Are Australians ready for nuclear? Depends who — and how — you ask.
Polling on nuclear power varies wildly based on the question and how it is asked. Labor is keen to seize on that uncertainty.
After a decade of internal warring over climate change, a testy process in 2021 saw the Nationals begrudgingly accept Scott Morrison’s net zero by 2050 target. Months later, the Coalition was decimated at the ballot box, in no small part due to its climate stance.
Peter Dutton’s pivot to nuclear power on Wednesday has an obvious explanation: it’s an attempt to hold the Coalition’s uneasy truce together, while arguing to the public he has a genuine climate plan.
Dutton argues that there has been a significant shift on the issue since John Howard banned nuclear power in 1998. There are reasons to believe he has younger Australians, who are not scarred by memories of Chernobyl, in mind.
A 2011 Lowy Institute survey found that 35% of respondents either "somewhat" or "strongly" supported nuclear power, while 62% were somewhat or strongly opposed. By 2024, these numbers had flipped: 61% were in favour, and 37% opposed. Support was significantly higher among 18-29 year-olds than any other age group.
