Embracing nuclear and hydro

ONE NATION ENERGY POLICY: ENDING ‘NET ZERO’ AND BUILDING ENERGY SECURITY FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS

One Nation opposes the legislated ban on commercial nuclear energy, and will move to repeal it. We see no compelling reason for Australia, possessing more than 25% of the planet’s known uranium reserves, to remain ignorant of (and refuse to utilise) a proven emissions-free technology being used safely at more than 450 sites in 28 countries. 

One Nation supports embracing nuclear energy as a central part of Australia’s long term energy mix. Modern nuclear plants can deliver steady, round the clock power that does not depend on the weather, giving households, hospitals, farms, and factories a stable supply they can rely on.  

Nuclear energy can provide strong support for industry that needs constant power, sit alongside coal, gas, and hydro during any transition, and over time take pressure off older plants that are reaching the end of their life. Backing nuclear also means backing a high skill, high wage industry that can create new work for trades, engineers, and technicians, especially in regional areas that already host heavy industry and energy infrastructure. 

Nuclear energy is also central to Australia’s energy sovereignty and national security. Many of our key allies already use nuclear to secure their grids and keep power prices under control, while Australia still bans the very technology that could give us a steady base of low emissions generation. Lifting that ban and planning carefully for nuclear would allow Australia to use proven technology, build long life assets on suitable sites, and keep more control over our own energy future instead of depending on imported fuels and overseas decisions. 

One Nation will advocate for the construction of one advanced pressurised water nuclear reactor to provide about 1400MW of emissions-free baseload power on Australia’s east coast, at a location to be determined in consultation with the Australian community, at an approximate cost of $6.8 billion (based on projected costs for the 1400MW Shin-Hanul-3 and Shin-Hanul-4 reactors being built at Uljin, South Korea). 

Embracing hydro 

One Nation supports building new dams, and upgrading existing ones, to secure Australia’s water supply for towns, farms and industry. Dams are essential pieces of infrastructure which in addition to mitigating floods and conserving water for human consumption, industry and agriculture, can also generate emissions-free power. 

One Nation will support restoration of the $5.4 billion Hell’s Gate Dam project near Townsville, Queensland and lift the effective unofficial moratorium on new dam construction in Australia. Investing in new dam capacity also means new construction work, long term operational jobs, and stronger regional economies built around a secure and managed water system rather than constant crisis responses. One Nation will also act to remove environmental offsets that substantially lift the cost of new dams in Australia. 

One Nation will also advocate extending, upgrading and expanding Tasmania’s hydro scheme. We do not support the construction of the proposed Marinus Link interconnector as it will only push Tasmania’s electricity costs higher by linking them to renewables based in Victoria. Tasmania can cost-effectively meet its energy demands with an expanded hydro scheme, making renewables in the island state completely unnecessary. 

‘Net zero’ is destroying Australia

The real impacts of ‘net zero’

Embracing Australian coal

Embracing Australian gas

Lowering prices for households, businesses and industries