Nuclear Power Plants In Australia
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Nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of practical debate since the mid-20th century. Australia has never had a nuclear power plant, and has only one
nuclear reactor A nuclear reactor is a device used to initiate and control a Nuclear fission, fission nuclear chain reaction. They are used for Nuclear power, commercial electricity, nuclear marine propulsion, marine propulsion, Weapons-grade plutonium, weapons ...
(
OPAL Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...
), the third in a series at Lucas Heights,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, which have been used exclusively for research, training, and to produce radionuclides for both nuclear medicine and industry. Australia hosts 33% of the world's proven
uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
deposits, and is currently the world's third largest producer of uranium after
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. Australia's extensive low-cost
coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
and
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
reserves have historically been used as strong arguments for avoiding nuclear power. The
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
has advocated for the development of nuclear power and nuclear industries in Australia since the 1950s. The Gorton government began work to construct the
Jervis Bay Nuclear Power Plant The Jervis Bay Nuclear Power Plant was a proposed nuclear power reactor in the Jervis Bay Territory, an Australian federal territory adjoining the South Coast of the state of New South Wales. It would have been Australia's first nuclear pow ...
in the late 1960s with a design specified to optimise production of
plutonium Plutonium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...
for a secret federal government optional plan to produce
nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...
; after protests and boycotts, construction was abandoned following
John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician, farmer and airman who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971. He held office as the leader of the leade ...
's replacement as prime minister in 1971. An
anti-nuclear movement The Anti-nuclear war movement is a new social movements, social movement that opposes various nuclear technology, nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified them ...
developed in Australia in the 1970s, initially focusing on prohibiting
nuclear weapons testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...
and limiting the development of
uranium mining Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the earth. Over 50,000 tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account for 68% of w ...
and export. The movement also challenged the environmental and economic costs of developing nuclear power and the possibility of fissile material being diverted into nuclear weapons production. A resurgence of interest in nuclear power was prompted by Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
in 2007 in response to the need to move to low-carbon methods of power generation in order to reduce the
effects of global warming on Australia Climate change has been a critical issue in Australia since the beginning of the 21st century. Australia is becoming hotter and more prone to extreme heat, Bushfires in Australia, bushfires, droughts, floods, and longer fire seasons because of ...
. In 2015, South Australian Premier
Jay Weatherill Jay Wilson Weatherill (born 3 April 1964) is an Australian former politician who was the 45th premier of South Australia, serving from 21 October 2011 until 19 March 2018. Weatherill represented the South Australian House of Assembly, House of ...
initiated a
Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission is a Royal Commission into South Australia's future role in the nuclear fuel cycle. It commenced on 19 March 2015 and delivered its final report to the Government of South Australia on 6 May 2016. The Commis ...
to investigate the state's future role in the nuclear fuel cycle. there are three active uranium mines, Ranger in Northern Territory, Olympic Dam in South Australia, and
Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...
with Four Mile in South Australia. The Royal Commission determined that there was no case for the introduction of nuclear power to the electricity grid in South Australia, but it did not consider its potential interstate. In its final report of May 2016, the Royal Commission recommended that prohibitions preventing the development of nuclear power plants nationally should be repealed. In 2017, former prime minister
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
advocated for legislation to be changed to allow the construction of nuclear power plants in Australia. The former Deputy Premier of New South Wales,
John Barilaro Giovanni Domenic Barilaro (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the 18th deputy premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales National Party, NSW National Party from 2016 to 2021. He was t ...
, has also been urging for debate on the prospect of nuclear power in Australia, including the revisiting of
Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village in the Jervis Bay Territory and on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay, known as the Jervis Bay Terri ...
as a prospective site for a nuclear power plant. In November 2017, Senator
Cory Bernardi Cory Bernardi (born 6 November 1969) is an Australian conservative political commentator and former politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from 2006 to 2020, and was the leader of the Australian Conservatives, a minor political party h ...
presented the Nuclear Fuel Cycle (Facilitation) Bill 2017 in the Senate, with the intention of repealing existing prohibitions preventing the establishment of nuclear power in Australia.


Historic and present nuclear reactors in Australia

In total, three nuclear reactors have been built and operated in Australia over the course of history. All have been located at
ANSTO The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is a statutory body of the Australian Government that is responsible for nuclear research and the production of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine. It was established in Apr ...
(formerly AAEC) headquarter site at Lucas Heights,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, and all have been research reactors that were not used for power (electric or thermal) generation. The first Australian nuclear reactor was the
HIFAR The High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR) was Australia's first nuclear research reactor. It was built at the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) research establishment at , Sydney, New South Wales. The reactor was in operation between 195 ...
reactor, which was operational 1958–2007, and the second Australian nuclear reactor was the MOATA reactor, which was operational 1961-1995 and became the first Australian reactor to be fully decommissioned in 2009, and the third Australian nuclear reactor is the
OPAL Opal is a hydrated amorphous form of silicon dioxide, silica (SiO2·''n''H2O); its water content may range from 3% to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6% and 10%. Due to the amorphous (chemical) physical structure, it is classified as a ...
reactor, which has been operational 2006–present. No other working (achieved criticality) nuclear reactors have existed in Australia, as of 2025.


Unsuccessful nuclear power station concepts and proposals


1952 Upper Spencer Gulf, South Australia

In 1952, South Australian Premier Tom Playford expressed with confidence that the first location for a nuclear power station in Australia would be on the shores of
Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe an ...
. In July of that year, it was announced more specifically that Backy Bay (later renamed Fitzgerald Bay), located between Whyalla and Port Augusta would be the site. The station was never constructed, though the region reemerged again in 2007 as a prospect for a nuclear power station during the Federal leadership of Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
.


1969 Jervis Bay, New South Wales

In 1969, a 500 MW nuclear power station was proposed for the Jervis Bay Territory, 200 km south of
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. A local opposition campaign began, and the South Coast Trades and Labour Council (covering workers in the region) announced that it would refuse to build the reactor. Some environmental studies and site works were completed, and two rounds of tenders were called and evaluated, but in 1971 the Australian government decided not to proceed with the project, citing economic reasons.


1979 Perth, Western Australia

In 1977–78, the Western Australian Government, under the leadership of
Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 8 April 1974 to 25 January 1982. A member of the Western Australian Liberal Party, Liberal Par ...
, announced plans for a nuclear power reactor near
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
. 1977 was seen as the year of mass mobilisation in WA, with 300 at the first anti-nuclear demonstration to 9,000 at the third protest in the inner city of Perth. Despite public protest, the WA Government selected a first site for a nuclear reactor in 1979 at Wilbinga, 70 kilometres north of Perth. Court predicted that at least another 20 nuclear power stations would be needed by the end of the century to meet rapidly growing power demand, but none of this came to pass.Martin, Brian (Summer 1982)
The Australian anti-uranium movement
''Alternatives: Perspectives on Society and Environment'', Volume 10, Number 4, pp. 26–35. Retrieved 15 December 2010.


1980s and 2007 Portland, Victoria

In 2007 it was reported that businessman Ron Walker, director of the company Australian Nuclear Energy had considered
Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...
as a possible location for a future nuclear power station. Glenelg Mayor Gilbert Wilson said that he thought it was unlikely that such a project would receive community support. He added that he believed any community in Victoria would oppose it, were it to be located in their area. A concept to develop a 2,400 MW nuclear power station at Portland at a cost of $3 billion was previously raised and abandoned in the early 1980s. In 1983, nuclear power development became prohibited under the '' Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983'' in the state of Victoria and the law remains in place in 2020. Section 8 of the Act also prohibits uranium milling, enriching, fuel production, fuel reprocessing and waste storage.


2007 Upper Spencer Gulf, South Australia

While a nuclear power station in South Australia's Upper
Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe an ...
region was discussed intermittently from 2007, no formal proposal to construct a plant was ever made. In 2007, ''The Australian'' newspaper revealed that a location near
Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...
in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia was being considered for a future nuclear power station. A company called Australian Nuclear Energy had been registered on 1 June 2006 with three prominent Australian businessmen as major shareholders:
Robert Champion de Crespigny Robert James Champion de Crespigny, Order of Australia, AC (born 1950) is a multi-millionaire Australian businessman and founder of Normandy Mining. Currently estimated with his ownership in PBE and Rutherford corporations his net worth is near 1B ...
(former Chancellor of the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
), Ron Walker (former Lord Mayor of Melbourne) and Hugh Morgan (former director of Western Mining Corporation). Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
supported the formation of the company, describing it as a "great idea". Five days after the company was registered, the Federal Government established the Switkowski review into nuclear energy. The company examined the viability of building a 20-50 megawatt pilot station in the Upper Spencer Gulf area, at a cost of $70 million-$150 million, and had spoken to American company GE about supplying a nuclear reactor. South Australian Premier
Mike Rann Michael David Rann (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and List of Australi ...
responded to news of the investigation by saying: On 7 April 2011, former Australian politician
Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United Ki ...
addressed the students of UCL's Adelaide campus, discussing nuclear power. A long term advocate for nuclear power, he told ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'' that the South Australian town of
Whyalla Whyalla is a city in South Australia. It was founded as Hummock's Hill, and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, and Gawler, and along ...
(also on Upper Spencer Gulf) would be ideal for a nuclear power station to serve the interests of
BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world ...
, South Australia and the eastern states. He stated: The Olympic Dam project was expected to use about 400 MWh of electricity per day if the proposed mine expansion went ahead. In 2011, the Olympic Dam mine expansion received State and Federal environmental approval, but in 2012, the BHP board decided not to proceed with the mine expansion as planned citing weakened economic conditions as the reason. In 2012 a first-of-a-kind study was undertaken in which a combination of solar and wind technology, proposed as a replacement for the ageing Northern coal power station, was comprehensively compared with a reference nuclear reactor. Assuming equal public confidence and an established regulatory framework, the nuclear energy option compared favourably on cost, reliability, commercial availability, plant lifetime and greenhouse gas abatement, among other criteria.


