12th Feb 2015, 12:15 PM – Senate Motions — Nuclear Energy

Senator Wright proposed a motion that the senate declare it is against the establishment of nuclear power plants in Australia and that the production of uranium for fuel presents a dangerous risk.

The Senator claims that her chosen wording for the motion is taken directly from the Australian Labor Parties National Policy Platform, from which chapter 3, policy 230 reads:

Labor recognizes that the production of uranium and its use in the nuclear fuel cycle present unique and unprecedented hazards and risks, including:

• threats to human health and the local environment in the mining and milling of uranium, which demand the enforcement of very strict safety procedures

• the generation of products that are usable as the raw materials for nuclear weapons manufacture, which demands the enforcement of effective controls against diversion

• the generation of highly toxic radioactive waste by-products that demand permanently safe disposal methods.

Motion:

That the Senate—

(a) opposes the establishment of nuclear power plants in Australia, based on the best available expert advice;

(b) recognizes that the production of uranium and its use in the nuclear fuel cycle presents unique and unprecedented hazards and risks, including:

(i) threats to human health and the local environment in the mining and milling of uranium,

(ii) the generation of products that are usable as the raw materials for nuclear weapons manufacture, and

(iii) the generation of highly toxic radioactive waste by-products; and

(c) rejects any efforts to move toward establishing nuclear power plants in South Australia.