The Hon Greg Combet AM MP
Dear Greg,
Recognising the important role that you will undoubtedly play in shaping our future energy policies, and mindful of the difficult situation that we, as a party, currently find ourselves in, I write to respectfully suggest that there is, under our noses, a politically adroit solution to our dilemma, a policy change that would not only solve the knotty problem of arriving at a credible climate response that doesn’t compromise our national development trajectory, but would also serve to recast our relations with the Greens at the same time.
I would be very interested in your thoughts on the merits of my arguments, and especially in your judgement as to whether or not the left could be persuaded to support such a policy change. I am also forwarding a copy of this letter to Don Farrell.
Briefly put, I wish to argue that our traditional opposition to nuclear energy has effectively blinded us to the significant advantages that would actually follow from a well managed change in policy, and that our politically expedient concord with the greens on this issue is coming at a very high cost, to the party, to the Government, and to the public interest, and that it needs an urgent rethink.
I go on to make the case for the inclusion of nuclear energy in the currently bipartisan MRET scheme, a policy change that, when analysed for its political implications, shows that distinct advantages would accrue to us if we did so.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.