Only one in ten Australians would want to live near a nuclear reactor, while most would prefer to live near wind and solar farms, new polling shows.
The polling, which comes as the Coalition prepares to release its plan for nuclear reactors in Australia, found:
- 72% of Australians believe we should continue the shift to renewable energy rather than build nuclear energy (17%) or new coal (11%).
- 76% of Australians would prefer to live near renewable energy projects, like wind and solar farms, than near nuclear (12%) or coal (11%).
- 75% of Australians think the number one way to bring down power bills quickly is to build more renewable energy and batteries or subsidise rooftop solar.
- Building new coal was considered the slowest way to provide power bill cost relief.
"This polling shows when the conversation moves from an abstraction to a postcode, there are high levels of community concern about nuclear and a clear preference for renewable solutions," said ACF's nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney.
"Renewable energy is the fastest growing energy sector in Australia. Renewables provide real power to real people, today. In contrast, nuclear is a fantasy - despite many years and many dollars, not one small modular reactor is in commercial deployment anywhere in the world.
"Modular nuclear reactors are not making hot showers or cool drinks anywhere in the world.
"Politicians spruiking nuclear are facilitating delay and climate chaos - not solutions.
"If Coalition politicians were as interested in electrical power as they are with political power, they would be supporting renewables.
"Culture wars and political promises might generate column inches, but they don't generate electricity. Our energy future is renewable, not radioactive."
The polling of 1,012 Australians (nationally representative sample) was conducted by Glow Market Research on 19-30 January 2024.
