Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Like most Australians I've been keeping a very interested eye on the energy space in our country, and indeed globally, over the last 15 years or so. This was long before I was in politics because energy is so crucial to our modern society. As a small-business owner I know we need reliable, affordable power. As a father and grandfather, I want energy that is as environmentally friendly as possible to ensure my children and grandchildren have a healthy planet to live on well into the future. As a Liberal, and therefore someone who believes in personal responsibility, I'm very much in the camp that believes it is not only the government's responsibility to do their bit, but it is also the responsibility of business and every individual to play their part in getting the energy mix right, ensuring that all three components of the energy mix—reliability, affordability and environment—are met.

Everything in life is about balance, and energy supply is no different. Renewables have their benefits and their place in the energy mix, but realistically only as a supplement to a good baseload power source. Little is spoken about the detriments of renewable energy as many people see it as the saviour of the world. Yet many of the people in my electorate in Longman ask me questions. Where is the discussion around landfill when solar panels, wind towers and batteries reach end-of-life? Are we going to cleaner air but dirtier soil and waterways? Where is the discussion about volatility of lithium and its propensity to suddenly catch fire as we either sit on top of it as we drive EVs in the future or have it downstairs in battery storage as we sleep in our homes. What about the fact that we will need ugly solar and wind farms over three times the size of Tasmania to meet our baseload energy needs, not to mention the harm that that causes the environment by killing birds and clearing usable land? No, there is no discussion of any of this. That is simply ridiculous as we navigate our way through this energy transition stage. Not to mention the affordability issue, as we know that EVs are simply going to be out of reach of the Aussie battler.

At this critical time, we must look to other countries who have experimented with different types of energy. We must learn from their mistakes and adopt their successes. Nuclear energy has long been a taboo subject in this country because of events such as Chernobyl, Fukushima and various other reasons. But, as often happens with new technologies, they develop and improve over time, which is exactly what has happened with nuclear energy.

I recently had the privilege of being part of a delegation to Taiwan, which has had nuclear power for many years. They are now closing down their reactors. I asked them: 'Why are you shutting down nuclear energy in your country? Is it unreliable? Is it too expensive?' The reply was: 'No, it is purely political. We have many earthquakes in our country and people are concerned about the safety side.' I then said, 'Will the renewable energy you're replacing the nuclear with be as affordable and reliable?' I was given the reply, 'No, we accept that there will be brownouts at times and that energy will be more expensive.' Pressing further, I asked, 'If you were in Australia, would you have nuclear energy?' The reply was one word, 'Absolutely.'

After much research and discussion, and from what I now understand about nuclear energy, I believe that it very much needs to be part of the discussion about Australia's future energy supply. The benefits of the reliability and long-term affordability, and the fact that it is very much considered a form of green energy, hold nuclear in good stead. Other benefits include that it can utilise the existing grid and coal-fired power station sites, which will save money on new infrastructure. This, along with Australia's stable landmass and our abundance of uranium, coupled with the now very safe, small modular reactors, have led me to this conclusion.

I am a layman, with no expertise in the energy sector. However, my desire is to have a balanced and pragmatic discussion around energy supply in this country, with all energy types on the table. This discussion and research needs to be carried out by stakeholders who have no financial benefit or preconceived bias about any type of energy production—it should be devoid of emotion and based purely on facts, with all aspects and cohorts of society considered in the discussion. The entire life cycle of all energy generation types, including for nuclear energy, needs to be considered, including reliability, affordability, environmental impacts, initial setup costs, disposal of waste and refining costs.

If this government is serious about energy in this country then it will include nuclear in the discussion, as we are the only G20 nation that doesn't have nuclear energy.

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