The Simpsons have a strange connection to a controversial issue in Australian politics.
Australia’s reluctance to adopt this controversial idea, according to a senior politician, is because of a popular cartoon.
David Littleproud, the leader of the Nationals, has said that The Simpsons and Chernobyl are to blame for Australia’s reluctance to use nuclear energy.
As the government tries to change its energy policy, the opposition is getting ready for a fight with the government over nuclear power.
On Sky News, Mr. Littleproud said, “We need to talk about nuclear right now.”
“Over the next five to ten years, we have the chance to look at new technology and see if it can be done in Australia to reduce emissions and give us baseload power, to complement renewables, but also to invest in traditional industries to reduce emissions and give us cheap, affordable energy.”
Even though nuclear power isn’t in the new Coalition agreement, Mr. Littleproud said he and the new Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, were on the same page about it.
On Sunday, Mr. Dutton put Ted O’Brien, an MP who supports nuclear power, in charge of climate change and energy.
Mr. Dutton told ABC RN that nuclear power would keep the price of electricity low.
Mr. Dutton said on Monday, “I’m not afraid to talk about nuclear if we want to talk about real ways to cut emissions.”
“I don’t think we should be afraid to talk about any technology that can help reduce emissions and lower the cost of electricity.”
We can think about that when the time is right. I don’t think we should dismiss something just because it’s out of style to talk about it.”
But Mr. Littleproud admitted that nuclear power has a bad name and is a “step too far” for many people right now.
“We did a lot of polling and found out that it wasn’t as popular because… people were getting their information from what they saw on Chernobyl, Fukushima, and The Simpsons,” he said.
“There’s this idea about nuclear power that’s been around for a long time. It’s been carved into folklore through cartoons.”
It comes as the Albanese government considers ways to lower gas prices before a meeting with energy ministers from other states and territories on Wednesday.
Tony Burke, a senior Cabinet member, said that the government wouldn’t rule out doing anything to bring prices down.
“There was no energy policy for a decade under the previous government,” he told ABC Radio. “This perfect storm is the result.”
“Some of the problems are international, but our ability to deal with international problems is mostly based on what we can do at home, so there won’t be a quick reaction.”
