How many nuclear power plants does it take to boil an egg? Seven, according to the Leader of the Opposition. This week’s announcement of the Coalition’s nuclear plan for saving the planet shows they still haven’t found a way of saving themselves from further electoral embarrassment.Having lost blue ribbon seats to Teal candidates who stood for action on climate change, the crowd who went for nine years in government without an energy policy have decided that the best way to dig themselves out of a hole is a nuclear implosion.
Never mind that the CSIRO has issued at least two major reports warning that the nuclear option would be far more expensive than investing in renewables, the ideological fixation on denying Global Warning is so ingrained in Coalition minds that they have gone looking for a nuclear miracle. Nationals’ leader, David Littletobeproudabout, has even touted the idea of putting a cap on allowable investments in renewables. It’s hard to know what this would achieve, apart from giving a boost to a slowly expiring fossil fuel industry. The Nationals nowadays are really the party for mining, not farmers.
The joke is that the giant fuel companies will have transitioned to clean energy investments long before the Coalition. One might see the new enthusiasm for nuclear as a sign that the Boiled Egg and his mates have finally accepted the idea that coal and gas are not viable energy sources for all time. But instead of arguing for a measured transition, they have tried to establish a tangible point of difference between themselves and a Labor government that is itself managing the process too slowly and cautiously for the Greens and many environmental groups.
In this, the great minds of the Coalition are probably correct. The idea of building nuclear power plants at an unknown cost to the taxpayer of many billions of dollars, will definitely have an impact on the minds of voters. It will send the Opposition hurtling to an even bigger defeat than last time around.
Firstly, who wants a nuclear power plant in their backyard? Not the Premiers, who have been quick to signal the states’ opposition to the idea. Not the people who live in the chosen electorates, including three seats held by the National Party. The creaky old promise that a plant will create jobs is pure nonsense. Like the much-vaunted Adani mine in Queensland, beloved of both Coalition and Labor, building work creates ephemeral jobs that disappear when the project is complete.
For the Australian population in general, after Fukashima, it would take a lot to convince them that nuclear is completely safe. It would take a lot more to convince major businesses to invest in these uncosted projects, which run counter to the growing trend among fund managers to put their money into renewable energy enterprises. Without reliable costings, and with the potential to completely mess up our international carbon reduction targets, it represents a foolish, unacceptable risk.
The Coalition has to go this one alone, which means the proposed plants would be funded and owned by the taxpayer – a strange outcome for a party so slavishly devoted to “business”. To raise the money, as so many commentators have noted, a Coalition government would have to raise taxes and cut services. The claim that the nuclear plants would reduce energy bills is a fantasy. Over the decade or two while the plants are being built it’s more likely energy bills would rise. By the time the damn things were finished, the progress of renewables technology will have rendered the nuclear power stations more far expensive than wind, solar, or tidal power. The major drawback at present with renewables seems to be energy storage, but battery technology is advancing rapidly. Give it ten years and we’ll be looking at a very different set of practicalities.
The Boiled Egg has “pledged” to build two smaller reactors by 2035, and all seven by 2050! In the meantime, we’ll presumably just keep pouring carbon into the atmosphere with no consideration of meeting our agreed targets. Another decade of unfettered global warming is just what the world needs. It’s not as if there’s any big problem with fires, floods, droughts, hurricanes, melting ice caps, rising sea levels, coral bleaching, declining fish stocks, etc. Let’s give it another ten years while we secure our nuclear future.
Does the Boiled Egg envisage himself as PM in 2035? He should be more concerned about whether he’ll be Leader of the Opposition in 2025, although given the kind of talent on the Liberal front bench, he may not be too worried. When Angus Taylor is touted as a potential leader even the anti-charisma of the Egg looks more appealing.
So let’s recap: seven nuclear power plants by 2050, fully funded by the taxpayer, contrary to all expert advice. No costings to be submitted until before the next election (presumably when it’s too late to check and refute them), no discussion of what happens to the nuclear waste. Concerted opposition from state Premiers and citizens who live in the electorates earmarked for the plants. A complete repudiation of our carbon reduction targets, making us an international pariah. A free kick for Labor, the Greens and the Teals. A visionary policy if ever there was one! Why not bring back conscription as well?
This week’s art column looks at Pharaoh, destined to be one of the big shows of the year, at the National Gallery of victoria. With more than 500 items it’s already the biggest loan exhibition ever put together by the British Museum, and the recent success of Ramses at the Australian Museum suggests there’s a huge appetite out there for all things ancient Egyptian. The NGV, for its part, has laid on an amazing exibition design. Unconditionally recommended.
The movie being reviewed is The Sitting Duck, a rather silly title for a French film orginally called La Syndicaliste – not exactly a literal translation. The formidable Isabelle Huppert stars as a union official who blows the whistle on a dirty deal in high places and suffers for her efforts. It’s ironic that all the skullduggery is taking place in the French nuclear industry. It’s good to know that with upstanding, ethical people like the Coalition in charge, it could never happen here.