Report on ARPANSA Forum & Protest

Some significant steps forward for the campaign against a nuclear waste dump last week. The federal nuclear regulator ARPANSA was in Adelaide for a two-day forum on the planned national nuclear waste dump.

On the Wednesday morning there was a loud, colourful protest of 100 people which attracted good TV news coverage on all channels. Organisations opposed to the dump presented strong cases on Wednesday to the ARPANSA panel. That included the state government, the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta and the Kokatha Native Title claimants, Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth, the NSW Local Governments Association and the Sutherland Shire Council. By contrast, the federal government struggled with its session in front of the ARPANSA panel, and had to acknowledge a number of shortcomings in its assessment, ranging from a failure to establish the need for a nuclear waste dump, to the lack of on-site geological studies.

At the end of the two-day forum, John Loy, CEO of ARPANSA, said there was a need for further information and a further round of public consultation. So the licensing process is likely to be delayed - which is a great outcome and definitely the best we could hope for from a regulator which is not independent and has a track-record of putting nuclear interests ahead of the public interest.

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