So I'll start by saying it outright. I DON"T approve of using nuclear technology anywhere for power generation (and even less for use as weapons), but I definitely don't think it is necessary for Australia to build any nuclear reactors to provide for future power requirements.
Now that that is out of the way, back to it. There are people out there (in Oz) that support the idea of nuclear power in Australia. I was initially against, and then I thought about it objectively, looking over the fence you could say (re: grass is greener...?) but have come back to a firm belief that there are many better options for power generation than nuclear reactors.
Whilst Australia is one of the more stable continents on the crust of this fair planet, whilst rare, earthquake's and tsunami's aren't unheard of here. However there are many other reasons available for a potential plant here to go horribly wrong. Depending on where it were to be built, there's the possibility of cyclones, flash flooding and bush fires (easier to defend against than earthquakes I do admit) amongst other potential natural disasters out there. However, I think the bigger concern to me is the (relatively) new prospect of terrorism. We haven't had any attacks on our home soil yet comparable to what has been seen in NYC, London, Spain, etc etc (thankfully) but with the attacks in Indonesia happening every now and again, it can be considered a possible case of not If, but When an attack will happen Down Under. And it's here that I feel a Nuclear Reactor would make a very nice target for someone wanting to make maximum impact on a very spread out country like our own. Not only would the fallout alone and immediate casualties be bad enough, but the prospect of a major source of power being fatally removed from the system would prove to be quite problematic too.
As for the environmental arguments for and against nukes, I'm of the opinion that we stick with the devil we know (coal and gas) until we can provide a truly renewable and clean source. Should something unexpected happen, and radiation was released in an uncontrolled manner into the atmosphere, that alone is not an exciting legacy to leave behind. It's not like we're short of renewable energy options in Australia, from our massive expanse of sun laden deserts, to one of the longest coastlines of any country globally spanning 3 oceans for wind or wave potential, or even the geothermal options. Like I said, it's a BIG country! The biggest problem, is investment. We are in one of the biggest booms this country is likely to see for a while, but it is questionable about some of the things that we're investing in. Personally, I think more needs to be put into clean technology R&D. In perspective, if the same amount of money (and we're talking collosal amounts here) had been put into electric cars instead of petrol/diesel cars over the last 20 years, imagine how much more advanced they'd be today.
The same goes for renewable energy. The amount of money pumped into nuclear/coal/gas generator development over the past few decades, if that was matched in renewable technology development, I seriously doubt we would need to look at hazardous nuclear (or fossil fuel tech for that matter) for electricity generation again. The possibilities are endless. Cheap, near endless power for national grids would mean a significant cut in global pollution, as well as the ability to power larger electric public transport networks as well as large numbers of power hungry devices such as (but not limited to) electric cars. We've got to take into consideration the amount of power consumed in the average house is a lot higher today than it ever used to be. With multiple cars, TV's & PC's per family in Australia being among some of the highest in the world per capita, our thirst for power is only going to go up as our homes come to house more and more devices, all requiring that mystical force - electricity.
All I can hope for is a future where our politicians recognise the need for future proofing our nation from the constraints of fossil fuel, and doing it in a manner that won't put future generations at risk of something like what Japan is experiencing now (not to mention responsibly, aka. not just to win the next election, but properly).
