Less than twelve months out from the next federal election and Peter Dutton's 'when I am prime minister' promises are beginning to mount

IMAGE: The Guardian 11.06.24
Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

It would appear that Leader of the Opposition & Liberal MP for Dickson, Peter Dutton(left), has decided that his style of leadership less than twelve months out from the next federal general election is to commence a sustained presidential-style campaign to win back government.

The 'when I am prime minister' comments and promises have increased recently.

To add context and keep track of what Dutton has been promising since becoming opposition leader, here is a list of promises made so far. Not all of which have stood the test of time.

Dutton’s super promise

The Mercury, 2 March 2023:

The Opposition Leader said the Coalition would not support the changes given Labor had declared it would not tinker with superannuation during the election campaign. “We’re dead against it, and we will repeal it. We’re not going to stand by and watch Australians attacked,” Mr Dutton said. Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended the changes on Wednesday morning, arguing while there would be some “political cost” to the move, overall it was a “modest” reform.

Dutton promises improved facilities for female sports participants during shire visit

St. George and Sutherland Shire Leader, 18 August 2023:

Mr Dutton, accompanied by the MP for Hughes and shadow sports minister, made an early election promise that a Coalition government would help sporting clubs improve facilities to help increase female participation.

He said $250 million would be provided over four years for community sporting infrastructure across the country.

Dutton promises another vote if Indigenous Voice fails

Brisbane Times, 2 September 2023:

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has promised to hold a referendum on constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians if the Voice is defeated at the ballot box next month, and he wins power at the next election.

Setting out some of his alternatives to a Voice that is written into the Constitution, the opposition leader said he supported “regional voices” and the recognition of First Australians.

Cook returns fire over Dutton defund pledge

The Australian, 31 January 2024:

The federal Opposition Leader on Tuesday used an address to the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy to promise to withdraw financial support for the EDO [Environmental Defenders Office]...

Dutton railroads PM in byelection: Campaign on Track

Sydney Morning Herald, 02 Feb 2024:

Dutton will travel to Melbourne's bayside today to pledge $900 million towards extending Melbourne's rail network to the booming suburbs south of the electorate.

The electrification of the Frankston-Baxter line, along which a diesel V/line service runs, would include new stations at Langwarrin and Frankston East, both of which sit within Dunkley.

Dutton promises more tax cuts under Coalition

The Sydney Morning Herald, 07 February 2024:

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton emerged from a Coalition party room meeting yesterday to admit he could not block the Labor tax cuts and would not roll them back if he won power, but he vowed to add to them with further measures announced before the election.

Dutton: 'I'll wind back regulation'

The Australian Financial Review, 3 April 2024:

Peter Dutton will promise business leaders cheaper energy prices and less government interference under the Coalition, pledging to stay out of the way of employment and profit growth through a simplified industrial relations system...

Invoking the vision of Liberal Party founder Robert Menzies in an address to the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, Mr Dutton will pledge to better represent workers and business operators if the Coalition wins the next election, delivering a "back-to-basics economic agenda"....

A year out from the next election, Mr Dutton will to call for sustainable wage growth delivered through productivity enhancements....

He will tell attendees the Coalition is developing plans for a dramatic ramp-up in domestic gas production and will present policies for deployment of nuclear power technologies.

Campbell: Dutton’s migration promises a year too late to seize political initiative

The Daily Telegraph (Online),19 May 2024:

On Thursday night, in his budget-in-reply, speech Peter Dutton finally grabbed the political opportunity this represents by promising to cut permanent migration for two years from 185,000 to 140,000 – or by 25 per cent – and to work with universities to set a cap on foreign students.

He will also ban foreign investors and temporary residents from buying existing homes in Australia.

I’ll kick out any foreigner who commits serious crime: Dutton

The Australian, 7 June 2024:

Peter Dutton says no non-citizen who commits a dangerous crime in Australia should be allowed to stay in the country as a matter of principle, arguing they should be deported “immediately”

Dutton vows to ‘make Victoria great again’

Herald Sun, 8 June 2024:

Peter Dutton wants Victoria to return to its “manufacturing powerhouse” glory days — and he says with his strong economic leadership skills, he can get us there.

Dutton to pull Australia out of Paris Agreement if elected

The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 June 2024:

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has signalled he will scrap the nation’s legally binding 2030 climate target and risk Australia’s membership of the Paris Agreement on climate change, following his vow to deploy nuclear energy to reach net zero by 2050.

Dutton declared on Saturday that a Coalition government would not pursue Australia’s legally binding climate target to cut emissions by 43 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

To be continued.....

