Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The purpose of this bill is to amend the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987 to allow Australia’s pre-eminent nuclear science and research agency, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, or ANSTO, to have a fully effective and practical role in managing radioactive materials in Australia. 

The existing functions of ANSTO in relation to radioactive waste management set out in section 5 of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation Act 1987 give ANSTO the authority to condition—that is, prepare—manage or store only radioactive materials associated with the organisation’s activities, unless specified by regulation.

As it currently stands, the act unnecessarily restricts ANSTO in making its expertise and facilities available to assist other Commonwealth agencies who hold and produce radioactive waste. With the establishment of the Commonwealth radioactive waste management facility in the Northern Territory, it will be important for ANSTO’s capabilities to be available for conditioning and repackaging waste from other Commonwealth agencies prior to transport to the facility. ANSTO may also be charged with the management and operation of the facility: in that case, it will obviously be necessary for it to have the authority to manage radioactive waste from other Commonwealth agencies. 

In its current form, the ANSTO Act also prevents ANSTO from applying its expertise and facilities to assist in the aftermath of a terrorism incident involving radioactive material. After such an incident, it might be necessary for ANSTO to store radioactive material from a radiation dispersal device, or radioactive samples collected for evidentiary purposes by state or federal law enforcement agencies. Such a need was not contemplated when the organisation was established or when the ANSTO Act was amended in 1992, restricting ANSTO’s capacity to manage radioactive materials not produced by the organisation. 

It is sensible and desirable that, as the agency most experienced in dealing with radioactive materials, ANSTO can participate fully as part of Australia’s counter-terrorism response to assist state and federal law enforcement and emergency response organisations. The amendments will also bring Australia into line with standards set out in the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. The changes will assist in Australia’s consideration of its position in relation to ratification of the convention.

The amendments will also permit ANSTO to assist in managing radioactive materials that come into the possession of law enforcement agencies. These include any undeclared radioactive materials intercepted by the Australian Customs Service. 

Some of these amendments are precautionary in nature. The Australian government, as well as state and territory jurisdictions, have strong measures in place to deal with potential terrorist or criminal uses of radiological materials, and strong and effective regulatory regimes to ensure the highest standards of public health and safety when dealing with radiological materials. However, this does not remove the Commonwealth’s obligation to the Australian people to be prepared in the event of an unforseen incident. ANSTO, with the best facilities and qualified staff in Australia for managing radiological material, should have the legal power to assist quickly and effectively if its facilities or expertise are required in such an incident.

Given that radioactive wastes are produced and/or stored at around 30 Commonwealth sites apart from Lucas Heights, it is impracticable and unnecessary to move a regulation for each shipment of radioactive waste proceeding to Lucas Heights for conditioning and repackaging. It also makes little sense to address restrictions in the act by duplicating the extensive facilities already available at Lucas Heights at the Commonwealth radioactive waste management facility in the Northern Territory.

The proposed amendments provide ANSTO with the authority also to condition, manage and store radioactive waste produced by other Commonwealth agencies and to fully participate in the establishment and operation of the Commonwealth radioactive waste management facility in the Northern Territory.

But providing the authority to ANSTO to manage and store waste produced by other Commonwealth agencies 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 for the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth’s resolve to establish the Commonwealth radioactive waste management facility in the Northern Territory for this purpose was made abundantly clear by the enactment of the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act in 2005.

Amendment of the ANSTO Act is also necessary to put beyond doubt ANSTO’s authority to accept and manage radioactive waste arising from overseas reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel from ANSTO’s research reactor. These wastes will return to Australia from 2011, when the Commonwealth radioactive waste management facility is scheduled to commence operation.

Spent fuel from ANSTO’s HIFAR reactor has been sent overseas for reprocessing to convert it into a stable intermediate level waste form suitable for long-term storage and eventual disposal in Australia. This material has been sent to reprocessing plants in Scotland and France operated by AEA Technology and COGEMA respectively. Contracts with AEA Technology and COGEMA set out the basis on which radioactive waste residues are attributed to Australia and the terms of return of these residues to Australia.

As anti-nuclear organisations in this country and overseas have signalled their intent to mount legal challenges to prevent and delay reprocessing of ANSTO spent nuclear fuel, it is important that ANSTO’s authority to receive and manage the resultant radioactive waste is put beyond doubt.

Amendments to the ANSTO Act in 1992 to restrict ANSTO’s powers to hold radioactive waste and radioactive materials addressed concerns that Lucas Heights might become the site of a national nuclear waste repository. Of course, at that time these concerns had some substance in view of the then Labor government’s illegal storage of 10,000 drums of low level radioactive waste at the site. There are no longer any grounds for such concern. This is because the government has clearly stated its position in the July 2004 announcement by the Prime Minister and backed it up with legislation in 2005.

I confirm that the Commonwealth will establish a new facility for the responsible management of all Commonwealth radioactive wastes. State and territory governments are expected to establish facilities to manage their own radioactive waste, consistent with Australia’s international obligations. In accordance with the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005, the Commonwealth government is proceeding to establish its own radioactive waste management facility in the Northern Territory. The radioactive waste currently stored at ANSTO, including the legacy waste stored at ANSTO since the 1960s, will be transferred to the Commonwealth radioactive waste facility in the Northern Territory once it is operational.

The measures in this bill will ensure that the Commonwealth has access to ANSTO expertise and facilities required for efficient and responsible management of the wastes that may arise from use of radioactive materials in medicine, industry, research and unforseen incidents. Passage of the bill is essential if Australians are to continue to realise the benefits of the use of a wide range of radioactive materials in our daily lives.

Full details of the measures in the bill are contained in the explanatory memorandum that has been circulated to honourable members.

I commend the bill to the House and present the explanatory memorandum.

Debate (on motion by Mr Gavan O’Connor) adjourned.