The Australian Greens would containerise nuclear waste at Lucas Heights waste facility while an independent, national inquiry into radioactive waste production and management was undertaken.

The dedicated public inquiry would investigate best possible management options for storing nuclear waste, consideration of waste minimisation options while maintaining the federal legislative prohibitions on the importation, storage and disposal of international nuclear waste.

The Australian Greens have raised serious concerns about the lack of notice or consultation with native title claimants or the Mid-West community around an application for a nuclear waste dump to be hosted in the region.

The application has been made by Gindalbie Metals, for an area lying within Badja Station in the Shire of Yalgoo.

This is an extraordinary win for the elders and their families who have sought to protect country on behalf of all of us. They should never have had the burden of dealing with Australia's radioactive waste laid on them, first by the Howard Government, and then by the Rudd/Gillard Government. Now that burden is lifted.

It is essential that Australia's disgraceful history of targeting Aboriginal communities to host our 60-year legacy of spent reactor fuel is never repeated again.

Greens senator Scott Ludlam has questioned the wisdom of developing a uranium mining industry in WA following the second leak of toxic material from a major uranium mine in the space of a few days.

Radioactive slurry from a holding tank at the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory spewed into the environment on December 7 and today it was revealed that Rio Tinto’s Rossing Mine in Namibia was also leaking.