Antinuclear

‘Campaign led by anti-nuclear groups had its intended effect’

FOE Adelaide, 14 May 25

Support for Nuclear Power Collapsed from Feb-April 2025

Polling released by the pro-nuclear group WePlanet Australia reveals that support for nuclear power dropped from 55% in February 2025 to just 42% in April. This is the lowest level in years, WePlanet says, and “a clear sign that a … campaign led by anti-nuclear groups had its intended effect in the lead up to this election.”

The polling was conducted by Essential Research with data provided by Qualtrics. The survey was conducted online from 24th to 27th April and is based on 2,241 participants.

Support for nuclear power increased from 2019 to 2021 (AUKUS-related?). Support didn’t take an immediate fall after the Coalition’s mid-2022 announcement that they would promote the introduction of nuclear power to Australia. Support didn’t take an immediate fall after the Coalition’s June 2024 release of 7 proposed nuclear power reactor sites across 5 states, or the December 2024 release of (highly questionable) cost estimates. But in less than 3 months from Feb. 2025 to late April, net support fell from +21% to -2% with a sharp drop in support of -13% and a sharp increase in opposition of 10%. Support fell from 55% to 42% and opposition increased from 34% to 44%.

The polling data shows that most males support “Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity” (51% strongly or somewhat support; 41% strongly or somewhat opposed) but among females, support is more than doubled by opposition (23:47). Nuclear power is not supported by those aged 18-34 (38:48), or those aged 35-54 (41:45) but enjoys more support from those aged 55+ (47:41). Nuclear power is opposed by Greens voters (29:60) and Labor voters (27:63) but supported by Coalition voters (65:24).

May 15, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics