Antinuclear

Electrical Trades Union questions Australia’s billion-dollar nuclear price tag

09 October, 2024, BY Aaliyah Rogan,  https://mining.com.au/etu-questions-australias-billion-dollar-nuclear-price-tag/?fbclid=IwY2xjawF1SuRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHZuZOLhjX1n0h3g6EQL1ux1wMtrzMt09-VLVDSaM8enMFX4RZ8Fu8yOx0w_aem_1ulz0sgMMWof53yKtuqOUQ

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) is pushing back against the Coalition’s proposal to build nuclear reactors in a new advertising campaign that queries the project’s price tag, and flags concerns it will destroy valuable job opportunities. 

In mid-June 2024, Opposition leader Peter Dutton revealed the opposition’s plans to build several nuclear power plants that will begin rolling out in 2035 if the party wins the upcoming election. 

Dutton’s plan involves reactors being built on the sites of end-of-life coal-fired power stations at locations including Gippsland in Victoria, Gladstone in Queensland, Port Augusta in South Australia, Collie in Western Australia, and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. 

Following Dutton’s proposal, the Smart Energy Council conducted a detailedanalysisusing CSIRO’s latest GenCost report and the Australian Energy Market Operator’s integrated system plan, which revealed the nuclear reactors will cost between $116 billion and $600 billion. 

ETU National Secretary Michael Wright says the ad was prompted by electrical workers’ concerns that an abrupt shift towards nuclear energy will “rob the industry of a jobs and skills boom”.

“Renewables and batteries in Australia are producing so much low-cost energy we are on track to hit climate targets,” Wright says.

“This will create nearly 100,000 more jobs for electricians by 2050 — so many that we need to rewire our training system to skill up enough people. 

“We are very concerned that a rapid change in direction to high-cost nuclear with decades-long timelines would derail this momentum and rob the next generation of electrical workers of renewable transition opportunities.”

Wright adds that people have the right to ask questions about Dutton’s nuclear plans, about the costs, the length of time, and why Australia needs nuclear energy when batteries and low-cost renewables are gathering momentum in a short period of time.

“People should get to form their views with the same information that electrical workers, energy investors, and businesses in the industry have access to,” he says. 

“These insiders have reached a consensus view that nuclear is not right for Australia. 

“People are questioning the financial cost of nuclear for relatively little output that won’t come online until the middle of the century. We think most people would prefer to see renewables and batteries bring down power bills and hit climate targets much sooner than that.”

ETU’s video advertisement will be launching initially for catch-up viewers across key areas of Queensland exposed to plans for nuclear energy, before being launched in other areas ahead of the 2025 federal election. 

The ad will air on 7plus, 9Now, 10Play, SBS ON Demand, FoxtelGo, Kayo, Tubi, and Binge, as well as Youtube and Meta properties. 

The Electrical Trades Union is an Australian trade union that is a division of the Communications, Electrical, and Plumbing Union. It is considered the largest of the three divisions.

October 12, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business