Opposition Leader & Liberal MP for Dickson, Peter 'The Dickson Spuddler' Dutton, receives a burning response to his declaration on Saturday that a Coalition government would not pursue Australia’s legally binding climate target to cut emissions by 43 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030

Bushfire survivors call out Peter Dutton’s abandonment of communities on the frontline of climate change

________________________________

Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action

________________________________

June 8, 2024

BUSHFIRE SURVIVORS FOR CLIMATE ACTION (BSCA) has spoken out in response to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s statements in The Australian today that the Federal Liberal Party would dump Australia’s interim emissions reduction targets. The organisation, founded and led by bushfire survivors, has labelled the move reckless and devastating.

“Here we are watching communities face climate-fueled disasters roll around again and again, with insurance costs rising and homes in some regions becoming uninsurable, yet the Opposition Leader is prepared to delay climate action until the 2040s. To say our members are distraught is an understatement,” said Serena Joyner, Chief Executive Officer of Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action.

“What’s particularly hard to understand is how the Coalition can justify the ever growing expense of worsening climate disasters. The bushfires of 2019-2020 and the 2022 Northern Rivers floods each cost insurers more than $4 billion, and the cost to farmers of the Black Summer fires was $5 billion. Nearly 60% of all local government areas were disaster-declared in 2022 and councils everywhere have been unable to keep up with repairs to local infrastructure.

“And insurance costs are just beginning when accounting for the personal financial and emotional costs to people and communities across the country from more frequent and destructive fires and floods. There’s only so much we can take. Does Peter Dutton expect our regions to just give up and move to the city?

“Scientists tell us if we delay urgent climate action we guarantee that global temperatures will keep rising. That would condemn Australia to face summers like Black Summer on a regular basis, if not worse. It is beyond belief that the Opposition Leader thinks that is an acceptable future for this country.”

About Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action:

BushfireSurvivors for Climate Action (BSCA) is a non-partisan, community organisation made up of bushfire survivors, firefighters and their families working together to call on our leaders to take action on climate change. BSCA formed shortly after the Tathra and District fire in March 2018, and its founding members were all impacted by bushfires, including the Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20, Blue Mountains in 2013, Black Saturday in 2009 and Canberra in 2003.

BSCA has been at the cutting edge of legal reform to reduce climate emissions and hold governments, agencies and companies to account. In 2023 the NSW Environment Protection Agency was the first such agency in the country to introduce a climate policy, which it was required to do as a result of landmark court action taken by BSCA.

https://bushfiresurvivors.org

Opposition Leader & Liberal MP for Dickson, Peter 'The Dickson Spuddler' Dutton, firmly reminded that “Australians voted decisively for action on climate in the 2022 election"

Peter Dutton proposes decades of delay on climate 

Federal Liberals still with no climate plan

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Solutions for Climate Australia

_________________________________

8 June 8 2024

National climate group Solutions for Climate Australia expressed extreme disappointment and concern at the Opposition Leader Peter Dutton proposing further decades of delay in tackling climate change, despite increasing climate disasters.

This follows a statement by Peter Dutton today, in an interview with The Australian, that the Federal Liberal Party wants to reject current targets and plans to reduce Australia’s climate pollution this decade.

“It is a tragedy that the Federal Liberal Party has no plan to stop the increasing climate disasters which are directly killing Australians, and damaging communities, agriculture and businesses across the country, and globally,” said Dr Barry Traill, Director of Solutions for Climate Australia.

“We need decisive action on climate pollution this decade to protect farmers, our food supply, businesses and trade. From uninsurable houses, to declining crop yields, to direct threats to life and property, we are all now being hurt by climate disasters.

“Australians voted decisively for action on climate in the 2022 election. Mr Dutton’s weak, do-nothing approach on climate is out of step with the electorate. The community showed it expects all political parties to adopt strong, science-based targets to reduce pollution.”

“The federal Coalition has not heeded the message of the nation on climate. They must do better.”

ENDS

Liberal MP for Dickson & Leader of the Coalition Opposition Peter Dutton called the CSIRO an unreliable scientific body producing "discredited" work and is now reaping what he has sown

"In the growing heat of debate over Coalition nuclear energy policy, Mr Dutton described the CSIRO’s GenCost report on the cost of electricity generation as “discredited” and “not a genuine piece of work” and suggested it was “well documented” that the CSIRO cannot be relied on." [InnovationAUS, 15 March 2024]

 

Open letter from Dr Doug Hilton, Chief Executive, CSIRO

15 MARCH 2024

NEWS RELEASE

Science is crucial to providing the data and models that allow society to tackle profound challenges; challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, transition to net zero, keeping Australian industry productive and sustainable, and protecting our unique biodiversity.

For science to be useful and for challenges to be overcome it requires the trust of the community. Maintaining trust requires scientists to act with integrity. Maintaining trust also requires our political leaders to resist the temptation to disparage science.

