The NSW Government has announced it will not transfer any restricted solid waste from a site in Hunters Hill to Kemps Creek while it pursues an alternative with the Federal Government.
Minister for Finance and Services Andrew Constance said the Federal Government is looking at establishing a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility in the Northern Territory – a site which may be a suitable disposal option for the waste at Hunters Hill.
“We have always said as long as there is a viable option on the table to transport this waste elsewhere, the NSW Government will pursue it,” Mr Constance said
“For all their whinging, State and Federal Labor MPs failed to nominate an alternative site for the restricted solid waste at Hunters Hill.
“We now have a Liberals & Nationals Government in Canberra that is listening and willing to work with us cooperatively.”
The National Waste Management Act 2012 has come into effect and it enables the Federal Government to establish and operate a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility.
The facility would accommodate waste for up to 100 years, including current expected volumes of waste generated by all states and territories.
“I have written to the Federal Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane, noting the plans for a national repository and seeking his cooperation on the matter,” Mr Constance said.
“The remediation of the site at Hunters Hill will be deferred until the Commonwealth has made a decision on whether to allow us to dispose of this material at its national repository.”
Member for Mulgoa Tanya Davies welcomed the announcement.
“This is an issue that was thrown in the ‘too-hard’ basket by State and Federal Labor who were more interested in playing politics rather than identifying a solution,” Ms Davies said.
“In contrast, the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government is working cooperatively with its Federal counterparts to investigate alternative options.”
