Nuclear waste dump proposed for Eyre Peninsula town Kimba but mayor says money and job information needed before approval

THE Federal Government needs to provide more information on financial rewards and jobs before Kimba locals approve a radioactive waste facility, the town’s mayor says.

An indicative concept of the National Radioactive Waste Management Facility . Pictures: Supplied

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THE Federal Government needs to provide more information on financial rewards and jobs before Kimba locals are asked to give their final tick of approval for a radioactive waste facility, the Eyre Peninsula town’s mayor says.

Kimba’s mayor and council have also dismissed calls for a peninsula-wide or statewide vote on the waste dump.

The Government is due to decide within months whether to build a national radioactive waste repository at one of two sites near Kimba or another near Hawker in the Flinders Ranges.

Before the final decision is made, residents of the Kimba and Hawker communities are expected to be given a final chance to accept or reject the proposals through postal votes.

The district where the waste dump is sited will be rewarded with a $10 million community fund to spend on local projects.

Kimba Mayor Dean Johnson said local residents needed more information on how the fund would operate and on how many ongoing local jobs would be created. Mr Johnson said the community fund should be used to support job creation.

“What we want to do is make sure our community is viable for the next 100 years,” he said.

In a submission to a Senate inquiry into the site-selection process, Kimba Council said specific information on financial services and benefits should be provided before a final ballot occurred.

The Kimba and Hawker districts are already benefiting from a $4 million grants fund as a reward for being involved in the site-selection process.

In an initial ballot held in June last year, 396 Kimba district residents voted in favour of the waste repository and 294 voted against.

Kimba Council has rejected calls for people from outside the district to be given a say on the proposal.

Several Kimba district residents have made submissions to the Senate inquiry in opposition to the waste dump.

Some Eyre Peninsula residents who live outside the Kimba Council boundaries believe they should have been consulted about the waste dump proposal.

Ken and Carole Wetherby, who live near Cleve, said the facility would have an impact on the entire peninsula.

“The most logical and economical solution would be to put the waste back into the huge empty stopes at Olympic Dam where the uranium came from in the first place,’’ they said in a submission to the Senate inquiry.

The repository would hold low and intermediate-level radioactive waste which is currently stored around Australia.

It would only accept solidified waste. High-level waste would continue to be sent overseas for reprocessing.