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Australia currently has no nuclear facilities generating electricity. Australia has 33% of the world's uranium deposits and is the world's third largest producer of uranium after Kazakhstan and Canada.
Contents
- 1952 Upper Spencer Gulf South Australia
- 1969 Jervis Bay New South Wales
- 1979 Perth Western Australia
- 1980s 2007 Portland Victoria
- 2007 Upper Spencer Gulf South Australia
- Nuclear power politics
- Nuclear law
- South Australia
- Victoria
- Nuclear power debate in Australia
- Companies
- Politicians
- Defence
- Individuals
- Media
- Scientists
- Organizations
- Past and former advocates
- Opposition to nuclear power
- Selected anti nuclear groups
- Political parties
- Renewable energy
- Opinion polls
- After Fukushima
- Nuclear waste storage
- 2014 Energy Green Paper
- 2015 Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission
- 2016
- References
At the same time, Australia's extensive low-cost coal and natural gas reserves have historically been used as strong arguments for avoiding nuclear power. The Liberal Party has advocated for the development of nuclear power and nuclear industries in Australia since the 1950s. An anti-nuclear movement developed in Australia in the 1970s, initially focusing on the banning of nuclear weapons testing and limiting the development of uranium mining and export. The movement also challenged the environmental and economic costs of developing nuclear power .
A modern resurgence of interest in nuclear power was prompted by Prime Minister John Howard in 2007 in response to the need to move to low-carbon methods of power generation in order to reduce the impact of climate change. In 2015, South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill announced that a Royal Commission would be held to investigate the state's role in the nuclear fuel cycle. South Australia is currently home to four of Australia's five uranium mines and the possibility of the state developing nuclear power generation, enrichment and waste storage facilities have previously proven to be contentious issues. The Royal Commission comes at a time of economic contraction for South Australia, which is suffering from job losses in mining and manufacturing sectors.
"Our insatiable hunger for fossil fuels has to be tempered going forward and the only alternative for base load grid power, that's the power you need 24/7, other than coal, is nuclear power."
"The funding of the things that need to be done is not a real problem – the problem is to get the legislative changes needed.”
1952 Upper Spencer Gulf, South Australia
In 1952, South Australian Premier Thomas Playford expressed with confidence that the first location for a nuclear power station in Australia would be on the shores of Spencer Gulf. In July of that year, it was announced more specifically that Backy Bay (later renamed Fitzgerald Bay), located between Whyalla and Port Augusta would be the site. The station was never constructed, though the region reemerged again in 2007 as a prospect for a nuclear power station during the Federal leadership of Prime Minister John Howard.
1969 Jervis Bay, New South Wales
In 1969, a 500 MW nuclear power station was proposed for the Jervis Bay Territory, 200 km south of Sydney. A local opposition campaign began, and the South Coast Trades and Labour Council (covering workers in the region) announced that it would refuse to build the reactor. Some environmental studies and site works were completed, and two rounds of tenders were called and evaluated, but in 1971 the Australian government decided not to proceed with the project, citing economic reasons.
1979 Perth, Western Australia
In 1977-78, the West Australian Government, under the leadership of Charles Court, announced plans for a nuclear power reactor near Perth. 1977 was seen as the year of mass mobilisation in WA, with 300 at the first anti-nuclear demonstration to 9,000 at the third protest in the inner city of Perth. Despite public protest, the WA Government selected a first site for a nuclear reactor in 1979 at Wilbinga, 70 kilometres north of Perth. Court predicted that at least another 20 nuclear power stations would be needed by the end of the century to meet rapidly growing power demand, but none of this came to pass.
1980s & 2007 Portland, Victoria
In 2007 it was reported that businessman Ron Walker, director of the company Australian Nuclear Energy had considered Portland as a possible location for a future nuclear power station. Glenelg Mayor Gilbert Wilson said that he thought it was unlikely that such a project would receive community support. He added that he believed any community in Victoria would oppose it, were it to be located in their area. A concept to develop a 2,400MW nuclear power station at Portland at a cost of $3 billion was previously raised and abandoned in the early 1980s. In 1983, nuclear power development became prohibited under the Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983 in the state of Victoria and the law remains in place in 2015. Section 8 of the Act also prohibits uranium milling, enriching, fuel production, fuel reprocessing and waste storage.
