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SA files court appeal against nuclear waste dump

Reporter: Nance Haxton

11 May - ELEANOR HALL: An appeal against the Federal Government's moves to establish a national radioactive waste dump in the South Australian outback began this morning in the Federal Court.

The South Australian Government is appealing the Commonwealth government's compulsory purchase of land for the low level radioactive waste repository, arguing it used urgency provisions inappropriately.

Nance Haxton reports from Adelaide.

NANCE HAXTON: Today's Federal Court appeal is the latest in a long line of manoeuvres by the South Australian Government to frustrate Federal Government attempts to put all of Australia's low level nuclear waste in a central site in the state's north.

Federal Science Minister Peter McGauran says today's court appeal is delaying the inevitable, and an unnecessary waste of taxpayers' money.

However, South Australia's Environment Minister John Hill says he is confident the appeal against the Federal Government is sound, and could ultimately stop the dump from being built in the state.

JOHN HILL: What we've said consistently is that the Government of South Australia, will in pursuit of its objective not to have this dump put into this state, will use all of the available legal and political avenues that we have to stop the dump coming to South Australia.

NANCE HAXTON: Is it the case though, that this appeal is extremely unlikely, and it is a waste of taxpayers' money, as Minister McGauran has said?

JOHN HILL: Well, Minister McGauran is wrong. We don't think it's a weak case. The advice we have from our lawyers is that we have a very strong case. We are confident that the Federal Court will consider all of the matters before it, and we think we've got a very good chance of winning.

The cost of this to the state of South Australia is minimal, the overwhelming majority of South Australians do not want this radioactive waste dump built in our state. We're defending the interests of the majority of South Australians. The Commonwealth are hell-bent on trampling those interests.

Now, that's what it's about. I don't think the people of South Australia want us to give up at all. I think they want the Commonwealth to back away. And they will have a chance to put that position or have a say on that, at the time of the next federal election.

NANCE HAXTON: Is there hypocrisy here though, that if the Federal Government does win, you will inevitably use that dump anyway?

JOHN HILL: No, there's no hypocrisy here whatsoever. What we've said, we're always pleased to look after the waste we have in South Australia, look after it in the best way we can in our state, and we think each state should look after its own waste.

Look, there's a lot of battles to go… a lot of fights, I suppose, before this matter is resolved, but we're absolutely determined to put the position that is supported by the majority of South Australians.

NANCE HAXTON: The Federal Government compulsorily acquired land near Woomera last year after an 11-year selection process looking for the best site for a national radioactive waste dump.

The Commonwealth moved quickly to buy the land after the South Australian Government announced it would introduce legislation to declare the designated site a public park, effectively blocking moves to buy the land.

But the Federal Government used urgency provisions before that legislation came into effect. The South Australian government first appealed that decision to the Federal Court in December last year, but that case was thrown out.

Today, South Australia's Solicitor General Chris Kourakis took the appeal to the full bench of the Federal Court, arguing the Commonwealth used its urgency acquisition powers improperly.

COURT TRANSCRIPT EXCERPT: Your Honour, my submission is in weighing up the public interest. You must consider not only the Commonwealth's need for the land, you must consider whether the need is so great to dispense with normal review mechanisms.

NANCE HAXTON: The court case is continuing. A decision on the appeal is not expected until the second half of this year.

ELEANOR HALL: Nance Haxton in Adelaide.

Source: ABC

Report on N-dump scathing

By Richard Sproull

13 May 2004 - The Howard Government's plans to build a nuclear waste dump in South Australia before the federal election appears in jeopardy after an independent committee called for "justification" and an investigation into the project's impact on the local groundwater.

An advisory committee to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, which must sign off on the dump plans before construction begins, has produced a scathing report criticising the lack of information in the Government's application about water flow on and underneath the site, known as 40a.
The concerns raised by the four-member Hydrogeology Working Group will heighten fears about the burial of nuclear waste and the design of the repository, which could lead to leaking of waste into the water table.

The delay will push out the timetable to construct the project, which was originally planned to accept radioactive waste from around the nation by July. The group says the application and environmental impact statement lodged by the Department of Education Sciences and Training were "very difficult to navigate", and that "a coherent picture of rates and directions of groundwater flow ... and the potential role of fractures specifically for Site 40a was not presented".

Rainfall produces groundwater, which percolates down through soil or fractures in rock, filling up the pores between sand grains or fissures in rocks. Scientists say up to 50 per cent of rainfall may reach the water table.

The working group says water table data requested from the department had not been provided.

"The data must be somewhere," it says, referring to detail of the bores surrounding Site 40a.

The working group has told the federal Government it must provide information on six key issues, including information on the bores and groundwater flow at the site.

Aboriginal communities in the area are concerned about the effect the dump might have on the water table, while the Rann Government - which strongly opposes the planned dump - has warned that groundwater under the dump could be contaminated by leaks.

Premier Mike Rann has vowed to make the dump a major issue in the federal election, and is using legal objections to delay construction until the poll is held.

Source: Australian

Further information:

• Jabiluka information and clippings
• Irati Wanti
  We are the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta, the Senior Aboriginal Women from Coober Pedy, South Australia. We are the Aboriginal women Yankunytjatjara, Antikarinya and Kokatha. We know the country. The poison the Government is talking about will poison the land. We say "NO radioactive dump in our ngura - in our country." Its strictly poison we don’t want it.

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