00:00In the skies above flood-ravaged North Queensland, Peter Dutton can see an election on the horizon,
00:10spruiking his nuclear plan as a better option in natural disasters.
00:15When you have a rain period, a rain event like this, and the power goes out, the batteries
00:19last for three hours on the mobile towers. We need to have a stable electricity system.
00:24Nuclear or not, it's the poles and wires that carry electricity to remote North Queensland,
00:30and they're often no match for the weather. It was Mr Dutton's first visit to Queensland's
00:35disaster zone. Asked whether he'd spend more on disaster funding, there was no commitment.
00:40Firstly, we've got to win the election, so we've got a long way to go until that point.
00:46At the other end of the country, the Prime Minister is making his own moves to retain
00:50power, stepping in to shore up Tasmania's salmon farming.
00:55The jobs should be secured and the science is spoken.
00:57The industry's future has been uncertain as the Federal Government weighs up its impact
01:02on an endangered fish, the Morgian skate. Anthony Albanese, today seized on new figures
01:08showing its population is stabilising, writing to Salmon Australia, promising to introduce
01:15legislation to ensure appropriate environmental laws are in place to continue farming.
01:20I am over the moon, obviously. I have stood with those workers. I have said I would never
01:25give up on them. The PM has been dragged kicking and screaming,
01:29trying to kill off this political issue for him.
01:31The Prime Minister's intervention overrides the authority of his Environment Minister,
01:36Tanya Plibersek, who is yet to make a decision on the future of salmon farming in the harbour.
01:41But the PM's call could win him crucial votes in a marginal seat, and that is his priority.
01:48It's understood the Government will introduce the laws in the next sitting week, but with
01:52speculation mounting an election will be called imminently, that promise may have to wait.
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