Thursday, 25 October, 2007

by Penny Wong
ALP

Federal Labor has today written to Education Minister, Julie Bishop, seeking a briefing on why Lucas Heights, Australia’s only nuclear reactor, will be shut down for six months.

 

Minister Bishop must explain what is going on at Lucas Heights, after it was revealed that the shut down of the reactor was being extended to the “worse case scenario”.

 

There have been reports of leaks and problems with unstable fuel rods at the nuclear reactor’s core.

 

The reactor is operated by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).

 

When the shut-down was first revealed on 27 July, the ANSTO chief Dr Ian Smith, said:

 

“We anticipate the reactor will be shut down for up to about eight weeks… if we get the best solutions. There are circumstances in which it could be longer, yes… We believe that the worse case scenario is in the order of six months.”

 

Yesterday, ANSTO published a statement on its website, confirming the reactor won’t be operational again until January next year, fulfilling the “worse case scenario”.

 

When the ABC contacted ANSTO for comment regarding the shutdown, they were refused comment:

 

“Requests for an interview with the reactor’s chief about the extended shutdown have been declined.  A spokeswoman for ANSTO says it can’t talk about the reactor’s operations because of the Caretaker Conventions surrounding federal election campaigns. 

 

“The guidelines are issued by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. ANSTO is yet to say what part of the Guidelines are applicable to the Lucas Heights Reactor.” (ABC AM, 25 October 2007)

 

Minister Bishop should explain why the Government’s policy on this important public safety issue is silence.

 

The Howard Government is so arrogant and has lost touch so badly it doesn’t seem to think Australians deserve basic information about public safety.