Peter Dutton is avoiding visiting any of the seven websites for his proposed nuclear reactors, Anthony Albanese and the Labor celebration declare, arguing the problem has change into “radioactive” for the Coalition.
The Liberal chief says he’s nonetheless dedicated to nuclear energy, whilst he concedes it might not be “politically popular”.
Requested earlier this month about visiting communities close to the proposed websites on the marketing campaign, Dutton stated he had been to some in recent times, however wouldn’t “be able to get to all of them”.
However is he truly avoiding the cities close to the place he desires to construct nuclear reactors?
The ‘Voldemort’ of insurance policies
Labor has lengthy ridiculed the Coalition’s plan for the commonwealth to underwrite the development of seven crops on the websites of decommissioned coal stations. Journalists tailing Dutton on the marketing campaign path have repeatedly questioned why no deliberate nuclear web site has featured in Dutton’s dozens of picture ops and press conferences because the official marketing campaign started.
Throughout Tuesday evening’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 energy station, a few 20km drive from one other of the proposed websites, Muja energy station. Each are attributable to be decommissioned in coming years; the Western Australian state Labor authorities is pouring a whole lot of tens of millions into the city of Collie to help renewable vitality tasks within the space. “You would think that there was radiation coming from these sites,” Albanese stated, referencing Dutton’s absence, “because he just won’t come and won’t talk about what his plans actually are.”
The vitality minister, Chris Bowen, joked that nuclear energy 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 training minister, Jason Clare, gave an analogous 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 websites?
The Coalition’s plan is to construct nuclear reactors at seven websites: 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.
Requested at a Perth press convention on 3 April if he would go to Collie through the marketing campaign, Dutton stated: “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, within the voters of Paterson – round an hour’s drive from the proposed plant within the Hunter area – Dutton was requested why he had not visited that web 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.
