Nuclear energy is the future of the conservative polity

Written by Ethan Raats

The 2022 May Federal election was a crushing defeat for right-wing candidates across the country. Many factors played into this defeat. However, one of the main lessons of 2022 was the electorate’s heightened concern about climate change, especially among young people.

There has been a well-documented divide between left-wing and right-wing parties in their approach to climate change. The divide favouring the left-wing such as Labor and the Greens, over the conservative polity mainly focused within the Coalition. 2022 proves climate change will become an electoral barrier for the conservative polity in the face of an increasing number of climate-conscious voters.

This electoral barrier is more noticeable amongst young people, the demographic forming a greater share of the electorate. For 2022, Millennials and Generation Z voted for climate-friendly candidates favouring Labor and the Greens by 75% and 67% of voters, respectively. At the same time, 90-98% of Labor and Green voters view climate-friendly policies as important.

However, the barrier is more alarming amongst the conservative polity’s traditional voters. Since these voters are either dying out or reducing their support, indicated by the swing to independents who campaigned heavily on climate action. The so-called “teal wave” saw many traditionally Liberal voters swing away from the Liberal party, resulting in seven traditionally Liberal heartland seats falling to independents.

Certainly, of what will be a climate-conscious electorate, the conservative polity will not find electoral success without climate-friendly policies that align with its values.

The current Labor government has provided a clear and precise agenda consisting of renewable energy to become the main focus of Australia’s energy market. To counteract the renewable agenda, the right-wing of Australia’s politics, the conservative polity, must provide a serious alternative.

Across the globe, particularly newly elected conservative governments such as Italy and Sweden have adopted nuclear energy as an alternative. An alternative seemingly being adopted by Australia’s conservative polity signalled by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s talk of debate on the matter.

The problem with renewable energy is its unreliability and, therefore, its role in the country’s energy independence. A problem nuclear energy does not face. Still, nuclear energy is no silver bullet, and it will also naturally have problems, such as its high initial costs. However, unlike renewable energy, nuclear energy provides an economically sound approach that is practical and sensible to deal with climate change. A pathway highly valued amongst the conservative polity making it an ideal alternative that aligns with its values.

Clearly, the conservative polity’s future electoral success will rely on its climate-friendly policy. In a dawning era of a climate-conscious electorate, the conservative polity must not ignore the climate change issue to not remain in the political wilderness. The conservative polity will need to create a practical nuclear energy policy that also addresses voters’ economic concerns about costs and fallout from the closure of coal and gas production. Certainly facing a climate-conscious electorate, nuclear energy is the future of the conservative polity.