'A rite of passage': Pro-nuclear Miss America reacts to Lidia Thorpe heckling

A nuclear showdown has erupted in Canberra with independent Senator Lidia Thorpe interrupting a media conference held by Miss America 2023, Grace Stanke.

After another blow up by Thorpe during King Charles' royal visit last October, the fired up senator was filmed yesterday yelling nuclear energy "will poison all of your children's children and you have no consent" as bemused onlookers watched on.

Stanke, a nuclear engineer, is currently on a pro-nuclear tour around Australia and she told Today Thorpe's heckling just draws attention to a conversation which needs to be had about this form of energy.

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"You know, it's an adventure, I heard Lydia had yelled at the king, so I feel like this is sort of like a rite of passage," Stanke said.

"But it really is exciting, because I think it also draws attention to the need for knowledge and a need for a civil conversation for nuclear in Australia."

Stanke said her mission in Australia is to educate about the benefits of nuclear energy and pointed out it has been done successfully with south Sydney's Lucas Heights reactor.

"It is a medicinal reactor that creates radiological isotopes and that reactor was a first of it's kind built in nine years by Australians, so if they've done it in the past, they can definitely do it again," she said.

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With an estimated price tag of $330 billion for a proposed new nuclear reactor in Australia, Stanke says it would be an investment for the future.

"Nuclear energy provides clean and reliable energy and it's got a lifespan of actually, we're looking at out to 100 years in the US right now," she said.

"We don't necessarily know what the end of a nuclear power plant looks like when it's got that good, clean operating record, so it's really important to keep that in mind in terms of this isn't just investing in the next ten years or the next 20 years, this is investing in you, your kids and your grandkids, too and providing those high paying jobs."

Hear Today's full chat with Grace Stanke in the video above