Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the member for Lyne's motion. I also wish to speak about what the nuclear industry could mean for Australia, particularly in my electorate of Flynn in Central Queensland. According to Labor's budget estimates, the next two years will see an increase in electricity prices of 56 per cent. How can these electricity prices be reduced? Australia has signed up to net zero emissions by 2050, and how can this be achieved? The answer is right in front of us. It is nuclear energy.

Australia is the only G20 country not to have nuclear energy. According to the US Office of Nuclear Energy, nuclear is the largest source of clean power in the United States and is worth an estimated $60 billion to the country's gross domestic product. If that works in the United States, in Europe and elsewhere, why can't it work in Australia? Cost estimates for nuclear energy can range from $65 a megawatt hour or below, which is less than a new coal plant, to over $300 a megawatt hour, which is well above the high-cost diesel generators. A small modular reactor has a maximum energy capacity of 7,300,000 megawatt hours a year.

Support for nuclear power is growing. A Lowy Institute poll last year found a majority would support removing the ban on nuclear power. In 2011, only 35 per cent of people were in favour of nuclear energy. Nuclear power is safe and has resulted in far fewer deaths than dam failures, oil rig explosions and even, on some measures, people falling while installing solar panels. Nuclear does less damage to the natural environment than other energy options. Wind energy takes 250 times more land than nuclear power. Solar energy takes up 150 times more land. Between 1965 and 2018, the world spent $2 trillion on nuclear energy compared to $2.3 trillion on solar and wind. Yet nuclear today produces around double the electricity of solar and wind. It is 95 per cent reliable, while solar and wind are 25 per cent and 35 per cent productive, respectively. The nuclear asset life ranges from 40 to 80 years, which is far longer than solar or wind projects, which average around 20 years. What people fail to recognise is that this means that solar or wind projects need to be installed and disassembled possibly four times in the lifespan of a nuclear asset. This is also not to mention the environmental impact of renewable energy, as wind turbine blades can't be recycled, so they're piling up in landfills.

Australia has 20 coal-fired power stations, which employ a total of 4,800 people. The Flynn electorate has three coal-fired power stations: Callide, Stanwell and Gladstone. On 28 September the Queensland Labor government announced plans to transition Queensland coal-fired power stations to a clean energy hub from 2027. So why don't we convert these power stations in the electorate of Flynn to nuclear power stations when the time comes? In the United States they are converting coal-fired power stations to nuclear plants, which provide tangible economic employment and environmental benefits to local communities. If we did this it would also not require the massive expense of rewiring the grid with high-voltage transmission lines that are required to connect solar and wind farms. You may simply plug into the existing system with a nuclear option.

We already have a nuclear reactor in Australia and have had for many, many years. The Lucas Heights nuclear medicine facility is right in the middle of Sydney. And we all know somebody who has suffered from cancer and has undergone radiation therapy. Lucas Heights is where this medical treatment is developed. So, to argue that nuclear technology is not safe is not correct. Australia has the world's largest known reserves of uranium, and we export it to over 40 countries worldwide. We have these reserves, so why not use them? It is rather hypocritical to have a zero tolerance policy in respect of nuclear energy when we provide the world with the primary source to make nuclear power possible.

In conclusion, it's important that Australia plans for the future, and I believe that nuclear power is the answer to our energy needs. To the federal government I say, let's have this conversation; it's time for an open discussion.

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