Last year, the Coalition announced it would introduce a new nuclear energy policy if it won the federal election.
On Saturday, the Coalition suffered one of its worst electoral defeats in history. Now, questions have been raised about whether the nuclear policy should remain as part of the Coalition’s policy platform moving forward.
Liberal and National MPs are divided over the matter, with some advocating to dump the policy altogether, while others want nuclear energy to remain a viable option.
Here’s what you need to know.
Nuclear power
Nuclear energy is produced through a process of fission, where atoms (tiny bits of matter) are heated and split into many parts.
The process is normally fuelled by uranium, a rare metal, which triggers a chain reaction to spin turbines that create electricity.
While the process doesn’t release carbon emissions, nuclear is not a renewable form of power because it relies on a finite resource. Nuclear is also banned at a national level, and some states have their own bans.
Election pitch
Ahead of the election, the Coalition proposed adding nuclear power to Australia’s overall energy mix.
It proposed installing seven nuclear reactors at existing coal-fired power stations around Australia, including at Collie (WA), Muswellbrook (NSW), and Loy Yang (VIC).
The Coalition said nuclear would provide a “consistent 24/7 electricity” supply.
The party positioned the proposal as a “zero emissions” alternative to Labor’s “renewables-only” policy.
Aftermath
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Some Liberal MPs have blamed the party’s landslide defeat on the nuclear proposal.
At the time of writing, the Coalition has lost at least 13 seats to Labor.
NSW Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic has urged the party to dump the nuclear policy, arguing it didn’t provide a “legitimate alternative” to Labor’s energy plans.
Speaking to Nine newspapers, Kovacic called on the Coalition to “back the private market’s investment in renewable energy”.
Outgoing Tasmanian Liberal MP Bridget Archer also said the nuclear proposal was “too complicated”.
“A more liberal approach would have been to say, look, we’re going to look at removing the [ban on nuclear] and let the market decide,” Archer told the ABC.
Nuclear support
While some members of the Coalition believe nuclear should be dropped, others have suggested it should remain.
Victorian Liberal MP Tim Wilson told reporters on Wednesday nuclear power needs to remain an option in the future.
“If we don’t do that, then we are saying we’re either going back to coal, or we as a nation are going to deindustrialise”.
The Nationals have dug in to support nuclear energy as a future policy position.
Speaking to the ABC, Nationals MP Michael McCormack said many Coalition members are “pro-nuclear”.
When asked if he believed the Liberal and National parties could split over division on nuclear, McCormack said: “We’ll have to wait and see”.
Senator Matt Canavan told Sky News on Wednesday the Coalition “is a business relationship, not a marriage”
