PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has called on the Australian government to rethink its nuclear prohibition, saying the ban on nuclear power could no longer be afforded given the country’s current energy challenges.
“Nuclear power is off the table in Australia – literally banned,” the MCA’s executive director for uranium, Daniel Zavattiero said on Friday.
“This is despite the fact it is a proven technology. This is despite the fact it continues to be rolled out in key trading partner countries like China and India.
“This is despite the fact that it has a clear track record of underpinning an extremely low emissions electricity system in several industrialised, urban economies in France, Sweden, Switzerland and the Canadian province of Ontario.”
Zavattiero said that the removal of the prohibition would mean nuclear would be properly considered on merit and before any project was built, it would need to satisfy stringent environmental and regulatory standards and be approved by the federal government.
“For Australia to open itself up to these new opportunities in nuclear science research, development and innovation, leading to new industries and opportunities with key trading partners, the prohibition of nuclear power must be removed.”
The MCA’s uranium forum chairperson, and CEO of Vimy Resources, Mike Young, said on Friday that Australia could be at the vanguard of nuclear technology, but instead anachronistic laws left the country languishing.
“Any objective science-based discussion, devoid of hyperbole and emotion invariably finds that nuclear power is clean, economic and reliable, that it plays a vital role in the world today, will continue to do so in the future, and that it makes no sense for it to be banned in Australia.”