Citizens’ reaction — 1000 sign up for jury duty over nuclear waste dump

ALMOST 1000 people have signed up to join a citizens’ jury to consider if SA should develop a nuclear waste dump, as recommended by the Royal Commission. What do you think — VOTE NOW

• POLL: Nearly half of SA supports nuclear waste dump
• UNITY: Labor, Liberal support high-level nuclear waste dump in SA
• COMMISSIONER: Kevin Scarce recommends nuke storage in SA

ALMOST 1000 people have signed up to join a citizens’ jury that will consider if the state should develop a nuclear waste dump, as recommended by the nuclear royal commission.

The Advertiser can reveal 961 people have registered to join the controversial panel, after 25,000 invitations were sent out randomly across the state. The number is set to grow before registrations close on Friday.

It will be whittled down to 50 people who represent a cross-section of the community for age, gender and backgrounds. They will then be asked to examine the royal commission findings and determine which issues need further investigation before a decision can be reached.

The royal commission, led by former governor Kevin Scarce, found the state could safely ­accept the world’s high-level nuclear waste and generate profits of at least $100 billion.

The first citizens’ jury will be followed by a statewide consultation process. A second jury of 350 people will convene in October to make a recommendation to the Government.

Premier Jay Weatherill is to outline a formal Government position to State Parliament before the end of the year. If the proposal is accepted, a process for finding a site will then be determined.

Mr Weatherill said there had been a “strong response” to the calls to join the nuclear citizens’ jury, indicating “the community wants to be part of this process and to learn more”.

“We want the community to lead this conversation, tell us their issues and concerns, and get involved in this important decision about our state’s future,” he said.

“All the feedback will contribute to informed debate and provide the Government with a clear understanding of the community’s position on this important matter.”

The process will be run independently run by an organisation previously commissioned by the Government to examine the regulation of pets, cycling and liquor licensing.

NewDemocracy Foundation executive director Iain Walker said the jury process helped the community to drill down into complex detail and come up with a considered view.

“I’m sure South Australians will be interested to see what 50 of their peers want to know more about after hearing from the experts and those involved in writing the report,” he said.

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall has criticised the citizens’ jury as a failed model that produced the unpopular law to let cyclists ride on footpaths. However, he says the Opposition is “very open” to “opportunities” emerging from the nuclear royal commission.