Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has fired a salvo at Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, who he said would “roll over” and allow nuclear power in the state should Peter Dutton get the keys to The Lodge.

Visiting the City Botanic Gardens on Saturday morning to announce Madonna Jarrett’s Labor candidacy for the Greens-held seat of Brisbane, Albanese said a Crisafulli government would not stand in the way of a Dutton government’s nuclear ambitions.

Dutton has put nuclear energy at the centre of his pitch to be elected prime minister, with uncosted plans to build seven nuclear power plants across the nation – including two in Queensland.

Albanese said Queensland, Australia’s most regional state, was well-placed to benefit from a transition to net zero.

“Yet it’s only Labor that’s putting forward those positive plans and implementing them as part of the government,” he said.

“What we have from the Coalition is their risky nuclear plan that will call for a stop to investment in renewables that we need. They can’t say how much it will cost, they can’t say how it will exist in conjunction with the sites, given that six of the seven sites said no to this plan.

“You have chaos within the LNP between David Crisafulli, who’s pretending that none of that exists. But of course, he’ll be rolled over by Peter Dutton who’s saying he’ll roll over any state government, which is why it’s important that Steven Miles be re-elected here in a few months’ time as well.”

Crisafulli has called Dutton’s nuclear plans a “Canberra-centred distraction” and said he would not wind back Queensland’s ban on the technology if elected in October.

But last week at the LNP state convention, Queensland-based Nationals leader David Littleproud said states would have no choice but to fall in line if the Coalition won the federal election.