"I don't know why. I am not in the Opposition's head.
What I know is that with our very rich renewable energy resources, nuclear is an expensive option. It is also an option in the far distant future, long after a lot of our coal plants start falling apart.
No one wants to build a new coal plant. It's obviously uneconomic in competition with renewables.
Some people say: 'Well, France and China are using nuclear energy, so why not Australia?'
Those countries do not have Australia's renewable energy opportunities. And often their nuclear programs are being cross-subsidised with their nuclear weapons programs.
That is the case with France, where nuclear weapons and nuclear power generation are developed side by side. For Australia, the economics wouldn't take you in that direction."
Economist Ross Garnaut AC, who is Professor Emeritus at both The Australian National University and The University of Melbourne analyses the viability of the Coalition's nuclear energy plan in the lead-up to the federal election.
