Locals in the towns and regions where the Coalition says it will build nuclear power stations appear both bemused and alarmed by the plan.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced the Coalition’s seven proposed sites for nuclear power stations on Wednesday, without the support – or consultation – of the local councils where the reactors would be built.

The nuclear plants, a cornerstone of the Coalition’s election plans, are earmarked for Loy Yang in Victoria’s Gippsland region, Callide and Tarong in Queensland, Port Augusta in South Australia, Collie in Western Australia, and Mount Piper and Liddell in New South Wales.

The seven sites were named with apparently no consultation.

Loy Yang

Latrobe Council mayor Darren Howe told The New Daily that there had so far been “had no consultation regarding the announcement” of a nuclear power plant in Loy Yang.

“We need to know the environmental impact and what the business case is as far as cost and the timeline,” he said

“We are hoping there will be a wide range of consultation, which will inform our community on the actual facts.”

Howe said it was up to the Coalition to drive this community engagement.

Loy Yang is home to a coal-fired thermal power station that produces 50 per cent of Victoria’s baseload power.

Two sections of the plant are due to close by 2035, while the other is not capable of meeting Victoria’s 2035 renewable energy targets.

Mount Piper

In Lithgow, near the Mount Piper power station, another mayor has poured hot water on Dutton’s plans.

Independent mayor Maree Statham said the Lithgow council declared the area a nuclear-free zone four decades ago.

“This policy position remains in place,” she said this week.

“It is my intention to invite Peter Dutton to visit Lithgow and explain to this community why they should welcome a nuclear power plant in their backyard when no other community across Australia would do this.”

Lithgow – located just west of the Blue Mountains between Sydney and the wine hotspots of Orange and Mudgee – is becoming a tourist destination.

In a statement, Lithgow Council on Tuesday said it will “be seeking detail from the Opposition about their jobs plan, their workforce transitioning plan, their commitment for more substantial investment in Lithgow and, of course, their environmental policy”.

Lithgow has reinvented itself as a tourist destination in recent years. Photo: AAP

Liddell

The Hunter Valley’s Liddell Power Station was decommissioned in April 2023 after 50 years of operation.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in March confirmed that the site of the closed Liddell Power Station would be developed as a solar manufacturing hub.

The Liddell site has also been earmarked as a location for solar panel production by the Albanese government. Photo: X/Anthony Albanese

Callide and Tarong

Callide in Queensland, another site named by Dutton, is home to a coal power station that caught fire and exploded in 2021 because of human error.

That mishap led to significant power outages and damage to the station’s infrastructure.

Nev Ferrier, mayor of Banana Council, confirmed there had been no consultation about the likelihood of a nuclear reactor in Callide. He will seek external advice.

Kahn Goodluck, a councillor for nearby Gladstone, said the area does not want expensive and “radioactive nuclear energy”.

“Our community is the industrial powerhouse of the nation. We’re getting on with the job of transitioning our economy from fossil fuels to renewable energy,” he said.

“Australia’s energy future isn’t radioactive.”

In Tarong, which is in Nationals leader David Littleproud’s seat, concern has been raised about the viability of hosting a nuclear reactor by the Smart Energy Council.

Port Augusta

The Coalition is already running into issues with its chosen sites following revelations that one – in Port Augusta – isn’t even home to a coal power plant after being repurposed.

Cu-River Port Australia bought the former power station site in 2019 and plans to replace it with a port facility.

“The owners have told the Smart Energy Council that they have never had a call from someone in the Liberal Party about making it a nuclear site,” according to The Guardian.

“They have no plans to sell, or house a nuclear reactor in any case, as they are building a critical-minerals green iron export facility, with plans to use green hydrogen.”

State MP Tom Koutsantonis backed up that report.

“The Port Augusta site is not vacant. It is already being repurposed as a green cement and concrete plant and a minerals export port. The transmission lines are not idle. They are used every day by wind and solar generators around Port Augusta and in the mid-north [of South Australia],” he posted on X on Wednesday.

Collie

Collie, the heart of Western Australia’s energy production for decades, is the site of one of the country’s largest renewables projects, set to open later in 2025.

WA Energy Minister Reece Whitby said the Coalition plan was undoubtedly “a recipe for disaster”.

“In Western Australia and Australia, more than anywhere else on the planet, renewables are the option that are most affordable and make sense,” he said.

“You’ve got more chance of seeing a unicorn trotting down St Georges Terrace than you have of nuclear power being a feasible and reliable option for our energy system.”

Ian Miffling, mayor of Collie Shire, was contacted for comment.