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.
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.
More than two years after the Fukushima disaster began, 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water has poured into the sea from one of 1060 giant tanks storing the deadly liquid.
"The Australian-fuelled Fukushima catastrophe continues with TEPCO operators calling for international assistance to cope with the most recent leak, which they describe as a ‘serious incident'," said Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam.
"Cesium 137, Strontium 90 and other radioactive poison is spewing into the Pacific Ocean every day.
With Japanese Authorities declaring the worsening situation at Fukushima an "emergency", Labor candidate for Perth Alannah MacTiernan has made a baffling pitch for nuclear power to stay in contention for Australia's energy mix.
"The nuclear industry is falling apart worldwide in the wake of Fukushima, the global financial crisis, uncontrollable costs, and overwhelming competition from renewable energy," Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said today. Senator Ludlam will debate Ms MacTiernan tonight in Perth.
The departure of Martin Ferguson from the Cabinet presents a circuit breaker for the Federal Government to progress a real solution for Australia's radioactive waste problem, the Greens said today.
"If responsibility for the waste site is to remain with Mr Gary Gray's portfolio, he should immediately move to drop the campaign to dump the waste at Muckaty Station," said Australian Greens spokesperson on nuclear policy Senator Scott Ludlam.