Antinuclear

The call comes as public comment closes today on a planned federal government move to start a national nomination process for potential waste dump sites.  This move follows the failure of a long federal push for a waste facility in the Northern Territory.

National environment groups, the ACTU, public health and Aboriginal representatives have urged the Minister to stop searching for a postcode for a remote dump and instead initiate an inquiry into the best way to manage this waste.

Australia has never had an independent, expert review of responsible management options.

“A national inquiry into the long term, responsible management of Australia’s nuclear waste is overdue and necessary,” said Dr Peter Tait of the Public Health Association of Australia.

The majority of Australia’s existing radioactive waste is currently stored at two secure federal sites.  Waste set to return from France in 2015 is already slated for storage at one of these sites. This provides the federal government with an opportunity to do things differently and better. “Waste management is a serious issue that requires genuine and open scrutiny.  Everyone, including workers, gets a better result from a better decision making process,” said Australian Council of Trade Unions President Ged Kearney.

Plans to begin a national nomination process before holding an open review of responsible management options have been criticised as wrong step thinking that fails to address the legacy of error and unreasonable pressure caused by this issue.

“Aboriginal communities at multiple sites across South Australia and the NT have taken successful action over many years against remote dumping plans,” said Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative.

“The approach of the past two decades has failed to deliver and it is time for Minister Macfarlane to consider and adopt the growing public call for a new approach.”

The groups have called for Minister Macfarlane to introduce an evidence based circuit breaker to the hotly contested issue of radioactive waste management.

“Radioactive waste is a difficult issue, but it is not an impossible one,” said Australian Conservation Foundation spokesperson Dave Sweeney.

“Radioactive waste lasts far longer than any politician and we need to get its management responsible and right.  The best way to do this is through an open, independent and evidence based approach that moves stakeholders from the trenches to the table”.