THERE seems little doubt that Australia's nuclear waste dump will be built in the Territory.

Scientists say it should be in South Australia.

But the SA Government wouldn't have a bar of it - and the dump is to be dumped on the NT, which does not have the constitutional right to resist Canberra.

Senator Nigel Scullion has negotiated an interesting deal with the Federal Government - all states and territories except the NT will pay "rent" to use the dump into a special fund.

The fund, which is expected to collect several million dollars a year, will be used to buy equipment for the Territory's oncology unit and for scholarships for medical students.

Barkly MLA Gerry McCarthy - who knows more than anybody the strength of feeling against the dump in Tennant Creek - has dismissed the fund as a "bribe".

And, of course, he's right. That's exactly what it is - a cash sweetener to make the dump more palatable to Territorians.

But what's wrong with that?

The dump is almost certain to be built in the Territory anyway, no matter what Territorians say.

So why not at least make the best of a bad job and charge rent for the damned thing?

This may be a somewhat cynical attitude. But it's also practical - when the battle is lost after heroic but unequal resistance, surely the best tactic is to negotiate the best peace possible.