FASTS Issues Its View on the Suggested Debate of a Nuclear Energy Option. (May 23, 2006)

The Federation of Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS) issued the following media release in response to Prime Minister John Howard's call for a wide-ranging debate on the enrichment and use of nuclear fuel in Australia.

Nuclear energy should not be considered in isolation from a comprehensive examination of Australia’s energy futures.
 
The President of FASTS, Professor Tom Spurling, said informed public debate was essential to address Australia’s future energy needs and the reality of global warming and climate change.
 
“FASTS supports detailed examination of the costs and benefits of nuclear energy.”
 
“However, it does not make much sense to apply different standards and criteria to any one energy source as all energy sources have environmental and social implications”.
 
“The range of claims and counterclaims about the efficacy and safety of nuclear, fossil fuel and renewable energy sources has demonstrated an urgent need for comprehensive studies of all energy sources.”
 
“Political and economic evaluation of different energy sources are only useful if they are informed by good scientific and technical examination of the full range of impacts including, for instance, decommissioning of reactors and the cost of carbon capture”.
 
“Whether Australia chooses to undertake uranium enrichment and-or long term nuclear waste storage and disposal is an important issue in its own right and this debate should not become confused with the bigger issues around energy futures”.
 
“All decisions about Australia’s energy future are ultimately political decisions”.
 
“To make these decisions properly, all the scientific and technical facts and risk assessments must be on the table,” concluded Professor Spurling.

While this assessment might be considered self-evident, the suspicion that the government harbours a hidden agenda is not far from the thoughts of many.

It remains to be seen if the Prime Minister and his colleagues will set out to allay such mistrust.