Locke Keith: General Debate 
Locke Keith: General Debate 
[Volume:670;Page:17274] 
KEITH LOCKE (Green) 
: 
 It is heartbreaking to see people in north-east Japan who are reeling from the devastation of the earthquake and the tsunami now living in fear of nuclear radiation. Japan the only country to be attacked with nuclear bombs with a huge loss of life is now in the midst of another nuclear disaster. It puts in question the whole future of the nuclear industry. It may be the death knell of nuclear power not only in Japan but worldwide. 
For the Greens this latest tragic accident reinforces what we have long said: nuclear power is inherently dangerous. Nuclear technology is outside the limits of human safeguards. In a nuclear power plant there can be no guarantee that radiation will not be released as a result of a natural disaster or through human error. The danger of radiation release or a meltdown can be minimised but it cannot be eliminated. When an accident occurs the consequences can be monumental. 
There have been a series of nuclear accidents leakages and near misses in several countries since the big accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. In 1999 in Japan two workers at the Tokaimura plant died from high radiation doses when a nuclear chain reaction began after safety regulations were violated. In 2004 five workers were killed in a steam explosion at Japan’s Mihama reactor. There has long been controversy over nuclear safety issues at Britain’s Sellafield nuclear plant. 
Safety problems exist not only in nuclear power plants but also in the transport and storage of nuclear waste which amounts to about a quarter of a million tonnes a year. There is simply no way to store such waste safely so that it will not affect future generations as it leaches into waterways the sea or the atmosphere as a result of earth movement or earthquakes. There is no guarantee that future generations will even know where the waste is stored. 
Then we have the danger of the products of the nuclear industry enriched uranium and plutonium being used to make nuclear weapons or the radioactive material itself being used to make what are known as “dirty bombs”. The end of the nuclear power industry would enhance the possibilities for nuclear disarmament. 
In some countries politicians argue that they need nuclear power plants to produce enough electricity. However the truth is that nuclear power is an expensive and short-term alternative to renewable sources of energy. There is nowhere in the world where nuclear power plants are not subsidised by Governments collectively to the tune of billions of dollars. Nuclear power is a short-term energy solution. As the International Energy Agency said in 2008 if all the planned new reactors come on stream the known reserves of uranium 5.5 million tonnes will be gone by 2050—in less than 40 years. 
Instead of subsidising nuclear power plants Governments should be investing in research on renewables and allowing for subsidies for renewable energy as well as encouraging energy saving. That would be cost-effective sustainable and safe for people and the environment. 
The latest nuclear disaster in Japan makes me so glad that our country is nuclear-free and I pay tribute to the many thousands of New Zealanders whose active campaigning from 1960 to 1985 made us so. I pay particular tribute to the Campaign Half Million petitioners in the 1970s who knocked on the head plans to have a nuclear power plant in New Zealand. 
However we should not sit back. Our Government should be taking our nuclear-free message to the world campaigning at the UN and elsewhere for a phase-out of nuclear power plants and for the promotion of renewable forms of energy. We should join hands with the antinuclear campaigners in Japan who are using this opportunity not only to help those who are currently in danger and potentially dying but also to push for a transition away from nuclear power. The Greens Japan have inspired an Asia-Pacific Green Network statement calling for all countries in our region to “suspend all operations constructions and plans for nuclear plants” pending a regional hearing on the safety social environmental and economic issues involved. We owe it to those now suffering from nuclear radiation in Japan to take such protective steps.