New Nationals leader Matt Canavan has promised to dramatically increase the number of Australian-made babies with a plan to power IVF clinics with “good, reliable, Aussie coal”.

Speaking beside a prototype fertility incubator connected to what appeared to be a small open-cut mine, Canavan said Australia had been trying to make babies using natural, renewable energy for too long.

“Frankly, this woke way of trying to conceive kids without involving fossil fuel in the process isn’t delivering for ordinary Australians,” he said. “If we want strong, dependable Australian kids, we need to go back to what built this country: coal.”

Under the proposed Coal-Fired IVF Initiative, embryos would be incubated using 100% baseload energy from Australian coal, which Canavan said would ensure babies are stable, reliable and able to power through tough economic conditions. “What Australians want is round-the-clock baby production you can rely on,” he said.

Canavan said the program would also help regional communities by locating most fertility clinics directly inside coal mines.

The senator confirmed the next phase of the plan would explore whether coal could also be used to power pregnancy itself. “Why stop at IVF? If we’re serious about boosting the birth rate, we should be looking at coal-fired wombs as well.”