Until recently, nuclear power in Australia had been off the table, but now many communities across the country are grappling with the possibility of having a nuclear power plant in their backyards. Port Augusta, in South Australia, is one of them. After the coalition listed the town as one of seven proposed sites in its nuclear energy plan. For some in the community, it is seen as a possible economic boost, providing jobs and breathing new life into the regional town. But others, like the local Indigenous community, are vehemently opposed to the plan and are now vowing to fight any proposal though the courts.
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00:00In Port Augusta, renewable energy dominates the local landscape.
00:06As you drive into the town, you can't miss the multiple wind turbines and the solar panels
00:11that help power the nearby tomato production facility.
00:15But could nuclear soon join the energy mix?
00:17We have a vision for our country to deliver cleaner electricity, cheaper electricity and
00:23consistent electricity.
00:26Already, Port Augusta is shaping as a battleground for Labor and the Coalition's opposing solutions
00:32to reducing carbon emissions.
00:34Earlier this month, Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen was in town, spruiking the Federal
00:39Government's renewable plan.
00:40This whole precinct being transformed.
00:42But it's the Coalition's pre-election announcement that the town of 14,000 people could be the
00:48site for one of up to seven nuclear plants across Australia that is dominating conversation.
00:53I'm open-minded about it, and I think a lot of people are in the community, they just
00:58want to know more.
01:00Concrete company Hallett has already begun work on a multi-million dollar green cement
01:04project on the site, and an export port has also been proposed.
01:09But Ms Shine says genuine local interest in nuclear remains.
01:13I think it's really good that we've got communities who are wanting to hear about this and understand
01:16what that does actually mean.
01:18The objection to nuclear has been political and not scientific.
01:21It has been used as a tool of division in Australia for 50 years now.
01:26Outgoing local Coalition MP Rowan Ramsey is championing his party's nuclear vision.
01:31And while major incidents such as Chernobyl in the Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan have
01:35made many Australians wary of nuclear technology, Mr Ramsey says regardless of whether the opposition
01:41wins government, that fear will have to be overcome.
01:44Guess what comes out of orcas submarines?
01:46High-level nuclear waste.
01:47So Australia already has to deal with this issue.
01:50This is not an extraneous matter now.
01:52This is something that we're already committed to.
01:55Energy expert Bruce Mountain says it's frustrating that politics dominates energy debate in Australia.
02:00He says while nuclear would, at best, only have a small role to play, it could, in places
02:06like Port Augusta, work seamlessly with renewables.
02:09You can co-locate batteries and wind and solar farms in a nuclear power station if you have
02:15the transmission capability.
02:19Lindsay Thomas is a Nookanoo elder and custodian over the land where the plant could be built.
02:23Our people don't believe in this.
02:24We don't believe it should have even been dug out of the ground anywhere in Australia.
02:29We believe it's poison.
02:33The Nookanoo people's opposition to the nuclear power plant for Port Augusta is so strong,
02:38Lindsay Thomas says they'd be willing to go to court to stop it.
02:42I believe we would.
02:44I believe as I stand here, how I talk about the opposition to this, I'm sure I would.
02:52Mr Thomas says he's taking hope from the Bungalow people's win to block the Kimber nuclear waste
02:56dump from being built, 150km away.
03:01Citizen scientist and master diver Geoff Bowie is also opposed.
03:05He says placing a nuclear reactor in the unique environment of the upper Spencer Gulf is too risky.
03:11The Gulf is on a knife's edge.
03:12All we need is one little more impact and we'll probably lose the Gulf and all of the
03:18positives that it has.
03:20And locals who have been promised big projects before still want to hear a lot more about
03:24the plan.
03:25How is this all going to work?
03:26How is it going to affect our families?
03:28How is it going to affect our employment?
03:31What are you going to do with everything?
03:32Why is nuclear so good for this town?
03:35That answer to those questions could help determine the next federal election.