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.
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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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