The greatest problem facing centre and right-of-centre voters across the Western world is finding a clear point of difference between major parties. Supposedly conservative parties today only seem to offer an alternative of left, rather than far-over-the-cliff left. In Australia, we’ve long dubbed them “Laborals”. Americans have their “RINOs”. Lord knows what Kiwis call Luxon’s Nationals and Seymour’s ACT, but I’m sure it’s none too complimentary.
The Australian allegedly centre-right Liberal-National Coalition aren’t much better. Under former PMs Scott Morrison and especially Malcolm Turnbull, the Coalition in government only ever seemed to pause to ask the media-left how high they should jump. State branches of the party, especially in Victoria, are a sad, soggy joke.
At the federal level, to give him credit, opposition leader Peter Dutton is at least delineating clear points of difference from Labor and the Greens. Having the fortitude to oppose the appalling “Indigenous Voice” referendum was a good start. Fighting back against Labor’s demented “Net Zero” policies is another.
A key plank of that is attempting to dismantle the almost religious demonisation of nuclear power.
A “coal-to-nuclear transition” in the regions and tapping Australia’s world-leading uranium stocks are firming as centrepieces of the Coalition’s 2025 energy policy to secure long-term baseload power, slash emissions and lower electricity bills.
It’s a bold call: nuclear energy has been as relentlessly demonised in Australia as in New Zealand. The Nuclear Disarmament Party were a direct precursor to the Greens. “No Nukes” is near enough to a holy mantra for the left.
But maybe not so much for everyone else. Especially the key voters Dutton needs to win back.
Key election battlegrounds and coalmining regions in the NSW Hunter Valley and central and north Queensland, which are vulnerable to the rapid shift away from coal to renewables, are expected to be leading candidates for the future development of small modular reactors.
Opposition energy and climate change spokesman Ted O’Brien told The Australian that “views of local communities would be front and centre” if the Coalition rubber-stamps a coal-to-nuclear transition.
“A social licence should be a prerequisite for any major infrastructure that impacts people’s way of life. It’s one of the reasons why we’re speaking so openly about these matters now, even before we’ve settled a policy,” Mr O’Brien told The Australian […]
Despite the majority backing of Coalition MPs in 2021, some inside the Liberal Party were concerned about the economics and polling showing voters remained sceptical about nuclear energy.
That “some” would, of course, be the usual clique of bedwetters who’ve already cost the Coalition so dearly at the ballot box. Dutton needs to harden up and tell the wets in no uncertain terms to dry up if he is serious about winning back government.
A voter scepticism about nuclear power is rapidly waning. Just over a decade ago, a Lowy poll showed that 62% of Australians were either strongly or somewhat against nuclear power. Only 35% strongly or somewhat supported it. By 2019, Essential reported that that had switched to 44% for, 40% against.
A new poll for the Minerals Council of Australia by pollster Insightfully finds support remaining at 45%, while opposition has plunged to just 22%. Of those, a bare 9% remain strongly opposed.
Most significantly, the Don’t Know cohort has widened from just 3% in 2011 to 32% today. Australians have opened their minds.
The Prime Minister and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen – who have committed to slashing emissions by 43 per cent and having 82 per cent of renewable electricity in the grid by 2030 – claim nuclear is not a viable option because it is too expensive.
But Albo and Boofhead also claim wind and solar are the cheapest way of generating electricity. Albo and Boofhead are either liars or idiots — or both.
Mr O’Brien said “Australians with high energy-IQ know intuitively swapping retired coal plants for nuclear makes sense because they are like-for-like replacements”.
Writing in The Australian, the Queensland MP states: “Like in Wyoming, Australians in towns with power plants and energy-intensive industries aren’t fooled by NIMBY scare tactics of city-based politicians.
“Nuclear plants can plug into the grid, leveraging existing transmission, transportation and water infrastructure left behind by retired coal plants.”
The Australian
With electricity prices skyrocketing due to Labor’s Net Zero zealotry, a Coalition that can pitch to voters on lowering emissions and power prices will have an electoral winner.
Australians are open to being persuaded on nuclear energy. All they need is a political party with the guts to do it.