Wednesday 30 November 2005
ALP
Jenny Macklin and Trish Crossin

Today's Senate Committee report on the nuclear waste dump legislation shows that Senator Nigel Scullion is missing in action while his Coalition colleagues ride roughshod over the wishes of the Northern Territory.

All Coalition senators on the inquiry into the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Bills 2005 supported the bills but were forced to acknowledge the huge number of submissions that "protested strongly at the Commonwealth's decision to include in the bills provisions that over-ride existing and future Territory laws." (Para 1.33)

Senator Nigel Scullion has done nothing to address the concerns of his constituents. He refused to serve on the committee that's reviewing the legislation and the 231 submissions received. Then he did nothing when Coalition members refused to travel to the Northern Territory for a committee hearing.

Stopping this legislation is Senator Scullion's last chance to stand up for Territorians before they are trampled by the extreme and arrogant Howard Government.

The Senate Committee mentioned no scientific evidence for the three selected sites and said that "a closer examination of the suitability of the sites against the previous selection criteria" could be made (1.48).

The Committee rebuked Department of Education Science and Training for failing to gain widespread community support and now "calls on DEST to be more pro-active in adequately informing community groups about the proposal." (1.66)

The Howard Government promised before the last Federal election that they would not put a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory.

The Committee admitted that the only reason the Government wanted to pass the nuclear waste dump bills was to stop the States and Territories and anyone who wanted to "frustrate the Commonwealth's intentions." (1.35)

The Howard Government and Senator Scullion have kept Australians in the dark over its intentions all along.

But the Committee's rubber-stamping of this extreme legislation has only one purpose - to crush dissent and ride roughshod over the community's concerns.