Nuclear technology must be considered
When the Albanese Government went silent on the 70th birthday of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), I couldn’t help but think of Winston Smith, George Orwell’s lead character in his book 1984.
Winston was working in the Ministry of Truth, revising historical records to conform with the outlook of the ruling socialist regime, when he thought to himself: “who controls the past, controls the future.”
The Albanese Government may wish to scrub Australia’s proud record in the field of nuclear technology to avoid the discomfort of debating the prospect of nuclear in Australia’s future energy mix but ANSTO deserves more than that.
On April 15 1953, the Atomic Energy Act came into effect and created the Australian Atomic
Energy Commission, now known as ANSTO.
This milestone decision of the Menzies Government established Australia as a pioneer in nuclear technology.
Seven decades of scientific excellence followed with Australia developing deep sovereign capability and a reputation as a world leader in nuclear research.
For anyone who thinks ANSTO is a minor player among our national capabilities, think again.
ANSTO is one of Australia’s largest public research organisations.
Leveraging one of the world’s most sophisticated nuclear reactors, ANSTO partners closely with science and industry to find real-world solutions to save lives, improve human health, build industries and protect the environment.
Millions of Australians have benefitted from ANSTO’S work, especially in the form of medical diagnoses and treatments.
But instead of celebrating the 70th birthday of this national treasure a couple of weeks ago, there was radio silence from the Albanese Government. Why?
One need only look at Prime Minister Albanese’s mocking of nuclear technology in Question Time to find the answer.
Albanese’s Labor Party seeks to deny Australians an honest and mature conversation about nuclear energy.
Yet the Prime Minister’s NIMBY (not in my backyard) scare campaign against nuclear energy fails to recognise that Australia has a nuclear reactor only 30km from Sydney’s
central business district.
Once again, Orwell’s 1984 comes to mind, this time for the regime’s mantra that “ignorance is strength”, lest citizens challenge any Party decree.
To allow people to recognise that Australia already is a nuclear nation, much less be proud of the fact, simply wouldn’t suit the government’s political objective of killing off any serious discussion about introducing next-generation, zero-emissions nuclear technology into our future energy mix.
Prime Minister Albanese’s outright opposition to new, nuclear energy is rank hypocrisy and, as time goes on, this will not be lost on his fellow Australians.
The facts are these — we have successfully managed a nuclear reactor for decades; we have the
world’s largest reserves of uranium; and we’re one the world’s biggest exporters. And now, through
AUKUS, we’re introducing a fleet of nuclear-propelled submarines and storing its spent fuel domestically.
All these aspects of nuclear technology are fine and dandy to the Prime Minister.
It’s okay to host a nuclear reactor in Sydney; it’s okay for our submariners to sleep with nuclear reactors in the same vessel; it’s okay for us to store high level nuclear spent fuel and it’s okay for others to use our uranium for their nuclear power stations.
But, under no circumstances, according to the Prime Minister, is it okay for Australia to consider nextgeneration, zero-emissions nuclear energy as part of our future energy mix. In what parallel universe does that logic stack up?
Unlike poor old Winston Smith, Australians aren’t literary fiction.
And Australians do not take kindly to being told what to think, especially by people in authority who try to hide the facts in order to prop up cheap political talking points.
Instead of Orwell, the Prime Minister might heed advice from Labor luminary Graham Richardson who likes to say “the mob will always work you out”.
Let’s hope the mob works Albanese out, sooner than later.
Australia had the foresight in the 1950s to recognise the opportunities that nuclear technology offered.
Seventy years on, we should again embrace an era of nuclear optimism and consider next-generation, zeroemissions nuclear energy.