‘Huge lost opportunity’: Coalition MPs attack David Crisafulli over Queensland uranium ban - theaustralian.com.au

Queensland's Liberal National Party leader David Crisafulli has maintained the state's ban on uranium mining despite criticism from Coalition MPs who argue the restriction represents a lost opportunity. The MPs contend that lifting the ban would unlock economic and energy benefits for Queensland.

Where this fits

Queensland's uranium ban forecloses a domestic source of fuel for nuclear generation, the firm, low-emission power source Australia has chosen to prohibit by law. The restriction locks the grid into dependence on weather-dependent renewables, which require either gas firming or imports of batteries and inverters, 90 per cent of which come from China. A uranium-to-power chain, domestically owned and operated, would eliminate that supply-chain vulnerability while delivering firm capacity with the lowest lifecycle emissions of any generation source. Instead, Australia is building a renewables-only grid that outsources control of critical inputs to a strategic rival.

What it means

The ban keeps Queensland, and the National Electricity Market that depends on Queensland's generation, exposed to both weather volatility and supply-chain coercion. When solar and wind output drops, the grid needs either firming capacity (gas, hydro, or battery) or load shedding. Batteries require minerals processed in China. Gas is increasingly constrained by export commitments and international pressure. Nuclear fuel is abundant, transportable, and sourced from countries aligned with Australia's interests. A state with uranium reserves and a grid under stress is choosing to foreclose the one firm, low-emission, locally-controlled option available, while locking in reliance on Chinese supply chains for the technology that replaces it.