‘Renewable-only ideology’: Chris Bowen slammed by Senator Michaelia Cash for being ‘out of date’ on nuclear energy

Labor has been slammed for being “obsessed” with renewables and “out of touch” on its nuclear energy policy, ahead of a major climate change conference in the Middle East.

Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash accused Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s opposition of having a “completely, totally and utterly out of date” on nuclear power during an appearance on Sky News’ Sunday Agenda program.

It comes just a day after protesters heckled Opposition Leader Peter Dutton about his party’s own stance on nuclear energy during a conference in Sydney.

The conference crashers donned white full-body suits with the radiation hazard symbols and signs reading “Dutton MP for Fukushima” and “Nukes ‘R’ Us”.

On Sunday, Senator Cash told Agenda: “The government has an obsession with renewable-only ideology.”

“You need to have everything on the table if you really do want over the longer term to reduce emissions, to keep the lights on and to keep prices down.”

Seeking to contrast the Coalition’s position, Senator Cash said the opposition was “not beholden to a reckless ideological approach, like the Australian Labor Party is.”

As Mr Bowen prepares to travel to the COP 28 climate change conference in the United Arab Emirates, Senator Cash described Australia as an “international outlier” on energy policy due to its nuclear moratorium.

“It is a fact that around the world, countries that adopt a mix of energy sources actually have lower electricity prices than those that are going down the path of renewables alone,” she said.

New polling released on Sunday that showed less than one in five Australians opposed lifting Australia’s moratorium on nuclear energy, But Senator Cash said that voters “get” the Coalition’s “all-of-the-above” approach to reducing emissions.

She criticised the government’s use of an undisclosed amount of taxpayers funds to underwrite renewables under the expansion of the Capacity Investment Scheme.

“[Chris Bowen] is actually writing a blank cheque to throw at energy companies,” she said, adding it could cost Australian taxpayers “tens of billions of dollars,” Senator Cash said.

“It’s an admission that the current system is not working if the government has to go down this path.”

Speaking on ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, Mr Bowen said the proposal of nuclear energy in Australia “is a fantasy wrapped in a delusion accompanied by a pipe dream.”

Mr Bowen added that a local push towards nuclear energy “would not move the dial at all” on the transition to green energy.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton and energy spokesman Ted O’Brien have backed the construction of small nuclear modular reactors (SMRs) in place of decommissioned coal-fired power plants, so they can easily be connected to the grid.

However, industry experts have questioned the policy, citing the unproven commercial availability of SMRs and expense associated with the technology. Rolling out nuclear power generation would likely take more than a decade in a best-case scenario.

A flagship Utah-based SMR prototype, which was frequently promoted by Mr Dutton and Mr O’Brien as evidence of nuclear power’s viability in Australia, collapsed earlier this month.

It is understood the Coalition is preparing a nuclear energy policy to take to the next federal election.

“We will take a sensible all-of-the-above approach to ensuring that we do lower emissions [and] we reach net zero. But at the same time, we keep the lights on,” Ms Cash said.

In parliament on Thursday, the energy minister is expected to outline the government’s response to the annual Climate Change Statement which projects Australia will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 42 per cent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade – just short of Labor’s 43 per cent target.

Originally published as ‘Renewable-only ideology’: Chris Bowen slammed by Senator Michaelia Cash for being ‘out of date’ on nuclear energy