Peter Dutton’s nuclear fantasy will throw ETU members’ jobs in the gutter.
Australia is in the midst of an energy transition, not only with the shift to renewables but with the rise of electric vehicles and decline of gas in homes. This transition is happening against a backdrop of global and domestic net zero emissions policy, coal fired power station closures, availability of lower priced energy sources and massive changes to how our energy system works. All of this is impacting and will continue to impact ETU members.
And the ETU has been working hard to ensure that this transition provides good, well paid secure jobs for our members.
However, Peter Dutton and the Coalition say that they want nuclear power to have a role in Australia’s energy transition. This is despite the Liberal Party having been in power for 64% of the time since the first commercial reactor was switched on (you’d think if they were serious, they’d have already done it).
The ETU wants to ensure all members are informed and aware of the serious risks nuclear will pose to the jobs of electrical trades workers. That’s why the ETU has created the ETU Nuclear Energy Report for 2024. You can read the report HERE
This report investigates the feasibility of establishing a nuclear power industry in Australia, by bringing together research from a broad range of experts across academia and industry in areas such as engineering, economics, environmental science, and energy markets.
The report finds that nuclear is not the solution to Australia’s energy needs. It simply is not needed. It is massively more expensive than alternative forms of clean energy. Nuclear cannot be delivered before our coal power stations close. There are a range of technical, environmental, and health challenges involved in nuclear power. Dutton has not proposed any solutions.
The immediate problem with Peter Dutton’s proposal is that it is already putting jobs at risk. Bosses are pulling up on projects, delaying or walking away, because they can’t trust what a Liberal Government would do. When Dutton can’t even say how much energy will be generated or how much it will cost, you really have to wonder what he’s actually up to.