Download this submission to the Inquiry into the Environment and Other Legislation Amendment (Removing Nuclear Energy Prohibitions) Bill 2022 (PDF 228 KB).
Fusion's position is that the current prohibition on nuclear energy unnecessarily restricts Australia's ability to conduct research and development in this field and our nation's future energy options.
History
Nuclear energy has been banned in Australia since 1998. The Environment and Communications Legislation Committee recently sought submissions on a bill that would lift the ban.
In past decades, there was a clear social licence for disallowing nuclear energy. This is no longer the case, according to surveys of Australian residents.
Today
Fusion is not convinced that Australia needs to use nuclear fission for its domestic clean energy needs in the medium term. Nuclear power also comes with a high capital cost. However, lack of utility and/or costliness are not reasons to ban a form of energy.
Fusion for Fusion
It is also unclear to what extent Australia's nuclear power ban outlaws practical experimentation in unclear fusion. Australian ingenuity is renowned, and our scientists and engineers need to be able to fully partake in nuclear fusion research at this critical period in the technology's development.
Thus our submission argues for lifting the ban on nuclear energy in Australia.
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