Today, on ABC Illawarra, Warren Mundine confirmed he is a supporter of nuclear power in Australia, and refused to rule out Jervis Bay as a potential site for a future nuclear reactor.
NICK RHEINBERGER (JOURNALIST): Youre a fan of nuclear power, if we want to talk about energy policy. Jervis bay is famously a part of Australia which - sorry - Jervis bay once upon a time was touted as a potential area for a nuclear power plant, in fact, theres a cement slab still sitting there which is where they were going to put it. Do you think thats a reasonable idea?
WARREN MUNDINE: As you know, I'm a strong supporter of nuclear power, not because Im a supporter like I follow a football club its the science. I just was a keynote address speaker at the Australian Geo-science Convention in Adelaide just a month ago where you had a thousand of Australias top scientists, and geologists, and we had several hundred overseas scientists sitting at that conference, and not one person at that conference spoke against the use of nuclear power. In fact they said if Australia is going to be an economic growth, an economic power going into the future, you cannot have 100% renewables, you have to have a nuclear power within that mix.
JOURNALIST: Okay, I understand that it's about the science, but would Jervis Bay be a good place to put it considering its Commonwealth land, and if not, perhaps Port Kembla?
WARREN MUNDINE: Oh, there's a number of places you could put this, and you know, until you actually sit down and actually look at the research and review of certain areas and that, then you can make a proper decision on where these things could go.
Fiona Phillips, Labor's candidate for Gilmore said "The people of the South Coast will never accept a nuclear reactor in Jervis Bay. I will never accept a nuclear reactor in Jervis Bay."
"The Liberals must immediately rule out a Nuclear Reactor in Jervis Bay"
"The potential impacts on local tourism and the environment are deeply concerning. The future of economic growth in the region lies in tourism, hospitality and food production".
Mr Mundine's alarming advocacy for Nuclear power follows comments last month when Prime Minister Morrison told Alan Jones there is absolutely no reason why, when its economic, we shouldnt have nuclear power generation in Australia.
The Liberals would rather put nuclear reactors up and down the east coast of Australia, instead of investing in solar and admitting that renewables are cheaper and cleaner.
All the evidence shows nuclear power is actually much more expensive than renewable energy and would lead to higher prices.
The Liberals also seem blind to the well documented safety risks of nuclear power, highlighted by events like the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
"Nuclear is not a viable option for Australia. Leaving aside the firm lack of community support for such a shift, it would take many years to make the transition in any event. The economics of nuclear power do not stack up, especially against the cost of renewable energy and storage technology which are continuing to decline sharply," Stephen Jones said.
