Its been an exciting two weeks since the nuclear Citizen’s jury handed their report to the Premier: two thirds of them did not want SA to pursue an international waste dump under any circumstances; based on concerns around its economic feasibility, lack of trust in the government, and the wishes of Traditional Owners.
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall has confirmed that the Liberal party will not support a nuclear waste dump and will not support a change in legislation to allow the government to continue pursuing the idea. The Opposition wants it to be an election issue in March 2018.
Despite this, Premier Weatherill says the government will still keep pursuing the project, though he acknowledges that it will not be possible to implement without bipartisan support. He says there should be a referendum with a final veto by Traditional Owners, but as he will need the Liberal party to support a referendum so its unclear how this will proceed.
Full information from Mr Weatherill is here.
We will continue to follow developments very closely.
We’ve kept a dossier on media articles over the last fortnight, please get in touch at adelaide.office@foe.org.au if you’d like a copy emailed to you.