Like the United States, Australia has been confronted by a dual crisis in its government-run old-age pension system. Benefits payments to an aging population threatened to consume ever larger amounts of Australia's budget according to projections in the 1980s, yet the Australian Social Security system clearly was unable to provide an adequate income for retirees.
The leader of Australia's opposition has launched a formal process to examine the potential for advanced and next-generation nuclear technologies to contribute to national energy security and reduce power prices. Peter Dutton said it is "high time" for an "honest and informed debate on the benefits and costs of nuclear energy".