Q. To what extent do you support or oppose Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity?

• Half of Australians say they would support Australia developing nuclear power-plants, but a third would oppose. The issue is divisive, with similar proportion of people strongly supporting (20%) and strongly opposing (17%) nuclear power in Australia.
• Support for nuclear power is highest among men (59%), those aged over 55 (55%) and Coalition voters (65%).

Q. To what extent would you support or oppose using nuclear energy sources for the following?

• Following the AUKUS submarine partnership announcement last week, 47% say they support the use of nuclear power to fuel vessels for the Royal Australian Navy. A similar proportion support the introduction of nuclear power generation (47%).
• There is less enthusiasm for nuclear weapons, with less than a third (29%) supporting this, and higher opposition to the idea of Australia developing nuclear weapons (37%).
• Those most likely to be supportive of all forms of nuclear technology are men and Coalition voters. Older people are more supportive than younger people of nuclear submarines and power generation.

Q To what extent would you support or oppose the Government spending taxpayers’ money to research the following energy sources?

• 71% of participants support the Government spending taxpayers’ money to research renewables, compared to 50% support for clean coal.
• Support for research into renewables is higher in capital cities (74%) than non-capital cities (67%), and higher among Greens voters (95%) than all other voters (63%).
• Coalition voters are most likely to support research into clean coal (64%) and nuclear power (50%) whereas Greens voters are least likely to support those energy sources (28% and 25% respectively).
• Men tend to support research into hydrogen technology (65%) and nuclear (47%) more than women (51% and 30% respectively).
• Participants over 55 years are more likely to support research into hydrogen technology (66%), clean coal (56%) or nuclear (47%) than those aged 18-54 (52%, 46% and 33% respectively).

Q. Do you think Australia should put more emphasis, less emphasis or about the same emphasis as it does now on producing domestic energy from the following sources?

70% think Australia should put more emphasis on producing domestic energy from solar power and 60% think there should be more emphasis on wind power. A majority (53%) think there should be less emphasis on producing energy from coal.

There were few significant differences across demographic groups. Those aged 55+ were a little more likely to want more emphasis on solar (74%) and less emphasis on coal (64%).

Q. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

There was strong majority agreement with the statements  “We should develop renewable energy options before nuclear” (77%), “Nuclear power isn’t worth it because of the need to manage radioactive waste “ (63%) and “Nuclear power is too risky because of the risk of serious accidents “ (62%).

However, respondents were approximately evenly split over “Nuclear power is a good way to reduce greenhouse emissions” (40% agree/35% disagree) and “We have our own uranium supplies so it’s logical we should develop nuclear power” (37%/40%).

Q. Do you support or oppose Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity?

45% oppose Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity and 39% support. This is a considerable shift in opinion since this question was last asked in March following the problems with the nuclear power plants in Japan after the tsunami. However, there remains net opposition to nuclear power plants – compared to net support in surveys conducted in 2009 and 2010.

Those that intend to vote Lib/Nat were more likely to support (50%) than oppose (37%) Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity.

There was majority opposition from Labor (53% oppose or strongly oppose) and the Greens (68% oppose or strongly oppose).

There is a considerable difference between the attitudes of males and females towards nuclear power plants – 56% of males, compared to just 24% of females support or strongly support Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity.

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First published on The Drum: 22/03/2011

Beyond its gob-smacking human tragedy and the looming economic catastrophe, the Japanese tsunami has thrown a radioactive wildcard into the global debate over climate change.

The fallout from the meltdown of Japanese nuclear reactors will undermine the until-now successful attempts by the nuclear industry to reposition itself as part of the global warming solution.

As this week’s Essential Report shows, the public had been coming around to the idea that developing nuclear power in Australia was acceptable. This has changed dramatically over the past seven days with one quarter of all Australians changing their position.

Q. Do you support or oppose Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity?

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Q. Do you support or oppose Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity?

53% oppose Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity and 35% support. This is a considerable shift in opinion since this question was last asked in December 2010.

Those that intend to vote Lib/Nat were more likely to support (46%) than oppose (43%)  Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity.

There was strong opposition from Labor (58% oppose or strongly oppose) and the Greens (78% oppose or strongly oppose).

There is a considerable difference between the attitudes of males and females towards nuclear power plants – 49% of males, compared to just 20% of females support or strongly support Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity.

There was also strong support from those aged 65+, with 47% either supporting or strongly supporting Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity.

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