Supporters of Prime Minister John Howard's policy that Australia should introduce nuclear power are outnumbered by opponents, an opinion poll revealed yesterday.
Howard on Friday urged state leaders to lift bans on expanding Australia's uranium industry and said the nation needed to introduce nuclear power to meet its future energy needs.
"Nuclear power is part of the solution both to Australia's energy and climate change challenges," Howard said, releasing a report on the uranium industry's potential.
A Newspoll survey published in the Weekend Australian newspaper yesterday found just 35 percent of respondents supported the construction of nuclear power plants in Australia -- down from 38 percent when a similar poll was conducted in May.
The poll also showed opposition to nuclear power in Australia had edged down from 51 to 50 percent during the same period.
Several state leaders attacked Howard's plan, arguing that nuclear power would drive up the price of household electricity. They asked where the reactors would be built and where the radioactive waste would be buried.
All states are governed by the center-left Labor Party which has supported a policy since 1983 of preventing new uranium mines from opening.
Labor's federal leader Kevin Rudd said the center-right government's lack of commitment to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power will be a major issue at elections due late next year.
"Mr Howard's plan is to have a nuclear reactor in your neighborhood. What we want to see is solar panels on your roof," Rudd told reporters on Friday.
Released on Friday, the federal-commissioned report is the final version of a draft released by an expert panel last month that recommended Australia lift restrictions on the export and enrichment of uranium.
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