Geoff and Robyn Rayner produce some of the best superfine fleece in the world at their Pomanara Merino Stud, close to a neighbouring property which has been shortlisted for a permanent radioactive waste dump.

The Rayners’ home is the closest residence to the site which, if it goes ahead, will take all of Australia’s medical and intermediate level nuclear waste, including radioactive waste currently stored at the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in Sydney.

The Sallys Flat site has been offered to the Federal Government for use by the landowner. 

The Rayners have just signed up to become a sustainable operation and said they had to meet stringent criteria.

Now, with the prospect of nuclear waste on their doorstep, all that has been put at risk. 

“The stigma sticks,” Mr Rayner said.

Three generations of the family have made their living from the land. Now they wonder if they will have a future. 

“What will we do? You can’t just pack 2000 sheep up and move. Where do we go?” Mrs Rayner said.

On Friday, Member for Calare John Cobb said he was very relaxed about the proposal to consider Sallys Flat for the dump. 

He said he felt the waste was so non-threatening that a person could put it in a bag and sleep on it without feeling any ill-effects. 

“We’re disgusted by Mr Cobb’s response,” Mr Rayner said.

The Rayners went to Mr Cobb’s office yesterday morning to get specific details about the proposal and were given a few brochures outlining why it is important to find a permanent home for the nation’s nuclear waste. 

They said no-one had any specific details or answers for them. 

“We feel like second-class citizens. Farmers are being treated like they don’t matter,” Mr Rayner said.

The Rayners are angry that the first they heard of the proposal was on Friday when it was announced in the media.

Mr Rayner said those directly affected should have been consulted before Sallys Flat was announced as a shortlisted location. 

“There is no excuse for all this secrecy,” he said.

Mr Rayner and his father moved to the property in 1966.

The land has been owned by Geoff’s father, Geoff and now his son James. 

“It is a very big part of our family stud,” Mr Rayner said. 

Mr and Mrs Rayner said they are concerned that once the facility is built, waste that is even more dangerous will follow. 

“You don’t know what they are going to do once they have one foot in the door,” Mr Rayner said.

Murray and Nella Price also have a large sheep property in the area and say they are very upset about this proposal. 

They share a fence line with the ‘volunteered’ property. 

“We were very riled up when we heard about it that morning,” Mrs Price said.

“We are extremely upset and angry.”

Mr Price has made a sign and has stuck it on their front fence. 

They are afraid that if anything goes wrong with the storage of the nuclear waste it would run directly into the Turon River at the bottom of the property, which then flows into the Macquarie River and is moved by pipeline to Orange. 

“I think Orange should be concerned as well,” Mrs Price said.

She added that being a dumping ground for nuclear waste would also have an impact on tourism in the region.

Thousands of people visit Hill End each year to explore the iconic gold-mining area, camp and fish.

Mrs Price said Hill End needs all the tourism it can get and this isn’t going to help. 

“The little businesses out here are trying hard to survive. If this happens they will completely go under,” she said.

She said the roads around the area are narrow, winding and barely maintained. Many are still dirt. 

The thought of nuclear waste travelling along these roads fills her with fear, she said.

“The government said the community that is chosen will get $10 million. I can’t see them spending $10 million on Hill End, so who is going to get it? The only person I can see it benefiting is the landholder,” she said.

“John Cobb’s lost my vote.”