Latrobe Valley residents divided by Coalition nuclear power proposal

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Residents of the Latrobe Valley, in Victoria’s east, are divided over the Coalition’s proposal to build a nuclear reactor on their doorstep. While some say the plan will help secure the prosperity of the region, others are backing wind and solar. As William Howard explains, it is a part of Victoria that it is no stranger to job insecurity.

Transcript

00:00Tony Wolfe devoted 44 years of his life to powering the country, but that doesn't mean he's a fan of coal.

00:13When I first started as a 15-year-old electrician, we didn't know the damage that coal was doing.

00:19We didn't understand the damage to the environment.

00:24Having worked at most of the Latrobe Valley's power stations in Victoria's Gippsland region,

00:29he's witnessed a lot of change.

00:31And he was disappointed when the coalition unveiled its plan to build a nuclear reactor in his backyard.

00:38If it had happened 30 years ago, yeah, it might have ended up being part of our mix.

00:45I think we're too late, we're too far behind.

00:48It's way too expensive, it's way more expensive than renewables.

00:53Opposition leader Peter Dutton has pledged to build seven nuclear reactors across Australia

00:58if the coalition wins the upcoming federal election, including one in the Latrobe Valley.

01:04This proposal is at odds with the Labor government's plan to have an electricity grid almost entirely powered by renewables by 2050.

01:13Gippsland has long been the centre point of energy debate, and that continues at this election.

01:20Two parties are offering a different choice.

01:23For locals, it means deciding on what their future looks like.

01:27What do you think about the plan to build a nuclear reactor in the valley?

01:30I'm not against it. I don't think it's a bad idea.

01:34I think a lot of European nations have done it successfully, so why are we any smarter than them?

01:39I think it's a terrible idea. I don't think it'll work. There isn't enough water to supply it in any case.

01:46I don't really like it, I'll be honest. I think we're doing a great job working on renewables already.

01:52But for many other locals, the prospect of more jobs in the Latrobe Valley is too good to turn down.

01:58They just need to bring more jobs, more opportunities and more business into, even just into the local shopping centres, they're empty.

02:06They've shut down all the power stations, or shutting down all the power stations, so you need to fill that void somehow.

02:13Nuclear is not ideal, but it's better than, for the valley it's good because it's going to give more jobs to the valley and that's what we need.

02:22A community divided in this game of political power.

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