Farrer MP Sussan Ley says a southern Riverina council "is doing a good thing" in canvassing views on erecting a nuclear power generator in their area.
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The federal deputy Liberal Party leader was questioned about Murrumbidgee Council's nuclear involvement during a television interview from Albury on Sunday Agenda broadcast by Sky News on May 5.
Ms Ley was also asked if she would like a nuclear power station in the Riverina.
"Our policy is about putting nuclear sites co-located with where there have been coal-fired power stations and so on," Ms Ley said.
"So, maybe at some point in the future, this is something that the people in this area would be interested in having a further conversation about."
Murrumbidgee Council is circulating a survey until May 22, gauging opinions on nuclear power generation in its area which includes Jerilderie, Coleambally and Darlington Point.
Respondents are asked about their level of support for building a nuclear power facility and where they live, with a more formal poll flagged for a later time.
"What the Murrumbidgee Council says is 'we want to research, we want to survey our residents and see what they think'," Ms Ley said.
"So I think the council is doing a good thing.
"I think they're asking their ratepayers and we'll see what their ratepayers say."
Murrumbidgee Council general manager John Scarce said motivation for the survey was linked to concerns about wind and solar developments in the area and if nuclear plants eventuated they would be contingent on the removal of turbines and panels.
"The land would then be reclaimed for agricultural purposes, aligning with sustainability and resource optimisation goals," Mr Scarce said.
Ms Ley said "we know our ratepayers are getting pretty annoyed about this massive renewables infrastructure, huge transmission lines marching across their farmland, just awful in terms of the amenity of some of this infrastructure that's all designed to deliver energy to the cities".
The federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton has expressed support for small modular reactors, but is yet to release the Coalition's energy policy.
Ms Ley could not say when it would be unveiled, amid concerns about which areas would be earmarked for nuclear plants.
Lobby group Nuclear for Climate Australia has named Albury and Dederang as "possible" as opposed to "probable" sites for reactors.
They both would involve two 300 megawatt power plants.
However, the organisation concedes the availability of water for cooling would be a constraint in both places.
