December 13, 2024
South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff says public sentiment in the South Burnett is supportive of investigating nuclear power generation in the region.
Mayor Duff was speaking on ABC Radio on Friday morning ahead of the announcement of the costings for the Coalition’s planned seven nuclear power stations.
One of these proposed nuclear facilities has been earmarked to replace the coal-fired power stations at Tarong and Tarong North.
“The sentiment is that everyone wants to have a look at it (nuclear) because we’re not happy with the rollout of renewables,” Mayor Duff said.
“We’re concerned about the division that it’s causing, the lack of planning, the lack of consultation with the community and the lack of jobs so we’re certainly wanting to look at all options, including nuclear.”
South Burnett councillors received a short briefing by Member for Maranoa and Nationals Leader David Littleproud soon after the original announcement in June.
They heard there would be benefits for the region – described as a “wish list” by Mayor Duff at last month’s House Select Committee inquiry into nuclear energy – if a nuclear reactor was built at Tarong.
Four councillors spoke at the Select Committee hearing, with Mayor Duff and Cr Deb Dennien speaking favourably about exploring the nuclear option, Cr Linda Little expressing concerns, and Cr Jane Erkens wanting more information to be made available.
However, the nuclear proposal has not been formally discussed at a Council meeting, and the South Burnett Regional Council has taken no public stand for or against the proposal.
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Unfortunately you are misguided once again, Kathy, as you need to ensure that public consultation is more than interest group opinion and your own personal perspectives.
We need to stop talking and have some action. I can only hope the LNP wins the next Federal Election in their own right and then we can move forward with nuclear. The admittance of the coal fired power stations need to be ramped up again to maintain reliability and kept going until nuclear can be installed. We need to use as much coal as possible as it is there in huge amounts.
People need to do their own research and not listen to the media and scare tactics.
Some questions.
Where does the nuclear waste end up? Two answers – either here or somewhere else.
Let’s keep it here so that we get the jobs of looking after it. I assume we need PALM workers or 457 visa holders to do this job. I don’t want my kids or grandkids doing it.
If not here – how does it get there?
Road – if a transporter of waste has an incident on the Blackbutt range I assume our first responders from Blackbutt, Yarraman and Nanango have appropriate training and resources.
Air – using drones and fly along the power line corridors to get to its destination. Safe? Maybe, maybe not….
Just scratching the surface of potential issues.
If people live close by and they do get nuclear power in, will they have to move? What are the health risks to anyone in close vicinity? What is the radius in which it can become harmful for people not working within it in PPE?