Nuclear-powered submarines

In April 2016, Australia committed to purchasing French-designed Barracuda-class attack submarines with customised diesel propulsion systems, despite the existing French fleet being wholly nuclear-powered. On 15 September 2021, following the signing of a security partnership named
AUKUS AUKUS ( ), also styled as Aukus, is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States intended to "promote a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable." Initially announced on 15 September ...
between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, it was announced that Australia would develop nuclear-powered submarines, using US and British technology. This sparked outrage in France which lost the contract for what was to become the most expensive defence acquisition in Australia's history. France withdrew their ambassadors in the US and Australia in protest of the deal. The surprise termination of the agreement by Australia under the
Morrison government The Morrison government was the Australian Government, federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison governmen ...
was settled with a payment of €555 million from Australia to France.
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...
stated that the failed agreement would cost Australia 3.4 billion dollars with "almost nothing to show for it".


Nuclear power politics


2000s

As uranium prices began rising from about 2003 onwards, proponents of nuclear power advocated it as a solution to global warming and the Australian Government began taking an interest. In late 2006 and early 2007, the Prime Minister, John Howard, made widely reported statements in favour of nuclear power, on environmental grounds.Martin, Brian
Opposing nuclear power: past and present
''Social Alternatives'', Vol. 26, No. 2, Second Quarter 2007, pp. 43–47. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
Faced with these proposals to examine nuclear power as a possible response to climate change,
anti-nuclear The Anti-nuclear war movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, n ...
campaigners and scientists in Australia claimed that nuclear power could not significantly substitute for other power sources, and that uranium mining itself could become a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2006, the
Howard government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...
commissioned the Switkowski report, an investigation into the merits of nuclear power in Australia. The report concluded that nuclear energy would be competitive with
coal-fired power station A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average capable of generating a gigawatt each. They generate ...
s if
carbon credit Carbon offsetting is a carbon trading mechanism that enables entities to compensate for offset greenhouse gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere. When an entity invests in a carbon offsetting p ...
sanctions were imposed upon Australia. The industry would have been able to produce its first power station in 10 years and could have delivered 25 such stations by the year 2050, thereby supplying Australia with a third of its baseload power.
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
introduced legislation to ban nuclear power development on 20 February 2007. Tasmania attempted a ban on nuclear power facilities, but later, did not pass the bill. Both bills were formulated in response to the pro-nuclear position of John Howard, in addition to the release of the Switkowski report. Anti-nuclear campaigns were given added impetus by public concern about the sites for possible reactors; fears exploited by anti-nuclear political parties in the lead-up to the national election in 2007. The
Rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. The fishes in this genus are commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without ...
Labor government was elected in November 2007 and was opposed to nuclear power for Australia.Support for N-power falls
''The Australian'', 30 December 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2008.

''The Age'', 25 November 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
The anti-nuclear movement continues to be active in Australia, opposing the expansion of existing uranium mines, lobbying against the development of nuclear power in Australia, and criticising proposals for nuclear waste disposal sites. At the same time, a number of Australian politicians have argued that the development of nuclear power is in the country's best interests. Notably, on 13 June 2008, the
New South Wales National Party The New South Wales National Party (officially known as the National Party of Australia – N.S.W. and commonly known as the NSW Nationals) is an Australian political party in New South Wales which forms the state branch of the federal National ...
’s annual state conference passed a resolution, proposed by delegates from
Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...
, supporting research into the development of a nuclear power industry, as well as the establishment of an international
nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
storage facility in Australia. The resolution was opposed by the delegates from New South Wales’
North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, an urban area and major division in the parish of Saint John * North Coast, Barbuda, an administrative district of Barbuda Australia * New South Wa ...
and by the party's state leader, Andrew Stoner. In 2005, the Australian Government threatened to use its
constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
al powers to take control of the approval process for new uranium
mines Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging *Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun Mi ...
from the then anti-nuclear
Northern Territory Government The Northern Territory Government is the executive branch of the Northern Territory. The Government of Northern Territory was formed in 1978 with the granting of self-government to the Territory. The Northern Territory is a territory of the Co ...
. State governments controlled by the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
were blocking the development of new mines in their jurisdictions while the ALP's "No New Mines policy" was in force. In April 2007, the Labor Party, under the new leadership of
Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...
, voted at their national conference to abandon the policy. The vote was only won by a narrow margin of 205 to 190, and resulted in a large amount of internal criticism. Ministers
Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...
and
Anthony Albanese Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been the Leaders of the Australian Labor Party#Leader, leader of the Labor Party si ...
remained outspokenly opposed to the decision due to the unresolved problems of nuclear waste storage and
nuclear weapons proliferation Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries, particularly those not recognized as nuclear-weapon states by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the ''Non-Proliferation T ...
. The John Howard-led
Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...
government went to the November 2007 federal election with a pro-nuclear power platform. The Labor Party won the election, and maintained its opposition to nuclear power in Australia.


2010s

Nuclear debate in Australia increased after the
Fukushima nuclear disaster The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which ...
in 2011. Some protesters demanded a halt to uranium mining and nuclear power generation in their country and throughout the world. During the Labor-led Rudd-Gillard government, the party's opposition to nuclear power was upheld, while conversely, Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson demonstrated his support for the uranium mining sector. Ferguson retired in 2013 and was replaced by Gary Gray who subsequently indicated support for future nuclear industrial development in Australia. At a South Australian mining and energy sector conference, he stated "I am optimistic that we will get (power) generation issues attended to and that it will be done in a timely fashion". In 2013, the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
, led by
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
, resumed power and reopened discussions about the future of nuclear energy generation in Australia. Since Abbott's appointment, former Prime Minister John Howard, former Foreign Minister
Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United Ki ...
, and several members of the
Abbott government The Abbott government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 28th Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The government was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition. The Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss, served ...
have openly advocated for the consideration of nuclear power development, including then-Foreign Minister
Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia), Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia#Federal deputy leader ...
. In November 2013, University of Adelaide Professor of Climatology
Tom Wigley Tom Michael Lampe Wigley is a climate scientist at the University of Adelaide. He is also affiliated with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR, Boulder, CO). He was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advanc ...
co-authored an open letter calling for an expansion of nuclear energy as a tool against climate change. Further calls for the consideration of nuclear power came from academics, Australian media and the
Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is an independent learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. History The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences was foun ...
. In 2014, the federal government released an energy
green paper In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth countries, Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of policy proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represen ...
which articulated the potential for Australia in modern nuclear capacity, including
small modular reactor The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation, and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers t ...
s, Generation IV reactor technologies and the role of thorium as nuclear fuel, though industry minister Ian MacFarlane opined that "there is no need to have a debate in regard to nuclear energy in Australia but we should focus on the opportunities that nuclear energy presents in other countries and build our uranium industry to take advantage of that." In contrast, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop declared support for nuclear energy, saying "It's an obvious conclusion that if you want to bring down your greenhouse gas emissions dramatically you have to embrace a form of low or zero-emissions energy and that's nuclear, the only known 24/7 baseload power supply with zero emissions." The call for sensible discussion was publicly welcomed by economists and at least one member of the federal opposition. The CEO of Origin Energy spoke in support of the prospect and Business SA demanded the lifting of federal prohibitions so that debate on specific designs could proceed. In the lead-up to the
2014 South Australian state election The 2014 South Australian state election elected members to the 53rd Parliament of South Australia on 15 March 2014, to fill all 47 seats in the House of Assembly (lower house) and 11 of 22 seats in the Legislative Council (upper house). The 12- ...
, Business SA proposed the establishment of a nuclear industry to enhance the
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
's economic growth. In December 2014, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...
that he was open to considering a proposal for a nuclear power project for Australia should one be made. He said that proponents of such a project should not expect to receive a government subsidy and that "if it's going to happen, it's going to happen because it's economically feasible." He also described nuclear energy as "the one absolutely proven way of generating emissions-free baseload power." In January 2015 an open letter was addressed to environmental organisations and signed by seventy-five distinguished climate science experts, including twenty-seven Australian-based academics, endorsing the findings of a peer-reviewed article which quantified the potential climate and biodiversity benefits of nuclear energy. In February 2015 South Australian Premier
Jay Weatherill Jay Wilson Weatherill (born 3 April 1964) is an Australian former politician who was the 45th premier of South Australia, serving from 21 October 2011 until 19 March 2018. Weatherill represented the South Australian House of Assembly, House of ...
announced that a
Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...
would be held to investigate South Australia's future role in the nuclear fuel cycle. Kevin Scarce, former Governor of South Australia, retired Rear Admiral of the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
and current Chancellor of the
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
, was appointed Commissioner. A final report of the commission's findings wa
published in May 2016
which recommended that several existing legislative constraints be repealed. In June 2016 Australia joined the Generation IV International Forum. In June 2017, former Prime Minister Tony Abbott acknowledged fellow former Prime Minister Bob Hawke's support for expanding the nuclear industry in Australia and asserted that the "Australian Labor government under Premier Jay Weatherill would like to develop new industries to supplement the uranium mine at Roxby Downs. Why not have a nuclear submarine servicing facility in that state – and the industries that would inevitably spin-off?" In November 2017, Senator
Cory Bernardi Cory Bernardi (born 6 November 1969) is an Australian conservative political commentator and former politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from 2006 to 2020, and was the leader of the Australian Conservatives, a minor political party h ...
presented the Nuclear Fuel Cycle (Facilitation) Bill in the Senate. The bill is intended to repeal prohibitions preventing the future establishment of nuclear power in Australia and the further processing of uranium and spent nuclear fuel. It is the sixth-oldest bill still currently before the Senate as of 10 October 2019. In 2019, the Federal Government held an inquiry into nuclear power. It recommended that the ban be removed for advanced nuclear reactors. On 6 June 2019 the state of New South Wales began an inquiry on the Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Repeal Bill 2019. On 14 August 2019 the state of Victoria launched an inquiry into Australia's nuclear prohibition.


