Nuclear energy will be a signature part of the coalition’s climate change policy put to voters at the next federal election.
The coalition will push nuclear as a “credible path” to net-zero emissions targets, which it says requires a broad range of energy sources.
Nationals leader David Littleproud said the opposition wanted to have a conversation with Australians about nuclear technology evolving in other parts of the world.
The technology would be “a decade away” for Australia, but Mr Littleproud said that didn’t matter because there was no need for the nation to rush towards its emissions reduction targets.
“This government is racing to net zero by 2030. Our only international commitment is to get to net zero by 2050. So let’s pause, let’s plan, let’s get this right,” he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
“Let’s get industry to understand the opportunities that are there, and then let’s create the environment by simply taking away this moratorium that’s been put in place and allow the market to decide.”
But Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said the opposition had nearly a decade in government and failed to put forward solutions to address the necessary transition away from coal and gas energy sources.
“These people were in government for 10 years, denying climate change is a problem,” she told Nine’s Today program.
“They had 22 different energy policies, none of which were implemented, and the cost for Australians has been that we haven’t made the move we need to make to renewables.
“Energy prices are incredibly high as a result.”
Ms. O'Neil said nuclear was not the answer to Australia’s energy challenges because it was expensive to build and slow to roll out.
“There’s a really obvious answer staring us in the face - it’s cheap, it’s clean, it’s green, and it’s renewables,” she said.
Opposition frontbencher Dan Tehan said consultation on the policy would take place before the 2025 election.
“We’re developing policy to make sure that we can meet our commitment of net-zero by 2050, and we think that there should be a broad range of energy mix to be able to deal with that,” he said.
“When you’ve got countries like Belgium and France that rely on nuclear ... why we shouldn’t have that part of our energy mix, and that’s what we'll continue to consult on in the lead up to the next election.”
