Australia’s Nuclear Future: Plan B for our energy needs

 

Australia needs to remove the prohibition on nuclear energy before it is too late to catch up

Below are the slides and other details from my presentation entitled 'Australia’s Nuclear Future: Plan B for our energy needs', to the Rotary Club of Crookwell at the Crookwell Services Club on the 5th November 2024.

Through his research, Michael has developed a model to explain networked infrastructure deployment and how technological legacies influence the policy choices available in the future. Based on this model, he will address the challenges to nuclear energy in Australia originating with the antinuclear narrative and the role of the McClelland Royal Commission into British Nuclear Testing in reinforcing this narrative. Michael will then discuss the policy legacies created by the Howard Government’s prohibition of nuclear in 1998, and the policy and infrastructure legacies created by Energy Minister Chris Bowen. He will explain the necessity of a government-controlled nuclear reactor fleet, what that might look like, and the importance of a civilian nuclear industry to support AUKUS. Michael will conclude with a discussion of the absence of a "Plan B" for Australia's energy needs, and the results of renewables-only strategies internationally and what these might mean for Australia’s energy future.

 

References

De Percy, M.A. and Poljak, J. (2022, 5 May). Energy security: Embracing technological neutrality. The Interpreter. Lowy Institute.

De Percy, M.A. (2022, 14 November). Rewire the Nation or go nuclear? The Spectator Australia.

De Percy, M.A. (2023, 15 May). Where’s our energy Plan B, Chris Bowen? The Spectator Australia.

De Percy, M.A. (2023, 24 May). Labor’s coal-fired green dream. The Spectator Australia.

De Percy, M.A. (2023, 23 August). Australia’s ideologically-driven energy crisis. The Spectator Australia.

De Percy, M.A. (2023, 29 October). Coastal wind farms: This Sunday, the people say ‘no’ again. The Spectator Australia.

De Percy, M.A. (2024, 6 January). Bowen's homemade recipe for an energy debacle. The Spectator Australia.

De Percy, M.A. (2024, 20 February). If we're serious about net zero, we need to lift nuclear prohibition. The Canberra Times.

De Percy, M.A. (2024, 2 July). No, Mr Bowen, community batteries are not a substitute for nuclear. The Spectator Australia.

De Percy, M.A. (2024, 23 September). Buyer beware as Bowen ‘models’ energy bills again. The Spectator Australia.

De Percy, M.A. (2024, 26 September). Bowen escapes energy scrutiny. Letters to the Editor, Australian Financial Review.

De Percy, M.A. (2024, 14 October). Government shows its fear [on nuclear]. Letters to the Editor, Australian Financial Review.

De Percy, M.A. (2024, 20 October). It will take more than hot air to fix Labor’s renewables woes. The Spectator Australia.

De Percy, M.A. (2024, 29 October). ACT energy policy faces federal pressure as renewables challenges mount. Energy News Bulletin.

De Percy, M.A. (2024). Australia in the Atomic Age: Menzies’s legacy and nuclear’s potential. In Z. Gorman (Ed.), The Menzies Ascendency: Fortune, Stability, Progress 1954–1961. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

Albo’s flight upgrade saga reflects self-entitlement culture

I am constantly reminded how the 2020s recall F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1920s Jazz Age.

Airport lounges are excluded from Fringe Benefits Tax legislation, and the Chairman’s Lounge is an elite perk that most Australians will never get to experience. Flight upgrades that are gifted to politicians, under current rules, are not an issue if these are declared. But soliciting for benefits such as upgrades for private travel is clearly in breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct established by the Prime Minister in 2022.

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Albo’s flight upgrade saga reflects self-entitlement culture.

Albo’s flight upgrade saga reflects self-entitlement culture | Michael de Percy
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Mr Dutton previously called for Mr Albanese to refer himself to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for his alleged solicitation of flight upgrades.https://t.co/fQwkary4kp

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) November 1, 2024

Land tax is socialist and should be banned

Stamp duty is an inefficient tax but it is better than paying a forever tax on your freehold land

Stamp duty makes it more difficult to purchase a home. Not only does it increase the initial outlay required, but it also adds to the strain of meeting stringent savings requirements to secure a mortgage. But make no mistake, a land tax for homeowners is worse. It is effectively rent on what should otherwise be freehold land.

The Morning Double Shot newsletter had this to say:

Michael de Percy is right about state governments’ land taxes: they demand people pay rent on their own land. Land taxes should go, but at the same time the rate of GST, which John Howard and Peter Costello hypothecated to the states in 1998 (in return for abolishing state taxes including land tax) should be upped to 15 per cent, with tied grants to the states slashed to zero – and personal income taxes cut, of course.

The Unfiltered newsletter had this to say:

Land Tax is socialist – get rid of it! What do you think about Land Tax? Michael de Percy makes it pretty clear that he is fed up with the Labor government and that the socialist tax should be scrapped before it does real harm to the concept of private property. He writes, ‘Land tax may be efficient, but land tax is rent. If you must keep paying for the land you own, then it is no longer freehold land.’

My latest in The Spectator Australia, Land tax is socialist and should be banned.

Land tax is socialist and should be banned | Michael de Percy
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Make no mistake, a land tax for homeowners is worse. It is effectively rent on what should otherwise be freehold land.https://t.co/2UMap1nRHz

— The Spectator Australia (@SpectatorOz) October 24, 2024