Động Đất Khủng Khiếp Ở Nhật (14)_ Japan blast sparks nuclear talk Down Under

Wrecked and raging
These shocking and powerful images show the devastating scale of the quake-tsunami catastrophe that has hit Japan.
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Japan blast sparks nuclear talk Down Under
AAP
March 13, 2011, 5:22 pm





The federal government and the opposition have both refused to buy into a debate on nuclear energy following a massive explosion at a Japanese facility following the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

But the Australian Greens say it is another pointed reminder for Australia not to go down the nuclear route.

There was an explosion at the Fukushima power plant on Saturday because of damage sustained in the earthquake, putting one reactor at risk. Authorities are now rushing to contain a problem at a second reactor amid fears both could suffer meltdowns.

A 20km exclusion zone has been set up, and tests have shown that at least three people have been exposed to radiation.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the disaster was a huge, added burden for Japan, but she would not be drawn on its potential effect on Australia's nuclear prospects.

"We need to focus just now on what the people of Japan need us to do," she told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.

"All of those things will, no doubt, be the subject of scrutiny and debate, but I don't think today is the day."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott also chose to defer a debate, insisting that the coalition had no plan to promote nuclear power.

Australia is one of several nations now seeking urgent briefings from the Japanese government on the situation, even though there is no immediate threat to the region.

Greens leader Bob Brown used the incident as an argument against nuclear, which he labelled a delicate and unsafe technology.

"It's the potential for terrorism, you can't have it in flight paths, it needs to be built next to big areas of population ... it takes up a lot of water, it's enormously expensive," he told Sky News.

"We have much better alternatives, thank God."

As the death toll continues to climb in Japan, Ms Gillard stood by her offer to provide whatever assistance Tokyo requires.

A team of about 75 search and rescue workers, rested just briefly from a stint in quake-hit Christchurch, are on their way to Japan - Australia's first emergency contingent.

Ms Gillard says she's ready for additional requests, pointing out the likely need for basic supplies such as food and water, as well crews to help hand them out.

The earthquake and the 10-metre tsunami that followed has left many thousands of people homeless.

Still no Australians are believed to have been injured in the disaster, although consular staff have yet to contact more than 1000 people registered as being in Japan.

Some 191 Australians are registered as being in the affected areas, but the real figure could be much higher.

On Sunday morning, the first Qantas flight from Japan since the catastrophic quake and tsunami landed in Sydney bringing home many Australians.

Sydneysider Jennifer Jones described how "the chandeliers started to shake and we ran down the hallway trying to get to the elevator or the stairwell".

"We didn't make it that far and we had to just stop in the hall and brace and wait it out. Hotel staff were bracing us. This Japanese woman just had her arms around me, as I was against a wall," she said.

She remembered trying to stay upright as everything went sideways: "pot plants, chairs, a piano fell over".

Many had nothing but praise for how the Japanese remained calm and went out of their way to help them.

"They missed their trains going home to their families, knowing about that nuclear reactor thing, to help us find our way to the next train stop," she told AAP at Sydney airport.

"The roads had closed down because of the earthquake and then the train line had been destroyed too.

"All I can say is (prime minister) Julia Gillard should not think about nuclear reactors."

ALP president and Queensland premier Anna Bligh said the explosion was "cause for some pause and consideration" in dealing with the notion of nuclear energy.

"I don't think there's any doubt that the explosion in the nuclear power plant in Japan will be a great cause for caution before we see anybody jumping to invest in that sort of energy, particularly here in Australia," she told reporters in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on Sunday.

However, she said, now was not the right time for a full debate on the issue within the ALP or, more broadly, with the tragedy still unfolding in Japan.