On July 26, 2022, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to media after a Parliamentary church service in Canberra. STR AFP CANBERRA Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has shut down calls for the country to consider nuclear power options despite rising electricity prices.
The prime minister has recently declared that proponents of nuclear energy as a carbon-neutral energy source in Australia are wrong.
His comments came after Peter Malinauskas, the premier of South Australia, urged both sides of politics to be more mature on the nuclear issue, saying that the debate has become consumed by culture wars rather than based on evidence.
Albanese told radio station FIVEaa on Monday that the case for nuclear power in Australia does not stack up, citing waste storage as a key problem.
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He said that I haven't changed my view that it is a huge distraction from what we need to do.
After his interview, Albanese said he has been positive for COVID 19 for the second time in 2022 and that Wednesday's key meeting with state and territory leaders to discuss energy policy has been postponed.
Albanese was expected to present his plan to combat rising electricity prices through market intervention at the meeting.
The federal budget for 2022-23 forecasts electricity prices will increase by 56 percent over the next 18 months and gas prices by 44 percent.
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There are caps on the prices of gas and coal that could be introduced under Albanese's plan.
Some state governments have pushed back against the proposal over compensation for producers.