Ted O’Brien’s fact-free nuclear cheerleading is cover for the same old climate vandalism

‘Nuclear power is expensive. This is not a bolt from the blue, nor a conspiracy – it’s a well-established fact. These things can be measured.’ Photograph: WimWiskerke/Alamy

The great modernist poet TS Eliot once observed that humankind cannot bear very much reality. He might have been talking about Ted O’Brien, the shadow minister for climate and energy.

O’Brien is a fan of nuclear energy. That’s not a thought crime. I wouldn’t describe myself as a nuclear fan – but I know we might need every available technology, including nuclear, to reduce emissions in a manner consistent with the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C. There are lots of things in life that we don’t love, but might need – nuclear energy is one of those things. I’m yet to be persuaded that Australia needs it given the other abundant resources we have, but I’m open.