Thursday, 20 June 2024

Nuclear energy

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (10:15): Nuclear power plants are a bad idea. We do not want a nuclear power plant in Gippsland or anywhere else in Australia, even if the proposal for one is a complete pipedream. After years of what I would call complete climate denial from the Liberal Party, when faced with the reality that we do in fact need to transition away from coal and gas and reach net zero, instead of getting with the program and supporting mass investment into renewable energy like solar and wind, which we know works, Peter Dutton has decided to charge ahead with a plan that according to experts is at least five to 10 times more expensive than renewables. It takes far too long to even get online. It takes decades – decades – when we already have renewables that are cheaper, take less time to build and are far better for the environment. Then there is the waste –

Members interjecting.

The PRESIDENT: Order! Do the clerks mind resetting the clock. People should respect the person on their feet when we have statements. I spoke about this at the business planning on Monday. Mr Puglielli, from the top.

Aiv PUGLIELLI: Thank you, President. Let me be clear: nuclear power plants are a bad idea. We do not want a nuclear power plant in Gippsland or anywhere in Australia, even if the proposal for one is a complete pipedream. After years of what I personally would call complete climate denial from the modern-day Liberal Party, when faced with the reality that we do in fact need to transition away from coal and gas and reach net zero, instead of getting with the program like everyone else, supporting mass investment into renewable energy like solar and wind, which we know works, Peter Dutton decides to charge ahead with a plan that according to experts is at least five to 10 times more expensive than renewables. It takes far too long to get online. It takes decades – I am talking decades – when we already have renewables that are cheaper, take less time to build and are far better for the environment. Then there is the waste, the water use, the community and the environmental and health concerns. It is not safe, and we see that when it goes wrong it goes wrong. I cannot stress enough how bad of an idea this is. When asked any single question about this policy, Peter Dutton’s response is ‘I don’t know’ – he does not know. We need to accelerate our renewable energy transition – that includes getting off gas – and this is just a distraction from a leader grasping at straws.