Let’s use some facts to test these nuclear claims

I’m fascinated by Opposition Leader Peter’s Dutton’s claims that the nuclear waste produced by one small reactor each year would be “one Coke can” a year . Rolls-Royce’s small modular reactor specification is that an SMR produces 285 cubic metres of waste over its lifetime.

Yes, we do need a zero-emissions electricity grid. In 2023, the electricity sector accounted for around 35 per cent of our overall emissions. However, transport accounted for more than 22 per cent in 2023 and increases in those emissions have absorbed almost all the gains in the electricity sector. And the Coalition has just this year opposed the introduction of a Fuel Efficiency Standard.

I’m not against nuclear as part of our future energy mix. As O’Brien also noted in the interview, “weather is going to become more volatile” in the future due to climate change which may reduce our ability to generate from renewables. But this needs to be bipartisan; a lack of which has impeded the renewables rollout.Ted O’Brien said on Sunday that the Coalition was seeking a mandate from voters for their nuclear “policy” and that they would expect the ALP to respect and support that mandate.

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