Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move Democrats amendments (1) and (2) together:

(1)    Schedule 1, page 4 (after line 5), before item 8, insert:

8A  At the end of section 3

Add:

        (3)    A further object of this Act is to ensure that communities in which a nuclear facility is to be established have authorised that establishment and have consented to the health, welfare, safety and environmental impacts and risks of the establishment of the nuclear facility.

(2)    Schedule 1, page 4 (after line 15), after item 12, insert;

12A  After subsection 16A(1)

Insert:

                 Consultation before grant of permit

     (1A)    Before granting a permit in accordance with this section, the Minister must initiate a comprehensive consultation process as follows:

             (a)    the relevant State Minister for the environment must be notified in writing with comprehensive information about the facility for which a permit is sought 60 days before the granting of a permit;

             (b)    the Mayor of every local council within 0.5km of the boundary of the facility for which a permit is sought must be notified in writing with comprehensive information about the proposed facility 60 days before the granting of a permit; and

             (c)    a plebiscite must be conducted by the Electoral Commission in every federal electorate within 0.5km of the boundary of the facility for which a permit is sought, seeking approval for the establishment of the facility.

      (1B)    If, as a result of the plebiscite conducted in accordance with paragraph (1A)(c), a simple majority disapproves of the establishment of the facility, a permit must not be granted in accordance with subsection (1).

I will not go into great detail about the amendments. I have already canvassed their objectives and they are clearly laid out in the amendments. Just to recap briefly, they would require the agreement of state and local governments prior to a nuclear installation and they would also require a plebiscite of citizens in the electorate and in electorates within half a kilometre of the facility.