Dutton’s nuclear nightmare a blatant attempt to keep burning coal and gas
Friends of the Earth Media Release
National environmental justice group Friends of the Earth Australia (FoE) has slammed opposition leader Peter Dutton’s release of the Coalition nuclear policy, describing it as a nuclear nightmare and a cynical ploy to keep burning coal and gas.
Nuclear is simply too expensive and will take far too long to build to do anything useful for Australia’s energy transition, and is little more than a political tool in the Coalition’s strategy to delay renewables and maintain the profits of fossil fuel companies.
The nuclear energy industry has long been rejected in Australia and is banned because it presents significant risks to frontline workers, communities and the environment.
Most Australians agree we don’t need nuclear and this is a cynical ploy to divide the community.
“The Coalition is dumping its radioactive energy failures on to communities who deserve a safe and renewable future” said Dr. Jim Green, FoE’s national nuclear campaigner and lead author to a new report: ‘Power games: Why nuclear is not right for Australia’.
Importantly, the nuclear chain needed to make nuclear power happen (uranium mining, enrichment, transportation and waste management) disproportionately affects First Nations Peoples on this continent and beyond.
During a time of climate crisis, the focus of governments should be squarely on the transition to renewable energy, the most affordable form of new generation.
“The Coalition’s nuclear power plan is a transparent attempt to prolong the use of fossil fuels and to slow the transition to a low-carbon economy.”
“Based on the experience in Australia’s AUKUS partner countries, the US and the UK, Dutton’s nuclear plans would undoubtedly slow the energy transition in Australia, and make it more expensive”
Dutton has named seven towns around the country that would host nuclear power stations, including the Latrobe Valley in Victoria. Friends of the Earth’s Gippsland organiser and President of the Voices of the Valley Wendy Farmer said:
“Dutton is dreaming up a nuclear nightmare. The proposal to build a nuclear power plant in the Latrobe Valley on a geological faultline in a community that already suffered the impacts of the Hazelwood coal mine fire is dangerous and insulting” said Wendy Farmer, FoE’s Gippsland organiser and President of Voices of the Valley.
Friends of the Earth is firmly committed to supporting communities that would be impacted by Dutton’s nuclear nightmare.
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leefe -
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B Sullivan -
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John C
Return to home pageImportantly, the nuclear chain needed to make nuclear power happen (uranium mining, enrichment, transportation and waste management) disproportionately affects First Nations Peoples on this continent and beyond.
That’s a feature, not a bug. It’s one more reason why Dutts has a hard-on for the idea.
As well as tramping out William Shackle, their favourite 17yo “nuclear expert”, Dutton keeps on providing the UAE as his great example of how fast a reactor can be built and up and running – 8 years. However, the UAE is not a democracy and in our real world it is going to be more than double that. On top of the fact that we first have to legislate nuclear (both State and Federal), get an industry up and running with a workforce and infrastructure and waste storage and uranium processing, etc……….it will literally be the late 2040s before his first reactor is even turned on. Also his big fantasy of private industry funding the building of these reactors is another fantasy, including the fact that all of the States mentioned have already stated they are NO to nuclear.
And of course he won’t release any costings because he will never find a way to fudge the figures, and if he ever does we already know it will be lies.
As this article states we all know the LNP are embedded into the world of fossil fuels and will do everything they can to keep it and their profits going. Their other goal is division, to divide the community, to create chaos, all part of the far right wing master plan.
Cozying up to Gina all makes so much sense. Need to dig up some Uranium, just the right peerson to befriend.
Trample on indigenous rights?
Again, just the right person to befriend.
“A cynical ploy to keep burning coal and gas”
“ Most Australians agree we don’t need nuclear and this is a cynical ploy to divide the community.”
This is a perfect example of the popular misuse of of our language’s vocabulary interfering with our ability express criticism simply and effectively without fear of misinterpretation.
