A 2009 poll conducted by the Uranium Information Centre found that Australians in the 40 to 55 years age group are the " most trenchantly opposed to nuclear power " . This generation was raised during the Cold War , experienced the anti-nuclear movement of the 1970s , witnessed the 1979 partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island reactor in the USA , and the 1986 Chernobyl disaster . It was the generation which was also subject to cultural influences including feature films such as the " nuclear industry conspiracies " '' The China Syndrome '' and '' Silkwood '' and the apocalyptic '' Dr Strangelove '' . Younger people are " less resistant " to the idea of nuclear power in Australia . Analysis of opinion polls from 2012 shows a " significant decrease in favourable views of nuclear power " following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
Three Mile Island
Three Mile Island accident
Anti-nuclear movement in Australia