will take to get us to 2050 and the number they have come with is $121 billion. If Mr Dutton has a number that is 10 times more than that he may wish to explain where he got it from,” she said.
Ms McAllister said Mr Dutton had deliberately avoided using his speech to give more details about the Coalition’s nuclear plan.
“He could have talked about how much it will cost, he could have talked about what it will do to bills, he could have talked about exactly how much energy they plan to generate from nuclear … but he has done none of those things,” Ms McAllister said.
Mr Dutton also used his speech to tell the party faithful that he believed the Coalition could win the next election.
“Friends, an election is of course on the horizon, it is likely to be an early election,” he said.
“Do I think the Coalition can win the next election? You bet I do. We can and we must.”
He warned of the dangers of a minority Labor government, saying people “could not afford three years of the madness of minority government, comprising Labor, the Teals and the Greens – do not forget the manic nature of the Rudd Gillard Rudd period.”
He painted Mr Albanese as a weak and dishonest leader.
“I believe he has compromised the honour of the office he holds, he has certainly broken at least 12 core promises, most egregiously in promising Australians prior to the election that they would be better off under a Labor government,” Mr Dutton said.
The sentiment was echoed by Mr Dutton’s deputy Sussan Ley, who earlier told the audience, “We have a prime minister who is willing to lie to you when it suits him and his politics. We have a liar in the Lodge.”
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