The second phrase could have been written as “ Most Australians are cynical about nuclear and this is a political ploy to divide the community.” Only most Australians would not have understood it, because they think the term cynical is a derogatory adjective. They have no idea at all what cynicism is really about.
Burning coal and gas isn’t just an unnecessary indulgence, but on that basis alone it would be rejected by cynics, because that is the philosophy of cynicism, to forego that which is not necessary. They find their lives are all the more happier for it. it is very similar to Buddhism’s renunciation of materialism, and finding salvation in simplicity. Why would a cynic want nuclear power and the complex order required to maintain it?. A cynical ploy to make life simpler to unite the community makes more sense.
Cynical literally means dog-like. Like dogs cynics are man’s best friends. They are also the best friends of the Earth as their lack of indulgence imposes far less on the Earth’s ability to support them, than the greedy, over-indulgent, materialistic, ever demanding people who have exhausted the Earth’s resources to the point were the Earth’s capacity to sustain life is at breaking point.
What don’t we need? Nuclear Power! When do we want it? Never!
It seems that we have entered amateur hour on the important subject of our future power generation capabilities.
Angus Taylor has said that ‘of course the coalition have done the costings’, they just won’t tell us until closer to the election or maybe after the election.
In my view it’s past time that we convened a conference of the best minds in the country, scientists, economists and other experts including from overseas – no politicians – so that we can formulate and ratify how we proceed in meeting our 2050 obligations and providing our country with reliable cost effective electricity.
I don’t trust either side and I certainly have no faith in P Dutton’s expertise in power supply and generation. By the time his nuclear ambitions are scheduled to come on line, P Dutton will be gone, a distant memory ; a mere skidmark on the underpants of history.
Bring in the scientists, now !
B Sullivan, re. “[m]ost Australians are cynical about nuclear …[o]nly most Australians would not have understood… they think the term cynical is a derogatory adjective. They have no idea at all what cynicism is really about.”; can you unpack how it is that you have arrived at this position of being gifted with insight into the thinking of ‘most Australians’?
A pretty big call, don’t you think, given the fundamentally sound proposition that faced with a plethora of languages in this immigrant nation, along with a plethora of positions, political & social, as well as a very broad range of degrees of education and socioeconomic outlook, it would take an extraordinarily incisive commentator to go out on such a slender limb when making a call such as the one that you propose, viz., asserting accurate knowledge in relation to the mindset of ‘most Australians.’
The desperation of Dutton is now in full view,it’s all or nothing now for the brainless thug and his gang of idiots.Nuclear power is not even an argument,it’s death defying stupidity in light of all expert opinion.When all the expected publicity dies down, he will be left naked and alone in his contempt for the Australian public.He’s basically issued a suicide note,whether he waits for judgement on election day, or gets rolled by his’colleagues’ in the meantime.,encouragement by the shitstream media not withstanding.The Labor party,who are not without sin should be beating him around the skull with this until he’s gone.Full of shit to the last,he’s a disgrace to the human race.
Take no notice. He is trying to beat up some sort of leverage for himself with an election coming up and nothing else to offer but misery..
Fake news.
He gets so much airtime… why do we not hear more specific outcry from the experts. Fruitless because its been rehashed over and over the past 40years. Reminds me of the ongoing disaster of our nation wide NBN.. the costs are ongoing but like many potched up jobs from the LNP slowly end up under the radar… people forget. BUT NOT NUCLEAR POWER.
The hope is that he will trip over his tongue.
Elsewhere I commented on cost over runs on LNP nation building or should that be economy destroying projects, citing an article from Crikey.
It’s notable that the mainstream media persists in interviewing economists, nuclear physicist, climate scientists and industrial geniuses, who now run news agencies and / or are slugging down pots at the pub. Such egalitarianism and reasoning is astonishing.
This goes a long way to showing just how desperate Spudhead is to get recognition. He, like the loud-mouthed liar across the pond, will say anything he thinks will get him votes, even if most would come from gullible easily manipulated brainless losers, sadly of which their is no shortage amongst the Australian voting public.