Women strongly opposed to nuclear power, just one in three men willing to live near a plant

Women are strongly opposed to nuclear energy and are most concerned any consideration of the controversial power source will delay the switch to renewables, polling shows.

A national survey released on Wednesday to coincide with a federal inquiry found a stark gender divide, with a mere 26 per cent of women saying nuclear would be good for Australia, compared with 51 per cent of men.

But only one in three of the men surveyed were willing to live near a nuclear plant.

Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of women said they do not want to live near a nuclear plant and more than half (57 per cent) do not think transporting radioactive waste is worth the risk.

The DemosAU poll of 6709 adults between July 2 and November 24 also found a higher percentage of men (42 per cent) said they were concerned about the safety of the technology than those who were not concerned.

A women’s climate change movement, 1 Million Women, surveyed an additional 3351 women and found 93 per cent of its supporters were concerned about nuclear energy, with the top-ranked concern its potential to derail the rollout of renewable energy. 

The findings come as a federal inquiry into nuclear power generation is scheduled to hold a public hearing in Melbourne with industry, health and climate witnesses listed to speak.

Community leaders, unions and grassroots organisations plan to gather outside to declare “our shared energy future is renewable, not radioactive”.

“Shadow energy minister Ted O’Brien is the ultimate triple threat of energy politics: his nuclear plan will increase power bills, increase taxes and increase climate pollution,” said Sanne de Swart, co-ordinator of the Nuclear Free Campaign with Friends of the Earth Melbourne.

Mr O’Brien said on Tuesday only the coalition was committed to delivering “cheap, clean and consistent energy” to all Australians.

“We need a coalition government elected to build nuclear power plants and get more gas into the market to provide cheaper and consistent energy for all Australians,” he said.

The opposition is readying to fight for nuclear energy at the next federal election, with plans to build reactors at seven sites across Australia but no details as yet on how they will be paid for.

The independent Climate Council said it was concerned the coalition was relying on one private sector “base case” rather than expert costings on nuclear power from bodies such as the Australian Energy Market Operator.

The industry’s Clean Energy Council said it would confuse policy makers and confound the public’s understanding of the cost of replacing ageing energy infrastructure.

“Ultimately what’s crucial is that any new investment is made at the least cost to Australian consumers,” a council spokesperson told AAP. 

“Only renewable energy – solar, wind, hydro – together with energy storage, is capable of delivering on this – and it’s being built right now,” the council said.

AAP