Nuclear power is supposed to compete directly with coal and gas. So why would fossil fuel companies support it, or back the politicians pushing for nuclear in Australia?
🕰️ Against the clock: Instead of denying climate change outright, a Senate inquiry in March found, these days, fossil fuel companies are buying time by delaying action on it instead.
The inquiry into climate misinformation mapped out how corporate donations move through think tanks and advocacy groups to slow the shift to renewable energy.
Professor Christian Downie of the Australian National University told the inquiry that outright climate denial has been overwhelmingly replaced by delay strategies.
🗣️ “[T]here is a lot of focus on undermining the solutions and claiming that renewable energy doesn't work, or that wind turbines kill whales and these types of things.
“We're seeing a shift in the strategies and the discourses, but the underlying intention remains the same, which is to delay action on climate change.”
⏳ The best-case scenario: The CSIRO estimates it would take a minimum of 15 years for nuclear power to actually reach the grid.
If a pro-nuclear government was elected in 2028, the federal ban on nuclear power was lifted, and every state – each with its own separate laws and bans – was brought onside or overridden, nuclear power could theoretically be on the grid by 2043.
That's assuming no construction delays or cost blowouts.
💰 Follow the money: The politicians talking seriously about nuclear also happen to be some of the biggest recipients of fossil fuel donations.
According to AEC disclosures:
In 2024-25, the Nationals received $50,000 from the Minerals Council of Australia, which has publicly backed lifting Australia's nuclear ban, while the Liberals received $92,000 from the same group.
The Nationals also took $44,000 directly from Coal Australia, the country's peak coal lobby group.
One Nation is significantly backed by mining and fossil fuel magnate Gina Rinehart and her allies.
⚡ In the meantime
One Nation has proposed extending the life of Australia's ageing coal plants to bridge the minimum 15 year gap for nuclear energy.
That's despite warnings from the market operator itself. Australian Energy Market Operator CEO Daniel Westerman said in a speech last month that 40 percent of coal-fired power plants on the east coast have retired since 1998, leaving an average age of 38 years for the ones still running.
🗣️ "They're old, they're breaking down more often, and their outages last for longer," Westerman said.
Between October 2025 and February 2026, coal plants in NSW and Victoria had a quarter of their capacity offline on average at any given time. Queensland wasn't much better, at 24 percent.
When coal goes offline, the grid leans harder on gas, one of the most expensive ways to generate power, and that cost flows through to household bills.
Watch the National Account's Archie Milligan below: