Nuclear power gets the cold shoulder

Village Voice Drummoyne
September, 2006, Page: 21

Canada Bay Council reaffirmed its status as a nuclear free zone last month. Greens councillor and candidate for the State seat of Drummoyne Bernard Rooney explains why nuclear power is not the answer to the energy crisis.

NUCLEAR energy is being touted as an answer to the problems of global warming. There is no doubt we face twin global crises: an energy crisis due to fossil fuel depletion and an environmental crisis due to global warming.

Oil production is soon to peak, to be followed by gas. Coal is plentiful, but unfortunately it is the prime cause of greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on coal will need to be steadily reduced in the near future.

An important part of the solution is energy conservation and energy efficiency. Australia is a heavy consumer of energy per capita. Big savings can and must be achieved across the board in future years. A carbon tax needs to be introduced as quickly as possible, to internalise the true costs of the industry; to raise public revenue for research and development of alternatives and to make renewable energy sources more competitive.

Nuclear energy is not the answer. Nuclear energy creates a toxic waste for which, after more than 50 years, there is still no solution.

The nuclear industry is the foundation of nuclear weapons, and proliferation is virtually inevitable so long as the industry exists. The costs of nuclear energy are also immense. Construction, decommissioning and waste storage costs render the industry economically unviable.

The industry cannot survive without government subsidy and support, which should be given to the renewable sector, not nuclear energy. An accident in a nuclear power plant could be catastrophic. This is why insurance for nuclear power is impossible to obtain, meaning that these costs again have to be covered by the taxpayer.

Prime Minister John Howard floated the idea of nuclear energy recently and even suggested that his own electorate could be considered as a site for a nuclear reactor. I have little doubt that the people of Bennelong - just like the people of Drummoyne and Concord - would reject rather than permit such a thing.

It is difficult to take the Prime Minister's proposals seriously. But we can most certainly take seriously the proposals to increase the export of uranium and to convert outback Australia into a nuclear waste dump. This I believe is the real agenda. Clean, green, renewable energy is the answer. Wind power and solar power among others are ready to come on stream with a little push and support from governments.