2020s

In September 2021, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States signed an agreement that would allow for the sharing of nuclear propulsion technology between the three countries to assist Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. In 2023, Opposition Leader
Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party from 2 ...
began advocating for the introduction of nuclear power in Australia; particularly,
small modular reactor The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation, and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers t ...
s, which he claimed could be placed on the sites of decommissioned coal-fired power stations. On 19 June 2024, Peter Dutton announced his policy for the rollout of nuclear power in Australia. His plan called for the construction of reactors on the sites of retiring coal-fired power stations, including at Tarong, Callide,
Liddell Liddell is a surname. Notable people with this name, also Lidell, include: * Alan Liddell (1930–1972), English cricketer, son of Allan Liddell * Alice Liddell (1852–1934), Lewis Carroll's "muse" * Allan Liddell (1908–1970), English crickete ...
, Mount Piper,
Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...
, Loy Yang and Muja, with the first two plants coming online between 2035 and 2037. It was noted that the proposed sites in
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
and
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
will only be suitable for
small modular reactor The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation, and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers t ...
s, with the other sites apparently being suitable for either small or larger-scale plants. Dutton also proposed that the
Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...
would be responsible for funding the construction of the reactors, and thereafter, would assume full ownership once they entered operation. On 12 December 2024, after a months-long delay, Peter Dutton unveiled the costings of the Coalition’s nuclear policy. The modelling was completed by Frontier Economics at no cost to the Coalition, and claimed that seven nuclear power stations could be constructed at a cost of $331 billion, with the first plants coming online by the mid-2030s, and would produce 38% of Australia’s electricity needs by 2050, with the remainder being supplied by gas/storage (8%) and renewables (54%). It also claimed the nuclear scheme would be $263 billion, or approximately 44%, cheaper than Labor’s renewables-focused transition, which Frontier costed at $594 billion. The modelling was criticised by a number of academics and energy experts who claimed that the costings were unrealistic, assumed less electricity demand than what had been predicted by the
Australian Energy Market Operator The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) performs an array of gas and electricity market, operational, development and planning functions. It manages the National Electricity Market (NEM), the Wholesale Electricity Market (WA) (WEM) and the ...
, and would arbitrarily extend the lifespan of coal-fired power stations whilst reducing investment in renewable projects. Frontier was also accused of using creative accounting strategies such as amortisation to hide the full costs of the Coalition’s plan beyond the initial 25-year timeframe. On 1 May 2025, LNP released a budget of federal investments for $36.4 billion till 2035, rising to $118 billion until 2050. Following the Coalition’s defeat at the 2025 federal election, there was renewed debate within the Liberal and National parties about whether to keep nuclear as an official policy, with some MPs such as
Tim Wilson Tim Wilson may refer to: * Tim Wilson (broadcaster), New Zealand television news reporter and anchor * Tim Wilson (canoeist), Australian canoeist * Tim Wilson (comedian) (1961–2014), American comedian and country music artist * Tim Wilson (fil ...
voicing support, and others such as
Maria Kovacic Maria Kovacic (born 1970; ) is an Australian politician. She is a Senator for New South Wales representing the Liberal Party, succeeding Jim Molan after his death. She previously served as the President of the New South Wales Liberal Party. ...
arguing that it should be dropped. On 20 May 2025, National Party leader
David Littleproud David Kelly Littleproud (born 4 September 1976) is an Australian politician who has been the leader of the National Party since May 2022. He has represented the regional Queensland seat of Maranoa since the 2016 federal election and was a cab ...
announced that his party would not be renewing its
coalition agreement A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an e ...
with the federal Liberal Party, a decision that was at least partly attributed to conflicting views over the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy. In this instance, the Nationals wanted to lock in funding for nuclear energy as a precondition for an agreement, but Liberal leader
Sussan Ley Sussan Penelope Ley (pron. , "Susan Lee"; ; born 14 December 1961) is an Australian politician who is the current Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal ...
refused to accede to their demands. On 23 May, just three days later, Sussan Ley announced that the Coalition had agreed to the Nationals’ policy demands "in principle". However, the Nationals purportedly agreed to compromise on nuclear energy, settling instead for lifting the federal
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
on nuclear power generation.


Nuclear waste storage

One of the arguments often made by opponents of nuclear power in Australia is the problem of managing long-lived and hazardous radioactive waste, including, but not limited to, spent nuclear fuel. A case has been made for Australia to centralise the management of its nuclear waste, which is currently held in temporary storage facilities at various locations around the country. In response to the
Northern Land Council The Northern Land Council (NLC) is a land council representing the Aboriginal peoples of the Top End of the Northern Territory of Australia, with its head office in Darwin. While the NLC was established in 1974, its origins began in the strug ...
's withdrawal of a section of Muckaty Station in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
as a potential nuclear waste facility for Australian domestically produced nuclear waste in 2014, it was articulated that the process had suffered from a lack of recognition of the limited hazard posed by existing waste, which is currently stored at over one hundred sites in cities and industrial areas. Furthermore, an open tender process for volunteered sites has attracted interest from pastoralists. Site nominations closed on 5 May 2015, in a process endorsed by Federal MP Rowan Ramsay. Ramsay supports the establishment of a waste storage facility in South Australia, and has said: On 29 April 2015
Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg (; born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisi ...
MP, the Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia, announced the shortlisting of
Wallerberdina Station Wallerberdina Station, commonly known as Wallerberdina, is a pastoral lease that operates as a The property is located approximately west of Hawker and north of Quorn, sharing boundaries with Yappala Station and Moralana Station. The prope ...
near Barndioota in South Australia's
Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhab ...
as a possible site. This site was ruled out in 2019, however two sites near Kimba are still possibilities as of the end of 2019. In early 2025, ''
The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' reported that Ted O'Brien, the Coalition's then-shadow energy minister, had told the newspaper that as part of his party's nuclear policy, spent reactor fuel would be temporarily stored on the sites of operational nuclear power plants, before eventually being transferred to the same underground repository that would be used to entomb high-level radioactive waste from the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...
's
nuclear-powered submarines A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear weapons, nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically Marine diesel engine, diesel-elect ...
. Ever since the Coalition lost the 2025 federal election, it remains unclear whether nuclear energy will remain part of the party's official policy platform.


Nuclear law

The Commonwealth ''
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...
'' prohibits certain nuclear actions specified in s.22A unless a federal approval is obtained. It specifically prohibits nuclear power generation in s.140A (an amendment insisted upon by the Australian Democrats). The Act states that the Minister must not approve an action consisting of or involving the construction or operation of a nuclear fuel fabrication plant, or a nuclear power station, or an enrichment plant, or a reprocessing facility. As of 2018, Australia has one operating nuclear reactor, the
open-pool Australian lightwater reactor The Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor (OPAL) is a 20 megawatt (MW) swimming pool reactor, swimming pool nuclear research reactor. Officially opened in April 2007, it replaced the High Flux Australian Reactor as Australia's only nuclea ...
research reactor at Lucas Heights which supplies the vast majority of Australia's
nuclear medicine Nuclear medicine (nuclear radiology, nucleology), is a medical specialty involving the application of radioactivity, radioactive substances in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Nuclear imaging is, in a sense, ''radiology done inside out'', ...
. It replaced the
High Flux Australian Reactor The High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR) was Australia's first Research reactor, nuclear research reactor. It was built at the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) research establishment at , Sydney, New South Wales. The reactor was in ope ...
which operated from 1958 to 2007 at the same site, around a similar time to the MOATA reactor. These are the only three nuclear reactors to have been used in Australia. None of them has been used to generate electricity. Additional nuclear industrial prohibitions exist under state legislation in South Australia and Victoria.


South Australia

The objects of the '' Nuclear Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000'' are "to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of South Australia and to protect the environment in which they live by prohibiting the establishment of certain nuclear waste storage facilities in this State." As such, the Act prohibits the: # Construction or operation of nuclear waste storage facility # Importation or transportation of nuclear waste for delivery to a nuclear waste storage facility


Victoria

The objects of the '' Nuclear Activities (Prohibitions) Act 1983'' are: As such, the Act prohibits the construction or operation of a nuclear reactor as well as exploration: # for the production of uranium or thorium ore concentrates # for conversion or enrichment of any nuclear material # for the fabrication of fuels for use in nuclear reactors # for reprocessing spent fuel


Nuclear power debate in Australia

In the 2010 book ''Why vs. Why: Nuclear Power''Brook, B.W. & Lowe, I. (2010). ''Why vs Why: Nuclear Power.'' Pantera Press, Barry Brook and
Ian Lowe Ian Lowe (born 3 November 1942) is an Australian academic and writer focused on environmental issues. A physics graduate, he is an Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society and former Head of the School of Science at Griffith Univ ...
discuss and articulate the debate about nuclear power. Brook argues that there are various reasons why people should say "yes" to nuclear power, and these reasons include: * Because
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
and
energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a rat ...
may or may not solve the energy and climate crisis * Because nuclear fuel is virtually unlimited and "packs a huge energy punch" * Because new technology solves the "
nuclear waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
" problem * Because nuclear power is the safest energy option Lowe argues that there are various reasons why people should say "no" to nuclear power: * Because it is not a fast enough response to
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
* Because it is too expensive * Because the need for baseload electricity is exaggerated * Because the problem of waste remains unresolved In 2015, both authors were appointed to the Expert Advisory Committee of the
Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission is a Royal Commission into South Australia's future role in the nuclear fuel cycle. It commenced on 19 March 2015 and delivered its final report to the Government of South Australia on 6 May 2016. The Commis ...
in South Australia.


