Peter Dutton is avoiding visiting any of the seven sites for his proposed nuclear reactors, Anthony Albanese and the Labor party claim, arguing the issue has become “radioactive” for the Coalition.
The Liberal leader says he is still committed to nuclear power, even as he concedes it may not be “politically popular”.
Asked earlier this month about visiting communities near the proposed sites on the campaign, Dutton said he had been to some in recent years, but would not “be able to get to all of them”.
But is he actually avoiding the towns near where he wants to build nuclear reactors?
The ‘Voldemort’ of policies
Labor has long ridiculed the Coalition’s plan for the commonwealth to underwrite the construction of seven plants on the sites of decommissioned coal stations. Journalists tailing Dutton on the campaign trail have repeatedly questioned why no planned nuclear site has featured in Dutton’s dozens of photo ops and press conferences since the official campaign began.
During Tuesday night’s debate, Albanese claimed Dutton “won’t go anywhere near [the proposed station sites] … because he knows that [the policy] just doesn’t stack up”.
On Wednesday, the prime minister visited the Collie power station, about a 20km drive from another of the proposed sites, Muja power station. Both are due to be decommissioned in coming years; the Western Australian state Labor government is pouring hundreds of millions into the town of Collie to support renewable energy projects in the area. “You would think that there was radiation coming from these sites,” Albanese said, referencing Dutton’s absence, “because he just won’t come and won’t talk about what his plans actually are.”
The energy minister, Chris Bowen, joked that nuclear power was “the dark lord of policies, the Voldemort, the policy whose name cannot be mentioned by [the Coalition]”.
“Peter Dutton has not been within 50km of one of his proposed nuclear reactors in this election campaign,” Bowen claimed.
The education minister, Jason Clare, gave a similar line on Wednesday, claiming: “The earthquake in the Hunter this morning was closer to the site of one of these nuclear reactors than Peter Dutton has even been to them.”
Is Dutton avoiding nuclear sites?
The Coalition’s plan is to build nuclear reactors at seven sites: Tarong and Callide in Queensland; Mount Piper and Liddell in New South Wales; Collie/Muja in Western Australia; Loy Yang in Victoria; and Port Augusta in South Australia.
Asked at a Perth press conference on 3 April if he would visit Collie during the campaign, Dutton said: “I’ve been to Collie before. There are seven locations around the country and I won’t be able to get to all of them.”
In East Maitland on 17 April, in the electorate of Paterson – around an hour’s drive from the proposed plant in the Hunter region – Dutton was asked why he had not visited that site.
“I’m not going to be able to meet every Australian. I’ve had the great honour of meeting many around the country,” he answered.
Dutton has claimed that “people in regions, including in the Hunter” have been receptive to nuclear power because of the energy-intensive requirements for manufacturing and steel production – and praised residents in those areas as having a higher “energy IQ”.
Dutton had previously pledged to override local opposition to nuclear power, if necessary; in last week’s ABC debate, Dutton said he would seek local “consensus” – but if that proved impossible “then we’ll do what’s in our country’s best interests”.
Where has he visited?
Analysis of Dutton’s campaign visits as of Wednesday shows he has not yet visited any of those towns.
It appears the closest he has been to any of the stations was when visiting a trade college in Maitland, which is around 70km from the Liddell site by road.
Also in the Hunter, Dutton previously visited a Tomago workshop, 85km from Liddell by road.
He also made a brief stop in Busselton, for a quick press conference at the local airport on a trip from Perth to the east coast – around a 120km drive from the Collie/Muja site.
Dutton had a scheduled campaign stop in Orange, around 100km from the Mount Piper site, on Tuesday which was cancelled after the death of Pope Francis.
On Wednesday, at a Perth press conference, Dutton dismissed any suggestion he had been avoiding the sites.
The opposition leader said he’d “been to Bunbury and to the Hunter. I have been to both of those communities.”
The coastal city of Bunbury, two hours south of Perth, is around 50km away from Collie, but Dutton has not visited during the official campaign.
Dutton doubled down on his criticisms against Labor, claiming the government had not engaged “legitimately” with Hunter region residents about their plans for offshore wind.
Asked if he was himself avoiding community engagement with towns affected by his nuclear policy, Dutton replied “no”, before suggesting he had been to the Hunter “more than once”.
“We’ve made our decision, and we’re happy to consult with people in government,” Dutton said.
The opposition leader on Wednesday stressed: “We are committed to nuclear, not because it’s politically popular.”
“I haven’t committed to nuclear energy for votes. I committed to it because it’s in the best interest of our country,” he said.
“We can’t pretend that, as the prime minister and Chris Bowen keep talking about, that wind is free and solar is free. If that were the case, why have your power bills gone up by $1,300 instead of down by $275? So, we are committed to it.”
