South Australia’s proposal for a high-level nuclear waste dump in the state’s north will go to a referendum, the premier, Jay Weatherill, has announced, but only if it has bipartisan support.
The government has been considering the proposal following a recommendation by a royal commission into the nuclear fuel cycle that found the state could reap billions of dollars by storing waste from other countries. But the royal commission found public and political support for the dump was essential if it was to go ahead.
“I believe continued public debate about South Australia’s role in the nuclear fuel cycle is important and ultimately it is a matter that the people should decide, not political parties,” Weatherill told a press conference on Monday.
A citizens’ jury that reported last week rejected the proposal. Weatherill said the government had taken that into consideration.
A broader statewide consultation process revealed stronger support with 43% of the 50,000 people involved backing the idea of pursuing a nuclear waste facility. Thirty-seven per cent were opposed to the idea with 20% undecided.
The opposition has said the matter should be settled by the public’s verdict on policies put forward at the state election in March.
Weatherill said the referendum would not go ahead unless the Liberals were also on board.
“We place great importance on bipartisanship on this issue and that’s why we’ve reached out to the Liberal party at every stage of this process,” he said. “Without bipartisan support this option of a high-level nuclear storage facility cannot progress further.”
The royal commission ordered by Weatherill into a potential nuclear waste industry had found social consent and political bipartisanship were “essential” if SA was to reap a potential $100bn profit from taking the world’s high-level waste.
Weatherill said he believed it was important for discussions to continue, as to do otherwise would be “shutting down democracy”.
The premier has also revealed that, should the idea be supported at a referendum, any site subsequently selected for a dump would be subject to a veto by the local Aboriginal community.
But the decision to try to press on with discussions has drawn immediate criticism from the Australia Conservation Foundation, with the anti-nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney saying Weatherill had opted to continue with the stress and division the proposal had sparked.
“Today was the day the premier should have accepted that this controversial proposal does not enjoy community support,” Sweeney said. “South Australia can do far better than be a dumping ground for some of the world’s longest-lived and most dangerous poisons.”
The Greens said the decision to press on with the debate “defies belief”.
“From day one, the Greens have said that this project is ill-conceived, economically reckless and poses enormous reputational damage for our state,” Greens MP Mark Parnell said. “It’s dead in the water and no amount of wishful thinking will bring it back to life.”
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