Advocates for nuclear power


Active advocates


Companies

* Australian Nuclear Energy is an Australian company established in 2006 to investigate the feasibility of developing a nuclear power industry in Australia. It sought to investigate the possibility of constructing a station in South Australia or Victoria. Directors include Ron Walker (former Lord Mayor of Melbourne), Hugh Morgan (former director of Western Mining Corporation) and
Robert Champion de Crespigny Robert James Champion de Crespigny, Order of Australia, AC (born 1950) is a multi-millionaire Australian businessman and founder of Normandy Mining. Currently estimated with his ownership in PBE and Rutherford corporations his net worth is near 1B ...
(former Chancellor of the University of Adelaide). Ron Walker publicly welcomed the announcement in 2015 of a Royal Commission to investigate South Australia's role in the nuclear fuel cycle. *
Silex Systems Separation of isotopes by laser excitation (SILEX) is a process for enriching uranium to fuel nuclear reactors that may also present a growing nuclear weapons proliferation risk. It is strongly suspected that SILEX utilizes laser condensation repre ...
is an Australian technology company which has developed SILEX ( Separation of isotopes by laser excitation) for the purposes of
uranium enrichment Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (23 ...
. The company has partnered with multinational nuclear power plant manufacturers
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
and
Hitachi () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...
and the world's largest
uranium mining Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the earth. Over 50,000 tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account for 68% of w ...
company,
Cameco Cameco Corporation (formerly Canadian Mining and Energy Corporation) is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2015, it was the world's second largest uranium producer, accounting for 18 ...
through a joint-venture called Global Laser Enrichment. In 2013, Silex Systems' CEO Dr Michael Goldsworthy advocated for Australia to embrace nuclear power. He told the ABC: : *
SMR Nuclear Technology SMR may refer to: Organisations * Seattle Mountain Rescue, American non-profit * Solomon Mahlangu Regiment of the South African Army * Swedish Resistance Movement, a neo-Nazi political party Places * San Marino (by ISO 3166-1, IOC and FIFA cou ...
is a private Australian company established in 2012 with the goal of deploying
small modular reactor The small modular reactor (SMR) is a class of small nuclear fission reactor, designed to be built in a factory, shipped to operational sites for installation, and then used to power buildings or other commercial operations. The term SMR refers t ...
s in Australia and changing legislation to allow for it. The reactors are light water reactors and can be air-cooled so that coastal locations (which would otherwise provide seawater for cooling) would not be required. Technical director Tony Irwin described the reactors as being "the size of a large petrol filling station ... and the reactor is underground so it is again safe from external hazards or terrorists." Possible customers for SMR Nuclear Technology include large mining operations in remote locations. He also stated that the reactors would be suitable for integration into the existing Australian electricity grid system. *
South Australian Nuclear Energy Systems South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
is an Australian private company registered on 1 January 2014. The company is chaired by merchant banker and former
News International News Corp UK & Ireland Limited (trading as News UK, formerly News International and NI Group) is a List of newspapers in the United Kingdom, British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media Conglomerate (c ...
director Bruce Hundertmark and its board includes Ian Kowalick (former chief of staff to ex-Liberal premier
John Olsen John Wayne Olsen AO (born 7 June 1945) is an Australian politician, diplomat and football commissioner. He was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001. He is now President of the Federal Liberal Party, Chairma ...
), Richard Cherry (former executive officer of the US nuclear industry and consultant), Eric Dunlop and scientists
Tom Wigley Tom Michael Lampe Wigley is a climate scientist at the University of Adelaide. He is also affiliated with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR, Boulder, CO). He was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advanc ...
and Stephen Lincoln. The company has discussed its business proposals with Federal and State politicians, with a view to amending laws that ban nuclear power generation. Hundertmark told ''The New Daily'' in 2014 that "The funding of the things that need to be done is not a real problem – the problem is to get the legislative changes needed".


Politicians

* In 2011, South Australian Treasurer Kevin Foley said that he thought Australia should embrace nuclear power. *Former Prime Minister
John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...
continues to advocate for nuclear power. In 2013 he stated that he believed nuclear power, shale oil, and fracking for gas will meet the world's energy needs. * Former Federal politicians
Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United Ki ...
(Liberal) and Martin Ferguson (Labor) have both advocated for nuclear power and for the expansion of uranium mining in Australia. In 2010, Liberal Opposition member Greg Hunt said of Ferguson: "Behind the scenes, we all know Martin Ferguson is agitating for nuclear energy against his Prime Minister, against Senator Wong." Despite coming from opposing major parties, Downer has described Ferguson as: : * In 2013, Gary Gray suggested that opportunities existed for Australia in nuclear power and the nuclear fuel cycle. * Former Prime Minister
Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
and the Coalition government he presided over expressed support for nuclear industrial development in Australia. The Federal Government allocated $2.5 billion in the May 2014 budget to fund clean energy initiatives, including "clean power stations". On 13 June 2014, Abbott said that the Australian government "did not believe in ostracising any particular fuel". In 2010, while leader of the Opposition, Tony Abbott stated that he believed nuclear power was the only proven way to generate baseload electricity while reducing carbon emissions and maintaining Australia's standard of living. * Liberal party Senator,
David Fawcett David Julian Fawcett (born 23 October 1963) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Liberal Party and has been a Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicame ...
offered expert advice to a concept plan for ''A nuclear future for South Australia'', published in January 2013 by the Defence Teaming Centre. * In November 2014, Federal Foreign Minister
Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia), Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia#Federal deputy leader ...
described nuclear power as an "obvious direction" in reducing Australia's carbon emissions while utilizing the country's reserves of uranium. * In 2015, Family First leader and Senator
Bob Day Robert John Day (born 5 July 1952) is an Australian former politician and businessman who was a Senator for South Australia from 1 July 2014 to 1 November 2016. He is a former federal chairman of the Family First Party. Before entering po ...
presented a bill intended to legalise nuclear power and other nuclear fuel cycle activities in Australia. The bill did not pass. He also expressed his support for nuclear-powered submarines. * In December 2016, former Prime Minister
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...
described nuclear power as a means to fight global warming, and restated his support for Australia to import spent nuclear fuel from other countries. * In 2017, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' named the following Coalition MPs as supporting nuclear energy in Australia's future: Andrew Broad, James Paterson,
Tony Pasin Antony "Tony" Pasin (born 1 October 1977) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Liberal Party of Australia for the House of Representatives seat of Barker since the 2013 election. Early life Pasin was born in Mount Gambier, Sout ...
,
Tim Wilson Tim Wilson may refer to: * Tim Wilson (broadcaster), New Zealand television news reporter and anchor * Tim Wilson (canoeist), Australian canoeist * Tim Wilson (comedian) (1961–2014), American comedian and country music artist * Tim Wilson (fil ...
, Chris Back,
Craig Kelly Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian conservative politician who represented the division of Hughes as a Liberal Party (and later United Australia Party) MP from 2010 until his defeat at the 2022 federal election. Kelly in ...
,
Eric Abetz Eric Abetz (born 25 January 1958) is an Australian politician. He was a Senator for Tasmania from 1994 to 2022, representing the Liberal Party, and since March 2024 has been a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the Franklin electora ...
,
Andrew Hastie Andrew William Hastie (born 30 September 1982) is an Australian politician and former military officer currently serving as the shadow minister for defence. He has been Member of Parliament for the Division of Canning in Western Australia, si ...
,
Warren Entsch Warren George Entsch (born 31 May 1950) is an Australian politician who was a long-serving member of the House of Representatives for a total of 26 years, from 1996 to 2007 and from 2010 to 2025, representing the Division of Leichhardt. He is a ...
,
Bridget McKenzie Bridget Grace McKenzie (born 27 December 1969) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the National Party and has been a Senator for Victoria since 2011. She has held ministerial office in the Turnbull and Morrison governments, also s ...
and
Rowan Ramsey Rowan Eric Ramsey (born 4 August 1956) is an Australian politician who was a member for the House of Representatives seat of Grey from 2007 to 2025. Ramsey is a member of the National Right faction of the Liberal Party, after previously being ...
. * Former Liberal party Senator, Sean Edwards * Former Premier of Western Australia,
Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is an Australian former politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other ...
* Former ALP president,
Warren Mundine Nyunggai Warren Stephen Mundine (born 11 August 1956) is an Australian businessman, political strategist, advocate for Indigenous affairs, and former politician. Starting his political career in 1995, Mundine became the first Indigenous person ...
* South Australian Labor party MP
Leesa Vlahos Leesa Anne Vlahos, ''née'' Chesser (born 1966) is a former Australian politician. She represented the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Taylor for the Labor Party from the 2010 election until her retirement in 2018. Background Vlah ...
* Former National party MP
Karlene Maywald Karlene Ann Maywald (born 26 May 1961) is an Australian The Nationals South Australia, National Party politician who represented the seat of electoral district of Chaffey, Chaffey in the South Australian House of Assembly from October 1997 unti ...
signed an open letter in 2016 following the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission in SA, urging governments to continue considering the importation of spent nuclear fuel. A similar open letter was also signed in March 2017 by former MPs
Trish White Patricia Lynne White (born 7 September 1964) is an Australian company director and former politician who served as the member for Taylor in the South Australian House of Assembly, representing the Labor Party. She first won the seat at a stat ...
(Labor) and
Ian McLachlan Ian Murray McLachlan (born 2 October 1936) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1990 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. He was Minister for Defence in the Howard government from ...
(Liberal). * In 2017, Deputy Premier of New South Wales
John Barilaro Giovanni Domenic Barilaro (; born 14 November 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the 18th deputy premier of New South Wales and the leader of the New South Wales National Party, NSW National Party from 2016 to 2021. He was t ...
expressed his interest in exploring the possibility of nuclear power for Australia. * In November 2017,
Cory Bernardi Cory Bernardi (born 6 November 1969) is an Australian conservative political commentator and former politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from 2006 to 2020, and was the leader of the Australian Conservatives, a minor political party h ...
of the Australian Conservatives introduced the Nuclear Fuel Cycle (Facilitation) Bill in the Senate. During subsequent debates, the bill was strongly supported by Senators Eric Abetz,
David Leyonhjelm David Ean Leyonhjelm ( "lion-helm"; born 1 April 1952) is an Australian former politician. He was a Senator for New South Wales, representing the Liberal Democratic Party from 2014 to 2019. Having been elected at the 2013 federal election, he ...
and
Ian Macdonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...
. * Former Liberal party minister and Leader of the Opposition,
Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party from 2 ...


