Asia-Pacific News
Australia debates nuclear power
May 21, 2006, 2:41 GMT
Sydney - Prime Minister John Howard's call for Australians to debate the merits of nuclear power show the government has already made up its mind to build nuclear plants, an anti-nuclear campaigner said Saturday.
'His talk about a public debate is a complete sham,' Greens member of parliament Bob Brown said. 'We are going headlong into becoming a major agent in the nuclear proliferation right around the world.'
Australia, which relies on coal for 90 per cent of power generation, has a nuclear research reactor but has previously turned its back on nuclear power despite having a third of the world's easily recoverable reserves of uranium.
Howard, speaking in Canada last week, said rising oil prices and galloping climate change meant it was time to reconsider the nuclear option.
'I want all the options on the table,' Howard said. 'I have a very open mind on the development of nuclear energy in my own country, and that includes an open mind on whether or not Australia should in fact process uranium for the purposes of providing fuel for nuclear power in the future.'
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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