Labor's attempt to pass widely-opposed nuclear waste dump legislation under the cover of their leadership squabble is cynical and shameless, the Australian Greens said today.

Greens spokesperson for nuclear issues Senator Scott Ludlam said Labor wants to pass the National Radioactive Waste Management Bill behind the fog of the leadership dispute because the law is "completely rotten".

"The Traditional Owners do not want this eternal radioactive waste dump on their country; the locals don't want it; the Northern Territory government does not want it; and medical experts have criticised the Government's scheme.

"There is a Federal Court case currently unresolved as to the status of this land, yet the Government pushes on - lead by a resources and energy minister obsessed with the nuclear industry. This legislation does not just represent a problem for Muckaty - it places enormous and virtually unchecked power in the hands of that solitary minister.

"Medical experts have argued correctly that we don't need a reactor to make medical isotopes. This dump is not about ‘low level medical waste' - but high level waste which is scheduled to land in Australia from the UK and France.

"Last month, in a report to the US Energy Secretary, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future strongly recommended a ‘consent-based approach to siting nuclear waste storage... noting that ‘trying to force such facilities on unwilling states, tribes and communities has not worked'. The Government ignores the lessons of history and blunders on at the behest of the nuclear industry."