The proposal has faced broad criticism from climate scientists who say it is costly and unrealistic. But this week, a senior Coalition frontbencher who represents one of the potential nuclear sites also queried whether there was enough water available to build and run it.

Why is water a concern?

“We’ve looked at the water allocations for each of those sites … We’re comfortable with the analysis that we’ve done,” Dutton told the ABC, before referring to modelling the Coalition commissioned last year on its nuclear plan from Frontier Economics, even though the work did not tackle the question of water.

“The experts in the field would be required to report on all seven sites around issues surrounding water and seismology.”

“The water footprint of proposed inland nuclear power needs to be much more prominent in current debates,” the report stated.

‘We’ll work to find consensus’

“We’ll work to find consensus. If we can’t find consensus, then we’ll do what’s in our country’s best interests.”