Australia’s decision to partner with the US and UK in building a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines shines a bright light on the contradictions that bedevil Australia’s policy on the civil use of nuclear power. We will have nuclear in our navy but not on land; we export our uranium to many countries as fuel for their reactors, yet Australia is not allowed to have its own nuclear energy program. The cause is the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, passed by the Coalition government in 1999, prohibiting the construction or operation of nuclear power plants. It is possible that this…