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Australian Mayor Says Yes to Nuclear Energy

By Eric McErlain
Last week, we told you about a pair of professors who were backing new nuclear build in their hometown in Queensland. Now we're getting news of a local mayor who's openly backing new nuclear build as well:
MOUNT Isa Mayor Ron McCullough has backed the use of nuclear power, saying it could save the planet from the damage being done by burning coal.

He has also questioned the long-term future of energy alternatives such as gas being pushed by leaders in Townsville.

[...]

McCullough said he was `100 per cent' behind uranium mining and the use of uranium in nuclear power stations.

He said he had taken the argument for nuclear power to the Labor Party at Mount Isa 10 to 15 years ago 'long before they were talking about uranium mining out here'.

"I would be happy to discuss (a nuclear power plant) with anybody who wants to put it here," he said, adding that could be an appropriate geologically sound site 50km or 100km from the city.
Meanwhile, the dispute between the federal government and Western Australia over that state's uranium mining ban is heating up.

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Comments

Anonymous said…
Interesting, but largely symbolic.

Mount Isa is a town of 20,000 people, more than 1,000 miles away from Brisbane, the nearest large city. They're not on the east coast grid.

Furthermore, they're on a natural gas pipeline.

If Rod Adams or somebody else could get a small nuclear reactor on the market, that might be a goer (in fact, there are a *lot* of places in remote Australia that could potentially be powered by such a system and some - though not Mount Isa - would be prepared to pay well above typical grid rates), but there's no way in the world you'd be plonking an AP1000 in Mount Isa.

With regards to uranium mining, the thing to watch for is the Australian Labor Party's (the party that controls all six state legislatures, and is opposed to new uranium mines) annual conference in late April. There is likely to be a rather heated debate on the topic then.

If they don't change their policy, the federal government will likely try and override the ban, which will probably bring on another battle in the High Court of Australia to decide whether the federal government has the power to do so.
January 9, 2007 at 7:24 PM
Anonymous said…
The Australian Labor party is owned by the coal industry. They will never support nuclear energy as it is a direct competitor to coal.
January 10, 2007 at 9:09 AM
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