Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Global warming has become an issue of great concern to people throughout Australia. It is constantly raised with me by people within the electorate. They all say to me that they are very concerned about the fact that the Howard government have failed to sign the Kyoto agreement and that, on one hand, they give lip-service to the fact that global warming and greenhouse gas is a major issue yet, on the other hand, they ignore the easiest and most practical way of making a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas. I believe that the government stands condemned for its inaction in relation to Kyoto.

Recently the Prime Minister had a rush of blood when he declared that Australia should go down the path of nuclear power. I believe it was an ill-conceived statement—one that he made in a moment when he was looking for an agenda that he could run on and he decided on nuclear power. He thought, ‘Maybe we can cause some division within the Labor Party.’ He thought it was a good issue to get out there to try and divide the community. As we all know, the Prime Minister specialises in creating divisions and angst within the community.

I would say to the Prime Minister that he really needs to look at how nuclear power stacks up from an economic point of view. I believe it is economically unviable and I agree with the statements of Senator Minchin. There are many issues that revolve around the safety and the storage of nuclear waste, which has a very long life and is very dangerous. To my way of thinking, you do not move from one technology to another technology that also has problems. What you do is look to new and innovative approaches, try and solve the problem and make a commitment to Kyoto.

That brings me to the conclusion of my speech. I categorically state to the people that live in Shortland that I will fight to make sure that there are no nuclear power stations on the Central Coast or at Port Stephens—both areas that have been touted as potential sites for nuclear power stations. We do not want nuclear power stations in the Shortland electorate, we do not want nuclear power stations on the Central Coast, we do not want nuclear power stations at Port Stephens, and I know the member for Flinders does not want nuclear power stations in his electorate. (Time expired)