The National Radioactive Waste Management Bill was not supported in the House of Representatives by any of the independents or the Greens. Country Liberal Member for Solomon Natasha Griggs also crossed the floor to vote against it. 

 

Ms Griggs said in a statement that before the 2007 election, Labor Member for Lingiari Warren Snowdon had issued 18 media releases condemning the Country Liberal's support for a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory. 

 

"Today, in one of the most hypocritical and cynical actions ever undertaken by a Northern Territory politician, Warren Snowdon voted in favour of a nuclear waste dump," she said. 

 

The Howard government first nominated Muckaty as one of four possible sites for a nuclear waste dump in September 2007. 

 

Muckaty is the only site being considered by the Labor Government and Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson. 

 

NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson has said the site should be chosen for scientific reasons and not because the NT was a constitutional "weak link". 

 

The law has the potential to override state, territory and local government laws and allow key environmental and indigenous safeguards to be disregarded. 

 

Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman Dave Sweeney said the legislation was not supported by the public. 

 

"Minister Ferguson might be halfway to bad legislation but he is a long way from a dodgy dump," he said. 

 

"It's a bad law, that has been based on a broken promise and the outcome of a bad process."