Not on our watch: Libs' nuclear plan dubbed a 'dangerous distraction'

Farrer MP Sussan Ley praised her party's plan to build seven nuclear reactors if they gain power, speaking outside the Murray Darling Basin Authority conference at the Commercial Club on Thursday, June 20.

The Coalition says its nuclear plan will ensure Australia has a reliable source of baseload power to drive prices down and "keep the lights on" during the transition to net zero by 2050.

Labor, however, has vowed to fight the proposal, describing the uncosted nuclear plan as the "dumbest policy ever put forward by a major party".

Lauriston Muirhead, chair of Wodonga Albury Towards Climate Health, criticised the plan as "expensive, slow and a delaying tactic".

"This decade is critical in the fight to limit global warming - we can't afford to wait decades for nuclear reactors when we have clean sun and wind energy right here, right now," he said.

"To have a credible climate policy, the federal Coalition should focus on the fast and fair rollout of renewable energy and phase out burning coal and gas."

Without revealing the cost of building the reactors, Ms Ley said that without nuclear power, it is impossible to meet the government's net zero emission targets.

She said the nuclear reactors would not replace other forms of renewable energy, but complement them.

"(Labor is) saying that 82 per cent of the grid should be electrified by 2030. That's impossible. The reality is that you need renewables, you need gas, and you need nuclear to both achieve the energy and manufacturing future that this country deserves, but also to help with the net zero by 2050 target," Ms Ley said.

"Nuclear is zero emissions. We can't reduce our emissions, provide affordable energy and have a country that manufactures using energy, realising our competitive strengths without nuclear."

Under the Coalition's plan, the Hunter Valley and Central West NSW, Gladstone and South Burnett region in Queensland, Collie in Western Australia, Port Augusta in South Australia, and Latrobe Valley in Victoria would each host a nuclear reactor on the site of retiring coal fired power station.

The nuclear plants would be built, owned and operated by the Commonwealth, which would have the power to compulsorily acquire land or reactor sites by applying a national interest test.

Ms Ley said the Coalition will consult with the affected communities before anything is done.

"We will have consultations with the affected communities that will be two and a half years in duration," she said.

"When I say the communities where we already have coal-fired power stations, those communities will be offered dedicated economic zones, special incentives, and manufacturing."

The Coalition would need to overturn not only a national ban on nuclear power, but also state laws banning nuclear energy in NSW, Queensland and Victoria.

Labor premiers in those states have said they will oppose the move.

"We'll work hard to win support," Ms Ley said. "We've already started to do that by answering questions.

"I pointed to the consultation that we will be having. A lot of the questions that are being raised are because everyone doesn't understand all of the implications right now for the country and the economy."

Modelling produced by the CSIRO says that one nuclear reactor would cost about $8.5 billion and take at least 15 years to build.