Is nuclear part of the solution?
A debate about whether there is a future for nuclear energy in Australia attracted a full house at Macquarie University’s City Campus on 25 November as experts presented robust views on this controversial but important topic.
Participants included the honourable Matt Kean, chair, Climate Change Authority and Tim Buckley, director, Climate Energy Finance, arguing for the negative, along with director of the Transforming Energy Markets Research Centre Professor Stefan Trueck.
Those arguing for the positive were nuclear experts Jasmin Diab, managing director of Global Nuclear Partners, and Professor Steven Wilson, University of Queensland, with TEM co-director Professor Tina Soliman Hunter.
Rob Stokes, Industry Professor at Macquarie Law School was the debate host.
Speakers considered whether nuclear energy can be integrated into the future energy mix, while addressing safety, security, economic and society challenges.
The debate, Australia’s Future Energy Mix – Is Nuclear part of the Solution?, was a platform to explore the roles of nuclear energy amid growing demands for sustainability, reliability and reduced emissions.
It was proposed that advanced reactor designs offer increased safety and efficiency, so nuclear energy could provide a stable, low-emission alternative to fossil fuels.
However, public concerns over safety, waste management and the potential for nuclear proliferation persist, alongside the economic and regulatory challenges of building a nuclear infrastructure were also argued.
Passionate, vigorous arguments were made for the respective positions.
The debate, open to the public, was the next step following on from a panel discussion in 2023 on the potential for nuclear in Australia’s future, with the teams taking clear sides on the issue of whether nuclear energy should be part of Australia’s clean energy future.
Although the result was a tie, the court of public opinion was a little less close with an audience poll showing several had changed their views over the course of the debate.
The organisers would like to thank everyone who participated in this lively event that brought academic research and knowledge into the public arena to enhance access to expertise to wider audiences, improving scope for specialist knowledge to be incorporated into every day decision-making.