Defence

*
Paul Barratt Paul Hunter Barratt (19 March 1944 – 3 October 2021) was a senior Australian public servant, policymaker and peace activist. He was Chairman of Australia21, Chairman of UNE Foundation, and President and co-founder of Australians for War Power ...
, former secretary of Australia's Department of Defence, has advocated for nuclear power to be adopted in order to reduce Australia's carbon emissions. He has an honours degree in physics from the
University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 26,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 6,000 students See also * New England Coll ...
and is a friend of fellow nuclear power advocate and former Prime Minister, John Howard. * The Defence Teaming Centre's chief executive officer Chris Burns believes that South Australia could become the "future Dubai of the world" if it embraces nuclear industries, including enrichment of nuclear fuel. * Governor General
Peter Cosgrove General (Australia), General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is an Australian retired senior Australian Army, Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019. A graduate of the Royal ...
believes that in the context of climate change "there is hardly a cleaner energy resource" than nuclear power. Cosgrove believes that Australia should be moving towards nuclear power and has disputed claims that nuclear power is unsafe, stating "We are a rich and technologically advanced nation sitting in a geologically stable continent. So surely we can expect to build and operate safe nuclear power stations." * Australian Industry Group Defence Council chairman Chris Jenkins has recommended that Australia considers acquiring
nuclear submarines A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor, but not necessarily nuclear weapons, nuclear-armed. Nuclear submarines have considerable performance advantages over "conventional" (typically Marine diesel engine, diesel-elect ...
. University of NSW Professor of International Security, Professor Alan Dupont supported the recommendation and defence analyst Professor
Ross Babbage Ross Eden Babbage (born 1949) is the Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Forum Pty Ltd and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) in Washington DC. Babbage is also Managing Director of Strategy ...
added that such a development would require a "specialist class of nuclear technicians" to service the fleet.


Individuals

* In 2006,
Ziggy Switkowski Zygmunt Edward "Ziggy" Switkowski (born 1948) is a Polish Australian business executive and nuclear physicist. His most public role was as the chief executive officer of Australia's largest telecommunications company Telstra from 1999 to 2005. D ...
was appointed to chair a
Commonwealth Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime ...
inquiry An inquiry (also spelled as enquiry in British English) is any process that has the aim of augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. A theory of inquiry is an account of the various types of inquiry and a treatment of the ...
into the viability of a domestic
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
industry.Biography – Zygmunt E Switkowski
Suncorp-Metway. Retrieved: 16 November 2010.
The inquiry concluded that Australia is well positioned to increase its production and export of
uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...
as well as adding nuclear power to its own
energy mix The energy mix is a group of different primary energy, primary energy sources from which secondary energy for direct use - such as electricity - is produced. Energy mix refers to all direct uses of energy, such as transportation and housing, and ...
. However, an independent panel of Australian scientists and nuclear experts have been critical of these findings, saying that they relied upon flawed assumptions while
dodging Dodging and burning are techniques used during the printing process to manipulate the exposure of select areas on a photographic print, deviating from the rest of the image's exposure. In a darkroom print from a film negative, ''dodging'' decreas ...
important questions such as the disposal of
radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
and the potential
greenhouse gas Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...
implications of increased mining. Switkowski was later appointed chairman of the
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is a statutory body of the Australian Government that is responsible for nuclear research and the production of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine. It was established in Apr ...
(ANSTO). His term as chairman concluded at the end of 2010. *
Ben Heard Benjamin "Ben" Heard is a South Australian environmental consultant and an advocate for nuclear power in Australia, through his directorship of environmental NGO, Bright New World. Career Heard completed a Bachelor of Applied Science, Occupatio ...
is an environmental consultant and founder of Decarbonise SA, a blog where he advocates for nuclear power in South Australia. He has co-authored numerous articles with scientist Barry Brook, including a nuclear series for the South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy. His business, ThinkClimate Consulting, has provided commercial services to uranium mining company,
Heathgate Resources Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd is a uranium mining company owned by the US-based nuclear company, General Atomics.Evans, Simo"Fukushima fallout for uranium stings Heathgate Resources"''Australian Financial Review'', 2013-08-26. Heathgate owns and o ...
. * Dick Smith held firm on his support for nuclear power following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. He said that burning coal "could result in hundreds of millions of people dying, and if that's true … that could be far worse than using nuclear." * William Shackel is an advocate, who founded Nuclear for Australia in 2022, a youth-led campaign for the prohibition on nuclear energy to be lifted in Australia. He has made numerous appearances in the Australian media, where he presents a factual case about the position of nuclear energy in Australia.


Media

* Commercial radio personality
Amanda Blair Amanda Blair (born 1968) is an Australian radio broadcaster, a former columnist with the '' Sunday Mail''. She started her radio career in Melbourne in 1996 when she made an appearance on the ''Richard Stubbs Breakfast Show'' on Triple M to pro ...
appeared on WIN's
Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...
program in March 2015. She repeated the phrase "go nukes" and talked about a possible nuclear waste dump in South Australia's north as being an economic boon. *
David Penberthy David Penberthy (born 1969, Adelaide, South Australia) is the former editor-in-chief of News Limited news site news.com.au and the former opinion website, ''The Punch''. He was editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' in Sydney, Australia, from April 20 ...
, Editor-in-chief of the
News Limited News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp. The group's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television pr ...
website news.com.au published an editorial entitled "SA ticks boxes for nuclear energy and waste storage" on 13 March 2015. He drew attention to the modest number of protesters acknowledging the fourth anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster and promoted the idea of South Australia becoming "the nuclear state". * Senior writer for ''The Age'', John Watson has espoused the safety of nuclear power stations in several pieces in 2013 with reference to the
Fukushima nuclear disaster The Fukushima nuclear accident was a major nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan, which began on 11 March 2011. The cause of the accident was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which ...
. * ABC TV program '' Stateline'' in South Australia has run a number of stories on nuclear power since 2005. Voices in support of nuclear power including politicians, public servants and representatives of the uranium mining industry have outnumbered opponents. Stateline's former South Australian host, Ian Henschke has also written for ''The Advertiser'' espousing the merits of nuclear power. * '' The Advertiser'' has promoted uranium mining in South Australia and has advocated for the expansion of the nuclear industry in the state by interviewing spokespeople from the business community, uranium mining industry, economists, academics and industry consultants. Reporting journalists include Cameron England, Christopher Russell, Valerina Changerathil,
Tory Shepherd Tory Shepherd is an Australian opinion writer and journalist based in Adelaide, South Australia. a senior reporter for ''Guardian Australia''. She has worked for News Limited publications in the past. Early life and education Tory Shepherd grew ...
and Andrew Hough. The newspaper has also published many opinion editorial pieces promoting nuclear power. These pieces often diminish safety concerns held by opponents and promote the safety of nuclear power and in some cases, exposure to ionizing radiation. They also focus on nuclear power's ability to provide base-load power and its potential to replace coal-fired power plants thus reducing risk of catastrophic climate change. Opinion writers include Barry Brook, Geoff Russell and Ian Henschke. Counterpoints occasionally feature from authors such as Jim Green from
Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of grassroots environmental organizations in 73 countries. About half of the member groups call themselves "Friends of the Earth" in their own languages; the others use other ...
.


Scientists

* Barry Brook is the current Chair of Environmental Sustainability at the
University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...
and a former professor of climate science in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide. He has been a strong advocate for
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
since 2009, promoting the technology as a means to mitigate the impacts of climate change, especially the
Integral Fast Reactor The integral fast reactor (IFR), originally the advanced liquid-metal reactor (ALMR), is a design for a nuclear reactor using fast neutrons and no neutron moderator (a "fast" reactor). IFRs can breed more fuel and are distinguished by a nuclea ...
. His most recent book is ''Why vs Why: Nuclear Power''. The book was co-authored with Professor Ian Lowe, who represents opposing views. * Tom Quirk is a
nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
, former Rio Tinto employee and former board member of the
Institute of Public Affairs The Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) is a conservative non-profit free market public policy think tank, Political links and networking The IPA Victoria was founded during World War II by businessmen in response to the feared growing power of ...
. He supports the expansion of Australia's role in the nuclear fuel chain to include uranium enrichment, fuel reprocessing and waste storage. *
Tom Wigley Tom Michael Lampe Wigley is a climate scientist at the University of Adelaide. He is also affiliated with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR, Boulder, CO). He was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advanc ...
and Stephen Lincoln are scientists employed at the University of Adelaide. They are also directors of the start-up company,
South Australian Nuclear Energy Systems South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...
.