2007 Upper Spencer Gulf, South Australia
While a nuclear power station in South Australia's Upper Spencer Gulf region has been discussed intermittently since 2007, as of February 2015 no formal proposal to construct a plant has been made.
In 2007, The Australian newspaper revealed that a location near Port Augusta in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia was being considered for a future nuclear power station. A company called Australian Nuclear Energy had been registered on June 1, 2006 with three prominent Australian businessmen as major shareholders: Robert Champion de Crespigny (former Chancellor of the University of Adelaide), Ron Walker (former Lord Mayor of Melbourne) and Hugh Morgan (former director of Western Mining Corporation). Prime Minister John Howard supported the formation of the company, describing it as a "great idea".
Five days after the company was registered, the Federal Government established the Switkowski review into nuclear energy. The company examined the viability of building a 20-50 megawatt pilot station in the Upper Spencer Gulf area, at a cost of $70 million-$150 million, and had spoken to American company GE about supplying a nuclear reactor.
South Australian Premier Mike Rann responded to news of the investigation by saying:
"It won't be built in this state while I am the Premier or Labor is in power... read my lips, no nuclear power station in South Australia."
On April 7, 2011, former Australian politician Alexander Downer addressed the students of UCL's Adelaide campus, discussing nuclear power. A long term advocate for nuclear power, he told The Australian that the South Australian town of Whyalla (also in Upper Spencer Gulf) would be ideal for a nuclear power station to serve the interests of BHP Billiton, South Australia and the eastern states. He stated:
"You could attach it to a desalination plant, so you could solve the problem of Olympic Dam and Roxby Downs... The Upper Spencer Gulf cities, instead of using Murray River water, they could use desalinated water. And we would have a nuclear power station that would create power for the eastern states' grid."
The Olympic Dam project was expected to use about 400MW of electricity per day if the proposed mine expansion went ahead. In 2011, the Olympic Dam mine expansion received State and Federal environmental approval, but in 2012, the BHP Billiton board decided not to proceed with the mine expansion as planned citing weakened economic conditions as the reason.
In 2012 a first-of-a-kind study was undertaken in which a combination of solar and wind technology, proposed as a replacement for the ageing Northern coal power station, was comprehensively compared with a reference nuclear reactor. Assuming equal public confidence and an established regulatory framework, the nuclear energy option compared favourably on cost, reliability, commercial availability, plant lifetime and greenhouse gas abatement, among other criteria.
University of Adelaide Professor of climatology Tom Wigley co-authored an open letter calling for an expansion of nuclear energy as a tool against climate change. Further calls for the consideration of nuclear power came from academics, Australian media and The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.
In the lead-up to the 2014 South Australian election, Business SA proposed the establishment of a nuclear industry to enhance the state's economic growth.
In 2015 South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill announced that a Royal Commission would be held to investigate South Australia's role in the nuclear fuel cycle. A final report of the commission's finding was published in May 2016 and recommends removal of several currently existing legislative constraints.
Nuclear power politics
As uranium prices began rising from about 2003, proponents of nuclear power advocated it as a solution to global warming and the Australian government began taking an interest. In late 2006 and early 2007, then Prime Minister John Howard made widely reported statements in favour of nuclear power, on environmental grounds. Faced with these proposals to examine nuclear power as a possible response to climate change, anti-nuclear campaigners and scientists in Australia claimed that nuclear power could not significantly substitute for other power sources, and that uranium mining itself could become a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2006, the Howard Government commissioned the Switkowski report, an investigation into the merits of Nuclear power in Australia. The report concluded that nuclear power would be competitive with coal power stations if Carbon credit sanctions were implemented upon Australia. The Industry would have been able to produce its first station in 10 years and could have delivered 25 stations by 2050 supplying Australia with a third of its base load power.
Queensland introduced legislation to ban nuclear power development on 20 February 2007. Tasmania attempted a ban on nuclear power facilities but later did not pass the bill. Both bills were formulated in response to the pro-nuclear position of John Howard, and the release of the Switkowski report.
Anti-nuclear campaigns were given added impetus by public concern about the sites for possible reactors: fears exploited by anti-nuclear power political parties in the lead-up to a national election in 2007. The Rudd Labor government was elected in November 2007 and was opposed to nuclear power for Australia. The anti-nuclear movement continues to be active in Australia, opposing expansion of existing uranium mines, lobbying against the development of nuclear power in Australia, and criticising proposals for nuclear waste disposal sites.
