“We have the ability to do that in a way that renewables can’t.

“It will mean that on those end-of-life coal-fired power station sites, we can utilise the existing distribution networks.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese slammed the plan and said it overlooked Australia’s renewable energy potential.

“It’ll be a taxpayer funded nuclear fantasy,” he said.

“Here in Australia, we have the best solar resources in the world.

“This makes no economic sense, as well as leaving us in a position of energy insecurity because of the time that it will take to roll out a nuclear reactor.”

Coalition MPs were updated on the plan at a snap partyroom teleconference earlier on Wednesday.

Nationals leader David Littleproud – whose Maronoa electorate is home to the Callide site – said it was “a proud day”.

“Under the Coalition, we will change not only the culture of this country but leave a legacy for this country – the legacy of a change of culture,” he said.

“That’s what the leadership that Peter Dutton and David Littleproud intend to bring to the Australian people. We’re going to give them hope and when all seems lost, it’s time for strength and leadership.”

But Finance Minister Katy Gallagher called the nuclear policy “laughable”.

“They’ve got some plan, which is going to cost more money, delay any progress on addressing climate change and the stability of our energy grid, I think [it] is just laughable,” she said.

Victorian Labor Premier Jacinta Allen said the Liberal Party wanted to “bring in more expensive, more risky, more toxic energy solutions to the people of this country”.

“We won’t stand for that. We absolutely won’t stand for that.”

Queensland Labor Premier Steven Miles said nuclear power was “four to six times more expensive” than alternatives.

“And that is not to mention how future generations – my kids, your kids – will need to manage dangerous radioactive nuclear waste, forever. That’s what that plan means,” he said.

SA Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis posted on social media that the “Port Augusta site is not vacant”.

“It is already being repurposed as a green cement and concrete plant and minerals export port. The transmission lines are not idle. They are used every day by wind and solar generators around Port Augusta and in the Mid North,” he wrote.

“The myth that a nuclear reactor could just plug into the old Port Augusta coal power transmission lines is not true.”

Hallett Group is developing a $125 million green cement project at the former Northern Power Station site.

The project is backed by $20 million in federal government funding and Hallett Group said the plan would cut Australia’s annual carbon dioxide emissions initially by 300,000 tonnes, growing to one million tonnes as it expands.

The company will use existing technology to manufacture supplementary materials that can replace more than 50 per cent of traditional high-emission clinker-based cement.

Last July, Hallett Group announced it had partnered with Korea’s largest energy company Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP). Under the partnership, KHNP will power Hallett Group’s green cement project with hydrogen energy.

KHNP and Elecseed – which has offices in Brisbane and Korea – will build a 6MW hydrogen electrolyser at the site of the former power station.

– with AAP