THE people of Sallys Flat and Hill End can today send a loud and clear message to Canberra that they do not want a nuclear waste dump established in their backyard.
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Residents will today meet with representatives from the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science during a community consultation meeting at Hill End’s Royal Hall.
And they can do so with the knowledge that Resources and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg will not impose a waste dump on an “unwilling community”.
Mr Frydenberg yesterday stopped short of the iron-clad guarantee offered to Sallys Flat residents by Calare MP John Cobb that no dump would be established without their support, but he did make it clear that vocal opposition would be heard in Canberra.
And residents will get no better chance than today.
“The government is committed to consulting with all relevant stakeholders throughout the 120-day period,” Mr Frydenberg told the Western Advocate.
“An assessment of the level of support for each site will be made at the end of this period to inform the decision of which sites will be considered for a further shortlist.
“I have stated on several occasions that no individual or group will have an automatic veto over site selection, however, the final site will not be imposed on an unwilling community.”
But despite a fortnight of anger from the Central West, Mr Frydenberg said he would not remove Sallys Flat from the shortlist of six sites to host the waste dump as he did not wish to pre-empt the outcome of the consultation period.
He said Sallys Flat was only included on the shortlist of six sites after regional factors and local economic activity was taken into consideration.
He did not agree a waste dump might impact on the region’s desirability as a tourism destination.
“A purpose-built national facility provides the safest, most cost-effective option to manage Australia’s waste,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“It is worth noting that overseas facilities are located close to major tourism regions such as the Champagne region in France, the Lakes District in the UK, and the Cordoba region in Spain.
“Likewise, in Australia, the Lucas Heights nuclear research reactor is located in Sydney and is close to the Royal National Park.”
Mr Frydenberg said the government would continue consulting with local communities throughout the 120-day period and had already seen “encouraging discussions within the communities of the shortlisted sites”.
“Each of these nominations were considered by the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, with the assistance and advice of an independent advisory panel, and were subject to an objective and evidence-based assessment against technical, economic, social and environment factors,” he said.
“The six shortlisted sites all scored well against a range of criteria and were therefore assessed as more suitable relative to the other sites.”
Meanwhile, a shortage of Coalition MPs on the ground in Canberra means Calare MP John Cobb will not be in attendance at today’s meeting.
Mr Cobb said department representatives had not initially planned to host a community meeting, and by the time it was confirmed on the weekend it was too late for him to arrange time away from the sitting of federal parliament.
“MPs have their leave organised months in advance and we’re down to 76 [MPs] here,” he said. “I did look at jumping in a ComCar and driving up and straight back, but I just can’t get away.
“I should be there, but I can’t be.”
Mr Cobb reiterated his guarantee that there would be no nuclear waste dump at Sallys Flat without the support of the community and said he was happy to see it built elsewhere.
“I actually ran into the minister today and he asked me what the feeling was like out there,” he said. “It’s clear what the community is thinking so I think it’s clear what will happen.”
Today’s meeting with department representatives starts at 10am.