Barnaby Joyce claimed the interrupted power supply was “devastating” the Australian landscape and said a potential future site for a nuclear power station had suffered only minor damage from a 4.7 magnitude earthquake, sparking a heated debate with other panellists.
The National MP and former Deputy Prime Minister was joined by Assistant Minister for Trade Tim Ayres, company director and former Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory Kate Carnell and campaign strategist and author Dee Madigan on the ABC’s Q&A program in Newcastle on Monday night.
Audience member David asked Mr Joyce whether the recent earthquakes – including a 4.7 magnitude quake last month near Muswellbrook, New South Wales – had changed his mind about Muswellbrook as a potential site for a nuclear power station.
The shadow minister replied that the alternative options were either intermittent energy – which he claimed was “ruining” the Australian landscape – or solar and wind, the responsibility for which lay with ordinary Australians, he said.
Mr Joyce also said he was in Muswellbrook the day after the earthquake and that only minor damage had occurred.
But Mr Joyce continued to insist that this is taken into account when designing a nuclear power plant.
“Remember, 30 countries in the world use nuclear power, serious economies, and they all have these kinds of problems. So they design for that circumstance,” he said.
‘I had lunch at the RSL club. The damage from that was a chimney fell down and maybe a few windows were broken.’
Barnaby Joyce (pictured) claims the disrupted power supply is ‘devastating’ the Australian landscape
However, Ms. Madigan entered the debate, claiming that there have been about 36 nuclear power plant accidents worldwide.
“Even the slightest increase in radiation means an increase in miscarriages and stillbirths. And as far as childhood cancer goes, I certainly wouldn’t want my children anywhere near a cancer like that,” she said.
Mr Joyce immediately wanted to know where she got her evidence from and asked her to ‘give some more substantiation here’ and ‘what are you quoting?’
“Literally science,” Madigan replied, to cheers from the audience.
“And while we’re over there on wind farms, who was the politician promoting the Sapphire Wind Farm in New England? Oh, that’s you,” she continued.
How can you change your mind so quickly?
Mr Joyce replied: ‘If the facts change, I will change my mind.’
However, Ms Madigan hit back, saying: “When the polls change, you change your mind.”
Dee Madigan (pictured) claimed that there have been approximately 36 nuclear power plant accidents worldwide
Ms Carnell also weighed in on the debate over nuclear energy, calling it an “incredibly cheap and very carbon neutral option”.
However, she said it was “too late” for nuclear energy.
“The problem is, it’s not 20 years ago, it’s now. And we’re going to have a problem with baseload power 10 years from now, maybe even sooner in some states,” she said.
“We can’t wait for nuclear now, it’s too late. We need another option for baseload energy, and that has to be gas.”
Presenter Patricia Karvelas involved 18-year-old Miles Punch from the audience in the debate.
Former ACT Minister Kate Carnell (pictured) said it was ‘too late’ for nuclear power
The Maitland teenager is studying maths and physics and hopes to study engineering next year. During his studies he has already learned a lot about the different types of energy.
“If we look at all this from a non-political and purely scientific point of view, our best option realistically is to diversify our electricity grid and offer it in as many different forms as possible. That way, we don’t lose our economy and our electricity grid when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine,” he said.
“We need nuclear, we need solar, we need wind.”
When asked about the costs of nuclear power, Punch replied that coal simply cannot be sustained forever.