Australia faces nuclear waste challenge under Dutton's energy plan

Australia's opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has proposed a nuclear energy plan that would generate 880 barrels of highly radioactive waste annually. This plan aims to build 14 gigawatts of nuclear power by 2050 to support renewable energy. The proposal raises significant security and environmental concerns, as Australia has no experience in managing nuclear waste storage. The waste would require secure storage for hundreds of thousands of years. Previously, Dutton suggested that a smaller reactor would produce waste comparable to a Coke can each year. This new plan presents a much larger scale of waste management challenges.