The opposition has revealed the details of their nuclear energy plan, claiming it will be cheaper to build than the government's push towards renewables. That contradicts analysis from the CSIRO that found nuclear energy is around twice as expensive as renewables.
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00:00Well, the modelling that the Coalition have released compares analysis that the company
00:09that they commissioned had done earlier of Labor's plan of what they call all renewables
00:15and compared it to if Australia had seven reactors under the Coalition's plan, essentially
00:21finding that with their numbers, it would be a quarter of a trillion dollars cheaper.
00:27It's not quite as simple as that, though. There's been quite a bit of criticism around
00:31whether the two plans are really comparing apples and apples. For example, under Peter
00:35Dutton's plan, essentially emissions would be higher in the shorter term on that pathway
00:41to net zero by 2050. So a lot of critics are saying it's not very fair to criticise and
00:47say that Labor's plan of moving earlier on renewables would cost more when the Coalition's
00:52plan on nuclear involves acting much later toward 2050.
00:57What's been the response from the government on this and how do you expect it to play out
01:01in the lead up to the federal election sometime early next year?
01:06So in the sort of days and weeks leading up to what was expected to be this announcement
01:10of the costings, Labor had already started building the case for dismissing the figures
01:15saying that it's a pipe dream, essentially a nuclear fantasy has been the catchphrase
01:21of Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen. I think what really is interesting
01:25about this, though, is that it's created a real contest over energy, over the transition
01:31to net zero for this next election. It's going to be one of the, if not the biggest policy
01:38difference in terms of what the Coalition and Labor will be taking to the next election.
01:43And it's really put energy, environment and cost of living through the context of power
01:48bills right at the heart of the next election.