Nuclear power back on the agenda
John Howard decided to use this week’s Irish visit to put nuclear energy firmly back on the agenda in Australia. The PM suggested that it was inevitable that Australia would go nuclear, just as soon as it could be shown to be cost effective. Peter Costello parroted those comments today, making it clear that the government had no ‘in principle objection’ to nuclear energy. The drive towards nuclear energy is motivated in part by the rising cost of other energy sources, but increasingly the argument is also being couched in environmental terms. Mark Latham, Environmental Activist with Greenpeace Australia, spoke with Tristan Burt about how much truth was in the claim that nuclear energy is our least-worst option when it comes to producing energy in an environmentally friendly manner.