Where should we store nuclear waste? Not in your backyard, right?

Well, that's the problem. Unless you can come up with a way of using the waste immediately, you have to store it somewhere.

In Australia's case, we do have some waste from medical production and research, and the government has more or less made a decision. Nuclear waste will be stored in Muckaty, a remote station 120 km from the nearest population in the Northern Territory.

Legislation making this possible passed the Senate today. It will now go to the Lower House, and given the Opposition's support, it's likely to pass easily.

But the Australian Greens and plenty of environmental and Indigenous groups are not impressed. Some Indigenous groups claim the station is on a sacred site used for initiations.

Moreover, the precise identity of the traditional owners is unclear, with a case on the issue currently making its way through the Federal Court.

Senator Scott Ludlam is the Greens' spokesman on nuclear issues and a long-time critic of the Muckaty plan.