No one doubts Peter Dutton has a huge task to sell his radical nuclear plan, with many experts throwing buckets of cold water over it. But on Thursday the opposition leader received some welcome backing.
Ziggy Switkowski, who headed John Howard’s 2006 nuclear inquiry that reported favourably on the potential for nuclear energy in Australia, described Dutton as “a person of conviction” and said his blueprint was feasible.
While acknowledging details were needed, including costings, Switkowski, a former chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (and a nuclear physicist), said the scepticism about the plan was misplaced. “The strong positions some critics have taken in the last 24 hours are ridiculous.”
