WA Greens Nuclear spokesperson Robin Chapple MLC said Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was rubbing salt into old wounds after comments this week about possibility of storing nuclear waste in Australia.
“In 1999, Pangea Resources identified land near Cosmo Newbury as the only suitable place in Australia to store long-lived nuclear waste; By making these comments it’s reasonable to assume the Prime Minister is once again putting WA in the firing line,” Mr Chapple said.
“The management structure of Pangea still exists in a corporation called Arius and under the leadership of Charles McCombie* they have continued to target WA as a location for an international nuclear waste dump.
“I would be very interested to know if there have been any discussions between the Arius group with either Mr Turnbull or Dr Alan Finkel on the possibility of reigniting this proposal.
“I would not be surprised considering Arius made a submission in July this year to the South Australian Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, where the notion of dumping waste in WA was floated once more.
“This is a dangerous and unnecessary industry, desperate to hide its festering waste out of sight and out of mind here.
“Both the Liberal and National parties in WA have also thrown support behind the idea over the years with now Premier Colin Barnett, a strong supporter of Uranium mining, commenting in 1999 that countries who export uranium have an obligation to dispose of that waste.
“And former National Party Leader, Brendon Grylls, calling for nuclear storage in WA to be a part of the uranium mining debate in 2008.
“I said it then, and I will say again now; the notion of storing international nuclear waste in remote WA is an affront to the traditional owner’s and cultural significance of that land that will leave us with a nuclear legacy and problem for a long, long time.”
WA Greens Uranium spokesperson Robin Chapple MLC said Toro Energy’s announcement last week to postpone development at its Wiluna uranium project was a sign of things to come.
“Realistically, I would like to think that this mine is unlikely to ever enter full production,” Mr Chapple said.
“Global uranium prices have been flat-lining at their current level for five years now and I just don’t see there being a surge in demand in the next five years.
“Renewable energy is only going to become more viable, and more desirable, for developing nations to invest in under mounting international pressure to act on climate change mitigation.
“Circumstance has led to nuclear power becoming unnecessary before it ever went mainstream; recent independent analysis has proven this and Australia’s policies should reflect it.
“As a developed nation we have an opportunity and a responsibility to help our neighbours take up renewable energy solutions as a part of their development
“Support for this project is coming from a cash-strapped government incapable of seeing the bigger picture; the West Australian people want nothing to do with uranium!”
For comment please contact Media liaison Tim Oliver on 0431 9696 25 or 9486 8255.
The West Australian government has attempted to sidestep proper environmental assessment for two new uranium mines at Wiluna by releasing the proposal as an extension of the existing Wiluna Uranium Project, according to Greens Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region Robin Chapple MLC.
Mr Chapple said Toro’s existing conditional approval should be revoked as this extension, which spans a much larger area between Wiluna and Lake Maitland than the original proposal, more than warrants the necessity for a new environmental study to be undertaken.
“The environmental assessment that has been done so far is inadequate for the four mines they are now proposing,” he said.
“The area in question covers two lake systems, where Toro plans not only to mine, but to dump toxic uranium waste in the lake bed.
“Furthermore, Toro Energy has not properly consulted the Traditional Owners for the Lake Maitland area who have significant, and warranted, concerns about the proposed mine’s impact on their lands and culture.
“This proposal and Wiluna’s existing conditional approval should both be rejected on environmental grounds.”
For more information please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255
