Minister Warns 12,000 Farms at Risk Under Opposition’s Nuclear Energy Plan

The debate over whether Australia should embrace nuclear continues.

The Tihange nuclear plant is seen in Huy, Belgiumon, on April 27, 2024. Nicolas Maeterlinck/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty Images

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has claimed 12,000 farms could come under a “radiation alert zone” if the opposition’s nuclear energy policy comes to fruition.

Mr. Watt also raised concerns nuclear reactors could draw from the nation’s water source, potentially at the expense of farmers—a comment that has been criticised by the opposition Nationals leader.

“What we have established from research from the parliamentary library is there are nearly 12,000 Australian farms who live within an 80-kilometre radius of one of the proposed nuclear reactor sites,” Mr. Watt told ABC News Breakfast on July 18.

He also warned farmers would need to take steps to ensure they were safe from any radiation leak.

“Based on international practice, farmers would need to take expensive steps during a nuclear leak and would need to inform their customers that they operate within the fallout zone,” Mr. Watt said in a statement provided to AAP.

The federal opposition has pledged to build seven nuclear reactors across the country if it wins the next election.

The sites include the Liddell and Mount Piper power stations in New South Wales, Loy Yang power station in Victoria, the Callide and Tarong power stations in Queensland, Northern Power Station in South Australia, and the Muja Power Station in Western Australia.

During a speech to the Global Food Forum on July 17, Mr. Watt said nuclear energy generation also required a “significant amount of water” to cool the radioactive cores.

“One issue not yet considered in the nuclear debate is the fact that nuclear energy production is a thirsty endeavour,” Mr. Watt said.

“The fact is that, for an already risky policy, [Opposition Leader] Peter Dutton hasn’t outlined where any additional water is going to come from for his nuclear reactors.”

All-Renewables Approach Uses More Water: Coalition

In response, Leader of the Nationals David Littleproud said the Labor government’s all-renewables approach was already taking water from farmers in central Queensland.

He blamed Labor’s cancellation of $7 billion of dam projects, as well as changes to the Murray Darling Basin Plan to buy back an extra 450 gigalitres from farmers.

The Queensland MP said replacing existing coal-fired power plants into nuclear plants would alleviate the need for 28,000 kilometres of new transmission lines slated for the net zero transition.

“And as a result, reduce the need to rip up prime agricultural land to host renewable energy projects and new transmission lines.

Meanwhile, the federal opposition has argued Australia is the only country out of the world’s 20 largest economies not using nuclear energy or moving towards the technology.

“No country in the world relies solely on solar and wind as Labor proposes. By contrast, there are 32 countries operating zero-emissions nuclear plants. Another 50 countries are looking to do so,” the Coalition the Shadow Cabinet said in a statement.

“Energy experts have warned the cost of Labor’s rollout will be between $1.2 trillion and $1.5 trillion.”

Opposition Leader Dutton recently reiterated that the Liberal-National Coalition’s plan would comprise a mix of nuclear with gas and renewables.

“If you look at what other countries are doing, most comparable countries in the world have either embraced or are about to embrace zero-emissions nuclear technology because it’s cheaper, reliable, and can underpin economic success as we grow jobs and industry in this country,” he told reporters on July 17.