Thursday, 23 November, 2006

The Bulletin

Should Australia be a dumping ground for nuclear waste? Our online poll question divided readers: those who voted against the idea only marginally outnumbered those who believe it is the way forward.

Dr Ziggy Switkowski's report on Australia's nuclear future has made one thing clear, if there was ever any doubt: a nuclear waste dump is to be located in the Northern Territory.

It was odd how Switkowski worded it. The report was supposed to offer recommendations but he confirmed once and for all federal government thinking by stating that the Territory "will" house a nuclear dump.

And that doesn't seem to bother most Australians. A Bulletin online poll asked: "Should Australia be the world's nuclear dump?" The poll found 58% said "Yes" compared with 42% who said "No".

Under the Switkowski proposals, this would be a deep-waste repository housing spent fuel rods located at a depth of 500m or more in a geologically stable site. Those spent rods or fuel units would still be potent enough to be used in the manufacture of nuclear bombs.

Why do our readers want us to be home to the world's nuclear waste? Is it because they see an opportunity for profit? Is it because they think high-level nuclear waste is safe? Is it because it will be located out in the middle of the Territory and therefore out of sight and out of mind? We don't know the answers.

But a simultaneous ninemsn poll, asking: "Should Australia embrace nuclear power?" suggests Australians are not as afraid of a nuclear future as some - including Labor, who have promised Australia will not build nuclear reactors - might imagine.

That poll found 52.67% say "Yes" to going nuke and 47.33% say "No".