The Coalition has produced a policy! Don’t get too excited – this policy is recycled, and not in a good way – in fact it’s radioactive. Like Robert Menzies, John Howard and Tony Abbott before him, Peter Dutton wants to legalise nuclear electricity generation in Australia.
After lambasting Labor for the emissions caused by Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen attending COP28, the Liberal and National parties sent not one, not two, but seven elected representatives to the Dubai conference, or at least a sideline event designed to boost the interests of the nuclear industry. That well-known international energy expert, Lismore’s own Kevin Hogan, was one of those who joined the junket.
The group was led by the opposition’s climate change and energy spokesperson, Queenslander Ted O’Brien, who declared ‘COP28 will be known as the nuclear COP’, despite the fact that only 11 percent of countries at the Dubai talks agreed it was a good idea to triple nuclear power by 2050 as a response to the climate emergency. Apparently not everyone finds it as easy as the Coalition to forget Chernobyl, Fukushima and Three Mile Island.
The Liberals and Nationals were in the UAE at the behest of the World Nuclear Association and the Orwellian-sounding Coalition for Conservation, which has a stated goal to ‘reduce emissions and protect the environment’, as long as obvious solutions like renewable energy and reducing energy consumption are not involved.
Smoke ’em if you’ve got ’em
As part of his ongoing quest for relevance and media attention, Peter Dutton’s enthusiasm for nuclear energy has been steadily growing over the last couple of years, particularly in the form of Small (don’t be scared!) Modular Reactors, which he’s suggested might be built on defunct coal power generation sites, using plentiful Australian uranium.
The opposition leader appears to have been heartened by Labor’s wholehearted support of Scott Morrison’s very expensive AUKUS submarine thought bubble, which has further opened the nuclear crack in this country. The Nationals’ David Littleproud has jumped happily on board, saying the market should decide what sort of power generation we have in Australia, not the government.
Chris Bowen has called the Coalition’s nuclear boosters post-truth ‘climate charlatans’ with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese describing the nuclear debate as ‘a huge distraction from what we need to do’. Former PM Malcolm Turnbull and former NSW Liberal treasurer Matt Kean are also public nuclear sceptics.
As Teals-backer Simon Holmes a Court put it last week, ‘We could throw a trillion dollars at SMRs today, and they still wouldn’t be operating in the time that we need the energy to replace the coal power stations that have reached end of life.’
Despite his enthusiasm, Peter Dutton has been reluctant to explain which electorates would host the reactors, where the waste would be stored, or how to pay for the proposal, with experimental micro-reactors in Russia, China and the USA all facing major cost blowouts and delays, despite massive amounts of government assistance.
The bottom line
The CSIRO has recently said there’s no way that small modular reactors can compete economically with the plummeting costs of renewable energy technology, even without considering the political and environmental issues. Their latest detailed report found that small reactors would cost up to twice as much per kilowatt-hour as large nuclear reactors. Renewable power, by contrast, costs one eighth as much.
Theoretically safer and more economical forms of nuclear energy, such as nuclear fusion, remain at the experimental stage, where they have been for decades. Meanwhile the Australian Energy Market Operator has found that an optimum Australian grid could run almost entirely on our abundant solar and wind resources, with additional support from big batteries of various kinds, a few fast-start gas generators for emergencies, and pumped hydro.
The big problem with nuclear energy, even if all the other problems could be magically solved, is there’s no way it can be built to the required scale to handle Australia’s needs in time to do anything meaningful about the climate crisis, unless we become an ultra-wealthy dictatorship, like the UAE for example.
Maybe that’s the next Dutton policy?
Originally from Canberra, David Lowe is an award-winning film-maker, writer and photographer with particular interests in the environment and politics. He’s known for his campaigning work with Cloudcatcher Media.
Long ago, he did work experience in Parliament House with Mungo MacCallum.
I am rather confused by the coalition of minority parties ( the Opposition ) the ragged remnants of the Squatocracy.
