TERRITORY anti-nuclear waste dump protesters have started a small but concerted campaign against new legislation expected to be presented to the Federal Senate next week.

The House of Representatives passed the Bill on Tuesday with Muckaty Station about 120km north of Tennant Creek the site most likely to be used for the dump.

Greens Senator Scott Ludlam says the Greens will introduce a series of amendments in the Senate, including tightening the discretion given to the Resources Minister.

"This just gives total and unfettered discretion to the Minister to put this thing wherever he thinks," he said.

The Greens want to establish a commission to look at alternative ways of dealing with the waste.

Labor Member for Lingiari Warren Snowdon's spokeswoman Alice Plate said he voted for the legislation because "unlike the Howard Government law, this Radioactive Waste Management legislation will not impose a radioactive waste management facility on any community including in the Northern Territory.

 

"It is based on land being volunteered for consideration," she said.

"I'd prefer people didn't volunteer their land, but the Ngapa clan and the Full Council of the Northern Land Council have, and now this site is being considered.

"The legislation ensures the selected site will be subject to exhaustive environmental and nuclear regulatory assessment."

Both NT Chief Minister Paul Henderson and Member for Barkly Gerry McCarthy hit out at the legislation yesterday while Opposition Member for Port Darwin John Elferink sarcastically offered to support a motion of no confidence in Mr Snowdon during question time.

Ms Plate said Mr Snowdon previously opposed the Howard Government imposing a nuclear facility on the NT but the legislation has now changed to allow people to volunteer land.

Environment Centre NT spokeswoman Cat Beaton said about 75 people protested on the steps of NT Parliament yesterday and the Bill showed no respect for NT legislation designed to ban nuclear waste dumps in the Territory.

"A waste dump at Muckaty presents some real risks for Darwin as, radioactive waste will be shipped through the Darwin Port and along Darwin roads," she said.

"The Muckaty site didn't even make the short-list when environmental and scientific criteria were used to inform a preliminary site assessment study in the 1990s, now they want to build a dump there."