Australia has no nuclear power stations and the current Rudd Labor government is opposed to nuclear power for Australia.[1][2] However, Australia does have a small research reactor (OPAL) in Sydney, and it does export uranium. Uranium mining and export and nuclear issues have often been the subject of public debate, and the anti-nuclear movement in Australia has a long history.[3]
History
The Australian anti-nuclear movement had several roots. The 1972-73 debate over French nuclear testing in the Pacific mobilised several groups, including some trade unions. In 1974 and 1975 this concern came to focus on uranium mining in Australia and several Friends of the Earth groups were formed. The Australian Conservation Foundation also began voicing concern about uranium mining and supporting the activities of the grass-roots organisations. The Australian anti-nuclear movement also acquired initial impetus from various individuals who publicly voiced concern about the nuclear option, such as nuclear scientists Richard Temple and Rob Robotham, and poets Dorothy Green and Judith Wright.[4]
The years 1976 and 1977 saw uranium mining become a major political issue because the Ranger Inquiry (Fox) report which opened up a public debate about uranium mining. Several groups were set up, variously named Movement Against Uranium Mining and Campaign Against Nuclear Energy (or Power), specifically to focus on nuclear and uranium issues. In mid 1977 both the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and the Australian Council of Trade Unions expressed opposition to uranium mining. Widespread public debate continued after the government's announcement of uranium mining in August 1977.[4]
The case against nuclear power and uranium mining in Australia has been concerned mainly with the environmental, political, economic, social and cultural impacts of nuclear energy, with the shortcomings of nuclear power as an energy source, and with presenting a sustainable energy strategy. The most prominent adverse impact of nuclear power is seen to be its potential contribution towards proliferation of nuclear weapons. For example, the 1976 Ranger Inquiry report stated unequivocally "The nuclear power industry is unintentionally contributing to an increased risk of nuclear war. This is the most serious hazard associated with the industry".[4]
Active groups
- Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia[5]
- Australian Conservation Foundation[6]
- Australian Nuclear Free Alliance[7]
- Friends of the Earth[8]
- Nuclear Free Australia[9]
- The Sustainable Energy and Anti-Uranium Service Inc.[10]
- The Wilderness Society[11]
Individuals
There are several prominent Australians who have publicly expressed anti-nuclear views in recent years:
Quotes
In 2007, Dr Mark Diesendorf said:
- Nuclear power in particular is rejected because of its substantial risks (proliferation of nuclear weapons, terrorism, waste management and reactor failures) and economic costs, and because within several decades it will become a significant emitter of CO2, mainly from the fossil fuels used in mining and milling low-grade uranium ore. Based on existing technologies, nuclear power is neither a long-term nor a short-term solution to global warming.[1]
In 2007, Professor Ian Lowe said:
- Promoting nuclear power as the solution to climate change is like advocating smoking as a cure for obesity. That is, taking up the nuclear option will make it much more difficult to move to the sort of sustainable, ecologically healthy future that should be our goal.[2]
In 2005, Dr Jim Green said:
- There are significant constraints on the growth of nuclear power, such as its high capital cost and, in many countries, lack of public acceptability. As a method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear power is further limited because it is used almost exclusively for electricity generation, which is responsible for less than one third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Because of these problems, the potential for nuclear power to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing fossil fuels is limited. Few predict a doubling of nuclear power output by 2050, but even if it did eventuate it would still only reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 5% – less than one tenth of the reductions required to stabilise atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases.[3]
See also
- Anti-nuclear movement in the United States
- Australian Atomic Energy Commission
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
- British nuclear tests at Maralinga
- Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy
- High Flux Australian Reactor
- Jervis Bay Nuclear Power Plant
- Reaction Time (book)
- Uranium mining controversy in Kakadu National Park
References
- ↑ Support for N-power falls
- ↑ Rudd romps to historic win
- ↑ Australia's anti-nuclear movement: a short history
- ↑ a b c The Australian anti-uranium movement
- ↑ Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia
- ↑ Nuclear Free
- ↑ Australian Nuclear Free Alliance
- ↑ Anti-Nuclear Fighting Fund
- ↑ Nuclear Free Australia
- ↑ The Sustainable Energy and Anti-Uranium Service Inc.
- ↑ Yes! to Nuclear Free Australia