Dutton’s nuclear disaster: Cheap lies and a $20 billion deficit
By Steve Bishop | 17 February 2025, https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/duttons-nuclear-disaster-cheap-lies-and-a-20-billion-deficit,19447
The Coalition’s nuclear policy announcement comes with a massive price tag but is also built on disinformation, writes Steve Bishop.
A $20 BILLION deficit and cheap lies mean that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton‘s attempt to “extend the life” of coal-fired power plants with a nuclear “fix” has come spectacularly unstuck.
Dutton and the Coalition stand condemned for presenting the public with a shoddy, ill-prepared policy on a multi-billion dollar project that the Climate Council warns could risk power shortages in the 2030s.
On 13 December last year, Mr Dutton promised:
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Dutton’s nuclear disaster: Cheap lies and a $20 billion deficit
By Steve Bishop | 17 February 2025, 3:00pm | 0 comments |
The Coalition’s nuclear policy announcement comes with a massive price tag but is also built on disinformation, writes Steve Bishop.
A $20 BILLION deficit and cheap lies mean that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton‘s attempt to “extend the life” of coal-fired power plants with a nuclear “fix” has come spectacularly unstuck.
Dutton and the Coalition stand condemned for presenting the public with a shoddy, ill-prepared policy on a multi-billion dollar project that the Climate Council warns could risk power shortages in the 2030s.
On 13 December last year, Mr Dutton promised:
‘By 2050, our plan will deliver up to 14 GW of nuclear energy, guaranteeing consistent and stable electricity for all Australians.’
Yet the Coalition’s costings report, released on the same day, repeatedly deals with only 13 GW.
That’s 1,000 MW short of the target.
Three small modular reactors (SMRs) producing 345 MW each would be needed to make up the shortfall at a cost of almost $20 billion based on the US$4 billion (AU$6.2 billion) price of Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien‘s favoured Natrium reactor.
Just to put this critical mess in focus — that’s twenty thousand million dollars. It makes a mockery of Dutton’s claim that “the Liberal Party has always been a better economic manager…”
And then come the cheap lies.
Mr Dutton claims:
“…electricity is cheaper where there is a presence of nuclear energy. That is a fact.”
No, it’s not a fact. It is a lie.
Ted O’Brien has repeatedly talked about Ontario as having cheap power because it has nuclear reactors.
But Quebec’s electricity prices are far cheaper than Ontario’s. Quebec closed its only nuclear power plant in 2012.
Not only that, but Quebec’s power company paid the provincial government a dividend of $2.5 billion in 2023/24.
On the other hand, the Ontario Government pays subsidies of up to $720 a year to families of four earning less than $65,000 a year.
Coalition frontbencher Dan Tehan says nuclear power contributes to low power prices in Tennessee but Electric Choice shows that this month Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Utah all have lower power prices — and none of them has nuclear power,
Dutton claims “Australian families at the moment are paying some of the highest energy costs in the world” and they would enjoy ‘massive savings’ if we had nuclear power.
The Opposition Leader also says it’s a fact that countries such as the UK and France, with their nuclear power, have cheaper power prices than Australia.
Here’s the lie exposed again. It’s a complete meltdown. According to Statista, power prices in the UK and France are more expensive than in Australia.
Here’s another lie.
Mr Dutton asserts:
‘…nuclear energy… has proven to get electricity prices and emissions down all over the world…’
Slovenia has a nuclear power plant but is one of the most expensive providers in Europe with Switzerland‘s nuclear power prices not far behind.
Slovakia generates half its power from nuclear plants but power prices are more than twice what Norwegians, with no nuclear power, pay.
Then Dutton has the chutzpah to accuse the Government of lying when it points out that nuclear power is the most expensive type of energy.
In the 2021 edition of its annual cost report, Wall Street firm Lazard estimated that the levelised cost of electricity from new nuclear plants will be $131–204 per megawatt-hour (MWh), whereas newly constructed utility-scale solar and wind plants produce electricity at somewhere between $26–50MWh.
An independent report commissioned by the Clean Energy Council and conducted by Egis, a leading global consulting, construction and engineering firm, has confirmed that nuclear energy is up to six times more expensive than renewable energy.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) found nuclear power in Australia could result in electricity bills rising by $665 a year on average
And the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has found:
‘…building nuclear reactors in Australia would cost at least twice as much as renewable power…’
No wonder that Coalition whistleblower Senator Matt Canavan revealed the nuclear policy is no more than a fix. It doesn’t even deserve a half-life.
The past week in nuclear news
Some bits of good news. The Revival of Germany’s Carbon-Sequestering Peatlands. Australia’s renewable energy growth doubles in six months. Three good things: projects clearing up junk that’s hidden from view.
TOP STORIES. Netanyahu’s Quest to Attack Iran’s nuclear facilities with the ‘Mother of all Bombs’.
Anatomy of an AI Coup.
The Pentagon Is Recruiting Elon Musk To Help Them Win a Nuclear War.
High-Explosive Drone Pierces Shell Of Chernobyl Nuclear Plant At Very Moment Trump Pushes Ukraine Toward Peace.
Climate. World’s sea-ice falls to record low. Two-thirds of Americans still believe climate change is impacting the Earth, despite what Trump contends.
Noel’s notes. Small Nuclear Reactors: Big safety problems, and who pays the piper? “Jobs Jobs Jobs!” screams the nuclear lobby.