Organisations

* The Australian Nuclear Forum supports the development of nuclear power in Australia. Its members include Terry Krieg, a retired geology teacher from
Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, ...
who has supported nuclear power since 1981 and has appeared several times reading prepared statements on ABC
Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...
since 2011. *
Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoralism, pastoral and mining industries in the late 1880s and it currently has approximately 80,000 ...
National Secretary
Paul Howes Paul Howes (born 23 August 1981) was involved in the Australian trade union movement from 1999 through 2014. His most recent position was as National Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union, the youngest person to serve in that position. In ...
has been an active advocate for the legalisation of nuclear power in Australia and called for an urgent debate in 2009. He also referred to the uranium mining ban in Queensland and exploration bans in New South Wales and Victoria as ''superstitions of another age.'' Queensland and New South Wales bans were subsequently lifted. * BusinessSA, South Australia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, promotes nuclear power development. The Chamber has demanded the lifting of federal prohibitions so that debate on specific nuclear reactor designs can proceed. In December 2014, spokesperson
Nigel McBride Nigel McBride is a prominent lawyer and businessman who lives and works in South Australia. He is the CEO of Business SA, the South Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is a member of the State Advisory Council of the Committee for E ...
stated: "We need governments to get out of the way." Business SA is pushing for a specific project to be considered; a $3 billion micro reactor known as a Prism power plant designed by General Electric and Hitachi. A fast-breeder reactor, it would convert used nuclear fuel rods and surplus plutonium into energy. He described the technology as safe and innovative, and argued the proposal would pay its own way after five years. * The Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) supports the development of nuclear power in Australia. A policy document entitled ''Australia's nuclear options? ''was published by CEDA in November 2011. The document features five main chapters written by nuclear advocates including Barry Brook,
Tony Irwin Tony Irwin is an Australian nuclear engineer and technical director of Australian company, SMR Nuclear Technology. For three decades he worked commissioning and operating nuclear reactors in the UK for British Energy (formerly the Central Elec ...
, Tom Quirk and Tony Wood. *
Engineers Australia Engineers Australia (EA), known formally as the Institution of Engineers, Australia, is an Australian professional body and Non-profit organization, not-for-profit organisation whose purpose is to advance the science and practice of engineerin ...
's spokesperson
Tony Irwin Tony Irwin is an Australian nuclear engineer and technical director of Australian company, SMR Nuclear Technology. For three decades he worked commissioning and operating nuclear reactors in the UK for British Energy (formerly the Central Elec ...
has called for "simple legislation change" to allow the development of nuclear industries, particularly the deployment of small modular reactors. Irwin is also technical director for the private company
SMR Nuclear Technology SMR may refer to: Organisations * Seattle Mountain Rescue, American non-profit * Solomon Mahlangu Regiment of the South African Army * Swedish Resistance Movement, a neo-Nazi political party Places * San Marino (by ISO 3166-1, IOC and FIFA cou ...
. * The
Minerals Council of Australia The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) is an industry association, notable for representing companies that generate most of Australia's mining output. The MCA was founded in 1995, succeeding the Australian Mining Industry Council which was estab ...
advocates for nuclear power in Australia. Former
BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world ...
executive Daniel Zavattiero represents the MCA's uranium portfolio. * The
South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) is a not-for-profit, non-government organisation founded in 1979. It represents approximately 130 companies involved in resource extraction and supporting service industries in South Aus ...
(SACOME) advocates for the development of nuclear power in South Australia. South Australia is home to the majority of the nation's uranium mines, and the Chamber represents the interests of several corporate members engaged in uranium mining and exploration. Members include Alliance Resources, Areva Resources Australia, BHP,
Heathgate Resources Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd is a uranium mining company owned by the US-based nuclear company, General Atomics.Evans, Simo"Fukushima fallout for uranium stings Heathgate Resources"''Australian Financial Review'', 2013-08-26. Heathgate owns and o ...
, Uranium SA and others. * The
World Nuclear Association World Nuclear Association is the international organization that promotes nuclear power and supports the companies that comprise the global nuclear industry. Its members come from all parts of the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium mining ...
supports the development of nuclear power in Australia. The organisation's Senior Research Analyst and former Director of Public Information is
Ian Hore-Lacy Ian Leslie Hore-Lacy (1940 – 2 December 2021) was an Australian nuclear industry communicator, author and advocate for nuclear power in Australia. He semi-retired as Senior Advisor with the World Nuclear Association, London. Career He was a ...
. Hore-Lacy was previously the director of the Melbourne-based
Uranium Information Centre {{Unreferenced, date=December 2021 The Uranium Information Centre (UIC) was an Australian organisation primarily concerned with increasing the public understanding of uranium mining and nuclear power, nuclear electricity generation. Founded in 1 ...
and worked for CRA (now Rio Tinto) for 19 years. *Nuclear for Climate Australia is an advocacy group that proposes series of SMR as low-carbon and cost-effective solution for climate mitigation.


Political parties

Support for nuclear power is usually associated with
conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...
. Support for nuclear power has grown rapidly in recent years, especially among conservatives, due to its potential to assist Australia's emissions reduction targets, which have bipartisan support. Australia's emissions reduction targets involve
net zero emissions Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
by 2050.


= Coalition

= The
Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...
, a
centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
alliance that consists of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
(the more
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
of the two major parties) and the
National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...
(its junior Coalition partner that supports
agrarianism Agrarianism is a social philosophy, social and political philosophy that advocates for rural development, a Rural area, rural agricultural lifestyle, family farming, widespread property ownership, and political decentralization. Those who adhere ...
), supports introducing nuclear power. The party's support for nuclear power has grown over the years. Since the election of
Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party from 2 ...
as Liberal leader and
Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
, the party has promised to build nuclear power plants in Australia if elected, with the proposed nuclear reactors to be generating electricity by 2035 (for small modular reactors) or 2037 (for larger reactors). The Coalition's proposal has been backed by many Australians, particularly those who already supported nuclear power, but it has been criticised by opponents of nuclear power, such as members of the
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
Labor Party and the
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
Greens party. Supporters claim that nuclear power is a cheaper and reliable source of energy and note that it is zero-emissions technology used in several other countries with major economies, and that Australia should also use nuclear technology. Others have also pointed out that Australia will in the future receive nuclear-powered submarines from the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
under the
AUKUS AUKUS ( ), also styled as Aukus, is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States intended to "promote a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable." Initially announced on 15 September ...
agreement. Nuclear power has also long been backed by
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
minor parties. Opponents claim that the technology is costly to build and maintain and that nuclear power would not be available in Australia for decades.
The Australia Institute The Australia Institute is an Australian public policy think tank based in Canberra, with offices also in Hobart and Adelaide. Since its launch in 1994, it has carried out research on a broad range of economic, social, and environmental issues. ...
advocates that the nuclear energy debate is diverting attention from more critical climate issues, advocating for a focus on effective and immediate solutions to address climate change. Labor and Greens politicians oppose nuclear power, as do some power companies with private investors. Others have even claimed that Dutton's plans for nuclear power are implausible. Possibly due to nuclear power's popularity among younger people, Labor politicians have used memes to attack the Coalition's nuclear policy, most notably memes depicting fish and koalas with three eyes, in reference to the three-eyed-fish in ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
''. During the campaign for the 2025 federal election, the Coalition planned to build seven nuclear power plants at former
coal power Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
plants. They would have been located in Blackmans Flat and
Muswellbrook Muswellbrook ( ) is a town in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle. Geologically, Muswellbrook is situated in the northern parts of the Sydney bas ...
in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
,
Traralgon Traralgon ( , ) is a city located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia and the most populous city in the City of Latrobe and the region. The urban population of Traralgon at the ...
in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, Mount Murchison and Tarong in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Muja in
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
and
Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...
in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. While the federal Coalition is actively pro-nuclear, the state branches are less vocal about it. The Tasmanian branch is not as optimistic as other state branches, as
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
's electricity mix already includes a large amount of renewable energy, namely
solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...
and
wind power Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ge ...
, as well as
hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
.


= Minor parties

= Nuclear power has long been backed by parliamentary right-wing minor parties such as
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON), also known as One Nation (ON) or One Nation Party (ONP), is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson. ...
, the
Libertarian Party Libertarian Party may refer to: *Libertarian Party (Argentina) * Liberal Libertarian Party * Libertarian Party of Australia * Libertarian Party of Canada ** British Columbia Libertarian Party **Libertarian Party of Manitoba (now Freedom Party of Ma ...
the
United Australia Party The United Australia Party (UAP) was an Australian political party that was founded in 1931 and dissolved in 1945. The party won four Elections in Australia, federal elections in that time, usually governing Coalition (Australia), in coalition ...
Extra-parliamentary parties such as the
Australian Citizens Party The Australian Citizens Party (ACP), formerly the Citizens Electoral Council of Australia (CEC), is a minor political party in Australia affiliated with the international LaRouche Movement, founded and originally led American political activist a ...
also back nuclear power, while the
Fusion Party Fusion Party is a name for multiple political parties in United States history and more recently a Federal political party established in Australia. The different parties that used the name don't share any particular political positions; instead ...
supports research into
fusion power Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices d ...
. Additionally, the
Australian Conservatives Australian Conservatives was a conservative political party in Australia formed in 2017. It was led by Cory Bernardi, who had been elected to the Senate for the Liberal Party, but resigned citing disagreements with the Liberal/National Coa ...
and the Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy Australia supported nuclear power during their existences.


