Australia must remain a nuclear-free country.
Nuclear energy and arms are not compatible with a clean future.
It's a costly distraction from effective climate action that risks delaying – and even derailing – the sensible, considered and speedy transition to renewables that is already well underway and essential to protect the environment and safeguard our future.
To our elected representatives, we call on you to make Australia nuclear-free:
- End uranium mining and exports, and clean up all old uranium mines;
- Say no to nuclear power – it is high-risk, high-cost and a dangerous distraction from real climate solutions, like clean energy from the sun and wind;
- Take a strong stand against nuclear weapons – this includes signing and ratifying the UN nuclear weapons ban treaty;
- Manage radioactive waste transparently and responsibly.
The exaggerated claims being made by the latest round of nuclear promoters do not alter the evidence which clearly shows nuclear is the worst option for Australia.
There are many reasons nuclear energy is not a viable alternative for Australia’s energy future:
-
It takes too long – on average, it takes about nine years to build a nuclear power station and another 10 years for planning and licensing. Effectively that means two decades between first idea and first power. These are the critical decades to immediately reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
-
It’s dirty and dangerous – Nuclear power stations pose significant community, environment and health risks. Apart from the radioactive waste they generate, nuclear power stations run on uranium which, like coal and gas, is not a renewable resource.
-
It’s far more expensive than renewable options – Modelling shows developing nuclear infrastructure is 5-10 times more expensive than solar and wind. And even if the technology was in place, it would also cost more to produce.
-
It needs a lot of water – Nuclear reactors use tonnes of water per second to cool the reactors to produce electricity. This is unlike wind and solar which require little or no ongoing water use.
-
We have no proven options for managing long-term radioactive waste – All reactors create waste, and this is a growing and unresolved global management issue. For decades successive governments have tried to impose low and intermediate level waste dumps and stores, predominantly on First Nations lands, across multiple sites in Australia.
We must leave the uranium in the ground to keep our communities and the nature we rely on safe.
Let's get it right and make Australia nuclear-free.
Header image: Sea lions gather on the beach on the Eyre Peninsula. At the top of the Peninsula is Kimba, where the government is proposing to put a national radioactive waste site despite unanimous opposition from Barngarla Traditional Owners
Latest Supporters
Fully support a nuclear-free Australia, not only for our generation, but all generations to follow. It is the only responsible position to take.
WE DONT WANT NUCLEAR WASTE STORED IN THE COMMUNITY. STORE IT AT WOOMERA IF YOU REALLY HAVE TOO IN THE RESTRICTED ZONE.
We have so much sun, recurring winds and waves that can generate more energy than we need. Please stay away from nuclear.
Nuclear free future to protect our country for future generations !
August 1945 Hisroshima and Nagasaki destructions and devastations , nuclear power plant accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima remind us nuclear and continuing arms industry race why we Must stay out of nuclear . As First Nations have long know and told us uranium is dangerous and best left untouched in the gound in its natural state. I urge Australia to ratifying the UN nuclear weapons ban treaty like many countries are.
We need to end uranium and mining exports! It is also time to repeal/ remove ourselves from former PM John Howard’s disingenous deal . “In late 2007, the Howard Government signed up to the US-led Global Nuclear Energy Partnership initiative (GNEP), which committed Australia to mine and enrich its uranium, export it to other countries, then re-import the resultant radioactive waste to be stored for ever more in the Australian desert. Approximately 30% of the world’s currently identified uranium reserves are to be found on NT indigenous lands and since last year (2018) the number of exploration licences for uranium in the NT has doubled, with nearly 80 companies either actively exploring or having applied to explore…” Martin Cook, Damien Short, Political Economy of Genocide in Australia: The architecture of Dispossession Then and Now. Published in Bachman, J. (ed.) Cultural Genocide: Law, Politics, and Global Manifestations.
New York: Routledge. 2019.
Nuclear waste management is a problem nobody wants, so let’s decide not to create any in the first place. Nuclear energy, even if it didn’t have a disastrous track record, takes far too long to implement and has a very high investment threshold. Neither of these are issues for solar and wind, which also have cheaper operational costs. So let’s stop this stupidity, and ban nuclear power like Germany has. Dispatchable baseload power can be delivered with reneables, so nuclear has lost its final argument. Come back to us when fusion is viable.
Nuclear is far too dirty!!! I have first hand experience!!
NO NUKES should be a very obvious to this out of tough and out of date government.