"Could our action man really harness the power of nuclear energy allowing Australia to catch up with what the smarter countries did 40 years ago?"
Nuclear was not particularly "smart" 40 years ago. It was risky, dangerous and reasonably irresponsible IMO. Vast improvements in technology and methods have made the nuclear energy industry far safer these days in comparisson.
For instance, pebble bed reactors simply CAN'T melt down like the infamous Chernobyland Three Mile Island plants. Nuclear is worth considering these days with the technologies available.
