from AM ABC newsTONY EASTLEY: A delegation of five young...

from AM ABC news


TONY EASTLEY: A delegation of five young Australian federal politicians was in Japan looking at the nation's energy sector, among other things, when the earthquake struck. The MPs visited the headquarters of Japan's biggest electricity company, the Tokyo Electrical Power Company, which owns a number of nuclear power stations including the quake-damaged Fukushima plant.

The MPs are all back in Australia. Liberal frontbencher, Stuart Robert, expects the anti-nuclear lobby to "jump up and down," as he describes it but he thinks it may be of limited relevance. He spoke to our reporter Alexandra Kirk.

STUART ROBERT: I'm sure all sorts of people will make all sorts of conclusions out of it, some right and some wrong. Whenever there's any type of nuclear incident the anti-nuclear lobby jumps up and down and points at it as an example of why you wouldn't do it but at the same time nuclear incidents also point out in many cases how safe nuclear power is especially where you have an incident and it's contained quickly and they move on.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: What conclusion do you come to then?

STUART ROBERT: That perhaps nuclear power is a challenge when you're putting it in a country where 20 per cent of the world?s earthquakes occur whereas nuclear power in one of the more stable countries of the world perhaps wouldn't face those same challenges.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: So you don't think that the argument about Australia therefore not going down the nuclear path is relevant?

STUART ROBERT: People will draw a lots of conclusions out of this as to whether nuclear power is good or not, whether it's safe or not. I think one of the things that needs to be considered in that debate should be had in the political sphere over time is that the geological soundness of Japan and the challenge it has being right there in the Mariana Trench and dealing with the seismic shifts they have quite often.

Twenty per cent of the world's earthquakes above the Richter scale six occur in Japan so it's certainly a challenge however this will appear to be one of the first incidences that Japan has had considering its geological instability with nuclear power and they're continuing forward with it and that'll be highly relevant I think.

ALEXANDRA KIRK: You don't seem to have any concerns about nuclear power for Australia would that be right?

STUART ROBERT: Oh well I'm not fully informed on the debate, I'm obviously the shadow for Defence. I don't take in energy resources so I really can't comment in specifics about nuclear energy and Australia and where it's going. The simple point I can make is having spoken to Japan Electric Company who owns four nuclear power plants and having seen what Japan is doing, this will certainly make the debate in Australia more lively I believe.

TONY EASTLEY: Federal Coalition frontbencher Stuart Robert, who was in Japan when the earthquake hit, speaking there with Alexandra Kirk.