Antinuclear

Labor’s right wing pushes the nuclear power barrow: we’d better watch Shorten

Labor MPs urge rethink on nuclear power Financial Review,   JAMES MASSOLA Political correspondent, 22 Oct 13

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has quashed a call by Labor MPs for the party to reopen debate about its support for nuclear power, just a day after the shadow ministry agreed to a post-election policy review.

Resources spokesman Gary Gray and Right faction senators Mark Bishop and Alex Gallacher called for the party’s approach to nuclear power and uranium exports to be discussed in a move that could provoke a damaging split with the party’s Left faction. Mr Gray said there was “absolutely no solution to global base load power generation that does not feature a strong role for nuclear power”……

Senator Gallacher said as a developed economy, Australia had a responsibility to examine how to implement “as clean an energy system as possible”.

“The nuclear option is exactly that, politically, there are so many emotional positions but there should be a scientific debate. …..

a spokeswoman for Mr Shorten said Labor had no plans to shift its position and “the prohibitive cost alone of creating a nuclear industry in this country makes it untenable”.

The ALP’s 2011 policy platform expressly forbids “the establishment of nuclear power plants and all other stages of the nuclear fuel cycle in Australia”.

The opposition has will review all of its policies, except the disability insurance scheme and the better schools plan, but it reaffirmed its support for putting a price on carbon emissions. Australian Conservation Foundation anti-nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney said nuclear power was “high cost and high risk with its global market share falling”. http://www.afr.com/p/national/labor_mps_urge_rethink_on_nuclear_QO9FaVus9ZpZhJJjSVfJ8I

October 23, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics