Wednesday, 19 June 2024

 Jacinta ALLAN (Bendigo East – Premier) (14:43): I rise to update the house on what action our government will take to stand with the Gippsland community. Gippsland is one of the most beautiful regions across our state. Not only that, it also produces some of the finest produce that you will find anywhere around the world: good milk, cheese, award-winning wine and some of the best beef and lamb you will find. But this morning we heard that there is something else that is potentially going to be added to the list of things that are produced in Gippsland, and that is nuclear waste. When the evidence is before you, when we are already on the path of transition to renewable energy and when there are projects across the state in wind, in solar and in battery storage, you would have thought that that would be something you could get on board with and get behind and partner with the Victorian government on, but no. There are some that not only want to dump toxic and risky nuclear sites into Gippsland; they also want to see the results that will affect households and businesses across the state with prices skyrocketing. That is why we will stand up for the Gippsland community and say no to the federal Liberal–National party’s plan to bring toxic, risky, expensive nuclear power to Gippsland. But there are some who are refusing to rule out building a nuclear plant in our state. There are some who we know have a secret plan, although after reading Steve Price’s article, perhaps it is not so secret after all. There are those who have a plan to join arm in arm with their federal Liberal–National colleagues to support this nuclear plan. Well, we will stand with Gippsland.