Nuclear waste dump site in SA to be declared within weeks after bill passes federal parliament

A nuclear waste dump site in SA will be declared within weeks – with Kimba’s mayor welcoming the breakthrough.

A nuclear waste dump site in South Australia will be formally declared within weeks, after legislation passed parliament on Tuesday.

Federal resources minister Keith Pitt confirmed he would name a location for the radioactive waste storage facility soon after the “significant step forward” in parliament.

A revised bill with a shortlist of three sites passed the Senate late on Monday night with Federal Labor’s support, and was approved by the House of Representatives just after midday on Tuesday.

Kimba mayor Dean Johnson welcomed the bill’s passage as “great news”.

Napandee farm near Kimba is widely expected to be declared the location, after being named the preferred site in February 2020.

But it could quickly face a new legal challenge from the local Indigenous community.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation said it would not stop fighting to block a facility near Kimba.

“We have fought hard and will continue to fight against a nuclear waste facility being placed on our home. We do not want it, and we will never support it.

“Our voices and views have been ignored by the Government.”

Resources Minister Keith Pitt, left, and his predecessor Senator Matt Canavan at Parliament House after a major breakthrough in the 40-year search for a storage site for low-level radioactive waste. Picture: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

“It’s a great thing to have this confirmed. Now, we can really move forward and plan our future,” Mr Johnson said.

He expected a decision from the minister “reasonably quickly”.

And while Mr Johnson acknowledged a legal challenge could delay the facility further, he said: “It’s a major step forward and we can see a pathway now.”

In a statement on Tuesday, the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation said it would not stop fighting to block a facility near Kimba.

“We have fought hard and will continue to fight against a nuclear waste facility being placed

on our home.

“We do not want it, and we will never support it.

“Our voices and views have been ignored by the Government.

“The simple fact remains that even though the Barngarla hold native title land closer to the proposed facility than the town of Kimba, the First Peoples for the area were not allowed to vote.”

Lyndhurst and Napandee farm near Kimba and Wallerberdina in the Flinders Ranges are listed as the three possible sites, although the minister is not prevented from approving new site nominations under the legislation.

Mr Pitt is also not restricted to declaring one of the three short-listed sites if new locations are nominated.

In parliament on Tuesday, Mr Pitt said: “After four decades, we are pushing forward on this piece of infrastructure.”

A protest rally in Kimba after it was named a preferred location in February 2020. Picture: Matt Turner

He said it had taken 16 resources ministers under both Labor and Coalition governments more than 40 years to reach this point, and confirmed he would declare a site in “coming weeks”.

“Every single Australian will utilise nuclear medicine within their lifetime,” Mr Pitt said.

“That treatment does produce low-level radioactive waste … but it must be stored and stored in Australia. So this is an incredibly important piece of infrastructure,” he said.

After months of deadlock, Labor agreed to back the Bill after the government last week proposed changes that would name three possible sites for the facility instead of specifying Kimba.

The opposition had refused to back the original Bill over concerns that naming the site in legislation, rather than by a ministerial decision, would prevent the possibility of a future legal challenge.

Opposition resources spokeswoman Madeleine King said Labor would not have supported passage of the legislation unless the traditional owners were comfortable with it.

“The amendments allow for judicial review, while acknowledging the work that has already been done in shortlisting three sites for the facility,” she said.

Originally published as Nuclear waste dump site in SA to be declared within weeks after bill passes federal parliament