Going nuclear will decimate regional jobs and block billions in investment

The Coalition’s push for nuclear will kill 42,000 full time jobs and deprive regional communities of $68 billion in economic activity, according to analyses from alarmed energy sector stakeholders. 

Frontier Economics showed that Peter Dutton’s nuclear proposal would require renewable generation taking up no more than 54 per cent of the total energy supply in 2050 and cutting funding for new transmission by 79 per cent to allow room both in the grid and budget.

That means that the Coalition, if elected, will block renewable energy generation from growing, cancelling projects like Hunter offshore wind, and will consequently oversee the loss of tens of thousands of secure, well-paid jobs among primarily regional communities. 

This is terrible news for our Hunter communities, who already face devastating jobs losses as traditional energy industry declines. These workers can’t wait for nuclear; energy regulators have confirmed Australia would only be ready to start building nuclear long after coal plants are gone.