Antinuclear

Hawker Community Development Board a staunch supporter of nuclear waste dump proposal

Hawker Community Development Board Inc  (Submission No. 47) to Senate Committe re Selection Process for Nuclear Waste Dump (Subnission No.47) Chairperson Janice McInnis Secretary Chelsea Haywood Treasurer Evelyn de Jong

The Hawker Community Development Board (HCDB) is a community representative organisation that aims to promote the town of Hawker and the surrounding district encouraging tourism, progress and the preservation of items relating to the physical, social and cultural heritage of South Australia. Also acting as a conduit to the local Council and Government Agencies The following is the HCDB response to the Waste Management Facility inquiry

a) The financial compensation offered to applicants for the acquisition of land under the Nominations of Land Guidelines

Regardless of where the repository is to be built it is only fair that the land owner been compensated accordingly for the land that is taken to be used. It is no different to a person receiving compensation, so a highway can be widened, or an over pass built on what was their property .

b) how the need for ‘broad community support’ has played and will continue to play a part in the process, including:

1. the definition of ‘broad community support Broad community support means that most residents in the area considered the community are supportive of the project proceeding. The area considered community is not the entire state of South Australia nor the entire Country. This is a decision to be based on those that will be impacted the most if the facility does or doesn’t go ahead
2. ii) how ‘broad community support’ has been or will be determined for each process advancement stage:

   Moving forward onto the next stage will mean another community district vote will occur. The best way to truly ascertain the community support is to hold the vote with the electoral commission, this would allow residents in the area to vote without fear of recourse while ensuring it is the actual community voting and not outsiders

100. how any need for indigenous support has played and will continue to play a part in the process, including how indigenous support has been or will be determined for each process advancement stage:

     The HCDB has been informed that the indigenous community hold a broad community support for the project and can see the potential benefits the project holds for them should the project proceed. However, we believe that this is something best discussed by the government agencies responsible for the project with all the local indigenous in the community area as opposed to a select few

     D) whether and/or how the Government community benefit program payments affect broad community and Indigenous community sentiment.

To date with round 1 of the program nearing full completion there has been no change in the people’s sentiment toward the proposal. Community groups both for and against applied for grants and succeeded however this has not swayed anyone’s decision to jump the ‘fence’. In round 2 once again people for and against have applied for grants but as the money is yet to be allocated we cannot judge the outcome at this stage.

Consensus among the community is that the community benefit program has assisted in the district getting some needed projects completed that may not otherwise occur.

It has always been publicised that the funds are being offered as a form of compensation to the area for any disruption that has occurred and may occur in the future while Barndioota is still being considered.

E) whether wider (Eyre Peninsula or state-wide) community views should be taken into consideration and, if so, how this is occurring or should be occurring;

At the end of the day the only people that will be truly affected by the repository going ahead or not is those local to the areas in question. State-wide are more concerned about the state government piggy backing off the Federal facility and bringing in high level waste (this has been publicised numerous times as not being able to occur) People in other areas will also not see their employment levels change, new residents moving into bringing families, more school teachers employed, and more hospital staff and so on. We are the ones that have looked at the potential benefits and negativity that the proposal brings and have chosen to support the proposal. State-wide lives will to continue as they currently are regardless of the facility occurring, whereas our lives have the potential to be enhanced.

Anything Else Our small country town that has been dwindling for years has the potential to harness this project and grow into the future. Those that have complained about the selection process seem to have forgotten that over 360 properties had been originally nominated and to have offered the idea as a potential life saver for the district so early in the process may have caused more heartache and problems than necessary. Our neighbours do not have to tell us if they are going to sell their house or rent it out to someone, so we fail to see how this is any different

July 13, 2018 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump