I never thought that our Prime Minister would do this...Anthony...

I never thought that our Prime Minister would do this...

Anthony Albanese has decided to attach himself to a nuclear fear campaign designed to undermine trust in nuclear science.

It's a national embarrassment to think our Prime Minister is running an anti-science fear campaign.

Politicians have consistently masked their deeper ideological opposition to nuclear power with platitudes that nuclear "costs too much and takes too long to build" but now they are finally being exposed.

In the past few weeks these leaders have revealed their true colours posting images straight from the Simpsons, running ads showing large nuclear reactors with mushroom clouds above them next to the Sydney Opera House and consistently referring to nuclear power stations as "risky reactors".


These messages are examples of blatant misinformation designed to undermine nuclear science.

Whilst this may seem like a politically advantageous strategy in the short term, in the long term the consequences of what we're seeing playing out are grave.

Firstly, if this goes unchecked will there be any chance of lifting the nuclear bans to have the option of clean nuclear power in our grid?

Secondly, what does this do to public trust in ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) and our incredible nuclear science capability in Australia?

Our chair Adi Patterson was formerly CEO of ANSTO and it is considered a world leader in nuclear research and saves countless Australian lives each year through nuclear medicine.

And Thirdly, surely this poses a serious foreign relations risk with AUKUS if the public become concerned about the safety of the AUKUS submarines?

Today, I call on the Prime Minister and his party to immediately stop and condemn the nuclear fear campaign for the sake of the country and listen to the experts who are calling for a serious discussion about nuclear power and asking why it is still banned.

Will Shackel
Founder of Nuclear for Australia