At the same time, a number of Australian politicians have argued that the development of nuclear power is in the country's best interests. Notably, on 13 June 2008, the annual New South Wales state conference of the National Party passed the resolution, proposed by the delegates from Dubbo, supporting research into the development of a nuclear power industry and the establishment of an international nuclear waste storage facility in Australia. The resolution was opposed by the delegates from NSW's north coast and by the party's state leader, Andrew Stoner.
In 2005, the Australian government threatened to use its constitutional powers to take control of the approval process for new uranium mines from the anti-nuclear Northern Territory government. Also, the government is negotiating with China to weaken safeguard terms to allow uranium exports there. States controlled by the Australian Labor Party are blocking the development of new mines in their jurisdictions under the ALP's "No New Mines policy."
The John Howard-led Coalition government went to the November 2007 federal election with a pro-nuclear power platform. This government was defeated by the Labor Party, however, which opposes nuclear power for Australia.
During the Labor-led Rudd-Gillard Government the party's opposition to nuclear power was upheld, while Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson demonstrated his support for the uranium mining sector. Ferguson retired in 2013 and was replaced by Gary Gray who subsequently indicated support for future nuclear industrial development in Australia. At a South Australian mining and energy sector conference he stated:
"I am optimistic that we will get (power) generation issues attended to and that it will be done in a timely fashion."
In 2013, the Liberal party, led by Tony Abbott, resumed power and reopened discussions about the future of nuclear power in Australia. Since Abbott's appointment, former Prime Minister John Howard, former foreign minister Alexander Downer, and several current members of the Abbott government have openly advocated for the consideration of nuclear power development, including Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
Nuclear law
The Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 prohibits certain nuclear actions specified in s.22A unless a federal approval is obtained. It specifically prohibits nuclear power generation in s.140A (an amendment insisted upon by the Australian Democrats). The Act states that the Minister must not approve an action consisting of or involving the construction or operation of a nuclear fuel fabrication plant, or a nuclear power station, or an enrichment plant, or a reprocessing facility.
Additional nuclear industrial prohibitions exist under state legislation in South Australia and Victoria.
South Australia
The objects of the Nuclear Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000 are "to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of South Australia and to protect the environment in which they live by prohibiting the establishment of certain nuclear waste storage facilities in this State." As such, the Act prohibits the:
- Construction or operation of nuclear waste storage facility
- Importation or transportation of nuclear waste for delivery to a nuclear waste storage facility
Victoria
The objects of the Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983 are:
"to protect the health, welfare and safety of the people of Victoria and to limit deterioration of the environment in which they dwell by prohibiting the establishment of nuclear activities and by regulating the possession of certain nuclear materials, in a manner consistent with and conducive to assisting the Commonwealth of Australia in meeting its international nuclear non-proliferation objectives."
As such, the Act prohibits exploration for uranium or thorium, possession of nuclear material and the constructing or operating certain facilities including:
- for the production of uranium or thorium ore concentrates
- for conversion or enrichment of any nuclear material
- for the fabrication of fuels for use in nuclear reactors
- a nuclear reactor or nuclear power reactor
- for reprocessing spent fuel
Nuclear power debate in Australia
In the 2010 book Why vs. Why: Nuclear Power Barry Brook and Ian Lowe discuss and articulate the debate about nuclear power. Brook argues that there are various reasons why people should say "yes" to nuclear power, and these reasons include:
Lowe argues that there are various reasons why people should say "no" to nuclear power:
In 2015, both authors were appointed to the Expert Advisory Committee of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission in South Australia.
Companies
"Our insatiable hunger for fossil fuels has to be tempered going forward and the only alternative for base load grid power, that's the power you need 24/7, other than coal, is nuclear power."
"The funding of the things that need to be done is not a real problem – the problem is to get the legislative changes needed.”
Politicians
"One minister who is not only competent but also does have convictions. He is the Resources Minister and often is quoted as supporting the further development of Australia's uranium industry. There is no doubt he also is a supporter of nuclear power in Australia."
Defence
"We are a rich and technologically advanced nation sitting in a geologically stable continent. So surely we can expect to build and operate safe nuclear power stations."
