Prime Minister Albanese slams Dutton for not consulting with Collie community about proposed nuclear reactor

Anthony Albanese has slammed Opposition Leader Peter Dutton for failing to consult with the local community about the nuclear reactor in Collie proposed by the Coalition. However, the Prime Minister ducked questions about not visiting the site of his own controversial energy plan. Mr Albanese visited Collie on Wednesday afternoon — a move he said was unlike his counterpart Mr Dutton, who had failed to step foot on any of the seven sites earmarked for a nuclear reactor while on the campaign trail. Flanked by Premier Roger Cook, Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson and Collie-Preston MLA Jodie Hanns, as well as Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen, Mr Albanese said the “extraordinary” Synergy Collie battery energy system site was “what the energy transformation looks like”. “You don’t have to theorise about it. You can touch it. You can walk on it and people will be able to receive their power from it,” Mr Albanese said. “This transformation is real and it’s happening right now.” “What will not happen here, of course, is a nuclear power station. We have Mr Dutton, who refuses to visit this site but he refuses to visit any of the seven sites. He hasn’t been near any of them. “You would think that there was radiation coming from those sites, because he just won’t come or won’t talk about what his plans actually are.” However, when asked about Labor’s controversial offshore wind farm in Geographe Bay, Mr Albanese handballed the question to Mr Bowen — who said there had been 60 days of community consultation. “I made changes to the zone, cut it by substantial amount, made it much further away from the coast,” Mr Bowen said. “So that’s community consultation work — listening to communities, taking on board the legitimate concerns, legitimate questions, legitimate issues. “Peter Dutton has not been within 50km of one of his proposed nuclear reactors in this election. “He snuck into Collie last year, had a brief secret meeting with the council and left without talking to the community. After that meeting, the mayor said he was unable to answer basic questions about his proposal for Collie — basic questions like where will the water come from?” Mr Albanese was then asked about the double standard for criticising Mr Dutton’s no-show in Collie, despite not visiting the anti-Geographe Bay offshore wind community himself. “I’ve actually been to every single seat in Western Australia as Prime Minister,” he said. “I certainly know that the three previous prime ministers in their very infrequent visits to WA have certainly not been able to say that.” Mr Cook said the $1.6 billion battery project, which would create 640 units, enough to power 785,000 average homes for four hours, would be fully commissioned by October.