‘Social Licence’ Needed For Nuclear

September 2, 2024

Nationals Leader David Littleproud has told Sky News the Coalition needed to get a “social licence” in the seven communities identified by the Opposition to house nuclear power plants before the costings for the proposal could be released.

AM Agenda’s Laura Jayes asked Mr Littleproud on Monday morning about the status of the Coalition’s nuclear plan.

He said the costings would be out “very soon” and emphasised a majority of the people employed in the current coal-fired plants would be employed in the new nuclear plants:

Laura Jayes: How are you costing it … who’s doing it?

David Littleproud: Well, the costings will be done as we’ve used international comparisons of those built in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and other parts of the world.

Laura Jayes: So not an outside consultancy? You’re doing the numbers yourself?

David Littleproud: Well, they are being validated by a third party to make sure that we can give currency to it. But we wanted to get a social licence in those communities before we went to the next step. That’s about showing respect to them.

And I don’t think you’ve heard any media outlets say that nuclear energy’s not popular in any of those seven locations. In my own electorate, the other day I was in…

Laura Jayes: Well, they’re not popular in some areas. Particularly, Keith Pitt for example, said he’s not sure it should be there.

David Littleproud: Well, he’s not getting one … the locations where these power plants are going is where existing coal-fired power stations are; 77 per cent of those people who work in those coal-fired power stations will come across into nuclear power plants and there’ll be more jobs and higher-paying jobs.

Each one of those communities are energy literate and they know the opportunity that we’re providing to them.

And that’s why you haven’t heard any of those communities go and demonise our idea because they can see their future being one different to one that’s littered with transmission lines, solar panels, and wind turbines.

In June this year, the Coalition proposed seven sites to house nuclear power generators should it win power at the upcoming Federal Election: Tarong and Callide in Queensland, Mt Piper (Lithgow) and Liddell in NSW, Loy Yang in Victoria, Muja (Collie) in Western Australia and Port Augusta in South Australia.

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Editorial note: Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) won a $20 billion bid in 2009 to build four nuclear reactors in the UAE.

Work on construction started in 2011.

Unit 1 entered service in 2021, Unit 2 in 2022, Unit 3 in 2023 and Unit 4 in March this year.

At 2018, the total cost of the project was estimated to be $24.4 billion.

In May this year, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation and KEPCO signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the development of nuclear energy plants overseas, including large-scale plants and “small modular reactors”.

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