Individuals
Media
Scientists
Organizations
Past and former advocates
Opposition to nuclear power
Opposition to the development of nuclear power in Australia originated in the 1970s. The Australian anti-nuclear movement initially lobbied for bans on nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific and on uranium mining in Australia. Dr Helen Caldicott, a pediatrician from Melbourne emerged as a leading voice of the movement as she conducted public talks and informed politicians and trade unions of the health risks of exposure to ionizing radiation.
Western Australia has a significant share of the Australia's uranium reserves, but between 2002 and 2008, a statewide ban on uranium mining was in force. The ban was lifted when the Liberal Party was voted into power in the state and, as of 2010, many companies are exploring for uranium in Western Australia. One of the industry's major players, the mining company BHP Billiton, planned to develop the Yeelirrie uranium project in a 17 billion dollar project. Two other projects in Western Australia are further advanced then BHP's Yeelirrie, these being the Lake Way uranium project, which is pursued by Toro Energy, and the Lake Maitland uranium project, pursued by Mega Uranium. But it is unlikely that any new projects will enter active development until the market improves. As of 2013 uranium prices are very low.
As of late 2010, there were calls for Australians to debate whether the nation should adopt nuclear power as part of its energy mix. Nuclear power is seen to be "a divisive issue that can arouse deep passions among those for and against".
Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear emergency in Japan, where three nuclear reactors were damaged by explosions, Ian Lowe sees the nuclear power option as being risky and unworkable for Australia. Lowe says nuclear power is too expensive, with insurmountable problems associated with waste disposal and weapons proliferation. It is also not a fast enough response to address climate change. Lowe advocates renewable energy which is "quicker, less expensive and less dangerous than nuclear".
Nuclear reactors are banned in Queensland and Tasmania. Uranium mining was previously prohibited in New South Wales under the Uranium Prohibition Act of 1986, however in 2012 Premier Barry O'Farrell amended the legislation to allow prospecting and mining of uranium in that State.
In December 2011, the sale of uranium to India was a contentious issue. MPs clashed over the issue and protesters were marched from Sydney's convention centre before Prime Minister Julia Gillard's motion to remove a party ban on uranium sales to India was narrowly supported 206 votes to 185. Long-time anti-nuclear campaigner Peter Garrett MP spoke against the motion.
More than 400 people joined a "Lizard's Revenge march" to the Olympic Dam site in July 2012. The anti-nuclear activists, including Elder Kevin Buzzacott, protested against the mine expansion and the uranium industry. They say the company and the government have put short-term economic gain ahead of environmental and health concerns. Organiser Nectaria Calan said police harassed protesters, demanding identification and controlling access to and from their campsite.
In March 2012, hundreds of anti-nuclear demonstrators converged on the Australian headquarters of global mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The 500-strong march through southern Melbourne called for an end to uranium mining in Australia, and included speeches and performances by representatives of the expatriate Japanese community as well as Australia's Indigenous communities, who are concerned about the effects of uranium mining near tribal lands. There were also events in Sydney.
A site within Muckaty Station was being considered for Australia's low-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste storage and disposal facility. The plan was subject to a Federal Court challenge. The nomination of Muckaty was withdrawn in June 2014.
Historically, many prospective Australian uranium mines have been constrained by active antinuclear opposition, but state governments have now approved mine development in Western Australia and Queensland. But it is unlikely that any new projects will enter active development until the market improves. As of 2013 uranium prices are very low. Cameco placed the Kintyre project on hold until market prices improve and Paladin has stated that its project proposals (Bigrlyi, Angela/Pamela, Manyingee, Oobagooma, and Valhalla/Skal) need higher uranium market prices before they can proceed. Toro wants to take the Wiluna proposal to the development phase, but has not been successful in attracting equity investors. When market prices go up again, so that mine development is justified, most projects would need at least five years to proceed to production.
As of 2015, nuclear power remains opposed by a number of not-for-profit and environmental organizations, political parties and their members, renewable energy advocates, and anti-nuclear campaigners. There are several prominent Australians who have publicly expressed anti-nuclear views:
Selected anti-nuclear groups
Political parties
Renewable energy
Renewable energy generation technology is sometimes perceived as a practical opponent to nuclear power, as it provides the same end product (electricity). Some advocates for renewable energy also oppose nuclear power and often favour solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind turbine or hydroelectric power generation methods, or a combination thereof. Renewable energy and nuclear power in Australia compete for media attention, government policy reforms, public funding, subsidies and legislative support. Supporters of renewable energy often regard nuclear power as unnecessarily hazardous in its emissions to air and water, potential for a disaster like Chernobyl or Fukushima to occur and risks during fuel cycle processing, transportation and storage.
