At the time Bathurst Regional Council declared its opposition to the establishment of a national radioactive waste facility and Councillor Jess Jennings called on council to investigate whether Bathurst should declare itself a nuclear free zone. 

Cr Jennings asked for a report on the potential benefits, problems and what might be required of council if Bathurst were to become a nuclear free zone. 

He said he was waiting for that report to come back to council.

“I want to make sure there are no implications of doing so, but providing it doesn’t exclude us from any major advantages, I would be for it,” Cr Jennings said.

He said while it was pleasing that Hill End had been struck off the short list, the whole process was handled very badly. 

“The people of Hill End have been placed under an undue and unnecessary amount of pressure and stress that could have been avoided,” Cr Jennings said.

Tracey Carpenter of the Central West Greens said not only would she completely support Bathurst becoming a nuclear free zone, she has been calling for it.

Ms Carpenter said the idea of transporting intermediate nuclear waste by road transport was a huge issue and something that nuclear free status addresses.

“It says that we as a community don’t want nuclear waste travelling through,” Ms Carpenter said.

“The Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Orange councils have already declared themselves nuclear free zones.”

Ms Carpenter said it was the elected local government representatives who recognised that the community does not want nuclear waste coming through their region.

“It also makes a clear stand that the community doesn’t want to store nuclear waste,” she said.

Ms Carpenter said in light of Bathurst’s close sister city relationship with Ohkuma, a city devastated by a nuclear accident, it was surprising council had not yet declared the region nuclear free. 

Ms Carpenter said as a result of the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima plant 150,000 people had lost their homes. 

“Of course council needs to be clear on the issues involved in Bathurst becoming a nuclear free zone, but neighbouring councils have managed to clarify what it would mean for them. Blue Mountains Council became a nuclear free zone 25 years ago.”

Ms Carpenter said she was very grateful that Mayor Gary Rush and Cr Warren Aubin experienced first hand the legacy of a nuclear accident when they visited Bathurst’s sister city of Ohkuma. 

“This doesn’t mean the radioactive isotopes used in nuclear medicine fall into that category,” she said. “They can be produced outside of a nuclear reactor and can be disposed of safely.”

Ms Carpenter said Orange’s council doesn’t seem to see the creation of a nuclear free zone impacting the use of radioisotopes, and they are the centre of nuclear medicine in the Central West.