Interview with Monique Wright, Sunrise

19 June 2024

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Peter Dutton is expected to unveil his nuclear power policy later today, including the locations of the reactors. The Courier Mail is reporting the Queensland will be home to two nuclear power plants, one in Callide Power Station inland of Gladstone and the other one at Tarong plant, which is inland from the Sunshine Coast. However, Mr. Dutton could have a fight in his hands with Queensland LNP leader David Crisafulli, confirming that he will not repeal the state's nuclear ban if he wins the October election. For more we're joined now by Shadow Finance Minister Jane Hume and journalist Joe Hildebrand. Welcome to you both.

JOE HILDEBRAND: Good morning Mon.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Okay, Jane, we'll start with you. Firstly, will Queensland be home to two nuclear power plants under government should you be successful?

JANE HUME: Mon, it's a career limiting move to preempt an announcement of your leader so I won't be speaking on behalf of Peter Dutton this morning before he does his announcements today at the Energy Conference in Sydney. However, what I would say is that there is an urgency now to fixing our energy policy which is a train wreck under Labor. We were promised a $275 reduction in energy bills. Not only has that not occured, but energy bills have gone up right across the world, right across the country. And we know that we need to replace our baseload power. 90% of baseload power is going to exit the system over the next 10 years. What is it that is going to replace that that's going to keep the lights on? Now we've said that we are energy technology agnostic. We know that renewables are going to play an important part of taking us on that pathway to net zero, but we also need a reliable energy source too. We believe that nuclear is part of that mix in the long term. So that's what the announcement is going to be about today. We've been talking about it for two years. This is no surprise.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Yes, I mean, you would have been party to some of these high level talks that have been happening within the LNP and some of the concerns there. For example, David Crisafulli, should he win the Queensland election is saying that he's not going to give you the last to do that. What were the discussions around that?

JANE HUME: Well, I'm not going to go into the discussions that occur at Shadow Cabinet or in the party room, obviously. But what I would say is that I think Australians have got to a point now where they realise that in the long term, there needs to be that reliable zero emissions baseload power. That nuclear is likely to be part of the long term mix. So it's probably time to just get started. It's going to be a long term project. Now's the time to kick it off.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: About nine and a half years, 9.4 years to build a reactor. You know, there's the laws issue that we've just talked about. It's going to cost billions and billions and it requires a large and highly skilled workforce. Joe, all of that aside, do you think the Australian public's on board?

JOE HILDEBRAND: Yeah, I think there's a big difference here on this issue between monkey say and monkey do I think a whole bunch of people will say, 'Oh, yes, of course. I'm not a cave dweller. Of course, I support nuclear. I know the science is in. I know that you know that all the studies say that it's now perfectly safe.' But when it comes to actually, would you like a nuclear reactor in your electorate? I suspect a lot of people will say just like they do every time there's a high rise apartment proposal or a mosque. So 'oh it's not that I'm opposed to the you know, I support more housing. Oh, it's not that I'm anti-Islam it's that are just, it's the parking' or it's just, 'I'm just a bit worried about the traffic to the reactor' and you'll have a residence action group chaining themselves to a tree. I agree that it's crazy to have a moratorium on an energy source, where we are actually blessed in Australia to have the actual source for that energy source in so much uranium. I think the small modular reactors that may be coming online in a decade or so, it could be a complete game changer for the energy industry. But I'm just not sure that going around saying that you know, like Oprah 'you will get a nuclear reactor you will get a nuclear reactor' is going to be an election winner when the rubber hits the road.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Yes alright, we'll see whether that is the approach that Peter Dutton takes later today. All right, let's move on now. There are fresh calls this morning for American style utes to be banned from Australian streets; the leader of the Victorian Greens Samantha Ratnam claims that our highways and roads aren't designed to accommodate what she calls 'truckzillas'. What do you think about these Jane? Would you like to see these off the road or do you like to see yourself behind one of those massive vehicles?

JANE HUME: I reckon I'd look great behind the wheel and one of those. Look, here's the Greens tackling the big issues once again at a time when people are struggling to put food on the table, keep the lights on, pay the mortgage, the Greens are really getting out there with the important issues. What happened to freedom of choice? What happened to everybody allowed to do what they wanted to do? The Greens are such finger waggers. You know, while they're sipping their tumeric lattes wagging their fingers at other people, you know, let people drive with them or to drive for heaven's sakes.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: The Greens have said that a child is eight times more likely to die if it's hit by one of these rather than a smaller vehicle. Joe, what do you think?

JOE HILDEBRAND: Me love truckzilla. Me want drive truckzilla.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Do you have to talk like that to drive one of them?

JOE HILDEBRAND: The Greens are just so incredibly humorless. They are they're just the death of fun. I however, prefer more sort of Ford Ranger with you know, the rhino racks and the bull bars. I'm more of a grower than a shower when it comes to the offering. I just want to get a job that actually can allow me to justify driving a ute. That is my ultimate life goal.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Not with those hands. They look perfect.

JOE HILDEBRAND: Never done a hard days work in their life.

MONIQUE WRIGHT: Thank Joe. Thanks very much, Jane. Good to see you both.