Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

We are talking about a nuclear reactor of a size that will power a single machine. That's what we're talking about, in terms of the nuclear reactors that are within the submarines. We understand the sensitivity involved here and the safety measures that need to be put in place. These are not nuclear reactors of the size, for example, that would power cities. These are not nuclear reactors of that size, and they do not generate the same amount of material as a nuclear reactor which might, for example, power a city.

We understand the sensitivity that would be involved in giving assurance to the Australian people about where reactors which power cities might reside and where the nuclear material that comes from those reactors would ultimately be stored. That is on a completely different scale to what we are describing in terms of a nuclear reactor which powers a single machine.

Opposition members interjecting—

See this speech in context