Terror concerns over nuclear power - Breaking News - National - Breaking News

The potential of a nuclear power station being a terrorist target was not something the federal cabinet looked at before deciding to hold an inquiry into nuclear energy, Justice Minister Chris Ellison says.
Labor and some security experts are warning a nuclear reactor would be a target for a terrorist attack.
But Senator Ellison said the threat had not been part of cabinet considerations on the inquiry.
Prime Minister John Howard has appointed a special taskforce to report back by the end of the year on whether Australia should develop a nuclear industry.
"When you look at sources of energy you don't look at any potential terrorist threat," Senator Ellison told the Nine Network.
"You look at what is best for the community and the way forward.
"Energy sources are very important for the future of any community and I think we're not about to be stymied or restricted in that approach because of any threat of terrorism.
"I mean, we're going to continue living in the way we do. Once we change that, the terrorists win."
Senator Ellison said cabinet discussed a range of measures to protect infrastructure, but said a nuclear power plant was no more a target than the electricity grid or a rail network.
"Any basic infrastructure, whether it be a source of power, whether it be transport or any other infrastructure which the public rely on, is the subject of a terrorist threat and we've seen that in recent incidents," he said.
"So I don't think really singling out one aspect of it is beneficial."
Labor says the taskforce, to be headed by nuclear physicist Ziggy Switkowski, is stacked in favour of nuclear power.
Opposition frontbencher Stephen Smith said the whole debate was a distraction from Australia's reliance on oil from the Middle East and soaring petrol prices.
"If the government wanted to have a good hard look at nuclear power, why wasn't nuclear power part of the government's so-called energy white paper less than two years ago?" Mr Smith told the Ten Network.
He said Australia had abundant gas and coal resources and great capacity for renewable energy like solar and wind power.
"These are the areas where you can do two things - you can take away our import oil dependency, you can make a significant contribution globally to greenhouse gases, and you can take the pressure off Australian families in the long term who are now, as we've seen this morning, just being whacked every time they go to the petrol bowser," Mr Smith said.
"We don't think that the economics are there for nuclear power stations in Australia, let alone the national security risks that go with that and the waste disposal risks that go with that."
© 2006 AAP