Time to look towards a post nuclear future






Yesterday I spoke in Parliament on the nuclear accident in Japan, saying it could be a

death knell for the nuclear power industry.

In this morning’s

Herald

Michael McCarthy outlines

the saga of cover-ups and lies

that has characterised the nuclear industry from day one. The Tokyo Electric Power Company, which owns the stricken Fukushima plant, is one of many nuclear energy companies economical with the facts.

New Zealand could be using its nuclear-free status to take on the nuclear industry. We are well placed to be at the forefront of the international campaign to phase-out of nuclear power plants and promote the renewable energy alternatives.

Green Parties all around the world are taking up this cause. In yesterday’s

Australian


Green Senator Scott Ludlam said

: “Events in Japan must spur the global community to begin the global phase-out of this toxic and obsolete technology, starting with a global audit of the oldest and most vulnerable plants.”