MEMBER for Mallee Anne Webster has refused to rule out the electorate as a potential location for spent nuclear waste.
The Opposition last week announced its plan to build seven nuclear power plants at the sites of current and former coal-fired power plants by 2050.
While Dr Webster said she expected Mallee to play no role in the nuclear energy space, she deferred to Labor on where waste would be stored if the Coalition’s plan was implemented.
She said the Coalition would be bound by the current Government’s choice of location for a permanent repository for nuclear waste from nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS defence agreement.
“The Albanese Government is currently looking for a permanent repository for this purpose (managing nuclear waste),” Dr Webster said.
“Our intention is to follow the same approach as the United Kingdom by using the same permanent repository for managing spent fuel from both zero-emissions nuclear plants and our future fleet of nuclear-propelled submarines.”
Previous plans for a toxic waste dump at Nowingi, near Mildura, were abandoned in 2007 after a prominent community campaign.
On whether she would support a nuclear reactor in Mallee, Dr Webster said the Coalition policy was for seven potential sites and Mallee was not on the list.
A website promoting the policy stated that regardless of the outcome of future technical assessments, no new locations would be added.
Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed in question time this week the Government was working on identifying a site for spent nuclear fuel, and reiterated the spent fuel would be stored on Defence land.
“We will be announcing in the coming months a process by which the site will be established for the disposal of the nuclear waste,” Mr Marles said.
“The point to be made here … is that the first nuclear reactor which will need to be disposed of will be due for disposal in the early 2050s.
“This is a sealed nuclear reactor, and so there are no spent fuel rods. It does not need to be refuelled. We do have time to go through a process of determining where that site will occur.”
The Coalition’s plan was for nuclear power plants to start producing electricity by 2035.
Dr Webster said policy costings had been completed and would be released “in the next while”.
“I only expect that the Coalition’s responsible energy policy will bring cost-of-living and the cost of doing business down, and see Mallee residents and businesses thriving,” she said.
“What our policy may do is alleviate the need for the catastrophically handled 400km VNI West proposal through the Mallee electorate, so I only see upside for Mallee residents.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the nuclear power proposal would further delay Australia’s energy transition and undermine certainty for business and industry.
