NSW Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon today tabled 6,282 signatures calling on the government to drop plans for a nuclear waste dump at Hill End.

“Over 6,000 people have signed three petitions saying no to a nuclear waste dump at Hill End,” Senator Rhiannon said.

“The Hill End community has voted at three separate community meetings to unanimously oppose a nuclear waste dump and are strongly supported by their neighbouring towns, local councils and business groups.

Central West residents have taken their fight against the proposed siting of the national nuclear waste dump at Hill End to Parliament House.

Representatives of the Hill End community joined community delegates from the five other nominated sites to put their case directly to members of parliament.

Their visit to the federal parliament was hosted by Greens Senators Lee Rhiannon.

Mr Bruce Wilson, Head of Resources Division of Department of Industry, Innovation and Science is asked to discuss issues involving the voluntary site selection process for a national radioactive waste facility concentrating on Hill End, New South Wales. 

Senator RHIANNON: I want to move on to issues to do with the voluntary site selection process for a national radioactive waste facility.

Greens NSW Senator Lee Rhiannon will question officials from the Department of Science and Industry at the February Senate Budget Estimates hearing on their latest serious mismanagement of the location for the proposed nuclear waste dump at Hill End.

"The Department has caused more distress and concern among local residents by giving an inaccurate location for the proposed dump and then taking more than eight weeks to publicly disclose the actual location they are targeting," Senator Rhiannon said.

Sallys Flat, near the historic gold mining town of Hill End, is on the federal government's shortlist of sites to house a nuclear waste storage facility.

Government officials had initially intended only to have individual meetings with landholders, but have now agreed to attend tomorrow’s community meeting.

“Residents and business owners in Hill End and surrounding regions are outraged by the shortlisting of Hill End as a possible national nuclear waste dump without their consent or planning,” said local representative for the No Central West Nuclear Waste Dump Committee, Jodie Carter.

“Our local member John Cobb had been missing in action by keeping the community in the dark about this plan.

In the 1980s the call for nuclear disarmament resonated around the planet. In Australia Palm Sunday rallies attracted hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people and prominent people added their voice to the public discourse that recognised that ridding the world of nuclear weapons was a key priority. Three decades on, the issue of nuclear disarmament is not the priority it was, but the threat remains just as real.

Adjournemnt speech - 26 June 2012

National Radioactive Waste Bill 2010, Questions

Wednesday 8 February 2012