A Sensible Alternative to a False Nuclear Choice
Fusion Energy Australia: A Sensible Alternative to a False Nuclear Choice
Contents
1. The Nationals’ Nuclear Push
Nationals Leader David Littleproud has labelled nuclear power a “sensible” next step in Australia’s energy mix, promising to take the policy to the next election. Speaking at the LNP convention, he linked nuclear to food security, environmental protection, and the fight against sprawling transmission lines. Yet what was presented to members and the media was not a balanced case for nuclear energy but rather a narrow push for fission technology. By excluding fusion energy Australia from the discussion, the Nationals risk leading regional communities into a 20th-century trap instead of preparing them for a 21st-century transformation.
2. Why Fission is a Strategic Dead End
Fission may appear attractive to policymakers seeking quick solutions, but it is a pathway riddled with long-term costs and dependencies. The 2024 OECD–IAEA Uranium Red Book warns of escalating scarcity if global fission capacity triples by 2050, which would lock Australia into reliance on foreign uranium supply chains and volatile global pricing¹. Decommissioning costs, high-level waste management through ARWA, and proliferation risks further weigh against fission’s future. Building fission plants in 2035 only to face fuel constraints and legacy costs by 2050 is hardly “sensible.”
3. The Missed Opportunity of Fusion Energy Australia
Fusion energy Australia is not bound by these constraints. Fusion avoids uranium dependency, produces no long-lived high-level waste, and offers a truly sovereign pathway to industrial energy resilience. Unlike fission, fusion is not banned under the EPBC Act or ARPANS legislation². This creates a unique legal advantage for Australia to act now. While the Nationals focus on importing outdated fission designs, global investors are putting billions into commercial fusion projects in the US, UK, EU, and China. If Canberra fails to recognise fusion’s distinct legal and strategic position, Australia risks losing its sovereign advantage.
4. Food Security and Energy: A False Argument for Fission
Mr Littleproud argued that fission power will protect farmland and food security by reducing the footprint of renewables. This is a flawed case. Uranium mining disrupts landscapes, water systems, and communities. Fission plants also demand vast cooling water resources and create long-term waste repositories incompatible with agricultural security³. By contrast, fusion energy could power large-scale desalination projects like the Bradfield Scheme, providing inland irrigation and water security. Fusion strengthens rather than threatens agriculture, making it a real solution for food sovereignty.
5. Regional Australia and Transmission Lines
The Nationals are right to point out the dangers of blanketing regional Australia with transmission lines, wind turbines, and solar farms. Communities are already seeing productive farmland carved up. But fission is not the answer. Fusion’s modular and distributed generation capability allows energy to be produced near demand centres such as cities, industrial zones, and ports. This reduces reliance on costly long-distance transmission infrastructure and avoids turning rural Australia into a sacrifice zone. If regional Australia is to be empowered, it must be through fusion hubs, not uranium fuel cycles.
6. A Technology-Agnostic Policy Must Include Fusion
The Nationals claim to be fighting for a “technology-agnostic” approach. Yet their policy excludes fusion energy Australia, which is the most future-facing and sovereign option. Excluding fusion while championing fission is not neutrality—it is strategic blindness. True technology agnosticism must include the best available scientific pathways, not just the politically convenient ones. If fusion is already attracting global investors and advancing to commercial pilots by 2028, then excluding it from the mix is a dereliction of responsibility to both regional and urban Australians.
7. Sovereign Defence Industry and AUKUS Propulsion
Australia’s sovereign defence industry must be considered in the energy debate. Fission propulsion for AUKUS submarines is already controversial for its waste, safety, and dependency risks. Fusion propulsion, now under active exploration in the US and UK, offers a longer-term, safer, and more sovereign path for maritime capability⁴. Ignoring fusion in favour of fission undermines AUKUS’ spirit of innovation and risks leaving Adelaide shipbuilding tied to outdated technology while allies surge ahead. Sovereignty requires us to think beyond short-term politics.
8. Fusion for Agriculture and Water Security
Fusion’s potential extends well beyond electricity. High-energy fusion systems could power desalination plants, hydrogen production, and closed-loop agriculture systems. For regional Australia, this means resilient food and water security, a stable base for exports, and reduced reliance on fragile rainfall cycles. The Nationals’ $20 billion Regional Future Fund is commendable, but without fusion energy at its core, it risks entrenching dependency rather than building resilience. Energy is not just about lights on it is about the future of food, water, and rural livelihoods.
9. ANSTO, ARPANSA, and the Regulatory Blind Spot
Institutions such as ANSTO and ARPANSA remain locked in a fission-era mindset. Despite clear international moves to separate fusion regulation from nuclear fission, Canberra has failed to modernise its approach⁵. Fusion is not subject to the same safety and waste issues, yet it continues to be bundled into nuclear prohibition debates. If policymakers truly want sensible solutions, they must push regulators to acknowledge fusion as a distinct category. This is where political leadership is needed, not in clinging to uranium cycles.
10. CSIRO, ARENA, and the Research Disconnect
CSIRO, ARENA, and ARWA are all critical in shaping Australia’s energy landscape. Yet none has placed fusion at the heart of their planning. This omission risks Australia missing the biggest energy revolution since the industrial age. ARENA continues to invest billions into renewables with limited grid security outcomes, while CSIRO’s Our Future World report highlights mega-trends without placing fusion at the centre⁶. Unless the Nationals and other parties insist on fusion as part of the agenda, Australia will remain dependent on imports rather than building sovereign capability.
11. Global Context: China, the US, and Fusion Investment
China is pouring billions into state-backed fusion, while the US and UK are accelerating private fusion markets through regulatory clarity. Microsoft has already signed a fusion power purchase agreement for 2028 with Helion⁷. Meanwhile, Australia debates fission plants that could take decades to approve. This is not just a missed opportunity, it is a geopolitical blunder. Fusion energy Australia could anchor our sovereignty in a shifting Indo-Pacific. Fission will only deepen dependencies on uranium, debt, and outdated international supply chains.
12. A Call for Fusion-Led Sovereignty
The Nationals’ call for nuclear energy is welcome but it is misplaced. Fission is not the solution for Australia’s sovereignty, food security, or environment. Fusion energy Australia must be placed at the centre of policy discussions if we are serious about regional empowerment, defence capability, and industrial leadership. A truly technology-agnostic approach means embracing fusion, not dismissing it. Australia’s policymakers must act now or risk consigning our regions and industries to the mistakes of the past.
Conclusion
Australia stands at an energy crossroads. The Nationals’ nuclear push could trap us in uranium scarcity and waste, while global competitors race ahead with fusion. The choice is not between renewables and fission, but between dependence and sovereignty. Fusion energy Australia is the only pathway that secures food, water, energy, and defence for generations to come. Policymakers must make the sensible choice—not just for the next election, but for the next century.
References
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