AUSTRALIA. Dutton’s nuclear disaster: Cheap lies and a $20 billion deficit. Why are young people like this 18-year-old fronting the pro-nuclear push in Australia? American or Trump’s values, or are they the same? Nuclear advocates: Splitting atoms and spinning agendas. Australia’s technocratic drive to nuclear ignorance. more Australian nuclear news headlines at https://antinuclear.net/2025/02/13/australian-nuclear-news-10-17-february/ 22 February – protest AUKUS this Sat near Pt Adelaide event https://www.facebook.com/events/13888580289
NUCLEAR ITEMS
ART and CULTURE.
Why Welsh speakers oppose Wylfa nuclear plant.
ECONOMICS.
- The £40bn nuclear project at risk of becoming another British white elephant. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2025/02/12/2-a-the-40bn-nuclear-project-at-risk-of-becoming-another-british-white-elephant/
- Can the nuclear industry find a better way to build?
- Octopus Energy launches renewables investment platform for consumers.
- South Korea increases support for domestic nuclear industry.
- NUCLEAR BRIBERY: Nuclear Waste Services funds Cumbrian community projects.
- Marketing. India PM Modi ends foreign tour with nuclear deals in pipeline.
| EMPLOYMENT. US government tries to rehire nuclear staff it fired days ago.There really ARE necessary nuclear industry jobs – IN DEMOLISHING NUCLEAR REACTORS! |
| ENERGY Prioritizing nuclear power and natural gas over renewable energy is a risky move for Ontario’s energy future. Green power– not for us? |
| ENVIRONMENT ‘Nothing prepared us for Sizewell C devastation‘. Nuclear Free Local Authorities back petition to save fish at Hinkley C. Nuclear waste plan ‘would scar Lincolnshire Wolds‘. |
EVENTS.
- 19 February – WEBINAR. International Update: Nuclear Waste Burial Programs in the UK, US and EU | Nuclear Waste Online 2025.
- 21 February WEBINAR . What Scientists Are Telling Us About Radiation that Nuclear Boosters Won’t.
- 22 February Drone Wars Online Day Conference.
- 23 February GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION TO CLOSE BASES. – https://worldbeyondwar.org/closebases/
- Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons .
| HEALTH. Doctors fear health fallout from nuclear energy plans |
| MEDIA. Media must unshackle itself. |
| OPPOSITION TO NUCLEAR Opposition mounts to planned nuclear plant as Starmer confirms new policy of ‘Build, baby, build’. Sizewell C campaigners slammed “clueless” Government. |
| SAFETY.Oops! Trump accidentally fired hundreds of federal workers who maintain our nuclear weapons. Warning sent about need for strategic policing reform to address security of SMRs. Safety Issues and Impact on Marine Environment of Extension of British Nuclear Plant Lifespan Queried by NGO. Would a fallout shelter really protect you in a nuclear blast?‘ Deeply Concerned’ Dems Want to Know If DOGE Can Access Nuclear Weapons Data. Incident. A drone pierced the outer shell of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant. Radiation levels are normal. |
| SECRETS and LIES. Engineer who worked on Hinkley Point C nuclear project quizzed on suspicion of being a Russian spy, The Coventry experiment: why were Indian women in Britain given radioactive food without their consent? Secret terror blueprints for US NSC to ‘help Ukraine resist’ exposed. |
| WAR and CONFLICT. NFLAs endorse international appeal for justice over French nuclear tests. |
| WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES .A New Military-Industrial Complex Arises. Trump wants Russia, China to stop making nuclear weapons, so all can cut defence spending by half. Trump Promises Billions in Defense Cuts. Will U.S. resume nuclear testing? America’s nuclear gamble: The dangerous push to resume atmospheric testing. Trident nuclear submarine project rated “unachievable” third year running. UK Government urged to scrap nuclear weapons ‘once and for all’. |
Taxpayers should not foot the bill for nuclear risk
Australians for Affordable Energy, 17 Feb 25, https://theaimn.net/taxpayers-should-not-foot-the-bill-for-nuclear-risk/
If private insurers refuse to cover nuclear reactors the financial risks will be shifted onto Australian taxpayers, meaning we are still unclear how much taxpayers will have to cover of the nuclear bill.
Australians for Affordable Energy has expressed deep concern over the revelation the private sector may not be able to insure nuclear reactors, following comments on Monday from the CEO of the Insurance Council of Australia.
Many of Australia’s leading insurance companies won’t cover damage from a nuclear disaster, leaving the government as the insurer. By shifting the financial burden of insuring nuclear facilities onto taxpayers, Australians could be exposed to potentially tens of billions of dollars in liabilities if a nuclear accident were to occur.
“We know that private investors won’t put money into building the industry, that we will need to create a massive new government agency to oversee it, and now we are hearing that we will need to pay for the insurance too? What’s next?”
“Advocates for nuclear energy need to say whether it can stand on its own, including paying their insurance. And they need to tell us what other costs we might be asked to carry. The fact is by the time the reactors are done it won’t be us paying the bills for the insurance, it’ll be our grandkids. I’d like to know what we’re signing them up for. ”
Australians for Affordable Energy spokesperson Jo Dodds, a bushfire survivor and advocate for evidence-based policy, said: “Australians are already struggling with rising energy costs, the last thing we need is a power source that could further inflate our electricity bills and our taxes.
“The high costs associated with uninsured nuclear power could be passed onto consumers, who are already looking at paying higher bills if we were to shift to nuclear power. This is money hardworking Australians simply can’t afford to pay.”
AFAE is warning against locking into costly or uncertain energy options and is calling for greater transparency on the long-term costs of competing energy plans.
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 