Central Land Council rules out nuclear dump in Tanami region of Central Australia
The Central Land Council has ruled out the possibility of a nuclear waste dump being built over a large part of central Australia due to opposition from some traditional owners. Traditional owners in the Tanami region were considering nominating land to become a dump, but at a meeting this week delegates heard of opposition to the move from traditional owners and affected communities, the CLC said. Federal Government Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has said there has to be unanimous support for the move for a site to be successful.
"The delegates heard that the CLC has received formal correspondence and public statements from the traditional owners and residents of affected communities who are opposed to a nuclear waste dump in the area," the CLC said.
The CLC, a statutory body tasked with a duty to consult traditional owners and other Aboriginal people about any proposals, covers an area of about 776,000 square kilometres, with the Tanami region a sizeable part of that.
The entire Tanami is 178,000 square kilometres.
The CLC also dealt a blow to Federal Government hopes of finding a new site to build a nuclear waste dump, saying the nomination process was unfair and would have seen Aboriginal groups make a decision without enough information.
"The process enshrined in the National Radioactive Waste Management Act 2012 expects traditional owners to volunteer a site without knowing all the information," a statement from CLC director David Ross read.
"Yet once a site is nominated they cannot change their mind when they find out the full story.
"Given that a nuclear waste dump is forever it's just not fair to ask people to make this decision without a comprehensive proposal."
The Federal Government has struggled to find a suitable site to build a nuclear waste dump.
It originally hoped to build the dump in remote South Australia until that was scotched by the State Government, and then it hoped to put it at Muckaty Station, north of Tennant Creek.
After court action from some of the traditional owners at Muckaty the Federal Government backed down, although it is still investigating the possibility of placing the dump at another part of Muckaty.
Traditional owners at Muckaty had been offered a $12 million compensation package if they agreed to house the nuclear dump.
The Federal Government has not said how much money other groups may get if they agree to have the facility on their land.
Time to manage Australia’s radioactive waste - not dump it
It’s time to manage Australia’s radioactive waste - not dump it
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.com/its-time-to-manage-australias-radioactive-waste-not-dump-it/
"For over two decades successive Australian governments have searched for a location to dump Australia’s radioactive waste. This has caused heartache in targeted remote communities and headlines in the national media.
And this "out of sight, out of mind" approach has failed. In June this year, after seven long years of protest and community resistance, the federal government abandoned plans to open a dump on Aboriginal land at Muckaty in the Northern Territory. The buck should have stopped there.
But the government seems to have learned nothing and instead of taking a look at its flawed dump plan it is planning a new national search for another dump site.
The search for a dump site needs to stop and an independent inquiry into the best way to manage Australia’s radioactive waste needs to start.
The majority of Australia’s radioactive waste is currently stored in two defined federal sites and both have confirmed they can securely store this waste for years to come.
We have the time and opportunity to do things differently and better. We don’t need a quick and dirty dump - we need a responsible and lasting solution. ...
How to help:
Minister Ian Macfarlane is accepting public comments on his national dump search plan until November 10 and your small comment could help make a big difference. ... "
Response to proposed new Muckaty nuclear waste nomination
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.com/response-to-proposed-new-muckaty-nuclear-waste-nomination/
7 Nov 14: "After a meeting held in Tennant Creek, the Northern Land Council has announced it is preparing an anthropological report for a new site on Muckaty to be potentially nominated for the national nuclear waste dump.
This is very disappointing for Muckaty Traditional Owners who have been seeking closure on this
long, challenging and often stressful campaign since the first site nomination was announced in 2007.
Below is a statement written by Muckaty Traditional Owners Penny Phillips and Dianne Stokes Nampin.
Newsletter date: 9 November 2014
WGAR News Public Google Group:
https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en-GB#!forum/wgar-news
WGAR News - Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
BNI:
http://beyondnuclearinitiative.com/response-to-proposed-new-muckaty-nuclear-waste-nomination/
ECNT:
http://www.ecnt.org/media/statement-muckaty-traditional-owners-new-waste-dump-nomination
5 Nov 14: "We heard in the news that people want to nominate Muckaty for the nuclear waste dump again.
Minister Gray and Minister Macfarlane visited us here in Tennant Creek- they heard what we said about the nuclear waste dump-we said NO. They have seen the conflicts between us.
Enough is enough- this issue will not be resolved, we want the Northern Land Council to just let it go. Leave the waste where it is and don’t dig up any more uranium. We fought hard for our people to get Land Rights. The old people that have gone, they fought hard and now people are trying to sell their soul and country- again. We were so happy the first site nomination was closed- we fought very hard to stop it. We had just relaxed after stopping the waste dump and now they came back and kicked us in the guts. ... "
Central Land Council (CLC):
No nuclear waste dump site nominated
http://www.clc.org.au/media-releases/article/no-nuclear-waste-dump-site-nominated/
http://www.clc.org.au/media-releases/
7 Nov 14: " A very productive Central Land Council meeting at Alpurrurulam (Lake Nash) has concluded without the nomination of a site for a nuclear waste management facility.
On 5 November 85 CLC delegates considered the outcomes of the CLC’s consultations with the traditional owners of an area in the Tanami region and with affected communities about a proposed site for such a facility. The delegates heard that the CLC has received formal correspondence and public statements from the traditional owners and residents of affected communities who are opposed to a nuclear waste dump in the area. Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane’s requirement of a site "free from dispute" cannot therefore be met. ... At the meeting traditional owners expressed their dissatisfaction with the federal government's nomination process for a proposed nuclear waste management facility and with the lack of detailed information, for example about the transport of the waste and the government’s compensation offer. During subsequent public consultations including government representatives in Lajamanu, one of the affected communities, residents and traditional owners of the proposed site expressed strong opposition against a nuclear waste facility in the Tanami. ... "
ABC: Central Land Council rules out nuclear dump in Tanami region of Central Australia
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-07/nuclear-dump-ruled-out-over-tanami-region-in-central-australia/5875202
7 Nov 14: "The Central Land Council has ruled out the possibility of a nuclear waste dump being built over a large part of central Australia due to opposition from some traditional owners. Traditional owners in the Tanami region were considering nominating land to become a dump, but at a meeting this week delegates heard of opposition to the move from traditional owners and affected communities, the CLC said. Federal Government Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has said there has to be unanimous support for the move for a site to be successful." Xavier La Canna
7 News: 'No nuclear dump' in NT central desert
https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/25456436/no-nuclear-dump-in-nt-central-desert/
7 Nov 14: "The Central Land Council has not put forward a site for a national nuclear waste dump in the NT."
"Traditional owners in the central desert, unhappy with the federal nomination process, have decided not to propose a site for a national nuclear waste dump. Some traditional owners opposed to the facility on Aboriginal land made formal protests to the Central Land Council (CLC), which decided it could not then meet federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane's requirement of a site "free from dispute".
Traditional owners represented by the CLC believe the National Radioactive Waste Management Act of 2012 expects them to volunteer a site without being fully informed." AAP