Adelaide Now is reporting some recent statements from the South Australian Minister for Energy, Patrick Conlon. Basically Mr. Conlon is saying he will be long dead before Australia sees a nuclear power plant.

Patric Conlon

"I can give you an iron-clad guarantee that no-one is going to come to me to build a nuclear power plant in this state if there is a price put on carbon (emissions)," he said.

Asked why he supported the nuclear option in China, he said the Chinese coal industry was killing 7000 workers a year and was a major emitter of greenhouse gasses.

While there were "risks" associated with nuclear energy in China, Mr Conlon pointed out that there were also dangers of explosions in conventional power plants.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking??? That being, 'So Mr. Conlon... what exactly is your point?' I began to understand after looking at Mr. Conlon's web page / bio. He as an Arts degree and law background. Seems like the perfect man for the Energy Minister post. He, like too many others, is comparing nuclear's price to coal. WE KNOW coal is the cheapest. That's not the point. Nuclear must be considered - not in a vacuum side by side with coal - but alongside other no/low greenhouse gas emitters if one is serious about reducing Australia's embarrassingly high per capita emissions - which just happens to be far higher than, for example, those of China.