Australian Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is demanding the Australian government embrace nuclear power.

Australia currently has a ban on any nuclear power industry in the country, despite the nation holding lofty climate change goals. Australia’s economy is largely powered by coal and gas. Yet the continent is home to about one-third of the word’s known uranium resources.

“The only feasible and proven technology, which can firm up renewables and help us achieve the goals of clean, cost-effective and consistent power is next-generation nuclear technologies,” Dutton said in a speech this week.

“Australians must consider new nuclear technologies as part of the energy mix.”

According to ABC, Dutton – the alternative Prime Minister of Australia if the conservative coalition wins at the next election – said small modular reactors (SMRs) could easily be placed on the sites of old coal-fired power plants, in order to save costs and use existing distribution infrastructure.

“We can convert or repurpose coal-fired plants to use the transmission connections that already exist on those sites,” he said.

“New nuclear technologies can be plugged into existing grids and work immediately.”

The current Australian Energy and Climate Change Minister told reporters last month that nuclear power “won’t be happening here, not while we’re in office”.

Meanwhile, nations around the world are investing heavily in new capacity for nuclear power, including SMR tech in order to reach ambitious climate goals by 2030, with Canada announcing a new round of investment in reactors just Friday.

More to come.