Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bean for his question. This government is ensuring responsible management of the Commonwealth's radioactive waste inventory by cleaning up the mess left by the Liberals and the Nationals. As we know, radioactive waste is a population and environmental health issue. The vast majority of Australia's radioactive waste is a by-product of the production of nuclear medicine for the treatment of cancers. It's imperative the government stores and disposes of this material safely to futureproof a vital industry that is of vital importance to health treatments for so many Australians.

Those opposite agreed with this. It was a bipartisan position. They introduced a bill to create an agency to manage this waste, citing its national importance—and I agree. What they failed to do was fund it. That's right; those opposite sought to create an agency that would have the care of radioactive waste—which, as we know, lasts for thousands of years—yet they let the funding fall off a cliff. There is not a penny in their budget for ongoing operations for the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency.

I want to be clear: we support the ARWA, the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency, but it needs funding to continue its work—something those opposite neglected. I understand the two ministers for resources of the former government had a lot on their plates. Of course they found the time to create a massive grants program for where the site is—and some of those, I must admit, are excellent projects. But delivering funding for the ongoing management of our radioactive waste design and disposal pathways, which we know takes time—'Absolutely no way, we will not do that,' is what those opposite did.

Because of the budget mess left by the Liberals and Nationals, later this year the money for the agency within my department does run out. I'm asked how we're going to fix it. Well, we're going to find the extra funding that's needed that they declined to do because they are irresponsible with the finances of the budget of this nation. Almost every Australian will benefit from nuclear medicine in their lifetime. Everyone in this place will know someone who has benefited from or needed cancer treatment. They can understand why this material exists and why we need to safely store it, especially after its lifesaving medical applications. So why wouldn't you fund it? Why would you stop funding such an important program?

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