Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Housing and Urban Development) Share this | Hansard source

My question without notice is to Senator Minchin, the Minister representing the Prime Minister. Does the minister recall claiming in question time on 17 October:

I am the only one in the history of this country who has been responsible for every part of the nuclear fuel cycle, so I do think I have some knowledge of this issue.

Does the minister also recall his expert view of 21 May that nuclear power would not be viable in Australia for 100 years? Given the minister’s knowledge, can he indicate whether he was surprised to hear that the nuclear task force thinks that nuclear power could be viable in 15 years? Hasn’t this added to the confusion caused by the industry minister when he said that Australia could get nuclear power in 10 years? Can the minister now clarify: what exactly is the government’s policy on the viability of nuclear power in Australia?