Australia’s federal Coalition leader Peter Dutton has announced the party proposes to build seven large-scale nuclear power plants and two proposed small modular reactors.

According to Dutton, his opposition party proposes that Tarong and Callide in Queensland; Mount Piper and Liddell in New South Wales; Collie in Western Australia; Loy Yang in Victoria; and the Northern power station in South Australia host nuclear power plants.

Press reports said the plan has been criticised as more expensive than renewable energy and guaranteed to increase emissions due to increased reliance on fossil fuels until nuclear power is ready, which the Coalition says could be as soon as 2035.

At a press conference in Sydney, Dutton confirmed the power plants, if built, would be state-owned.