Peter Dutton and David Littleproud. The Liberal and National party leaders have talked up nuclear power before nutting out the policy detail or campaign strategy.Peter Dutton and David Littleproud. The Liberal and National party leaders have talked up nuclear power before nutting out the policy detail or campaign strategy.During the 2007 federal election campaign, Labor ran a TV scare ad in Queensland about the then prime minister’s plan to introduce nuclear power.
Opinion polls suggest Australians now are much more ready to countenance low-emissions nuclear power in the nation’s energy mix than they were then. That’s one of the reasonsfor future reactors. He’s been saying that, off and on, since March. Suddenly, a month ago, the timeline got fuzzy. And Queensland’s at the heart of things again.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Despite their efforts, in 2022 government became opposition and the promises went from purse strings to paper as Dutton replaced Morrison and Nationals’ leader Barnaby Joyce made way for Littleproud.
Compounding all that, Dutton and Littleproud did not prepare the ground, either in the joint party room or further afield. They started talking up nuclear power armed only with the research showing generally positive public sentiment. “But I would expect a detailed process would need to be established, including a plan to overturn existing legislation, an opportunity for potential host communities to vote in a local plebiscite, and an extensive package of social and economic support measures.