The Government’s decision to reject an invitation from our AUKUS partners, the United States and the United Kingdom to renew membership of a key international nuclear technology development forum is a missed opportunity that undermines the strength of these critical partnerships.
Nuclear energy is only ‘outlawed’ in Australia because of outdated thinking, and this decision continues to prioritise politics over progress. This passive approach of hiding behind laws that could be changed tomorrow shows a lack of leadership when action is needed.
These are the same allies we are partnering with on nuclear-powered submarines, yet we’re refusing to join them in adding a zero-emissions technology to our energy mix, that could benefit Australia and global decarbonisation efforts. Are we really at the point where comparing hours of sunshine is being used as an excuse not to explore technologies like nuclear energy?
Worse still, the government argues nuclear energy would take too long, while now actively ensuring Australia is excluded from an international forum designed to speed up development and innovation. This guarantees we will fall even further behind the rest of the world.
Every other country with nuclear-powered submarines also has a domestic nuclear energy industry. Even if Australia doesn’t pursue nuclear energy domestically, staying in this forum is in our national interest. As a major uranium exporter, a key participant in international non-proliferation frameworks, and a nation acquiring nuclear propulsion submarines-potentially powered by Generation IV reactors in the future-Australia has every reason to be at the table.
The government should act now to work with states like Western Australia and Queensland to lift bans on uranium mining. This would send a clear signal to our strategic partners that Australia is a secure and reliable place to invest in uranium, ensuring long-term security of supply in the nuclear fuel cycle of our key trading partners.
Advanced nuclear technologies and next-generation reactors will be vital for global decarbonisation. By rejecting this opportunity, Australia is not just turning its back on innovation-it’s turning its back on its allies and its own future.
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