Australia is being frog-marched toward blackouts, skyrocketing bills, and economic fragility under the Albanese Labor government’s reckless pursuit of so-called renewable energy.

This is not conjecture.

Consumers are already struggling to pay power bills; blackouts are now routinely threatened, and consumers have been offered to be paid not to use electricity during peak periods.

This is the new normal, and it is not becoming of a first world nation.

Meanwhile, the government blindly presses on, spending billions on an enormous spider web of power lines connecting scattered wind and solar projects that are inefficient, unreliable, and environmentally ruinous.

What is renewable about solar panels that need to be replaced every couple of decades?

The only thing renewable about these things is the cost.

The truly maddening part is that it doesn’t have to be this way.

The recently released Frontier Economics Report pointed to a better path – one in which nuclear energy delivers reliable, affordable power, while safeguarding our energy security and economic future.

The report made it obvious that nuclear energy changes everything.

Nuclear reactors built on the site of existing coal stations could plug into existing grid infrastructure and avoid the need for intrusive and costly transmission overhauls.

The result would be clean, continuous baseload power, with the lowest possible emissions. Something Labor and their unofficial coalition partner the Greens claim that they want.

And despite the Labor Party’s infantile scare campaign, nuclear power is a proven, stable, and safe solution that has been used around the world for decades.

While government ministers post memes of three-eyed fish in a childish and frankly embarrassing attempt to scare Australians, our power bills are rising and our energy security is being compromised.

Labor’s cult-like devotion to wind and sunbeams leaves Australia dangerously exposed.

Something as simple as a calm day or – God forbid – nighttime, is enough to shut down energy production.

The last thing we can afford to compromise at a time of increasing instability throughout the Pacific is our energy independence.

Nuclear will not only strengthen our domestic supply but also balance the geopolitical equation in our region.

We are sitting on the world’s largest uranium reserve – an extraordinary asset that other nations are not hesitating to use to power their industries and stabilise their economies.

Yet, instead of capitalising on this natural advantage, we ship it offshore for others to use, while condemning each other for using air condition and dishwashers during extreme weather, which the government now defines as any day over 30 degrees.

Older readers, or anyone with a basic level of commonsense, will remember such days as ‘Summer’.

Did I mention that all of this is madness?

Forget the government’s promise that Australia will become a ‘renewable energy superpower’. They can’t even deliver a $275 electricity bill reduction. If it wasn’t so serious it would be hilarious.

A domestic nuclear industry would place us at the forefront of the global energy supply chain, creating thousands of well-paid, skilled jobs while unlocking enormous economic opportunities, particularly in regional Australia.

Any adult knows this. If only there were some adults in the Federal Labor caucus.

The Coalition’s plan to keep coal in the system until nuclear energy comes online should be entirely uncontroversial. If it was up to me, we would be approving the construction of brand new coal fired power stations. We are blessed with one of the world’s largest coal reserves and coal fired power is cheap, reliable and safe.

Labor is already extending the life of coal plants to avoid blackouts and prevent further price shocks – an awkward confession that their own energy plan is about as successful as Australia’s effort in Olympic break-dancing.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s insistence on ripping out reliable energy sources before we have a proven replacement is worse than reckless, it’s patently stupid. He is putting households, industries, and our national security at unnecessary risk.

Meanwhile, other nations are showing us what’s possible. Even Egypt. Bangladesh and Pakistan are building or have built nuclear power stations but we are supposed to believe we cannot?

At COP29, I witnessed firsthand how countries are embracing nuclear energy to guarantee their own energy security, strengthen their manufacturing sectors, and protect their economies.

France, for example, enjoys reliable, affordable electricity thanks to its long-standing investment in nuclear power.

Meanwhile, Australia – blessed with the resources and expertise to lead – is being left behind, held hostage by renewable energy cultists who refuse to acknowledge reality.

The Frontier Economics Report makes the case clear: nuclear energy is cheaper, smarter, and more secure than anything Chris Bowen proposes.

Nuclear energy reduces costs, avoids the enormous expense of new transmission lines, and guarantees reliable power to support an advanced economy.

The alternative is a continuing decline in our living standards. Something this government seems intent upon producing.

The time for common sense has come. We must move beyond the outdated thinking of Labor and the fanaticism of the Greens.

We must end Australia’s moratorium on nuclear power. Our future depends on it.

Senator Ralph Babet, United Australia Party