South Australia can lay claim to nearly 25 per cent of the world’s uranium and currently mining is our only involvement in the nuclear industry. Business SA has long advocated that there is a world of opportunities awaiting South Australia with regards to the nuclear fuel cycle, South Australia just needs to seize the moment and have a mature debate about our future participation in the nuclear industry.

This week the South Australian Premier heard our calls and announced a Royal Commission headed by former governor Kevin Scarce into the state’s potential involvement in the enrichment, energy, environmentally smart nuclear material recycling and storage phases of the nuclear fuel cycle. This is a very welcome announcement, with huge economic impacts; the nuclear industry has the potential to be a game changer for South Australia.

Unfortunately the political process has often left the nuclear debate to one side as it has been seen as too controversial or risky for any political party to adopt a formal position.

Royal Commissions are often used after the fact, often to investigate a difficult issue, however this time it is been used to examine the possibilities of the future. Either way, a Royal Commission is associated with strong research and wide consultation, something that any inquiry into the nuclear fuel cycle and South Australia’s role in it, definitely needs.

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Nuclear power stations currently operate in 31 countries, and our biggest trading partner, China, currently has 23 nuclear power reactors in operation, 26 under construction, and more about to start construction.

Whilst South Australia is a long way off having nuclear power ourselves, surely the fact that our largest trading partner is so committed to nuclear power, should prompt us to consider the role which we might play in the nuclear fuel cycle.

Hopefully this is exactly what the Royal Commission will be tasked with investigating.

Business SA’s 2014 Charter for a more Prosperous South Australia highlighted that with the closure of Holden in 2017 there would be real pressure on South Australia to explore all opportunities for future economic growth and job creation, increasing our involvement in the nuclear fuel cycle needs serious consideration.

So far South Australia has only been involved in the mining of uranium and the potential to value add to this commodity before we ship it offshore could be a large economic win for our state. Even just the business investment and the infrastructure required for a potential new industry would bring jobs to our state and future career paths for our children.

South Australia needs to diversify our economy and build upon our strong foundations and the nuclear industry is a clear opportunity to do just that. Business SA’s pre-election survey in 2014 found that 79 per cent of respondents were in favour of a mature and Government led debate on the costs and benefits of value adding to South Australia’s vast uranium reserves.

Whilst at the announcement of the Royal Commission the Premier noted that he did not think that a nuclear power plant was on the horizon, the Royal Commission should still investigate this option, as nuclear power stations have evolved and advanced over the last five years.

The generation of nuclear power is greenhouse-friendly given that it does not produce any carbon dioxide and is second only to renewable energy in terms of minimal environmental impact.

There has been recent discussion around the technology that is used in nuclear submarines being refined and used in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), as they are less capital intensive to build than larger nuclear power plants, and could be used to reduce the burden on our current transmission system. These would be particularly suited to remote locations and do not need to be located along the coast as they can be air-cooled.

This is just one example of how the nuclear power industry is changing and evolving and South Australia needs to be able to have a mature debate about how we could be involved across the whole nuclear fuel cycle, mining, enrichment, energy and waste storage.