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Long Half-life: Ian Lowe in conversation with Carmen Lawrence

11 August 2022 at 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm AEST

Book cover of Long Half-life by Ian Lowe on a background of a burst of yellow powder

Hosted by the Climate Council of Western Australia (CCWA), join us for a special evening with Professor Ian Lowe AO and CCWA President Carmen Lawrence AO to explore the history of the nuclear industry in Australia.

This is an important time to reflect on the nuclear industry and Australia’s role in it – and we can’t think of two better people to do that with!

Western Australia is edging dangerously close to having one operating uranium mine, and we are watching yet another community fight yet another proposal for a national radioactive waste dump. Nationally we are discussing the possibility of nuclear submarines, and facing the realities of a $2.2 billion clean-up at Ranger uranium mine. Globally there is a mounting push for a new generation of nuclear power, Russia has weaponised nuclear power in war, tensions are rising, and there is now an international treaty to abolish nuclear weapons.

Ian Lowe
Professor Ian Lowe AO is uniquely qualified to tell this story, following a long career in universities, research councils and advisory groups. Lowe is the author of several books, including Living in the Hothouse (Scribe, 2005), A Big Fix (Black Inc., 2005), A Voice of Reason (UQP, 2010), Bigger or Better? (UQP, 2012) and The Lucky Country? (UQP, 2016). He is also the author of a 2006 Quarterly Essay on the prospects for nuclear power in Australia, and a ‘flip book’ with Professor Barry Brook, giving the two sides of the argument.

Carmen Lawrence
Professor Carmen Lawrence AO is the President of the Conservation Council. With a breadth of experience in psychology, state and federal politics – covering Health, Indigenous Affairs, Environment and Industry she has become a leading voice for environmental protection and social change.