Nuclear energy a ‘health risk’: Labor scare video slammed by Coalition

The Coalition has condemned the Labor Party for a video on its Instagram account in which a former Greens candidate says there are health concerns from nuclear power | WATCH

Labor has previously been lashed by the Coalition for attempting to stoke fears about the safety risks of nuclear power despite expert assurance it is a safe form of electricity generation.

A former Greens candidate and anti-war activist is the star of a Labor Party social media video in which she claims being near nuclear power stations can cause cancers, heart attacks and strokes.

The video features former Victorian Greens candidate Margaret Beavis, who says “there are definite increases in cancer, strokes and heart attacks with nuclear power”.

“With renewable energy we have much safer alternatives and from a health perspective nuclear makes no sense,” she said.

“It’s very clear from research, looking at over 300,000 workers, that there are significantly increased rates of cancer, heart attacks and strokes amongst the workforce in the nuclear industries … working with radiation has no safe lower limit.”

Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said Labor’s release of the video “devalues our expertise as a nation and sends all the wrong signals internationally about our status and intent when it comes to next-generation technology”.

“Labor is not only keeping nuclear energy illegal in Australia but they are running scare campaigns to try and scare the Australian people,” he said.

“Labor is completely out of step with the rest of the world and should be ashamed of its lowbrow scaremongering.”

Opposition assistant defence spokesman Phil Thompson said Labor’s video was an “embarrassment” and challenged the government on whether this meant it was “walking away from AUKUS”.

“To have a former Greens candidate writing their talking points on nuclear energy, and suggesting members of the Australian Defence Force and our submariners are at risk from cancer under AUKUS, is a disgrace,” he said.

“I am surprised the Labor Party’s national secretary authorised it. What does (Defence Minister) Richard Marles think of this? Does it mean Labor is walking away from AUKUS?

“This is cheap politics from our Prime Minister. I would hope the Prime Minister would show some respect for our men and women in uniform and come clean on this pathetic attempt to instil fear in the community.”

Labor has previously been lashed by the Coalition for attempting to stoke fears about the safety risks of nuclear power despite expert assurance it is a safe form of electricity generation.

Dr Beavis has also previously been identified by the Australian Academic Alliance Against Anti-Semitism as having espoused allegedly “strong pro-Palestine and anti-Israel” views in a medical student conference.

Contacted for comment, Dr Beavis said she was no longer a member of the Greens and reiterated that “any worker in the radiation industry does have an increased risk of cancer”.