With climate change still a dominant concern for the Australian Government, the question of nuclear energy has become a visceral topic of public policy debate.  A growing consensus amongst experts recognises the environmental and economic benefits of nuclear, but the process of establishing a nuclear power capability may yet take some time. The strongest arguments against nuclear energy centre on this concern, arguing that nuclear energy is too slow, and possibly too expensive, to meet the pressing targets to reduce carbon emissions. We tackle this question head-on: whether nuclear energy is still desirable today, or whether the opportunity to effectively leverage this technology may have already passed.