Friday, 28 September, 2007

Central Land Council

The Central Land Council is prepared, once a site is selected, to play an active role in supporting people who live in the CLC region around either the Mt Everard, Alcoota or Muckaty sites to put forward any concerns they may have with a nuclear waste facility being located in their region.

The Australian government is now considering Muckaty along with three other sites - one near Katherine and two within the CLC region at Alcoota and Mount Everard.

“The transportation of waste raises serious issues for people in the area that surround the proposed sites,” CLC director David Ross said. “The Karlantijpa North Aboriginal Land Trust borders Muckaty Station, and is in the CLC region. The views of traditional owners of that country must be represented in all future processes, such as the environmental assessment process.

The NLC made its decision to nominate Muckaty as a site. Locating a nuclear waste facility is a serious decision that has broad implications across the region, and people affected must be consulted.”

“Traditional owners from the Mt Everard and Alcoota sites remain strongly opposed to the location of a nuclear waste facility on their country, and some people in the Muckaty area have also expressed concerns to the CLC,” Mr Ross said.

“The process followed under the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005 has, to date, been a deeply flawed one as the CLC has said all along. We welcome the commitment made by Opposition spokesman Kim Carr to repeal the Act and to get community agreement about any future sites for a nuclear waste facility.”