Australia has been promised that two government-funded nuclear power stations will be operating by the mid-2030s, under Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s ambitious and uncosted plan to build seven plants by the middle of the century.
But cracks in the proposal have already appeared, as state premiers rejected the idea, some Nationals MPs opposed nuclear power in their seats and conceded it was potentially divisive, while major industry players flagged concerns about huge costs, viability and the timeline for delivery.
Under Dutton’s proposal, announced on Wednesday, seven nuclear facilities would be built on the sites of former coal power plants in Lithgow and the Hunter Valley in NSW, Loy Yang in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, Tarong and Callide in Queensland, Collie in Western Australia and Port Augusta in South Australia. Dutton said they would all be funded and owned …