Sam Armytage has criticized the energy problem facing Australia, after thousands of people were left without power due to heatwave outages across the country this week.
The summer fill-in host of Channel Nine’s Today Show made the comments on Wednesday morning during a discussion about nuclear power.
Armytage drew attention to the fact that Australians were discouraged from using electricity during periods of intense heat.
“I think there was a warning yesterday for people in western Sydney, if they want to use their electricity today in a heatwave, you know, is that becoming an option now?
‘Do you use your electricity or not? I mean, we are a modern country.
—We can’t live like this, right? With all the resources we have here.’
Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said earlier in the debate that Australians should decide on nuclear power at the ballot box.
He was reacting to Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie’s statement that the state’s voters did not support Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy plan.
Sam Armytage drew attention to the fact that Australians were discouraged from using electricity during periods of intense heat.
“Queenslanders were not given a choice over nuclear power at the last election because both the LNP and Labor were opposed to nuclear power,” Mr Canavan said.
‘The people of Queensland and the people of Australia should decide this issue, and they will have the opportunity to decide it at the next election – it will indeed be on the ballot.
“If you want reliable, cheaper energy, nuclear energy is the way to go; that’s what all the numbers show, which is why 30 countries around the world are building nuclear power plants.”
But Nine political correspondent Heidi Murphy said she did not see any of the states backing it.
“I know here in Victoria it’s an absolute no for the Labor Party, which will be in power for at least another two years,” Ms Murphy said.
And the local coalition doesn’t join in either. So, if no State supports it, I don’t know how it will end up being possible to achieve it.
‘I think Australians are open to the idea of listening to something cheaper and cleaner. They can be convinced. I think completely closing the door to debate is the wrong step.
‘We want lower energy bills and we want reliable energy. Those should be the two starting points of any conversation.’
Prominent businessman Dick Smith told Daily Mail Australia that losing power during hot weather was “the new normal” for Australians.
On Tuesday afternoon, as New South Wales was gripped by a heatwave, there were more than 6,600 homes and businesses without power due to outages in the state. In some of the affected areas the temperature reached 37°C.
And on Monday afternoon, 10,000 homes in Victoria were also left without power in a blackout that Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio blamed on “extreme heat and strong winds.”
Prominent businessman Dick Smith told Daily Mail Australia that power outages during hot weather have become “the new normal” for Australians.
‘That is why I am a firm supporter of nuclear energy. “What’s happening now is going to get worse and worse,” Mr Smith said.
‘Seventy years ago, when I was a little boy, we had regular blackouts. You would come home and the power would go out for an hour or two.
‘So we got the most incredible reliability thanks to the coal baseload.
«We are now too dependent on renewable energy without storage. Unfortunately, having adequate (battery) storage would make electricity too expensive.’
Smith said he was “positive” about opposition leader Peter Dutton’s announcement on Friday about the costs of his nuclear plan.
‘I have no doubt that we will have to move to nuclear energy. The longer we wait, the worse it will be for our grandchildren, because they will have to deal with climate change.’