Ian Leslie Hore-Lacy (1940 – 2 December 2021) was an Australian nuclear industry communicator, author and advocate for

nuclear power in Australia The prospect of nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of public debate since the 1950s. Australia has one nuclear plant in Lucas Heights, Sydney, but is not used to produce nuclear power, but instead is used to produce medical radioisoto ...

. He semi-retired as Senior Advisor with the

World Nuclear Association World Nuclear Association is the international organization that promotes nuclear power and supports the companies that comprise the global nuclear industry. Its members come from all parts of the nuclear fuel cycle, including uranium mining, ur ...

, London.

Career

He was a Senior Advisor at the London-based World Nuclear Association, where he was previously Director of Public Information and Senior Research Analyst for over 16 years. Hore-Lacy had a Bachelor of Science with honours from the University of New England and a Master of Science from

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

, both in biological sciences.

Rio Tinto group

His career in resources and energy began in 1974 when he was employed by CRA (now Rio Tinto Group) as an environmental scientist. He took a particular interest in

uranium mining Uranium mining is the process of extraction of uranium ore from the ground. Over 50 thousand tons of uranium were produced in 2019. Kazakhstan, Canada, and Australia were the top three uranium producers, respectively, and together account f ...

and nuclear energy during the

Ranger A Ranger is typically someone in a military/paramilitary or law enforcement role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called “ranging”. The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with protecting and ...

inquiry in the 1970s. Hore-Lacy continued to work for CRA until 1993, ultimately working in Corporate Relations. Hore-Lacy was closely involved with the production of the TV documentary series '' Out of the Fiery Furnace'' which was completed for ABC television in Australia in 1985 and was supported by the Rio Tinto group (via CRA Services Ltd). The series traced the discovery and use of metals, minerals, and energy resources through time, and premiered in the US in 1986 and was shown in over twenty countries.

Nuclear industry

In 1995 Hore-Lacy assumed the role of General Manager of the

Uranium Information Centre {{Unreferenced, date=December 2021 The Uranium Information Centre (UIC) was an Australian organisation primarily concerned with increasing the public understanding of uranium mining and nuclear electricity generation. Founded in 1978, the Centr ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, a position he held until 2001 publishing information on nuclear power to support the UIC members, all uranium miners and explorers. He also served as the organisation's secretary. The Centre's website was established in the year of his appointment. From 2001 his role progressively transferred to the World Nuclear Association, an international trade association, based in London. He was successively Director for Public Communications and Senior Research Analyst before largely retiring in 2017 as Senior Advisor. During the Howard Government, Hore-Lacy was appointed to the Uranium Industry Framework, whose recommendations informed subsequent government policy announced in 2007. The announcements included plans to repeal prohibitions which prevented further nuclear industrial development in Australia under the

EPBC Act The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

Bibliography

Hore-Lacy wrote, edited and co-authored several books; most recently ''Responsible Dominion – a Christian Approach to Sustainable Development'' (2006) and ''Nuclear Energy in the 21st Century'' (2018). The latter book has been republished ten times and the 10th edition had a Chinese version.

Death and legacy

Ian Hore-Lacy was killed in an accident while on holiday on 2 December 2021. His legacy includes his many publications and his curated library of academic papers and educational materials held at the World Nuclear Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hore-Lacy, Ian 1940 births 2021 deaths Australian non-fiction writers University of New England (Australia) alumni University of Melbourne alumni Uranium mining in Australia People of Rio Tinto (corporation) Nuclear power in Australia