A new bill before the Victorian Parliament is looking to overturn restrictions on nuclear power to help decarbonise energy production in the state.
Liberal Democrat MP David Limbrick says the state is at a crossroads and hopes his private member’s bill will repeal what he calls the “antiquated” Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act of 1983, which bans nuclear power.
“It could be that we repeal these laws and send a massive signal to the rest of Australia and the world that we believe climate change is a serious issue and we should use everything at our disposal to decarbonise,” Mr. Limbrick said before the Legislative Council.
“It could be that we open the door for a way to make Victoria the most reliable producer of clean energy in Australia and a magnet for manufacturing,” he said in the second reading of the bill.
Renewables the Only Way to Net Zero: Labor
However, Premier Daniel Andrews and the Labor Party have long said that nuclear power is not an option.Minister for Climate Action and Energy Lily D’Ambrosio introduced a motion in May against support for nuclear power, alleging the technology is too dangerous and costly.
“I rise to speak on this motion and note that there is an absolutely disgraceful commitment to nuclear energy from both the state and the federal opposition leaders that has been made in recent weeks, and I want to make it clear at the start of my contribution that this government does not and will never support the construction of nuclear energy in Victoria,” Ms. D’Ambrosio told Parliament.
She also blamed the Liberal-National opposition for voting down the government’s climate action agenda.
“They are all for fracking, they are all for nuclear power and they are all for increasing people’s power bills,” said Ms. D’Ambrosio.
In an ambitious campaign to cut Victoria’s emissions by 80 percent by 2035, the Labor government is pushing for the state to receive 95 percent of its energy from renewable sources.
With the revival of the government-owned State Electricity Commission (SEC), the Andrews government plans to invest $1 billion into renewable energy.
“Victoria is decarbonising at the fastest rate in the country, cutting its emissions by more than any other state since 2014,” the Labor government said about reducing the state’s emissions by 32.3 percent below 2005 levels.
No Net Zero Without Nuclear: Limbrick
However, with coal-fired power stations like the 2,210-megawatt Loy Yang A in the Latrobe Valley slated for closure in 2035, Mr. Limbrick says it is up to Parliament to keep everyone’s lights on.He questioned how net zero could be achieved with “weather-dependent technology.”
“You can hope that Victoria achieves its aim of producing 95 percent of its energy through weather-dependent technology by 2035 without one of the few proven methods of decarbonisation. I am prepared to bet that Victoria will not achieve this by 2035 and it won’t even be close,” he said.
Meanwhile, the federal Liberal-National Coalition has added nuclear power to its policy mix while hoping to slow the rush to net zero, extending it from 2030 to 2050.
“So let’s pause, let’s plan, let’s get this right,” said Nationals Leader David Littleproud about their plan.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has also called for the use of small modular nuclear reactors.
Yet the governing federal Labor party has doubled down on renewables being the future of energy generation.
Nuclear Power Illegal Since 1990s
Federally, nuclear power is illegal through both the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act of 1998 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999.The only exception is for the research and production of medical isotopes at a research reactor near Sydney.
In opposition to those laws, Mr. Limbrick said without nuclear power Victoria would be left in the dark.
“I invite people in 2035 to watch this speech—even if they are doing it by candlelight and with five percent charge on their phone—and see if I’m wrong. But here is how I know. Firstly, no country has successfully achieved these kinds of (net zero) targets without a lot of help from either hydro or nuclear technology.”
Mr. Limbrick also pointed to Germany as an example of a country that turned away from nuclear power in favour of renewables like wind and solar.
“As they have transitioned out of producing nuclear power, their carbon emissions and energy prices have both risen. Their neighbour France, who embraced nuclear technology in the 1960s, continues to produce clean and reliable power,” said Limbrick.
“As possibly the only person in this chamber who studied physics at university, I am happy to say that I think nuclear power is amazing. It creates enormous amounts of energy with very little waste. In fact, it is the only energy source where the waste is completely contained,” he said.
An inquiry that looked at lifting the ban on nuclear energy in Victoria in 2022 found that lifting the prohibition would not make a significant change due to federal laws already banning the technology.
According to a report on annual electricity cost estimates by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), renewables are the cheapest electricity generation, despite a 20 percent average rise in technology costs.
“Globally, renewables (led by wind and solar) are the fastest growing energy source and the role of electricity is expected to increase materially over the next 30 years with electricity technologies presenting some of the lowest cost abatement opportunities,” read the executive summary of the GenCost final report by the national science agency released in July.
