The anti-wind farm groups pushing the nuclearoption to rural Australia
Conservative economists, lobbyists,commentators and energy boffins have descended on regional communitiesnominated by the Coalition for nuclear sites, in a raft of events aimed atchanging hearts and minds in the bush.
Organisers hope the events will create grassroots support for nuclearenergy and stoke scepticism about renewables, particularly wind farms. Theevents, which organisers say aren’t linked, have featured climate sciencedenier Ian Plimer, who recently wrote a treatise mocking the “blackbirding”slave trade, anti-wind farm activist Grant Piper, and others.
Liberal leaderPeter Dutton has announced his nuclear power plan.© Monique Westermann
A matter of detail
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced a future Coalition governmentwould build seven government-owned nuclear facilities on the sites of existingcoal-fired power stations, using existing transmission poles and wires.
To get there, it would need to overturn the federal ban on nuclearenergy, and overcome state bans in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. It would alsoneed to overcome community opposition to nuclear energy.
Will Shackel is ayear 12 student and founder of Nuclear for Australia.© Jamila Toderas
While the Coalition’s policy details remain scant, Nuclear forAustralia, a lobby group founded two years ago by 16-year-old Will Shackel andbacked by entrepreneur Dick Smith, has been growing as a political force tosell nuclear to Australia.
The group has more than 10,000 followers on Facebook; it has paid ads onMeta’s social media platforms that can reach up to 500,000 people; and it helda standing-room only pro-nuclear event recently in Lithgow.
Shackel said he wasn’t a political party member, and his organisationreceived no funding from any party.
But there are clear links between anti-wind farm activists, thepro-nuclear movement and conservative think tanks like the Centre forIndependent Studies.
Peter Dutton hasannounced plans to convert retired coal-fired power sites like Mount Piperpower station into nuclear facilities.© James Brickwood
The pro-market CIS in January launched its new Energy Program, focusingon nuclear energy. Its energy research director Aidan Morrison was a keynotespeaker at Nuclear for Australia’s Lithgow event.
Morrison, a data analyst, in June told CISsenior fellow Robert Forsyth he was no expert, and that he was still learning about climate science.
“I haven’t, like many people, dived deep into the science on climate change and tried to map out my assessment of all the different mechanisms and how it’s worked, so I rely – like most people – on trusting those in public spaces.”
Nuclear for Australia was established as a charity in October, butit isn’trequired to report its financial statements and reports until December.
Dick Smith: “Iwould be against anyone using this particular accident to stifle the spirit ofadventure.”© James Brickwood
Donor Dick Smith told this masthead he had contributed less than $40,000in the past financial year towards the start-up of the group, which alsosolicits donations from supporters.
“With our move towards renewables, it’s going to mean incredibleenvironmental destruction,” Smith said of his support for nuclear. “A nuclearpower station can mean you can have 400 less wind turbines and, of course, thepower’s on 24 hours a day.”
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Three people are listed as directors of Nuclear for Australia: formerANSTO chief executive Adrian (Adi) Paterson, also the chairman, Will’s motherKylie, and Matthew Faint.
Paterson, who told TheGuardian he was not a climate change denier, in Maynonetheless described concerns about human-induced climate change as “anirrational fear of a trace gas which is plant food”.
Dr Adi Paterson,former chief at ANSTO.© Anna Kucera
Tony Irwin, a member of Nuclear for Australia’s “expert working group”,told this masthead the group was trying to convert hearts and minds incommunities earmarked for nuclear sites by the Coalition.
“You’ve got to have a bottom up approach to lifting the ban, and also beable to influence the politicians and the people at the top,” he said.
Irwin said his group had been contacted by communities in NSW andQueensland opposed to the rollout of renewables.
“I’ve just been in Queensland and the Great Dividing Range, who’ve beenabsolutely devastated with wind turbines and just bulldozing through all theforests up there,” he said. “We seem to be destroying the environment to savethe environment.”
At a separate event held last weekend at Oberon Lake Estate, one of thekeynote speakers was Grant Piper, a cattle farmer near Dubbo who becameinvolved in campaigns against wind farms near his property, before setting upthe National Rational Energy Network.
Wind farms likethis one on the edge of the southern tablelands in NSW are becoming anincreasingly common feature of Australian landscapes.© Martin Ollman
Tony Alevras, who owns the estate with his wife Julie, organised thetwo-day “Climate Change and Energy Solutions Symposium”, citing communityconcerns with wind farms and climate change. One advertised discussion pointwas “the alleged climate crisis”.
The lead speaker was Plimer, a geologist and a former professor emeritusat the University of Melbourne, who rejects the human contribution to climatechange.
Last year, Plimer authored a seemingly tongue-in-cheek piece in TheSpectator titled “Bring back Blackbirding”, suggesting “if blackbirded[sic] Tuvalu teenagers received a Wokeless [sic] Australian education, theycould bring back knowledge to their homeland and make Tuvalu a better place”.
In 2022, Plimer told a conservative conference: “No one has ever shownthat human emissions of CO2 drive global warming … and if it could be shown,then you would have to show that the 97 per cent of emissions which are naturaldo not drive global warming.”
Also speaking was Dr Alan Moran, an economist and former director atInstitute of Public Affairs, who on his website derides “green radicals”.
In June, Moran, now principal at Regulation Economics, wrote in TheSpectator: “Hopefully, if Mr Dutton prevails at the next election,Australia will buy time to come to a sensible energy policy founded on coalwith some nuclear.”
Nuclear for Australia has secured frequent and positive coverage in NewsCorp outlets, including front page coverage in the DailyTelegraph and on Sky News, Chris Smith’s show TNT Radio, and with2GB’s Ben Fordham.
But renewable projects in wind and solar may weaken after Dutton promisedto set up seven nuclear plants if he wins the next election.
Change is coming
Queensland farmer Brent Finlay runs cattle, sheep, goats and now windturbines as part of the Macintyre wind farm on the 4000-hectare property thathas been in his family for more than 100 years.
Finlay said the 2019 drought had forced farmers like himself todiversify into a mix of agriculture and renewable energy.
“We’re [usually] 650mm rainfall here, but in 2019 we had 125mm for the12-month period. Our ecosystem collapsed. Our country is still recovering fromthat.”
Finlay is a country pragmatist: he’s worked with coal-seam gas, gas andcoal in his capacity as former president of AgForce Queensland, but he sayswind turbines now make sense for his property.
What we hear matters
Nuclear for Australia’s Shackel said his group was now planning eventsacross the country.
“If a community want to know about nuclear, we will provide our expertsand support our experts to get out there,” he said.
