John Howard (Bennelong, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

Let me conclude my answer by quoting from somebody else. When I read this at the beginning of the year, it struck me as eminent common sense, and I would like to share with the House these words, which I think really encapsulate the issue very well:

Those who hope to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and wave power need to come to terms with the reality that renewable energies, while they have an important and growing role to play, can’t provide affordable and continuous base load energy.

Abandoning traditional base load power in favour of renewables would result in an indefinite global depression, condemning hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest people to starvation.

This contribution to the debate ends with the words:

Uranium is the other option for base load energy.

Those words are very similar to what I have been saying as a contribution to this debate over the past weeks. They neatly encapsulate the common sense. They are the words of somebody who cares about the working men and women of Australia. They were the words of none other than the member for Batman on 26 January 2006.

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