Australians vote for nuclear!

Click above for the video (not sure how long it’s available)

Last night Australian Broadcasting Corporation Q&A was a bit about energy. And of course, Renewables, etc. And of course David Speers, the moderator,  was clearly anti-nuclear, and so was the audience. And so was most of the panel, though not all of it. Just that the one pro-nuclear, Ted O’Brien, the shadow minister of Climate Change and Energy, wasn’t a good rep for the plus side. Nathan Towney, btw, is one of the one-drop-of-blood mob; if he’s a “proud Wiradjuri man”, then so am I, blacker ’n all that he is...

David Speers on nuclear notes two “studies”: (1) stating that if we started now, it would take 15 years to build a nuclear reactor, and (2) another from the CSIRO that nuclear power is more expensive than renewables. Ted O’Brien’s response was weak and unpersuasive. He didn’t touch (1) and on (2) criticised the study, which elicited mocking laughter from the audience. Weak. He needs to get his pro nuclear sound bites better framed.

My version would be: "(1) The best time to build a nuclear plant was 15 years ago; the second best time to build a nuclear plant is now. And (2) Nuclear is as cheap as the cheapest renewables, if you look at the Levelised Cost of Electricity, which takes account of the whole life cycle.” I would also note high safety levels. In any case, what does the time it takes to build have to do with it? Are we to assume that in 15 years we won’t need baseload power? Also: remember when Nick Clegg said in 2010, that nuclear oughtn’t be an option because it would “take until 2021 to build it”. Here we are at 2023. Time has a way of passing. That’s the cost of short-termism. 

Then, mirabilis, the results of an online poll. “Should Australia invest in nuclear power?”.  

• Yes 61%
• No 32%
• Unsure 7%

Fantastic! That’s from the watching audience who skew very much Left and who have been propagandised non-stop about nuclear being a Bad Thing. And yet, who somehow have found the logic and common sense to vote Yes, on the most reliable, cleanest, safest way to produce electricity. Wonderful. 

Now for the politicians to catch up.