As Chief Executive of CSIRO, I will staunchly defend our scientists and our organisation against unfounded criticism.

The GenCost report is updated each year and provides the very best estimates for the cost of future new-build electricity generation in Australia. The report is carefully produced, its methodology is clearly articulated, our scientists are open and responsive to feedback, and as is the case for all creditable science, the report is updated regularly as new data comes to hand.

The GenCost report can be trusted by all our elected representatives, irrespective of whether they are advocating for electricity generation by renewables, coal, gas or nuclear energy.

No matter the challenge we are tackling, CSIRO’s scientists and engineers can be relied on by the community to work creatively, assiduously and with integrity.

Dr Douglas Hilton

Chief Executive, CSIRO

Some of the mainstream media headlines generated by Dutton's attempt to deny the considerable downside of introducing nuclear power stations into Australia's energy grid........

The Guardian

CSIRO chief warns against ‘disparaging science’ after Peter Dutton criticises nuclear energy costings

Douglas Hilton says he will 'staunchly defend' scientists as opposition leader repeats incorrect claim that CSIRO report does not accurately...

15.03.24

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Nation's science agency CSIRO hits back at Dutton claim that nuclear power costings were 'discredited'

The CSIRO has rebuked politicians seeking to undermine its research showing nuclear energy would be much more expensive than solar or wind...

15.03.24

The Sydney Morning Herald

‘Don’t disparage the science’: CSIRO hits back at Dutton on nuclear energy

Australia's top science agency has made a rare political intervention as CSIRO chief executive Doug Hilton defended his agency's findings on...

15.03.24

News.com.au

Nuclear question Dutton won’t answer

Peter Dutton has failed to answer a key question in a fiery clash with Bill Shorten over nuclear energy.

15.03.24

The New Daily

CSIRO hits back at Dutton's 'unfounded' criticism

Australia's national science agency has taken aim at Liberal leader Peter Dutton in a highly unusual public intervention.

15.03.24

The Canberra Times

CSIRO Chief defends GenCost report from political attack

Dr. Doug Hilton stands by CSIRO's GenCost report findings amidst political criticism from Coalition leader Peter Dutton.

15.03.24

The Age

CSIRO hits back at Dutton attack on its nuclear energy reports

Australia's top science agency has made a rare political intervention, with CSIRO chief executive Douglas Hilton defending his agency's...

15.03.24

Hunter Valley News

CSIRO boss defends scientists after Dutton attack

CSIRO chief executive officer Douglas Hilton has issued a rare public statement to urge politicians to "resist the...

15.03.24

The Wimmera Mail-Times

CSIRO boss defends scientists after Dutton attack

CSIRO chief executive officer Douglas Hilton has issued a rare public statement to urge politicians to "resist the...

15.03.24

Then on the same day the Centre for Independent Studies, a conservative seemingly pro-nuclear 'think tank' which also supported the No position in the 2023 national referendum and whose executive director just happened in 2008 to have been a senior adviser to former federal Liberal Party Leader Brendan Nelson and in 2009 was himself he a candidate to replace Nelson in his northern Sydney electoral seat of Bradfield, attempted to ride to Peter Dutton's rescue on social media with a whitewash of the Opposition Leader's comments and an interesting interpretation of the contents of CSIRO news release.

Centre for Independent Studies @CISOZ

CIS responds to @CSIRO's open letter.

"Not all criticisms are unfounded. If the CEO wants to defend the methods and conclusions of a particular report from criticism, he should do just that, rather than simply asserting that the report can be trusted when serious flaws still exist."

15.03.24

About Peter and David's little plan to put a fast transitioning to renewable energy on the backburner in favour of creating a nuclear power industry in Australia

 

It would appear as though the two Coalition opposition parties are determined to take the creation of a nuclear power industry to the 2025 federal general election.

It is being presented as cost-effective and relatively risk free way to provide for Australia's future energy needs.

So here are some basic facts to consider when evaluating the propaganda beginning to spread across national newspapers and social media.

CAPITOL COSTS

Annual change in capital costs: Across the board, new build costs have generally stabilised as the impacts of inflation ease. However, cost pressure remains on gas, onshore wind and nuclear SMR. [Draft GenCost Report, December 2023]

The CSIRO Draft GenCost Report 2023-24 stated that Nuclear small modular reactors (SMRs) emerged as the highest-cost technology explored in the report. This corresponds with new data from the most advanced SMR project in the US. 

SMRs are the type of nuclear power facility favoured by Liberal MP for Dickson & Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party, Peter Dutton and Nationals MP for Maranoa and Leader of the Parliamentary National Party, David Littleproud.

SMRs at this stage exist only as either prototype drawings or development projects - appearing at this point in time to be unrealised technology.

