Opinions split in Collie over Peter Dutton's plan to build a nuclear ...

As the federal Coalition looks to set up a nuclear power plant in the coal mining town of Collie, there are concerns the plan will hurt tourism opportunities in the town — and won't happen soon enough for displaced coal workers.

Led by Peter Dutton, the opposition has committed to building seven nuclear power stations in Australia, utilising sites like Muja power station in WA's South West.

Alan Coyne worked for years as a power control officer at that site.

"The whole thing is ludicrous," he said about the Coalition's plan.

Alan Coyne says nuclear would ruin Collie's plans to grow as a tourist town.(ABC South West: Kate Forrester)

Mr Coyne said he was pleased to see the town take off as a tourist destination in recent years, after he was "personally responsible" for burning of hundreds of thousands of tonnes of coal over his career.

He said he was "astounded" to hear about the plan for his home town.

"You're destroying what is a beautiful environment for the tourists to come and look at," he said.

"You've got all these cycle paths, you've got Wellington Dam, you've got all sorts of beauty here in the forest. 

"And you want to stick a nuclear power plant in the middle of it — nah.

"He's not going to get another vote from the Collie region. The audacity of the man."

Emerging from a two-hour meeting with Liberal backbencher Rick Wilson, the community's federal MP, Collie Shire President Ian Miffling said he was open-minded.

"The council hasn't yet made a decision on anything, I'm not pre-empting that," he said.

"It's not something that's going to happen overnight."

He said key questions included buffer zones, as well as the potential impact on local recreation facilities and properties near the Muja site.

"We're talking about things like buffer zones, and the development of industrial opportunities for Collie," Mr Miffling said.

Federal member Rick Wilson took the plan to Collie Shire President Ian Miffling this week.(ABC South West: Kate Forrester)

He said he did not see the issue as a divisive one for the community.

"People will always have an opinion," he said.

"[Community consultation] is important from the shire's point of view, because there'll be people who support and people who don't support [it]."

Collie has proven difficult territory for Mr Wilson, with the four-term O'Connor MP failing to win a single booth in the mining town since it was added to his electorate in 2016.

Given the sudden nature of Mr Dutton's announcement, he conceded the community had plenty of questions.

"Most of which I could answer, some of which I will need to get answers to," Mr Wilson said.

"I have made a commitment to the community of Collie to keep the dialogue going for as long as required."

Collie has a grown as a tourist town in recent years, with the Wellington Dam mural and bike trails helping to attract visitors.(ABC South West: Sam Bold)

A nuclear power plant in the town would hinge on the Coalition forming government and the removal of a ban on nuclear power in Australia.

Due to added technical challenges — constraints on WA's power grid would require the construction of a small modular reactor — any development at Collie is not expected until 2040 at the earliest.

Meanwhile the WA government has committed to phasing out coal by 2030.

Collie resident Dom Italiano said he was worried change wasn't coming soon enough for the transitioning town.

"There are 2,000 odd people out there going to lose their jobs. They've told us that," he said.

"But they haven't started an industry that's going to take these people on. Nuclear is not going to do that because nuclear is way down the track.

"These little bits and pieces we're getting around the town are just trying to get votes."

Other Collie locals like Kerry Roberts (left) and Dom Italiano (centre) say even if nuclear goes ahead in the town, it will be a way off.(ABC South West: Kate Forrester)

Kerry Roberts, who had worked in the coal industry, supported nuclear as an alternative energy source, but agreed it was a plan for the "distant future".

"We've got coal sufficient in Collie here to keep coal-fired going for quite some time," he said.

"We have the infrastructure to be able to accommodate that sort of thing.

"It's not going to happen in my lifetime or your lifetime but it will happen … It's got to be part of our energy mix for Australia as a progressive country."

Additional reporting by Ethan French.