Opinion polls
A McNair Gallup poll on the construction of nuclear power stations in Australia was carried out in 1979. The same poll was conducted again 28 years later in 2007 on 1,000 randomly selected people throughout Australia. A new poll was asked in 2009 which marked the first time that more people support nuclear power than oppose it. The support for nuclear power is still in a plurality not an outright majority [1] . Respondents were asked the following question:
The 1979 poll was conducted soon after the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) nuclear power plant accident located near Pennsylvania USA where a sequence of events lead to the partial meltdown of the TMI-2 reactor core.
Opposition to the construction of nuclear power stations in the 2007 poll was strongest amongst females, Greens supporters and Australians aged 18–29 and 40-49.
The McNair Gallup Poll showed a significant difference in opinion between ALP, Coalition and Green supporters, and moderate differences by gender. Men were more likely to favour the construction of nuclear power stations (55%), with twice as many males in favour of the construction of nuclear power stations in Australia than women. 41% of men were more likely to oppose the construction of nuclear power stations in Australia. In contrast, 65% of women were more likely to oppose the construction of nuclear power stations in Australia, while 28% favour the construction of nuclear power stations.
A 2014 independent survey, commissioned by SACOME, of 1,214 South Australians revealed a distinct trend in the community towards supporting consideration of nuclear energy.
The proportion of neutral respondents was at around 20-25% in all categories, with qualitative feedback largely indicating conditional support given the satisfactory addressing of concerns, or a requirement for further information. Positive responses outnumbered the negative, most dramatically men and the elderly, with less dramatic support from women.
After Fukushima
The nuclear debate in Australia increased after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. Some protesters demanded a halt to uranium mining and nuclear power generation in their country and throughout the world.
Nuclear waste storage
In response to the Northern Land Council's withdrawal of a section of Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory as a potential centralised nuclear waste facility, it was articulated that the process had suffered from a lack of recognition of the limited hazard posed by existing waste, which is currently stored at over one hundred sites in cities and industrial areas. Furthermore, an open tender process for volunteered sites has attracted interest from pastoralists. Site nominations closed on 5 May 2015, in a process endorsed by Federal MP Rowan Ramsay. Ramsay supports the establishment of a waste dump in South Australia, and has said:
"Having been to France, Sweden and Finland and looked at their low level repositories I'd be more than happy to have one on my farm".
On 29 April 2015 Josh Frydenberg MP, the Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia, announced the shortlisting of Wallerberdina Station near Barndioota in South Australia's Flinders Ranges as a possible site.
2014 Energy Green Paper
The federal government released an energy green paper which articulated the potential for Australia in modern nuclear capacity, including small modular reactors, generation IV reactor technology and the role of thorium as nuclear fuel, though industry minister Ian MacFarlane opined that "there is no need to have a debate in regard to nuclear energy in Australia but we should focus on the opportunities that nuclear energy presents in other countries and build our uranium industry to take advantage of that." In contrast, foreign minister Julie Bishop declared support for nuclear energy, saying "It's an obvious conclusion that if you want to bring down your greenhouse gas emissions dramatically you have to embrace a form of low or zero-emissions energy and that's nuclear, the only known 24/7 baseload power supply with zero emissions." The call for sensible discussion was publicly welcomed by economists and at least one member of the federal opposition. The CEO of Origin Energy spoke in support of the prospect and BusinessSA demanded the lifting of federal prohibitions so that debate on specific designs could proceed.
At the end of 2014 an open letter was addressed to environmental organisations and signed by seventy-five distinguished climate science experts, including twenty-seven Australian-based academics, endorsing the findings of a peer-reviewed article which quantified the potential climate and biodiversity benefits of nuclear energy.
2015 Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission
In February 2015 the South Australian premier, Jay Weatherill announced that a Royal Commission would investigate South Australia's future role in the nuclear fuel cycle. Former Governor and current Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, Kevin Scarce was appointed Commissioner. A final report of the commission's finding was published in May 2016 and recommends removal of several currently existing legislative constraints.
2016
Australia joined the Generation IV International Forum.