According to the current Draft GenCost Report:

Significant increase in nuclear small modular reactor costs

The cost of nuclear small modular reactors (SMR) has been a contentious issue in GenCost for many years with conflicting data published by other groups proposing lower costs than those assumed in GenCost (ES Figure 0-3). UAMPS (Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems) is a US regional coalition that develops local government owned electricity generation projects. Up until the project’s cancellation in November 2023, UAMP was the developer of a nuclear SMR project called the Carbon Free Power Project (CFPP) with a gross capacity of 462MW. It was planned to be fully operational by 2030. After conversion to 2023 Australian dollars, project costs were estimated in 2020 to be $18,200/kW which is only slightly below the level that GenCost had been applying ($19,000kW).

While the EFSC Investment Group states that estimates suggest that the construction cost of a coal-fired thermal power plant can range from less than $1,000 to $4,500 per each kilowatt of installed capacity.

That's a whopping $14,000 difference at the high end of the costing range. Making these boutique smaller nuclear power units very expensive if they can be realised.

Then there is the limited service area of nuclear small module reactors (SMRs). Based on the U.S. Carbon Free Power Project SMR with a proposed gross capacity of 462MW, such an SMR would be able to supply a mere est. 31,862 residential households according to Ausgrid 2022-23 electricity consumption figures. Hardly value for money given the high cost to Treasury and Australian taxpayers of building and bringing online these small power plants, by CSIRO estimates around $8.7 billion per SMR.

Lake Macquarie City Library reveals that: The total cost of the Eraring Power Station, built by the NSW Electricity Commission was $1.653 billion. Work commenced with the earthworks on the site in 1976, followed by construction of the station beginning in 1977. Several of the larger components of the station were shipped through the Swansea channel, up Lake Macquarie to the Eraring site. The first generating unit was brought into service in March, 1982, the second and third units in 1983 and the fourth unit in 1984.

The Coalition Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy is fond of tossing out timescales for nuclear power stations builds - from around 5 years to complete construction of an small modular reactor (SMR) to 10-12 years for a large-scale nuclear power plant.

In the first instance it's hard to assign a build timeline to an SMR because one hasn't actually been built yet.

In the second instance, the build time lines for existing large-scale nuclear reactors ranging from 1,000MW-e to 1,350MW-e capacity is fairly well known and historically construction completion took between 19.66 to 25.08 years. These days the optimistic theoretical time given for completed construction of a 1,000MW-e nuclear power station is seven and a half years.

In the case of a nuclear power plant with the same capacity as the Eraring coal-fired power station, without factoring in the long lead-in years of legislative framing, planning and approval processes, actual construction could be expected to be completed in 18 years at the earliest. While the World Nuclear Organisation figures would put the overnight cost of this nuclear power plant in Australian dollars at $9,115 per KW-e as a starting point which comes in at over $17.6 million overnight or $6.4 billion over 365 nights.

So if Dutton & Co were to form government in 2025 and hit the ground running - by my reckoning they might, just might, have one solitary nuclear power station built and online by 2058 at a cost on current pricing in the vicinity of $21 billion. Having achieved nothing nuclear towards the net zero by 2050 policy. 

It is interesting to note that the Coalition parties see coal-fired generation as remaining critical to Australia's electricity supply and the Liberal Party makes a point of saying so in its 2025 re-election plan for the resources sector. A plan that doesn't even include the words "nuclear power stations" Indeed one might suspect Dutton and Littleproud of raising the possibility of future nuclear energy as an excuse to maintain all existing coal-fired power stations should they win government again and, that it what makes this particular energy option so attractive a proposition.

Dutton & his nuclear cheer squad are also saying that if elected to federal government that they will not be ruling out including in Coalition policy a crossover to large-scale nuclear power generation on retired or soon to be retired coal-fired power station sites.

A fact that should give communities in places like the Lake Macquarie region reason to pause and consider, given Eraring Power Station is due for retirement soon.

The risks involved with a 2,922MW capacity coal-fired power station already drawing 11 billion litres of salt water a day from Lake Macquarie and returning it after cooling, is a different proposition to a full-scale nuclear power plant of similar capacity drawing at least 7.9 million litres of water a day from an as yet unidentified source, contaminating an unknown percentage of that water with radionuclides – unstable atoms with excess energy – and then seeking to return supposedly 'cleaned' water to the lake.

Given uncontrolled water and liquid effluent releases from nuclear power stations have occurred in the past, some contaminating groundwater, this is one more worry our regional communities do not need.

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IMAGE: The Guardian, 14.01.23

AKA Captain Kipfler, sometimes officially styled Leader of the Loyal Opposition Peter Craig Dutton Liberal MP for Dickson (Qld) since November 2001. [Source: @KimCarrera007]

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