Australia Nuclear Update

The head of the opposition Labor party says Australia doesn't need nuclear energy:

Mr [Kim] Beazley today ruled out the need to go nuclear.

"Australia does not need nuclear power and I would not advocate it in government," he said in an address to the National Press Club in Canberra.

He said Australia's neighbours would view such a move with suspicion, which could ultimately be dangerous for the country.

"We have alternatives, it's very expensive, and quite frankly when any nations ... look at the possibility of developing nuclear power, they raise immediately a suspicion in the minds of their neighbours that they intend to utilise it for non-civil purposes, they intend to utilise it for military purposes," Mr Beazley said.

Of course, with some of the largest proven reserves of Uranium in the world, Australia is in the nuclear energy business by default.

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