She congratulated members of the small community for moving so quickly to inform themselves about the nuclear issue and for attending in such numbers with so little notice. 

Senator Rhiannon said it was clear the community was ready and willing to fight hard to protect the area. 

She said the Greens grew out of the anti-nuclear movement.

“Right now you live in a very beautiful part of the world and to put a nuclear waste dump here is very wrong,” she said.

“Who knows what will happen 100 years from now, 1000 years from now.

“No wonder you are angry. No-one wants to see a nuclear dump where they live.”

Senator Rhiannon said the Greens would be a voice for the community in federal parliament. She said the party would also keep community members informed on the process as the shortlisting continues. 

The Greens senator said those who attended the meeting raised important points, including the possible contamination of water and soil and the mechanics of transporting the waste to the dump. 

“We acknowledge that something has to be done with nuclear waste, but we have determined it is best to store it where it is made,” she said.

“Once you start transporting it you are going to get problems.

“From the Greens’ point of view this is the wrong place for such a facility.”

She told the meeting the secrecy surrounding the process was troubling.

“To simply say low levels and intermediate levels of waste are involved is not okay,” she said.

“You don’t know what you are going to end up with. Don’t be shy about asking for answers.

“This issue is also relevant to communities in Bathurst, Orange and Mudgee as well.

“We believe many communities beyond Hill End need to be informed about what is proposed.

“The federal government does not want that to happen.”

Bathurst Community Climate Action Network president and former Greens candidate Tracey Carpenter told the gathering that the shortlist had been compiled from information supplied on paper, and no-one had visited the sites to determine their suitability.

She said there was also no public document available which detailed the criteria landholders who are volunteering their land must meet.

Ms Carpenter said there was a box the landholder must tick when volunteering their land that indicates they have talked with neighbours and their community and they were in favour of the development.

“It seems like none of the sites have ticked that box,” she said.

“Federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg has said a site won’t be shortlisted further if there is strong community opposition.”

She said it was important for residents of Bathurst, Orange and Mudgee to oppose the nuclear waste dump, alongside the residents of Hill End, because the whole region would be affected if something went wrong.