The Fallout from Fukushima - Dr Ziggy Switkowski 14/09/2011

Dr Ziggy Switkowski, Chancellor, RMIT University and former Chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Wednesday 14 September, 2011 5.30pm – 7pm Dyason House 124 Jolimont Road, East Melbourne The earthquake and tsunami that devastated much of north-west Japan on 11 March this year also crippled all six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.  The dramatic series of cascading events at the plant were widely reported, although the lack of reliable information meant that much coverage at the time was speculative.   With the Japanese and many Western Governments now suggesting they will wind back current reliance on nuclear energy, and abandon plans to build new plants, have the events at Fukushima confirmed the claims of the opponents of nuclear energy as an unsafe, expensive source of power?  Or has the incident, whilst undoubtedly serious, shown that nuclear power, with appropriate safeguards, should still be a viable source of greenhouse-friendly, base-load power for energy-hungry economies?  And is nuclear power now more or less an appropriate option for Australia, as suggested in the 2006 report to the Howard Government? To discuss these events, the Institute is pleased to present Dr Switkowski, the author of that report and widely respected commentator on nuclear power. Dr. Switkowski, who has a Ph.D in nuclear physics, is Chancellor of RMIT, a Director of Suncorp, and Chairman of Opera Australia.  He has previously been CEO of Telstra, Optus and Kodak, and was until the end of 2010 the Chairman of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.   Dr. Switkowski will examine the immediate causes and consequences of the Fukushima events; the likely impact on Government policy in coming months and years, and also discuss more recent technological developments in nuclear power.