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The Coalition is flirting with nuclear energy. The public musings started when David Littleproud won the Nationals leadership last week. He said nuclear power was a clean energy option that ought to be discussed. Outgoing Barnaby Joyce echoed the sentiment. Peter Dutton did the same yesterday.
There's been a chain reaction of sorts in the conservative camp, which is a major turnaround, given it was only last September when Scott Morrison ruled out nuclear energy. His proscription came just after he announced the landmark AUKUS deal with the United Kingdom and the United States to acquire a fleet of nuclear powered submarines.
"Let me be clear," he said, "Australia is not seeking to establish nuclear weapons or establish a civil nuclear capability. And we will continue to meet all of our nuclear non-proliferation obligations." The former PM held a hose, which he used to dampen speculation the new sub arrangement was the thin edge of the nuclear energy wedge. There was an election on the horizon and the last thing he wanted was to hand Labor material for a scare campaign. Now, Morrison's gone, along with many of the moderates in the Liberal Party, the once taboo subject is back on the table. For now, anyway.
As the next election approaches, such talk is likely to become muted or disappear altogether because it will indeed lead to a scare campaign, especially in the ultra marginal seat of Gilmore on the NSW South Coast. Jervis Bay sits in the middle of the electorate and in the 1960s was slated as the site of a nuclear reactor. There was even talk of producing weapons-grade plutonium there - of Australia arming itself with nukes. The idea was shelved after Australia signed the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty in 1973. A reminder of how close the plans came to fruition can be found at Murrays Beach, where concrete footings for the reactor are still visible under the water. Every time nuclear energy is mentioned by either party, people who love Jervis Bay for its natural beauty go into meltdown. The very idea is toxic.
Talk is cheap when you're newly in opposition - and likely to remain there for the next six years - but the electorate's reluctance to embrace nuclear energy will quickly lay the Coalition's newfound enthusiasm for it to rest. Memories of the Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters will take generations to recede. While nuclear energy doesn't add to global carbon emissions like coal and gas, there is still the problem of what to do with the radioactive waste. And for all the buzz around small modular reactors, which are touted as lessening the likelihood of accidents, that technology is still in development. Not even the International Atomic Energy Agency is prepared to say whether it will be cost effective.
One should never say "never" - and there may well be scope for a rational national discussion once small modular reactors are proven for safety and commercial viability. But right now, for many the nuclear option seems a non-starter.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Should nuclear energy be seriously considered for Australia? Would you be comfortable living near a nuclear reactor? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro has been awarded $715,000 in defamation damages from Google for a "vindictive" social media campaign that left him traumatised. The tech giant, along with commentator Jordan Shanks who posted defamatory videos on its YouTube platform, also face possible prosecution for contempt of court.
- A Monash University survey has found more than half of Australia's teachers are planning to quit the profession because they feel overworked and undervalued. (Mrs Norris, if you're still out there, thanks for all your inspiration and guidance in English - as you can tell, I'm still trying to master it.)
- Billionaire Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest says Australians are paying the price for the Coalition's coal and gas worshipping. And he's urged the Labor government to resist new "carbon bomb" fossil fuel projects.
THEY SAID IT: "As we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns: that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know." - Donald Rumsfeld
YOU SAID IT: "Whilst I wholeheartedly agree that John Howard's greatest legacy was the gun ownership legislation, in my opinion, equal credit truly belongs to Tim Fischer (that's right - two minute Tim) without whose assistance it would never have got over the line." - David
"If the people are genuine about changing gun laws, a step in the right direction would be to vote out the likes of Cruz and the Governor of Texas and all other extreme pro gun politicians. Until the people stand up to these lobbyists and vote them out, nothing will change." - Kevin
"Your article on gun laws and John Howard was excellent. Thank you. It was the outstanding thing that John Howard did." - Jenny
"US citizens think they live in a free and democratic country. One day it'll dawn on them that the rule of law doesn't exist in the USA. They're ruled by the wealthy and the wielding of their capital." - Daniel
"I am American living here in Australia and I can tell you unequivocally it will never happen. It is a travesty that Republicans do not care. If you look at the states with strongest ties to guns it is all Republican. They do not care about American people it is not even a true political party anymore. They care only for power and money and have no shame." - Diane