Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this morning to place on the Hansard the efforts of 12-year-old student Samantha Williamson, who is from my home town of Roma in western Queensland. She recently submitted a petition to me for presentation to the parliament. Unfortunately, the format is incorrect and it cannot be submitted formally. However, I felt the hard work and the efforts of Samantha should not go unnoticed—after all, today’s youth are tomorrow’s future and it is important that we hear their views now.

Samantha’s petition is on nuclear power plants and how she feels they are not necessary in Australia for a number of reasons, which she states at the commencement of her petition. They include the following: fission products are elements of nuclear energy and they are very radioactive, and will remain radioactive for hundreds of thousands of years; there are no safe solutions for getting rid of nuclear waste; this nuclear waste also takes up lots of storage space; radiation can leak into the environment contaminating soil, air, rivers and oceans, which can cause cancer and other diseases; the nuclear plant’s electricity produces substances which can be used for making nuclear weapons; nuclear energy has never been economic, regardless of what you have heard; and all the money going into promoting nuclear energy could be used for solar and wind energy instead, which would be safer and more available. Her final point is quoted from page 8 of a book titled Nuclear Power is Not the Answer:

Nuclear power is not ‘clean and green’ as the industry claims because large amounts of traditional fossil fuels are required to mine and refine the uranium needed to run nuclear power reactors, to construct the massive concrete reactor buildings and to transport and store toxic radioactive waste created by the nuclear process.

Samantha asks people to sign her petition if they do not want to live with these risks. In the short time she made it available, almost 100 people in the Roma community signed this petition, particularly young people just like Samantha.

Unlike the Beattie Labor government—with its forced amalgamations of local governments in Queensland—who will not allow the voice of the people to be heard, the coalition government supports people’s rights and the freedom to speak out and have an informed public debate on nuclear energy. In many respects, the debate is long overdue in Australia. I think it is important to listen to all the arguments for and against nuclear energy so that we can make an informed decision in the future. As such, Samantha Williamson’s feelings on nuclear power plants are now known, along with those almost 100 people in Roma. (Time expired)