Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has received fierce backlash after attempting to halt the construction of nuclear reactors in Australia.
Albanese denounced opposition leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister shared photos of eight “beautiful” places across the country and asked social media users what the sites had in common.
“They risk having a nuclear reactor in their backyard under Peter Dutton’s government,” Albanese wrote.
‘Australians have waited 673 days for details about Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan. He still does not say which cities and towns he will put under threat.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has faced fierce backlash after trying to curb the opposition’s push for nuclear energy.
Albanese denounced opposition leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
Dutton has revealed plans to build large-scale nuclear reactors across the country, a policy that was backed by Nuclear for Climate Australia.
He has argued that nuclear power has the potential to reduce electricity prices and achieve zero carbon emissions.
Nuclear plants use the process of fission (splitting of atoms) to heat water in a dam and create steam, which drives a turbine that generates electricity.
Opponents of nuclear power argue that it is too risky to place a plant near any population center because of the risk of meltdown.
Social media users criticized Albanese for his post, with many claiming that Labour’s wind turbines and solar panel farms are causing the same damage to the landscape.
‘But filling thousands of acres of solar panel “farms” is perfectly fine? WHAT A HYPOCRITE YOU ARE,’ wrote one person.
“Every place in Australia is beautiful, including where those damn windmills are dumped,” a second person commented.
A third added: “Funny, I’d rather have a nuclear reactor than the thousands of miles of cleanup your government is giving the green light to make way for solar and wind turbines in those pristine, protected areas.”
Others mocked places Albanese called “under threat” in his post, including South Australia’s Barossa Valley, Queensland’s Whitsundays and New South Wales’ Hunter Valley.
‘Ahh yes, the Hunter Valley. Where the coal mines literally make the place look like a wasteland,” one person wrote.
A second commented with a laughing emoji: ‘A nuclear reactor in the Whitsundays?’
Another added: “Where is the proposed location, right on the tourist beach?”
Social media users criticized Mr Albanese for his post, with many claiming that Labour’s wind turbine and solar panel farms are causing the same damage to the landscape (pictured, wind turbines south of Goulburn in Southern Tablelands of New South Wales).
Some Australians argued that solar panel farms and wind turbines had destroyed thousands of kilometers of pristine agricultural land.
One user said Australians had waited even longer for Albanese to deliver on his promise to reduce electricity costs.
‘What do these beautiful places have in common? “They run the risk of being authorized to install solar panels and windmills,” they wrote.
‘Like this government has done with agricultural lands throughout the country. Kill eagles and reduce agricultural land.
‘Australians have waited 745 days for him to deliver on his promise to reduce electricity costs by $275. Instead, prices have increased by more than 25 percent.’
Labor and the Greens resolutely oppose the establishment of a nuclear energy industry in Australia, preferring renewable energy sources to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen previously admitted that to meet the government’s net zero emissions target, Australia would need to install 40 large wind turbines a month and 22,000 solar panels a day.
As of January, there are currently 81 renewable energy projects under construction or due to begin construction across Australia, according to the Clean Energy Council.
The projects include wind, solar, hydropower and bioenergy, and aim to generate more than $21.9 billion in capital investments.
Dutton has revealed a plan to build large-scale nuclear reactors across the country. He has argued that nuclear power had the potential to reduce electricity prices and achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
Dutton earlier this year revealed a plan to build large-scale nuclear reactors across the country and flagged the idea of potentially converting five disused coal-fired power plants into nuclear reactors.
He stated that Australia could not rely entirely on wind and solar energy to meet its goal of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.
Dutton added that the existence of electricity transmission lines from coal-fired power stations meant nuclear power could be delivered affordably, unlike Labour’s $20 billion Rewiring the Nation plan.
Nuclear for Climate Australia has been backed by coalition MPs and its founder has also advised the opposition on nuclear energy policy.
The 13 potential reactor sites recommended by the group include seven coal-fired power stations – Callide, Stanwell, Tarong, Gladstone, Millmeran, Kogan Creek and Collinsville – along with gas-fired Swanbank in suburban Ipswich.
Nuclear for Climate has also suggested the Ross River in northern Queensland, the existing site of a solar farm near Townsville that is also close to the sea.