Nuclear power could end Australia's climate wars: advocate

Queensland's growing state debt, second only to Victoria's, has put a fresh spotlight on the state's energy mix and whether the country is making the most of its natural resources. Coal and gas remain strong assets, but uranium is largely left out of the conversation, caught in a political standoff that has dragged on for years.

While Labor and the Greens have long opposed lifting the nuclear ban, the Coalition's own push during the last federal election campaign was widely seen as tentative and poorly explained to voters. That hesitation stands in contrast to much of the rest of the world, where nuclear energy has quietly become one of the few areas of political agreement.

In the United States, Republicans and Democrats both back nuclear expansion. In the United Kingdom, the Conservatives, Reform and Labor all support it, with the current Labor government funding small modular reactor development alongside Rolls-Royce and progressing large-scale construction at Sizewell C. France, long a nuclear stronghold, continues to export power built on the technology to neighbouring countries that publicly reject it.

Will Shackleton, founder of advocacy group Nuclear for Australia, says that global consensus is the strongest argument for change at home. He points to 39 countries, representing more than 70 per cent of global GDP, that have committed to tripling world nuclear capacity by 2050. Fourteen of the world's largest banks and investment funds have backed the same pledge, and major tech companies including Google, Meta and Amazon are now pouring money into nuclear generation to meet surging data centre demand.

Supporters argue nuclear's real advantage lies in its lifespan. A reactor can operate reliably for decades, well beyond the 10-year replacement cycle typical of wind and solar infrastructure or the three-to-four decade run of a coal plant, making it cheaper over its full operating life despite higher upfront costs.

Shackleton says newer, smaller technology could bring nuclear power to Australia far sooner than a full-scale plant would allow. He cites Brisbane-based Deployable Energy, founded by Bobby Gallagher, which has developed a micro reactor small enough to be transported on a truck and has already achieved criticality in testing. Gallagher has said commercial deployment could begin as early as 2028, but only if federal and state bans on nuclear power are lifted first.

The debate carries added weight as industries grapple with strained electricity infrastructure. Trucking operators have warned that charging a single electric heavy vehicle can overload a small town's existing power supply, underlining calls for a more diverse and resilient energy grid. Advocates say the choice facing Australia isn't between coal, gas, renewables or nuclear, but whether the country is willing to add nuclear to a mix that already leans heavily on ageing infrastructure.