Past and former advocates

* Professor David Wigg (1933–2010), was the clinical examiner in radiotherapy physics for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists from 1970 to 1978, and directed the expansion of radiation oncology and clinical radiobiology at the
Royal Adelaide Hospital The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), colloquially known by its initials or pronounced as "the Rah", is South Australia's largest hospital, owned by the state government as part of Australia's public health care system. The RAH provides tertiary hea ...
from 1980 until 1997. In the years before his death, he published his views on the safety of low-dose radiation and the related misconceptions that impeded effective medical uses of radiation and the benefits of uranium mining and nuclear energy. * The Australian Uranium Association was founded in September 2006 and advocated for the interests of uranium mining member companies. Its two full members were BHP Billiton and Energy Resources Australia (ERA), operators of the nation's two most established uranium mines: Olympic Dam and Ranger. In 2013, its work was integrated into the operation of the Minerals Council of Australia and the association was wound up. * The
Uranium Information Centre {{Unreferenced, date=December 2021 The Uranium Information Centre (UIC) was an Australian organisation primarily concerned with increasing the public understanding of uranium mining and nuclear power, nuclear electricity generation. Founded in 1 ...
promoted uranium mining and nuclear power in Australia from its establishment in 1978 until 2008. It was effectively succeeded by the Australian Uranium Association. *
Tim Flannery Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, conservationist, explorer, author, science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities tha ...
is a professor at
Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...
, and the chairman of the
Copenhagen Climate Council Sustainia, formerly the Copenhagen Climate Council, is a global collaboration between international business and science based in Copenhagen. It was founded in 2007 and is currently directed by Rasmus Schjødt Larsen. History The Copenhagen Climat ...
, an international climate change awareness group. In 2006 he supported nuclear power as a possible solution for reducing Australia's carbon emissions, but in 2007 he changed his position and in May 2007 told a business gathering in Sydney that while nuclear energy does have a role elsewhere in the world, Australia's abundance of renewable resources rule out the need for nuclear power in the near term. He does however feel that Australia should and will have to supply its uranium to those other countries that do not have access to renewables like Australia does. * Sir Ernest William Titterton (1916–1990) was a
nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
and professor who publicly advocated nuclear power for Australia. * Sir
Philip Baxter Sir John Philip Baxter (7 May 1905 – 5 September 1989) was a British-Australian chemical engineer. He was the second director of the University of New South Wales from 1953, continuing as vice-chancellor when the position's title was changed ...
(1905–1989), a British chemical engineer, was one of the most prolific public advocates of nuclear power in Australia.


Opposition to nuclear power

Opposition to the development of nuclear power in Australia originated in the 1970s. The Australian anti-nuclear movement initially lobbied for bans on nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific and on uranium mining in Australia. Dr
Helen Caldicott Helen Mary Caldicott (born 7 August 1938) is an Australian physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate. She founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of nuclear power, depleted uranium munitions, nuclear weapons, nuclear w ...
, a pediatrician from Melbourne emerged as a leading voice of the movement as she conducted public talks and informed politicians and trade unions of the health risks of exposure to
ionizing radiation Ionizing (ionising) radiation, including Radioactive decay, nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have enough energy per individual photon or particle to ionization, ionize atoms or molecules by detaching ...
. Western Australia has a significant share of the Australia's uranium reserves, but between 2002 and 2008, a statewide ban on uranium mining was in force. The ban was lifted when the Liberal Party was voted into power in the state and, as of 2010, many companies are exploring for uranium in Western Australia. One of the industry's major players, the mining company BHP Billiton, planned to develop the Yeelirrie uranium project in a 17 billion dollar project. Two other projects in Western Australia are further advanced then BHP's Yeelirrie, these being the
Lake Way uranium project Lake Way is a dry saline lake located in the Mid West region of Western Australia, approximately south of Wiluna. It also gives its name to a nearby cattle station, the Lake Way Station. Description The lake, dry except during exceptional ...
, which is pursued by Toro Energy, and the
Lake Maitland uranium project Lake Maitland is a dry salt lake located approximately south east of Wiluna, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Mining project The Lake Maitland project was being pursued by Canadian company Mega Uranium. Mega teamed up with Aus ...
, pursued by Mega Uranium.Toro gets approval for uranium project
''
Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...
'', published: 7 January 2010, accessed: 13 February 2011
But it is unlikely that any new projects will enter active development until the market improves. As of 2013 uranium prices are very low. As of late 2010, there were calls for Australians to debate whether the nation should adopt nuclear power as part of its energy mix. Nuclear power is seen to be "a divisive issue that can arouse deep passions among those for and against".Agelidis, Vassilios (7 December 2010)
Too late for nuclear
''ABC News''.
Following the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear emergency in Japan, where three nuclear reactors were damaged by explosions,
Ian Lowe Ian Lowe (born 3 November 1942) is an Australian academic and writer focused on environmental issues. A physics graduate, he is an Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society and former Head of the School of Science at Griffith Univ ...
sees the nuclear power option as being risky and unworkable for Australia. Lowe says nuclear power is too expensive, with insurmountable problems associated with waste disposal and weapons proliferation. It is also not a fast enough response to address climate change. Lowe advocates
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
which is "quicker, less expensive and less dangerous than nuclear". The Australia Institute advocates that the last thing Australia's energy market needs is nuclear power. The data is clear—expanding renewables will drive down electricity costs. As long as the energy market relies on gas and coal, Australians will continue to face high electricity prices. Introducing nuclear power into the system would likely drive costs even higher. Nuclear reactors are banned in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
and
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
. Uranium mining was previously prohibited in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
under the Uranium Prohibition Act of 1986, however in 2012 Premier Barry O'Farrell amended the legislation to allow prospecting and mining of uranium in that State. In December 2011, the sale of uranium to India was a contentious issue. MPs clashed over the issue and protesters were marched from Sydney's convention centre before Prime Minister
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...
's motion to remove a party ban on uranium sales to India was narrowly supported 206 votes to 185. Long-time anti-nuclear campaigner
Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...
MP spoke against the motion. More than 400 people joined a "Lizard's Revenge march" to the Olympic Dam site in July 2012. The anti-nuclear activists, including Elder Kevin Buzzacott, protested against the mine expansion and the uranium industry. They say the company and the government have put short-term economic gain ahead of environmental and health concerns. Organiser Nectaria Calan said police harassed protesters, demanding identification and controlling access to and from their campsite. In March 2012, hundreds of anti-nuclear demonstrators converged on the Australian headquarters of global mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The 500-strong march through southern Melbourne called for an end to uranium mining in Australia, and included speeches and performances by representatives of the expatriate Japanese community as well as Australia's Indigenous communities, who are concerned about the effects of uranium mining near tribal lands. There were also events in Sydney. A site within Muckaty Station was being considered for Australia's
low-level High-level and low-level, as technical terms, are used to classify, describe and point to specific goals of a systematic operation; and are applied in a wide range of contexts, such as, for instance, in domains as widely varied as computer scienc ...
and intermediate-level
radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...
storage and disposal facility. The plan was subject to a Federal Court challenge. The nomination of Muckaty was withdrawn in June 2014. Historically, many prospective Australian uranium mines have been constrained by active antinuclear opposition, but state governments have now approved mine development in Western Australia and Queensland. But it is unlikely that any new projects will enter active development until the market improves. As of 2013 uranium prices are very low.
Cameco Cameco Corporation (formerly Canadian Mining and Energy Corporation) is the world's largest publicly traded uranium company, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 2015, it was the world's second largest uranium producer, accounting for 18 ...
placed the
Kintyre Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East Loch Tarbert, Argyll, East and West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, West Loch Tarbert in t ...
project on hold until market prices improve and
Paladin The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers (), are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, wh ...
has stated that its project proposals (Bigrlyi, Angela/Pamela, Manyingee, Oobagooma, and Valhalla/Skal) need higher uranium market prices before they can proceed.
Toro Toro may refer to: Places *Toro, Molise, a ''comune'' in the Province of Campobasso, Italy *Toro, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Nigeria *Toro, Shizuoka, an archaeological site in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan *Toro, Zamora, a ''m ...
wants to take the Wiluna proposal to the development phase, but has not been successful in attracting equity investors. When market prices go up again, so that mine development is justified, most projects would need at least five years to proceed to production. As of 2015, nuclear power remains opposed by a number of not-for-profit and environmental organizations, political parties and their members, renewable energy advocates, and anti-nuclear campaigners. There are several prominent Australians who have publicly expressed anti-nuclear views: *
Dorothy Auchterlonie Dorothy Auchterlonie (also known as Dorothy Green; 28 May 1915 – 21 February 1991) was an English-born Australian academic, literary critic and poet. Life Auchterlonie was born in Sunderland, County Durham in England. In 1927 when she ...
*
Van Badham Vanessa Badham (born 1974) is an Australian writer and activist. A playwright and novelist, she writes dramas and comedies. She is a regular columnist for the ''Guardian Australia'' website. Early life and education Vanessa Badham was born in ...
* David Bradbury *
Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is an Australian former politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a Australian Senate, senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian ...
*
Eileen Kampakuta Brown Eileen Kampakuta Brown (born 1 January 1938) is an Aboriginal elder from Australia. She was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2003Goldman Environmental Prize''Eileen Kampakuta Brown'' (Retrieved on 2 December 2007) together with Ei ...
* Kevin Buzzacott *
Helen Caldicott Helen Mary Caldicott (born 7 August 1938) is an Australian physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate. She founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of nuclear power, depleted uranium munitions, nuclear weapons, nuclear w ...
*
Moss Cass Moses Henry Cass (18 February 1927 – 26 February 2022) was an Australian doctor and politician who held ministerial office in the Whitlam government. He served as Minister for Environment and Conservation (1972–1975), the Environment (1975 ...
*
Ian Cohen Ian Cohen (born 5 June 1951) is a former Australian politician and member of the Greens New South Wales. Cohen was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council in 1995 as its first Green member. He retired from parliament in 2011. Early ...
*
Kerry Nettle Kerry Michelle Nettle (born 24 December 1973) is a former Australian Senator and member of the Australian Greens in New South Wales. Elected at the 2001 federal election on a primary vote of 4.36 percent with One Nation and micro-party pref ...
*
Mark Diesendorf Mark Diesendorf is an Australian academic and environmentalist, known for his work in sustainable development and renewable energy. He currently researches at the University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia. He was formerly profess ...
*
Jim Falk Jim Falk (born 26 October 1946) is an Australian physicist and academic researcher on science and technology studies. Background Falk was born in Oxford, England. His father was the philosopher Werner D. Falk (latterly professor at the Univers ...
*
Peter Garrett Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician. In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...
* Jim Green *
Margaret Holmes Margaret Joan Holmes (née Read; 24 January 1909 – 10 September 2009) was an Australian peace activist, particularly during the Vietnam War and as part of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship. She founded the New South Wales branch of the Women' ...
* Jacqui Katona * Sandra Kanck *
Ian Lowe Ian Lowe (born 3 November 1942) is an Australian academic and writer focused on environmental issues. A physics graduate, he is an Emeritus Professor of Science, Technology and Society and former Head of the School of Science at Griffith Univ ...
* Scott Ludlam * Yvonne Margarula * Dee Margetts *
John Quiggin John Quiggin (born 29 March 1956) is an Australian economist, a professor at the University of Queensland. He was formerly an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Federation Fellow and a member of the board of the Climate Change A ...
*
Nancy Shelley Nancy Jean Shelley (1926–2010) OAM was a Quaker peace activist who represented the Australian peace movement at the United Nations in 1982. She was a prominent speaker at many Australian and international conferences in the 1980s and 1990s. She ...
*
Jo Vallentine Josephine Vallentine (born 30 May 1946) is an Australian peace activist and politician, a former senator for Western Australia. She entered the Senate on 1 July 1985 after election as a member of the Nuclear Disarmament Party but sat as an inde ...
*
Giz Watson Elizabeth Mary "Giz" Watson (born 18 January 1957) is an English-born Australian politician and a former leader of The Greens, Western Australia. She served as a member of the Western Australian Legislative Council for the North Metropolitan ...
*
Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was an Australian novelist and playwright who explored themes of religious experience, personal identity and the conflict between visionary individuals and a materialistic, co ...
* Stuart White


