Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

RISHWORTH (—) (): On behalf of the Leader of the House, I move:

That:

(1) a House Select Committee on Nuclear Energy be appointed to specifically inquire into and report on the consideration of nuclear power generation, including deployment of small modular reactors, in Australia, including:

(a) deployment timeframes;

(b) fuel supply, and transport of fuel;

(c) uranium enrichment capability;

(d) waste management, transport and storage;

(e) water use and impacts on other water uses;

(f) relevant energy infrastructure capability, including brownfield sites and transmission lines;

(g) Federal, state, territory and local government legal and policy frameworks;

(h) risk management for natural disasters or any other safety concerns;

(i) potential share of total energy system mix;

(j) necessary land acquisition;

(k) costs of deploying, operating and maintaining nuclear power stations;

(l) the impact of the deployment, operation and maintenance of nuclear power stations on electricity affordability; and

(m) any other relevant matter.

(2) the committee presents its final report by no later than 30 April 2025;

(3) the committee may choose to table an interim report at any time;

(4) the committee consist of:

(a) seven voting members, four Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Government Whip or Whips, two Members of the House of Representatives to be nominated by the Opposition Whip or Whips, and one crossbench member to be nominated by the Opposition Whip; and

(b) two supplementary (non-voting) members (one Government, one non-Government) who may be substituted from time to time as advised by the Government Whip or Whips (in the case of a supplementary Government member) and the Opposition Whip or Whips (in the case of a supplementary non-Government member);

(5) every nomination of a member of the committee be notified in writing to the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(6) the members of the committee hold office as a House select committee until presentation of the committee's final report or the House of Representatives is dissolved or expires by effluxion of time, whichever is the earlier;

(7) the committee elect a:

(a) Government member as its chair; and

(b) non-Government member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the committee;

(8) at any time when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the committee the members present shall elect another Government member to act as chair at that meeting;

(9) in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, shall have a casting vote;

(10) three members of the committee including at least one Government member constitute a quorum of the committee;

(11) the committee:

(a) have power to appoint subcommittees consisting of three or more of its members and to refer to any subcommittee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine or conduct public hearings; and

(b) appoint the chair of each subcommittee who shall have a casting vote only;

(12) at any time when the chair of a subcommittee is not present at a meeting of the subcommittee, the members of the subcommittee present shall elect another member of that subcommittee to act as chair at that meeting;

(13) two members of a subcommittee constitute a quorum of that subcommittee including at least one government member;

(14) members of the committee who are not members of a subcommittee may participate in the proceedings of that subcommittee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purpose of a quorum;

(15) the committee or any subcommittee have power to:

(a) call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced;

(b) conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit;

(c) sit in public or in private;

(d) report from time to time; and

(e) adjourn from time to time and sit during any adjournment of the House of Representatives; and

(16) the provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.

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