Thursday, 23 August, 2007

by Sid Marris
The Australian

JOHN Howard's challenge for a brave debate on the future of nuclear power has fallen victim to the immediate demands of the election cycle.
The Prime Minister has conceded there should be local votes on where power stations are sighted after he originally avoided the idea.

Nationals leader Mark Vaile raised the idea of local plebiscites this week.

Green groups yesterday welcomed the change of heart while Labor, which has been conducting a scare campaign along the east coast about the Coalition's nuclear ambitions said Mr Howard would say anything to get elected.

Mr Howard maintains that nuclear power is a long way off, and his own task force estimated it would be over a decade until a power station became economically viable.

He told parliament last week that where a power plant would go would be a commercial decision for the private sector, subject to environmental and planning regulations, not for governments to decide.

Today he said testing the views of locals through a vote – a task normally sponsored by governments – should be part of the process.

"There's going to be no nuclear plants built anywhere in the world unless they're subject to stringent safety and environmental considerations," he said today.

"And I believe that if and when the time comes for plants to be considered in particular parts of Australia, I believe that local communities should be given a vote and I think having a plebiscite in a local community would be a good demonstration … to the rest of the nation of the desirability of people being involved in the decision."

I mean there's never been any intention to force these things on local people.

"But it is my opinion that in 10, 15, 20 years time, public opinion will have shifted on this issue and people will see nuclear power as a very sensible alternative.

"But let me say now that I think it would be appropriate and I would support, and I would argue for when the time does come, that as well as the environmental and safety considerations that local communities should be consulted."

Labor spokesman on water and infrastructure Anthony Albanese said the Coalition was in disarray.

"The feedback that communities must be giving to their local Liberal and National Party candidates and MP's is that they don't want nuclear reactors imposed on their local communities," he said.

"Nor do they want the high level nuclear toxic waste dumps which result from those reactors.

"The Government is trying to tip-toe its way through an election campaign saying on the one-hand it is committed to 25 nuclear reactors but, on the other hand, not answer the critical question - where will those nuclear reactors be located and where will the high level toxic waste dumps go?"

Mr Howard has accused Labor of raising the issue of plebiscites as "interference” after he had announced the Commonwealth would fund polls on the topic of council amalgamations in Queensland.

He said there would be plenty of opportunity to debate nuclear power and Labor's commitment to finding an economical solution to climate change was a mirage.

"If it really believes in the market, it must understand that decisions as to where nuclear power plants might be located in the future will not be decisions of the government; they will be decisions of commercial investment," he said,

"Therefore, whether they are located in the magnificent Municipality of Randwick, the Shire of
Shoalhaven, the Municipality of Waverley, the City of Ryde or, indeed, wherever you might go, it will be a matter of commercial decision making and not a decision of the government."

The Australian Conservation Foundation's nuclear free campaigner David Noonan said nuclear power was not a viable solution to the immediate need to cut emissions.

"If the Prime Minister is serious about responding to community concerns he should scrap his Government's plans to overturn existing nuclear prohibitions in federal environment legislation and to impose a nuclear waste dump on the Northern Territory,” he said.

"Nuclear reactors are already illegal under State laws right down the eastern seaboard and nuclear waste dumping is contrary to the will of state and territory parliaments across the country."