page_title: Nuclear power in Australia
section_title: Scientists
hierarchical_section_title: Nuclear power in Australia / Advocates for nuclear power / Active advocates / Scientists
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Ein Portrait von Barry Brook English: A portrait of Barry Brook
context_page_description: The prospect of nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of public debate since the 1950s. Australia has never had a nuclear power station. Australia hosts 33% of the world's uranium deposits and is the world's third largest producer of uranium after Kazakhstan and Canada.
  Australia's extensive low-cost coal and natural gas reserves have historically been used as strong arguments for avoiding nuclear power. The Liberal Party has advocated for the development of nuclear power and nuclear industries in Australia since the 1950s. An anti-nuclear movement developed in Australia in the 1970s, initially focusing on prohibiting nuclear weapons testing and limiting the development of uranium mining and export. The movement also challenged the environmental and economic costs of developing nuclear power and the possibility of fissile material being diverted in to nuclear weapons production.
  A resurgence of interest in nuclear power was prompted by Prime Minister John Howard in 2007 in response to the need to move to low-carbon methods of power generation in order to reduce the effects of global warming on Australia.
context_section_description: Barry Brook is the current Chair of Environmental Sustainability at the University of Tasmania and a former professor of climate science in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide. He has been a strong advocate for nuclear power since 2009, promoting the technology as a means to mitigate the impacts of climate change, especially the Integral Fast Reactor. His most recent book is Why vs Why: Nuclear Power. The book was co-authored with Professor Ian Lowe, who represents opposing views.
  Tom Quirk is a nuclear physicist, former Rio Tinto employee and former board member of the Institute of Public Affairs. He supports the expansion of Australia's role in the nuclear fuel chain to include uranium enrichment, fuel reprocessing and waste storage.
  Tom Wigley and Stephen Lincoln are scientists employed at the University of Adelaide. They are also directors of the start-up company, South Australian Nuclear Energy Systems.
caption: Professor Barry Brook
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