Selected anti-nuclear groups

*
Australian Conservation Foundation The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation, launched in 1965 in response to a proposal by the World Wide Fund for Nature for a more co-ordinated approach to sustainability. One high-profi ...
*
Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...
* Australian Nuclear Free Alliance *
Conservation Council of South Australia The Conservation Council of South Australia, also known as Conservation SA and Conservation Council SA, is an environmental organisation serving as a Peak organisation, peak body, representing over 50 member groups, representing over 90,000 indi ...
*
Friends of the Earth Australia Friends of the Earth (FoE) Australia is a federation of independent local groups working for a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable future. It believes that pursuing environmental protection is inseparable from broader social conc ...
*
Greenpeace Australia Pacific Greenpeace Australia Pacific (GPAP) is the regional office of the global environmental organisation Greenpeace. Greenpeace Australia Pacific is one of Australia's largest environmental organisations. Origins and formation Greenpeace Australia ...
* Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta *
The Australia Institute The Australia Institute is an Australian public policy think tank based in Canberra, with offices also in Hobart and Adelaide. Since its launch in 1994, it has carried out research on a broad range of economic, social, and environmental issues. ...
* The Wilderness Society


Political parties

* The
Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...
are formally opposed to nuclear power in Australia. The party's spokesperson on the issue is South Australian senator,
Sarah Hanson-Young Sarah Coral Hanson-Young (née Hanson; born 23 December 1981) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for South Australia since July 2008, representing the Australian Greens. She is the youngest woman to be elected to federal parlia ...
. * The
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
was internally conflicted over uranium mining policy during the leadership of former Prime Minister
Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...
during the 1980s, but has maintained opposition to the development of nuclear power in Australia. Since the Rudd government, some Labor party politicians have expressed their support for expanded nuclear industries in Australia. These include Martin Ferguson and
Tom Koutsantonis Anastasios "Tom" Koutsantonis (born 23 August 1971) is an Australian politician in the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, representing the seats of West Torrens (2002−current) and Peake (1997−2002) as a Labor member in ...
. Koutsantonis has expressed his support for the development of uranium enrichment capacity in South Australia.


Opinion polls

A McNair Gallup poll on the construction of nuclear power stations in Australia was carried out in 1979. The same poll was conducted again 28 years later in 2007 on 1,000 randomly selected people throughout Australia. A new poll was asked in 2009 which marked the first time that more people support nuclear power than oppose it, although the support for nuclear power was still not an outright majority

Respondents were asked the following question: The 1979 poll was conducted soon after the Three Mile Island Unit 2 Three Mile Island accident, (TMI-2) nuclear power plant accident located near Pennsylvania USA where a sequence of events lead to the partial meltdown of the TMI-2 reactor core. Opposition to the construction of nuclear power stations in the 2007 poll was strongest amongst females, Greens supporters and Australians aged 18–29 and 40–49. The McNair Gallup Poll showed a significant difference in opinion between ALP,
Coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...
and Green supporters, and moderate differences by gender. Men were more likely to favour the construction of nuclear power stations (55%), with twice as many males in favour of the construction of nuclear power stations in Australia than women. 41% of men were more likely to oppose the construction of nuclear power stations in Australia. In contrast, 65% of women were more likely to oppose the construction of nuclear power stations in Australia, while 28% favour the construction of nuclear power stations. A 2014 independent survey, commissioned by SACOME, of 1,214 South Australians revealed a distinct trend in the community towards supporting consideration of nuclear energy. The proportion of neutral respondents was at around 20-25% in all categories, with qualitative feedback largely indicating conditional support given the satisfactory addressing of concerns, or a requirement for further information. Positive responses outnumbered the negative, most dramatically men and the elderly, with less dramatic support from women. A Morgan poll in September 2019 found support for Australian nuclear power had attained a narrow majority, with 51% in favour when reduction of carbon emissions was cited. This was an increase of 16 percentage points from July 2011. A poll by The Australia Institute showed that of 1,002 Australians found confusion over how the $268 billion to $368 billion nuclear-powered submarine program should be funded, with respondents asked to choose between cuts to defense spending, government services, increasing the deficit, or raising taxes. A February 2024 poll published by the Sydney Morning Herald found that 36% supported Nuclear power in Australia, 27% were open to it, 23% were opposed and 15% were Undecided. An April 2024 Essential Research poll found that 52% supported Australia developing nuclear power plants, 31% opposed and 17% unsure. The Australia Institute's June 2024 Polling – Willingness to pay for nuclear indicated that 65% of Australians are unwilling to pay extra for nuclear energy, with only 4% prepared to pay more than $500 annually, suggesting limited public support for increased electricity costs to include nuclear power in the energy mix. An MRP model created by DemosAU from a survey of 3275 Australians between December 2024 and February 2025 showed support for nuclear did not rise about 50% in any electorate in Australia, while opposition to nuclear only reached 50% in one electorate. Nationwide, 37% or respondents agreed with the statement "Nuclear power would be good for Australia," while 33% disagreed and 30% were neutral. Opposition to nuclear was much stronger among women than men.


See also

* Australia and weapons of mass destruction *
Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor The Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor (OPAL) is a 20 megawatt (MW) swimming pool reactor, swimming pool nuclear research reactor. Officially opened in April 2007, it replaced the High Flux Australian Reactor as Australia's only nuclea ...
*
Contesting the Future of Nuclear Power ''Contesting the Future of Nuclear Power: A Critical Global Assessment of Atomic Energy'' is a 2011 book by Benjamin K. Sovacool, published by World Scientific. Sovacool's book addresses the current status of the global nuclear power industry, i ...
– a 2011 book on nuclear power *
Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy ''Greenhouse Solutions with Sustainable Energy'' is a 2007 book by Australian academic Mark Diesendorf. The book puts forward a set of policies and strategies for implementing the most promising clean energy technologies by all spheres of gover ...
– a 2007 book on sustainability *
List of books about nuclear issues A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, bu ...
*
Non-Nuclear Futures ''Non-Nuclear Futures: The Case for an Ethical Energy Strategy'' is a 1975 book by Amory B. Lovins and John H. Price.Lovins, Amory B. and Price, John H. (1975). ''Non-nuclear Futures: The Case for an Ethical Energy Strategy'' (Cambridge, Massachu ...
– a 1975 book on nuclear power *
Nuclear or Not? ''Nuclear or Not? Does Nuclear Power Have a Place in a Sustainable Energy Future?'' is a 2007 book edited by Professor David Elliott. The book offers various views and perspectives on nuclear power.Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission is a Royal Commission into South Australia's future role in the nuclear fuel cycle. It commenced on 19 March 2015 and delivered its final report to the Government of South Australia on 6 May 2016. The Commis ...
* Reaction Time: Climate Change and the Nuclear Option – 2007 book about energy policy *
Renewable energy commercialization Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include ...
* Western Australian radioactive capsule incident * Australian Submarine Agency – statutory agency responsible for guiding Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine program


References

{{Nuclear power by country