Saturday, 29 September, 2007

by Alice Plate
ABC News Online

One of the Northern Territory's key Indigenous groups says a nuclear waste facility will not be built on an Aboriginal cattle station if it is not scientifically safe to do so.

The Northern Land Council's nomination of Muckaty Station north of Tennant Creek as a potential dump site was accepted by the Federal Government on Thursday.

The Commonwealth now has four sites to choose from for the facility.

The Land Council's Norman Fry says the Northern Territory Government is hypocritical in saying the process is scientifically flawed, given the Government's poor environmental process for the expansion of the McArthur River Mine in the Territory's Gulf country.

"The Muckaty siting of a nuclear water repository is very much a transparent process because now what will happen is a comprehensive environmental impact assessment statement - something that has never taken place out at McArthur River," he said.

He says the consultation process with traditional owners was comprehensive and proper process was followed.

"Absolutely, the relevant people who own the land in question, those who got land adjacent to the area have all been consulted over the last two years," he said.

"It's been some of the most comprehensive consultations that have been undertaken."

But Northern Territory Chief Minister Clare Martin disagrees.

"It's a flawed process and it is certainly simply taking advantage of the Territory being constitutionally weaker than the rest of Australia," she said.

"The fact that another piece of land has been put up doesn't justify any process from the Federal Government, it's flawed, they should go back and start the science again."