Nationals senator Barnaby Joyce says Australia should use it own uranium for nuclear power if it is willing to export it.

His comments follow claims the federal government is seeking advice on whether it can force states to accept the construction of nuclear facilities.

Senator Joyce said Australia already made money off uranium, so why should it not look at using it for its own energy needs?

“As a nation we do export uranium, we make money out off uranium, there are lots of states who want to expand their uranium mines,” Senator Joyce told reporters in Canberra.

“You can’t say it’s morally incorrect to use it but it’s morally correct to send it to someone else to use.

“If you’re going to export it, then I suppose you should consider using it yourself.”

Senator Joyce said he would consider the construction of a nuclear facility in his own backyard of Queensland if it was what his constituents wanted.

“If you put the right incentives in, if you contacted the community and see if they wanted to participate in the process, and everybody was on board, then yes, you’d have to consider it.

“I think the states that should really consider it are the ones that are making a lot of money exporting.”

Greens leader Senator Bob Brown said the federal government was being hypocritical because it was previously opposed to nuclear power stations.

“It was this government that banned nuclear power stations with legislation seven years ago, now it’s going to have to undo it’s own legislated ban on nuclear power stations to allow the uranium industry to get what it wants.”

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