Nationals leader David Littleproud has insisted there is strong support for nuclear in the electorates where the Coalition is planning to house its power plants.
Mr Litteproud said internal polling indicates about two-thirds of people living in the seven seats earmarked for zero-emissions nuclear power plants back the move.
Each nuclear site would be located where coal-fired plants have either closed or are scheduled to shut.
“People who are working in those coal-fired power stations know that nearly 80 per cent of them will have a job in a nuclear power plant,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News Australia’s Julia Bradley on election day eve.
“The reality is this is a future that underpins their economy, but it underpins our nation. They are more energy literate than any other electorate in the country – all seven of them are.
“This is a furphy, saying that they’re not popular. They are popular. We’ve got internal polling to show that 60 to 70 per cent of people in each of the electorates where we put them support nuclear power plants.
“Because they know this is about affordable base load-power that will be there for generations.”
Mr Littleproud noted there was a hefty swing to the Liberal Party in the seat of Collie-Preston in the Western Australia state election in March.
One of the planned nuclear sites is the Muja Power Station which sits within that electorate.
“Now, if they were upset about nuclear energy, you would have seen that translate in the polls,” the Nationals leader said.
Mr Littleproud made the comments outside a pre-poll centre in Morisset in the electorate of Hunter.
The Nationals, who are hopeful of winning the seat despite it being in Labor hands since 1910, are pitching their energy policy as a key point of difference in the coal mining region.
Labor’s Dan Repacholi holds Hunter by a margin of 4.8 per cent.
“I think what the people of Hunter realise is they’ve got a local member that talks a very big game when he’s in the Hunter but when he comes to Canberra, he plays the games,” Mr Littleproud said.
“He’s bestowed by what is put on him by Chris Bowen and Anthony Albanese, and people of Hunter are fearing for their jobs. They want certainty.
“Coal will be out of the Hunter for many years to come, they’ll be sending boats out from the Hunter, they’ll be driving our economy and we’ll protect that and make sure that we use some commonsense in making sure we protect their jobs and look for new jobs in nuclear power plants.”
Mr Littleproud on Friday also defended the National Party’s decision to preference One Nation in Hunter.
The Pauline Hanson-led party had 10 per cent of the primary vote in 2022.
“We have to do everything we can to get rid of Anthony Albanese,” Mr Littleproud said.
“If the biggest threat to the seat of Hunter is the Greens, why would Dan Repacholi preference the Greens?
“They don’t want to see a coal industry or a gas industry. They want to see… an all-renewables approach.
“I don’t agree with everything One Nation says but they are a better choice to be giving our preferences to, than a Green-Labor Coalition government after this next election.”
