{"id":358582,"date":"2025-03-18T17:42:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T07:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=358582"},"modified":"2025-03-18T17:47:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T07:47:19","slug":"nuclear-road-block-to-the-lodge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2025\/03\/18\/nuclear-road-block-to-the-lodge\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuclear ‘Road Block To The Lodge’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Opposition Leader Peter Dutton posted this image, which he described as a “concept design of a zero emissions small modular reactor”, on social media last year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 18, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

A group of disgruntled Liberal Party supporters has launched a lobby group which hopes to persuade the party to abandon its nuclear energy policy so it can have a chance to win power at the upcoming Federal Election.<\/p>\n

“Liberals Against Nuclear<\/a><\/strong>” unveiled its advertising campaign this week against the pro-nuclear policy which suggests seven nuclear power generation plants could be built in Australia, including at Tarong in the South Burnett.<\/p>\n

“Nuclear power is the big road block preventing the Liberals getting to the Lodge,\u201d a spokesperson for the group, former director of the Tasmanian Liberal Party Andrew Gregson, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is big government waste that betrays Liberal values, splits the party, and hands government back to Labor. It’s time for our party to dump nuclear.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“This policy contradicts core Liberal principles by requiring tens of billions in government borrowing, swelling the bureaucracy, and imposing massive taxpayer-backed risk.”<\/p>\n

“As John Howard said: ‘For Liberals the role of government should be strategic and limited’.<\/p>\n

“Yet this nuclear policy gives us bigger government, higher taxes to pay for it, more debt, and less freedom as the state takes over energy production.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

The group fears the nuclear policy is driving “free market and middle-ground” voters towards the Teals and other Independents in must-win seats.<\/p>\n

It claims that recent polling shows just 35 per cent of Australians support nuclear energy, with support collapsing once voters understand the policy details.<\/p>\n

“We’re trying to save the party from a policy that will gift seats to their opponents,” Mr Gregson said.<\/p>\n

“Nuclear technology itself isn’t the issue – it’s the socialist implementation being proposed that trashes Liberal values. If nuclear energy is so good, then the market will back it without massive government intervention.”<\/p>\n

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