Steven Miles will hold a state plebiscite on Peter Dutton’s nuclear power plans if he wins the 26 October poll, a move that could polarise the electorate in the Coalition’s strongest state at the next federal election.
The Queensland premier said he had received legal advice on the nuclear issue and raised the possibility of initiating a plebiscite on the same day as the federal election.
“Depending on how things play out, you could even hold that plebiscite on the same day as the federal election, to save people going to the polls twice,” Miles said in an exclusive interview with Guardian Australia.
The federal opposition leader, Peter Dutton, will take a plan for seven Commonwealth-owned nuclear power stations to the next election. That includes two in Queensland, replacing existing coal plants at Callide and Tarong.
But an obscure provision in Queensland’s 17-year-old Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Act 2007 may stand in the way. The act bans granting a grid connection, development application or generating authority to any nuclear facility.
It also requires the minister call a plebiscite if “satisfied the government of the commonwealth has taken, or is likely to, take any step supporting or allowing the construction of a prohibited nuclear facility in Queensland”.
The state opposition leader, David Crisafulli, has repeatedly ruled out changes to the law, most recently at a joint press conference with Dutton this month.
Miles said if Dutton won the federal election, whoever was Queensland premier would be required under law to hold a plebiscite.
“The law of Queensland requires a plebiscite if it looks like the Australian government’s going to try to build a nuclear facility,” he said.
“I’ve said that I’ll do everything I can to stand in the way of the most expensive option, that includes letting Queenslanders have their say.
“Obviously, if I’ve won the election, they’ll have had their say, that will be a mandate for my position, which is for the cheaper option of storing renewables using pumped hydro.
“But also the LNP leader claims he’s not going to change the law either, and so I assume that means he intends to hold a plebiscite as well. [It will] be interesting to see which side he campaigns on for that.”
Queensland is the Coalition’s strongest federal state. The Liberal National party holds 21 of 30 lower house seats in Queensland, including the electorates of both the leader and deputy leader of the party.
The election analyst Ben Raue said any state vote would increase the salience of the nuclear issue and could turn voters against the plan. “There’s a good chance it would affect people’s vote,” he said.
“It could make people think about what’s the more important issues, but people are capable of voting in different ways. You know, when we have referendums, that doesn’t necessarily translate into how people vote at an election, but having them tied that closely together, happening at the same time, would do that.”
Miles said it was not an attempt to swing federal votes away from the Coalition. “If they’re so confident of their plan, then why would it be?” he said.
In June Dutton said state governments “won’t stop us,” suggesting he would overrule state legislation with federal laws.
Miles has repeatedly vowed to defend the state’s nuclear ban in the high court. Asked last week if the state had received legal advice about who would win a legal contest he said the state government’s ownership of the sites made a difference.
“We’ve received advice on what steps we could take to strengthen our hand,” he said.
The Victorian and New South Wales parliaments passed bans on nuclear power in the 1980s, and the commonwealth parliament did so in 1999. Dutton has yet to reveal many details of his plan, including the cost.
Guardian Australia understands the state government had examined holding a plebiscite at the state election on 26 October.
Queensland is legally permitted to hold referendums on any issue and states have called referendums at federal elections in the past. In 1910 Queenslanders voted in a state referendum on religious education in schools plus a federal referendum, and a federal election, on the same day.
Since 1922 states require approval by the governor general, who has only given it once: for the 1998 Northern Territory referendum on statehood.
Queensland’s last referendum, held in 2016, required state elections to be held every four years on fixed dates. It was the third successful referendum in the state’s history, the first since 1910.
The federal election must be held by May.
