This process has not been politically astute unless the hidden agenda is to keep the issues on the boil. The question now arises as to whether this is a rebuff to domestic nuclear electricity and fuel processing. Both Victoria and NSW say they will retire coal generation with the 1.6 GW Hazelwood closing in 2017 and the 2 GW Liddell closing in 2022. They could be replaced by a combination of wind, solar and gas but the cost would be astronomical. The large renewables subsidy at $90 per Mwh is double the price of black coal power and some think eastern Australia will run out of gas by 2030.

Add to that the prospect of millions of electric cars charged at night following an oil price rebound. Then there's population growth and the huge emissions reductions promised at state and federal level. It's hard to see how we can avoid the need for domestic nuclear which will eventually require some form of reprocessing and waste disposal. The issues are merely dormant they haven't gone away. Meanwhile countries like Japan are trying harder to deal with their wastes so may never need to export it. The fuel cycle conference remains timely for the domestic nuclear question.

Dan Monceaux has drawn attention to an extraordinary feature of Premier Jay Weatherill's pro nuclear campaign in South Australia. This is the blanketing of South Australia with propaganda, and an unknown amount of tax-payers' money spent on this, despite South Australian law expressly prohibiting such expenditure. Yes, the government did amend that law, earlier this year, when they had already spent $7.2 million.

MP Mark Parnell estimates, conservatively, that the Weatherill government has now spent $13 million on promoting the plan to import nuclear wastes. They could be spending more, if Weatherill persists with the plan - because it's going to need an awful lot of persuasion to the public.

Of course, Nigel McBride of Business SA and other nuclear proponents are already busy, trashing the efforts of the Citizens Jury. Even so, the jury may have delivered a mortal blow to Weatherill's plan.

At some point, the cost of fossil fuel is bound to rise to astronomical heights! And we mug voters will find ourselves chained as virtual economic slaves to predatory, price gouging power companies!

To the point, where our debt laden economy can go into freefall! When rather than if it does, social security and economic inclusion will die a natural death!

Well, A country with a stronger better resourced economy like the US of A was able to first create then lead the entire world into the great depression!

We are the proverbial frogs being very slowly brought to the boil! And only able to ascertain the mountain of manure we're in when our goose is well and truly cooked!

[Shoe shine sir? Penny for the blind beggar? Please sir or madam, I haven't eaten for a week and all the shady spots are taken by vicious men with knives!]

We were worried that we could become a nation of storekeepers? Oh, we should be so lucky! What we need is responsible leaders, bipartisan pragmatism and a clean safe and cheap nuclear fueled future!

And only prevented by the determined, over my dead body, absolutism and astronomically asinine activism of (fossil fueled/funded?) activists, who would rather see our kids and their kids fry? Christina?

Than allow an evidenced based case for safe clean cheap (molten salt thorium) nuclear power to stand or fall on its own massively superior merits!

Yes there are some trials being conducted elsewhere, just not here! Even though it's old technology proved with a nonstop five year 24/7 incident free trial in the sixties!

There's a doco, on google tech talks, that shows the complete assembly, fuel requirements etc. There was a trial and no error!

Constantly critiqued for being too small for the grid! Well so are big smoky diesels! THe critiqued 40 MW prototypes? Big enough to very safely power the largest fastest aircraft carrier ever put into service! Alan B.

Christina Mac

Nobody is going to take you seriously, Miss Two Names.

I want to make an ignorant comment.

Whats the bet 'they' are deliberately placing huge fines and repairs on coal plants in order to deliberately increase costs of supply or force the industry to close; in order to make the numbers for nuclear and renewables look better; or more economically viable and push the energy-creation industry in that direction, while everyone pays for it.

Now I'll make some more intelligent comments.

If lobbyist's thought they could promote nuclear power and industry by promoting nuclear waste dumps then they are seriously dumber than Clinton supporters.
Now pay the $13 million plus of wasted taxpayers money back you dirty criminals.

The government are idiots with other peoples money...

- Like the immigration minister who's about to release details of another overseas resettlement program for refugees on Manus and Nauru.
(The $55mil spent settling one person in Cambodia was such a success, one might say the work of a pure genius - I just can't wait for them to unveil their new plan.)

The Wetheral Government, needs to educate its citizens! On the superiority of molten salt thorium fueled nuclear reactors over old king coal!

They only need let the facts speak for themselves to win over people still able to do their own critical thinking! And here's the killer blow! SAFER, CLEANER CHEAPER, MOLTEN SALT THORIUM REACTORS, CAN'T GO INTO MELTDOWN, BE USED TO MAKE PLUTONIUM OR BUILD A BOMB!

They operate in a normal unpressurized environment! And can have an auxiliary design feature added that allows them to also be used as SLOW BREEDER REACTORS AND BURN ALL MANNER OF NUCLEAR WASTE and consequent costless power! And make billions while so tasked!
We need to cut through and cut the crap, Christina!

Christina and her like minded antinuclear anti-development activists need to be asked to tone down the mostly moribund broken record rethoric, the mindless ideological imperatives, and just get out of the way!

Failing that? Go back to Russia and or, the open welcoming arms of Putin, who would like nothing more, than see thorium shut down dead in its tracks!

Leaders lead, sheep follow! The whoselem bird, of legend and frivolous fame? Tried to follow its own lead and only succeeded in flying up its own fundamental orifice, to disappear forever!

And along with the also extinct Dodo and abysmal asinine activists, working tirelessly against the national interest! A preferred "premier" destination for diabolically determined dithers and dysfunctional diehards!
Don't just do something, stand there!
Alan B.