Peter Dutton’s nuclear policy announcement and the Albanese government’s response to it are dominating the news, but no one has asked the obvious questions.

If, as seems to be clear, no comprehensive costings were ever prepared for the government’s renewables-only plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, why weren’t these undertaken in the policy development process? And if, judging by their hysterical reaction to the idea of nuclear energy, ministers appear completely uninformed about this alternative to wind and solar, what advice have they been getting from their public servants on this issue?

Some might think that deep in the bowels of the...