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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-09-28 Daily Xml
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RADIOACTIVE WASTE

Mr WHETSTONE (Chaffey) (15:26): I would like to speak on quite an alarming article I read in this morning's paper regarding the transportation of over 8,000 tonnes of nuclear waste that will potentially travel along the Sturt Highway and also alongside the River Murray on its way to its waste destinations. I think it would be appropriate for me to call on the premier in waiting, Jay Weatherill, to assure all South Australians that he will not put our food bowl and South Australia's water supply at risk. I think it is absolutely outrageous that we can actually put communities on the Sturt Highway, the main thoroughfare from Sydney to Adelaide, put them at risk of—

The Hon. P. Caica interjecting:

Mr WHETSTONE: —something that could potentially turn out to be a disaster in this state. And I am glad to see the minister for conservation, environment and water, because it is putting those three portfolios at risk, particularly crossing over the river three times in a journey coming from where it leaves New South Wales for its destination in the Northern Territory through South Australia.

What I would like to ask is: how many schools, how many hospitals and how many blackspots on the federal highway is that waste going to pass? Again, it is an unnecessary risk. There are ways of transporting that nuclear waste, but not along the Sturt Highway and crossing over the River Murray. I am not against the transportation of the nuclear waste but I am against the risk that it poses to the food security of the state and also the water security of this state.

We look at the excuse that rail cannot be an option because it cannot be monitored. The federal government has said that we cannot monitor the carriages and the containers. I think that is absolute nonsense. In today's world of technology we can monitor anything. We can monitor an ant running around the bush. We can monitor anything in space. So, the federal government's excuse that rail is not an option is absolute rubbish.

Again, I say that putting at risk the food security of this nation, this state and the water supply of every South Australian is absolutely ludicrous. So, what about the stored waste around South Australia? What about the stored waste at the RAH? What about the many other facilities around South Australia where we have waste stored? What will this government do about dealing with this waste over time?

Our Premier was bitterly opposed to the federal Liberal government's option on a waste dump in South Australia, and now he is looking at a federal Labor government's option of disposing of waste coming through our food bowl, coming through our waterways. I guess with 20 October looming, it proves that perhaps he just does not care. He is too busy looking at getting out of his job and leaving the baggage with the incoming premier Weatherill. I say to the incoming premier, Jay Weatherill, he must stop the risk. He must not put our food bowl at risk and he must not put our waterways at risk with this potential contamination.

Time expired.

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