A legal case between the federal government and traditional owners over a nuclear waste management facility in South Australia is set to continue after the new resources minister was asked to move the project.
Key points:
- Traditional owners have asked the new federal government to overturn a decision designating a site near Kimba as the location of a nuclear waste management facility
- The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation has taken legal action to block the facility
- A previous community poll showed just over 60% of Kimba residents supporting the installation
The previous federal government designated a site near Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula to store low and intermediate level nuclear waste.
The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation opposed the installation, saying the traditional owners had not been sufficiently consulted.
He filed a lawsuit last year to stop the installation.
The organization called on the new Labor government to reverse the previous government’s decision to declare Napandee near Kimba as the site of the settlement.
But Resources Minister Madeline King is reportedly undecided whether or not to overturn the decision.
“Radioactive waste management is a complex, long-term issue that successive governments have been working on for decades,” she said.
“The declaration of the Napandee site was a step forward in ensuring that Australia can safely manage its radioactive waste, waste that is not going to go away.
She said she would not prejudge the outcome of the legal process by making changes to the project.
The Barngrala Determination Aboriginal Corporation has written to Ms King and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese asking them to find an alternative site for the nuclear waste management facility.
Former resources minister Keith Pitt previously said the government had consulted the community about the landfill for six years, culminating in a poll that showed more than 60% of Kimba residents support the landfill. project.
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