There's lots of ways to make steam without nuclear. The biggest trouble with nuclear other than the safety aspects is, it has no stop switch.
Steam produced by friction is instant and regulatable. It is also happens to be safe. Stuck in a trench of old ideas does not clean up electricity.

There is all that heat down there in the granite.
Surely a Manhattan style project would either solve that one or prove
that it cannot be done.
If successful it would probably be quicker than building nuclear power.
The Japanese reactors should have been built on their west coast away
from the rim of fire in the continental plates.

As far as Chernobyl is concerned the Russians were warned of exactly
the problem that occured at a conference in Vienna in 1956.
They chose to ignore the warning.

John Turner welcome.
I doubt we would be any safer or even need Nuclear on lakes.
We just do not have such earth quakes.
I Shadow Minister have always held the same view as you on this issue.
But Japan bought a truth home, we are poorly served by people in change of these things.
We know Murder was committed in America, to stop a spill being made public.
I see this, not unlike you see NBN.
You think, based on your comments, NBN will be out dated not long after it is put in place.
I approve of the NBN.
But understand it will be old hat, in my view in less than 20 years.
Advances talk of power sources better than Nuclear.
I doubt Australians are ready, we got close before Japan, and may still go there.
I hope it is done very well, we know about Russia,now Japan.
It remains however true, by going Nuclear and selling our uranium to other we cut much more than this country's total emissions.
Rechtub not avoiding your question but no psychic either.

And this is my point belly, nor can the government and, it's not that I am against a price on carbon, or Etta ting more from our minerals, it's just that the timing is all wrong.

Apart from mining, what else can we rely on to prop up our economy.

Sorry, it's just to risky right now.

I am with you with regards to nuclear power though. We have enough open space and thanks to the CSG industry, more water that we can poke a stick at.

Perhaps these two industries can work together.

Your view Rechtub, much like mine, comes from failure.
In my case I have not yet put enough effort in to replying to your question, and truly do not know SOME of those jobs.
You take your advice from a firm forgetfulness/refusal to consider the facts.
Jobs will be created in these areas, green energy , building such and installing .
Forestry, a part of carbon control that will grow.
Others may wish to contribute but mate, a basic, in your life time old jobs are no longer in existence.
Whole new industry's come in to existence .
Computers bought about thousands of jobs, in that time.
Every person, employed now, in solar/wind power/every current green energy job, never existed at your birth.
Leave bias in the drawer, understand hard as it can be,both sides intend to cut emissions by the same amount.
And in 5 years, remind your self of your opinions,and Abbott's promises he has made compare both with the reality.

The proposals that were put forward by the Howard Government for nuclear power was evidence enough for me that incompetency cannot work with nuclear. All the suggested sites were coastal and many in disaster prone areas of northern QLD.

Germany is abandoning nuclear power with a planned 11 year phase out.

Japan is re-thinking its nuclear power position.

So far Australia has been smart on this issue, will vested business interests win again over good policy? Time will tell.