Fact 1: Australia produces a small amount of low and intermediate level radioactive waste each year arising from medical, research and industrial uses of radioactive materials. This includes waste from manufacturing medical isotopes used in diagnosing and treating cancer.
Fact 2: Australia needs a single, national, purpose built facility to safely and securely manage this waste, which is currently stored in over one hundred locations around the country, and overseas.
The facility will be used to manage waste generated in Australia
only. The Government will not accept other countries’ radioactive waste.
Fact 3: The Government has not selected a site for this facility. There is a bill currently before the parliament that will allow us to do this through a process of voluntary nomination.
This bill has passed the House of Representatives twice and been scrutinised by no less than five Parliamentary Committee enquiries.
The bill recognises a potential site at Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory, which was volunteered by the Traditional Owners of the land as determined by the Northern Land Council.
The issue of traditional ownership of the land nominated is currently being challenged in the Federal Court and the Government has consistently said that we will respect the Court’s decision, whatever it may be.
Fact 4: The process of selecting a site will include a detailed process of consultation, as well as extensive environmental and nuclear regulatory assessment.
Fact 5: The Government has not decided on routes for transporting waste to the site – once a site is selected there will be full consultation with communities on potential transportation routes but it is far too early to say yet what or where these might be.
Fact 6: The
report referred to in the
Adelaide Advertiser today is not new, it has been public for some considerable time and was commissioned by the Howard Government in 2006. It puts forward a range of possible transport options and should be recognised for what it is – a report
to Government, not a decision
by Government.
It is time the Greens, Friends of the Earth and others stopped trying to mislead and incite fear in Australian communities on the issue of radioactive waste.
I welcome debate on this important issue but it should be based on fact, not fear.