While I understand their imperative of being in opposition to any policy that may benefit the people of Australia, the dilemma I see with what policies they do advocate , are they genetically incapable of higher mental function, or do they believe that Australians are so stupid that they will believe any preposterous justification of their antisocial, anti-democratic, fierce determination to satisfy foreign interests at the expense of social advancement or equity? ……” money doesn’t talk, it swears”
It is easy to see the benefit to good ‘ol uncle sam ( the war criminal ) of having Australia as a vassal state via our PAYING them to develop the means to construct Nuclear sub-marines, contracting to then buying them at astronomical prices and then providing them the means to dispose of their 75 years worth of untouchable nuclear waste , which we will contract to supervise and maintain for at least 1 million years, at which time it will still be lethal to any living organism.
In the meantime we will be forced to host thousands more yanks to oversee and control our military, aren’t we the lucky ones ?
The fact that we will be the prime military target for any confrontation with America, seems to be accepted as collateral damage but still the nagging thought occurs to me,…… what is the benefit to us….. ( that’s not the U.S. )
While the “Sun don’t shine “an the “wind don’t blow” ( not a problem while Kevin [first against the wall ]Hogan is anywhere to be found ) there are easy solutions that have made energy storage available for at least one hundred years and hopefully the ‘COAL -ition of the unwilling’ will be forced to acknowledge, E.V.E.N.T.U.A.L.L.Y .!
Cheers, G”)
Dutton The Detonator, is playing a similar game that his tutor Tony Abbot played when he was Opposition Leader – just say No all the time and make up stuff – plenty of Aussies happily swallow made up slop and even reward it by voting for it.
Those SMR thingys that Dutton etc are so infatuated by, don’t exist on a commercial basis anywhere in the world.
And best not mention poor old Nuscale over there in Utah, USA and that disaster attempted SMR build even after US$’s600millions of USA Taxpayer Subsidy money was spent so far. Potential customers of the NuScale Utah abort were scared off by the costs of the whole thing – cut and ran before a total $’scatastrophe was realised with their own ‘private money’.
The 3 million homes ( and growing all the time ) with rooftop solar, the businesses harnessing solar to help power their operations, the tens of thousands EV’s ( and growing all the time ) sold – people are already deciding whats what.
Waiting for the mythical nuclear rescue is Dutton’s wetdream to keep holding back the safe, clean, cheap renewable energy revolution.
Interesting about Kevin Hogan. When asked at a public meeting in Grafton prior to the last Federal election if the Nationals supported nuclear power he vehemently denied it and expressed the view he was against it. The question could not be asked of the other candidates at the forum. So his statement went unchallenged. The group advising the previous government on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs ) had earmarked & advised a perfect site for a SMR was at Koolkan on the Clarence River. The truth comes post election and the lie exposed.
You have to wonder at the stupidity of the libs and nats. I used to read in Popular Mechanics about these ’wonderful’ small reactors of the future since the 60s. Cheap, safe and everywhere used to be the mantra. 60+ years later, nada. On the other hand name a farmer in the outback who wouldn’t want an extra income stream from solar or wind generators. PV panels are ever cheaper and more efficient and, placed around perimeters of spreads,a wouldn’t interfere with cropping or other farm activities. Wind generators also don’t interfere. Large scale battery storage is ever cheaper. VPPs (virtual power plants) are starting to crop up all around the world. Dud Dutton and his ilk are just nuts, but I really would like Labor to be far more proactive than they are.
I do not think I have ever agreed with dutton but I do now. Nuclear is the only answer any downside is miniscule compared with the effects of global warming.
Ronald, you right; Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima, just…..”miniscule”
Great article David Lowe.
“That well-known international energy expert, Lismore’s own Kevin Hogan, was one of those (seven)who joined the junket.” at Cop 28 .
How scary is that for us Federally!!
There’s a great deal of unfounded fear and confusion around nuclear energy and David’s article like those of many supposedly progressive commentators represents an Australian mindset very much stuck in the 1980’s. It’s ironic as David here is swallowing the propoganda fomented by the fossil fuel lobby for the last 50 years. All I’d say to science loving, evidence based readers is to do your own reseach. Surely all the governments globally (many of whom who have better climate credentials than the ALP) and have nuclear as part of their efforts to de-carbonise…can’t be wrong.
Dutton is saying Australia should drop its prohibition on nuclear power. That would open up opportunities for a lucrative new activity – spending Government grants on projects that end up going nowhere – like Nuscale, who have spent over s billion & still have a couple of hundred million in kitty. Whenever a dollar is spent, someone els earns a dollar.