MEDIA RELEASE 2 September 2026
One Nation must tell regional Victorians which communities it expects to host nuclear power plants under its newly announced Victorian energy policy, according to RE-Alliance.
The party has promised to cancel VNI West, the Western Renewables Link and other major transmission projects, scrap net-zero targets and remove Victoria’s prohibition on nuclear energy in its energy policy released on Monday.
RE-Alliance National Director Andrew Bray said regional communities deserved more than a list of projects One Nation would cancel without a credible, costed replacement plan.
“One Nation has spent days telling regional Victorians what it would stop. It still cannot tell them what it would build, where it would go, what it would cost or when it would produce electricity.
“Victoria wants an honest discussion about how ageing coal generation will be replaced and how regional communities can benefit from the infrastructure that comes next.
“Regional people deserve better than being told every existing project will be cancelled while the location, cost and timing of the supposed alternative remain a mystery.
“You cannot claim to defend regional communities from unwanted infrastructure and then refuse to identify the communities that would carry the impacts of your alternative.”
Mr Bray said the anger surrounding parts of Victoria’s renewable-energy rollout was real, but cancelling essential infrastructure would not address the legitimate concerns communities had raised.
“Opposition to renewable energy development that fails to address the needs and ambitions of a community is not the same as rejection of the renewable energy rollout.
“Regional Victorians have been asking for earlier engagement, fairer benefit sharing and proper planning for the pressure multiple projects can place on housing, roads, local services and local workforces.
“They have not been asking political parties to tear up years of careful planning. Exploiting community frustration for political gain is not the same thing as solving the problems communities have identified.”
CSIRO estimates that Australia’s first nuclear generation would take at least 15 years after legal restrictions were removed. Its latest GenCost work finds solar PV and onshore wind form the basis of Australia’s least-cost electricity generation mix.
AEMO’s 2026 Integrated System Plan confirms VNI West is needed and will help connect more renewable energy in western Victoria. AEMO found that building the new transmission needed as coal-fired power stations close is the lowest-cost way to keep the electricity system reliable.
“Every party contesting the Victorian election should commit to implementing and enforcing VicGrid’s requirements for community engagement, benefit sharing and management of local impacts.”
