Controversial laws giving the federal government the power to impose a nuclear waste dump on the Northern Territory should be scrapped and replaced with better laws, a Senate committee has found.

The committee, including four Rudd government senators, said the laws were unfair and discriminatory, and should be repealed early in the new year.

"In targeting the Northern Territory the current act is directed toward ensuring that the waste is located in the jurisdiction that has the least legal power to act in response to any concerns it has with the process," the committee's report reads.

"It abandons the commonwealth's commitment to basing the process on the best science, in favour of basing it on choosing a location with the least legal capacity to dispute the outcome."

The Howard government passed the laws in 2006, outraging the NT government, indigenous land owners and green groups.

Labor promised to scrap the laws, but has come under fire for failing to do so in its first 12 months in office.

The committee said the laws should be replaced with new legislation to address the ongoing problem of nuclear waste.

The new legislation should emphasise voluntary engagement, rather than coercion, and should be grounded in sound science.

It should not discriminate against any particular jurisdiction, and should not require the suspension of any commonwealth laws.

The coalition laws suspended a range of other laws, including the Aboriginal Land Rights Act and the Native Title Act.

The coalition short-listed Harts Range, Fishers Ridge and Mount Everard as possible sites for a dump.

Muckaty Station, about 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, was later controversially nominated as a possible site by the Northern Land Council.

Liberal senators attached a dissenting report, saying there was no need to repeal the existing laws.

But NT environment groups, traditional owners and community members welcomed the majority recommendations.

Mitch, an Arrente-Luritja woman seeking to protect the Harts Range site, said the report represented a step forward for all territorians.

"The onus is now on (Resources) Minister Martin Ferguson and Prime Minister (Kevin) Rudd to follow the recommendations," he said.

Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative, based in Alice Springs, called on the Rudd government to fulfil its election promise.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said the report should end "a decade of deceit and division" on the issue.

The commonwealth generates the majority of new radioactive waste, mostly at the Lucas Heights facility in Sydney.