Daryl Melham (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The electorate of Banks is adjacent to the seat of Hughes where the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor is located. I was asked to visit ANSTO on 28 April 2005 by a scientist who lives in my electorate and who works at ANSTO. I was impressed by the professionalism and the commitment of the people I met. The visit certainly gave me an insight into the work which is done on the site and which assists ordinary Australians.

I can say with some confidence that changes to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s responsibilities impact directly on my constituents. Certainly, my constituents do raise the issue with me occasionally. Our local newspapers maintain a watching brief on the activities at Lucas Heights. The St George & Sutherland Shire Leaderran an article as recently as 6 July reporting the launch of a partnership between ANSTO and the CSIRO which is aimed at delivering better foods to combat colorectal cancer and diabetes. The bill that is before the House today, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Amendment Bill 2006, expands those responsibilities in relation to the handling, management and storage of nuclear waste.

At the outset, I wish to declare that I have the highest respect for the work in medical science, environmental science and industrial applications carried out by ANSTO. A brief reference to the ANSTO Fifty years report provides some idea of the research activities carried out by ANSTO. From 1958, when the high flux Australian reactor went critical, isotopes were being produced. Radioisotopes are invaluable as they allow scientists to see inside solid objects and are used in agriculture, industry and medicine. ANSTO now produces 98 per cent of the isotopes used in Australia, as well as exporting to South-East Asia and the UK.

Diagnostic radioisotopes are used in radiotherapy to treat cancer. These release their radioactive payload directly into the tissue being targeted. ANSTO, in partnership with Australian Surgical Design and Manufacture, produces prosthetic devices such as knee and hip joints. A radioisotope labelled ‘sand tracer’ is being used to study the impact of storms on our coastline. ANSTO is working on this project in conjunction with the New South Wales Department of Land and Water Conservation at McMasters Beach.

With the Olympic Park Authority, ANSTO is working to provide a tool for sustainable management of the wetlands surrounding Homebush Bay, given the contamination of the mud over many years. The impact of air pollution on climate change is another project undertaken by scientists at ANSTO where, by using their facilities, accelerator based nuclear techniques of analysis are being applied to obtain over 25 different elemental and chemical species from hydrogen to lead.

The list goes on to outline the varied activities carried out by ANSTO which directly impact on the day-to-day activities of our community but of which little is known. I make this point because it is important for people to understand the breadth of tasks, beyond processing, that are undertaken by ANSTO. It is worthwhile noting the safety arrangements in place at ANSTO as these have pertinence to the bill before the House today. I quote the safety objectives from the ANSTO annual report 2004-05:

1. protect human health and safety – this is the organisation’s highest priority

2. develop and maintain safety systems and assessment procedures that comply with national and international standards

3. create and promote a positive safety culture

4. strive for continual improvement in safe work practices so that any risk to staff and the public from ANSTO’s operations is as low as reasonably achievable.

There is no doubt that ANSTO, of all organisations in this country, is the best placed to deal with safety matters relating to waste treatment.

The bill is to allow ANSTO to fully participate in actions which may be required to assist the Commonwealth and its agencies in the management of nuclear materials and waste beyond those which relate to its own operations. Currently ANSTO is unable to make its expertise available to owners of nuclear waste who may be required to send that waste to the proposed storage facility in the Northern Territory. This legislation will allow ANSTO to provide its assistance and advice to these departments and agencies. In addition, ANSTO will be able to provide assistance to state and Commonwealth authorities in the storage and disposal of nuclear materials which may be obtained in the course of law enforcement operations.

In its submission to the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education Legislation Committee, ANSTO welcomed the amendments to the act:

In the course of its operational, research and production activities, ANSTO necessarily generates small quantities of solid, liquid and gaseous radioactive wastes on a daily basis. ANSTO has the specialised skills, equipment and facilities that enable it to condition, manage and store these wastes safely. No other organisation in Australia has comparable capabilities.

Certainly ANSTO is best placed to handle radioactive waste and ensure it conforms to the Commonwealth radioactive waste management facility standards for packaging. ANSTO noted in its submission that it is presently unable to assist other organisations to package their waste to the appropriate standard. This legislation will allow ANSTO to do so.

The original ANSTO Act did not envisage that ANSTO may ever be required to assist law enforcement agencies by taking charge of radioactive materials which may be part of ongoing investigations. The Senate committee investigating this bill found that state emergency services had approached ANSTO for assistance and advice in relation to the storage of nuclear materials. Under the current act ANSTO was not in a position to assist. This legislation will empower ANSTO to provide such advice and assistance in the storage and disposal of nuclear materials. I note that this amendment will also ensure that Australia is aligned with the standards set out in the UN International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.

The Labor Party have no argument with the specified direction of this bill. What we must have emphatic reassurance on is an iron plated guarantee that Lucas Heights will not become the de facto nuclear waste dump for Australia. I note that the Minister for Education, Science and Training, in her second reading speech, said that in providing this authority to ANSTO:

... does not mean that Lucas Heights will become the Commonwealth’s radioactive waste store. In fact, the Commonwealth has absolutely no intention of establishing the ANSTO Lucas Heights premises as the main radioactive waste storage or disposal facility ...

I wish to remind the minister of these remarks and warn her that they will come back to haunt her if Lucas Heights does take on this role, intentionally or otherwise.

My concern is that this government will continue in the opaque manner in which it has operated for its term of government. The Northern Territory is a victim of this approach. The government has imposed the establishment of a nuclear waste facility in the Northern Territory. One might ask whether the Northern Territory government agreed with this decision or, in fact, whether the Northern Territory was even consulted—not an unreasonable query under the circumstances. The announcement by the federal government was made by the then Minister for Education, Science and Training, Minister Nelson, in July 2005. Three potential sites were identified, all in the Northern Territory: Mount Everard, Harts Range and Fishers Ridge.

The previous year saw the introduction of legislation by the Northern Territory government to prevent radioactive waste from outside the Northern Territory being transported into and stored within the Northern Territory. The Nuclear Waste Transport, Storage and Disposal (Prohibition) Bill was enacted in the Northern Territory in November 2004. This arrogant and conceited federal government has seen fit, once again, to override the rights of a jurisdiction because of its own short-term political needs. Since all three of the sites are on Commonwealth land the government does have the right, legally, to legislate with respect to the sites—the legal right but, emphatically, not the moral right.

The Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005 explicitly overrides the operation of both state and territory laws that ‘regulate, hinder or prevent’ the facility’s development and operation. The act also overrides the application of various state and territory laws that may present any procedural delays in progressing the development of the facility. In the parliamentary Bills Digest No. 59 produced prior to the enactment of this bill the concluding comments succinctly summarise the position of this government:

The Bill makes it clear that the Government’s decision on the preferred site is not disallowable by Parliament, is not reviewable under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977, and the Government owes no legal obligation of procedural fairness towards anybody affected by the decision.

We have no guarantee that this arrogant government will not overreach yet again if there are delays with the establishment of the waste facility. If that were to occur then Lucas Heights will inevitably become the waste management facility for the Commonwealth. I remind the minister that the electors of Banks and, perhaps more importantly to her, the electors of Hughes will not tolerate such a move. As a consequence of this bill all Commonwealth radioactive waste from across Australia could be taken to Lucas Heights for processing. I seek assurances from the minister that Lucas Heights will not become the de facto dumping ground as a result of the provisions of this bill.

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