ADJOURNMENT

Senator HUME (Victoria) (19:59): I half agree with my colleague. I rise tonight to speak about the greatest missed opportunity of our generation, and that is the failure to harness nuclear energy as part of Australia's energy mix. Right around the world, nuclear power is being used to provide cheap, safe and zero-emissions energy.

Nations like China, India, South Korea and Japan are firing up new nuclear reactors. The United States and the United Kingdom—two governments from opposite sides of politics—are, together, forging a new civilian nuclear partnership to accelerate advanced reactor technology. Yet here Australia is the only developed nation in the G20 that bans itself from even considering nuclear energy as part of its plan for a net zero future, which is quite remarkable because Australia holds 111 known uranium deposits, nearly 30 per cent of the world's resources.

That's 1.8 million tonnes of potential going to waste. We've told Australians that they can dig uranium up. We've told them that they can ship it overseas and that they can watch it power the homes and businesses of other nations, but we can't use it here at home.

That is just ridiculous. When you look internationally, nuclear energy is viewed as not only a political talking point but a practical solution to lower emissions, to strengthen energy security and to drive industrial growth. That's why 31 nations have signed the declaration to triple nuclear energy by 2050 at the two previous COPs.

So, while the world invests and builds and leads, we cling to old, outdated laws, to old fears and to old politics, and it's costing us not just in leadership but in credibility on the world stage. In 2022, the Albanese government announced that they would host the COP conference—COP31. But for years they sat on their hands, didn't do the work to secure it, and now we remain in a fight with Turkiye to get that bid.

This is our chance to lead global climate diplomacy, and the government is letting it slip. Nuclear energy isn't just theory; it's proven. And the future is here.

It's here already. Small modular reactors backed by the International Atomic Energy Agency are compact. They're factory assembled.

They can generate up to 300 megawatts each. That's one-third the size of traditional plants, with a faster build time, lower costs and easier grid integration. These reactors stabilise the grid when wind and solar fall short.

They bring zero-emissions, dispatchable power to remote regions that are still reliant on diesel. So here is the thing: contemporary nuclear technology isn't a threat to renewables; it actually turbocharges them. We need to make sure that we're not closing the door to sources of energy that are clean, reliable and provide always-on energy.

Now here in Australia we already have the expertise. The OPAL reactor at Lucas Heights operated by ANSTO is a shining example of safe nuclear science. So we have the talent.

We have the resources. The one thing we don't have is the political will. Well, that should change.

That must change, because while global momentum builds the Albanese government is still debating the merits of 20th century technology. This isn't just a policy failure; it's economic sabotage, and Australians will pay the price, literally, through high energy prices, unreliable grids and missed jobs in advanced manufacturing and energy innovation. We can't power the future with bans from the past.

We have to lean in and lean forward to new-generation nuclear technology. It is the only clean emissions way to get to a net zero future. We can't be clean energy leaders while ignoring the very technology that will make us a clean energy leader.

We can't keep shutting down innovation, investment and scientific research because of old-school ideology that's more reminiscent of a Midnight Oil song than it is a modern, forward-leaning government. Nuclear is the pathway to low emissions. It's the pathway to clean, stable, reliable energy and national prosperity.

And, given the Prime Minister's fondness for his heroes of the past, maybe he will heed the call. It is time. It's time to lift the ban, and that's why I will be introducing a bill to do exactly that.

It's time to lead. It's time for Australia to turn on the lights, turn on our power, power our future and not fear it. It's time to adopt nuclear technology here in Australia.

It is the only way we will get to a net zero future. Anything else is delusional.