Friday 7 July 2006

Wendy Frew Environment Reporter
Sydney Morning Herald

A FEDERAL Government taskforce investigating nuclear energy is again under attack after the Prime Minister yesterday ruled out receiving offshore nuclear waste.

Two days after the taskforce listed the areas it would investigate, including handling nuclear waste from overseas, Mr Howard said Australia would not take the waste from other countries.

A month ago the Prime Minister was defending taking back spent nuclear fuel from countries that buy Australian uranium. His comments then came after he was reportedly briefed in Washington about a US plan for Australia to export enriched uranium and store foreign nuclear waste.

Asked on ABC radio yesterday if he would rule out Australia becoming an international nuclear waste dump, Mr Howard said: "I am not going to have this country used as some kind of repository for other peoples' nuclear problems … waste problems."

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Jenny Macklin, said his comments showed the inquiry was political. "We can see quite clearly today [it] is not independent; it's going to be doing whatever John Howard tells them."