The Australian http://www.news.com.au/national/ N-dump firm digs in for a long haul By CHIP Le GRAND and CATHY PRYOR 3apr99 THE debate surrounding Pangea Resources' proposal to build a $10.5 billion nuclear waste storage facility in the West Australian desert borders on the surreal. While West Australian and federal ministers have dismissed the plan out of hand, vowing it will not happen, Pangea has quietly been going about spending money, building ties with government and hiring consultants to conduct provisional studies. In an interview with The Weekend Australian, Jim Voss, the Melbourne-based director of external and regulatory affairs for Pangea Resources Australia, argued that whatever is being said now for or against the project should be taken with a pinch of salt and an eye to the future. Mr Voss said Australia and Argentina were being considered for the site and a final decision was still a year away. If Australia does get the nod, it would be another five to seven years before environmental impact statements and nuclear licences were needed and between 10 and 14 years before final approval for construction was sought. So whatever John Howard, his right-hand man Nick Minchin or West Australian Premier Richard Court might think about the project, they probably won't be the ones making the decisions when it actually matters. "The people we are talking to now are probably not the guys who will be there when the time comes to make a decision," Mr Voss said. Similarly, while there may be little public support for the idea of Australia storing the nuclear waste of other nations, there is no telling where public opinion will be in the year 2005 or 2014. "The electorate, the general population of Australia, the demographics will change dramatically in 14 years," Mr Voss said. "I would say that if the board of directors concurs with the view to proceed, clearly a heavy emphasis on education and public information will be an integral part of that campaign." Mr Voss said the prevailing political view was none-the-less important and the response of current governments would influence the location. But he said no one from the international consortium expected Australia to welcome the proposal with open arms. "It would be unrealistic for any of us to expect people to say, 'Yeah, come on down, this is the best thing ever'," he said. "We sense that there are two moods out here. One mood is the complete anti-nuclear mood, which we understand. The other mood that is out there is one of wanting an objective discussion." The location of the proposed Australian site is either a closely guarded secret or not known. Media reports have speculated that the facility could be built anywhere from the outskirts of Geraldton, 424km north of Perth, to as far north as the Pilbara and as far east as the South Australian border. Mr Voss said no work had been done on any site, but he ruled out anywhere within 100km of the coast. And he said native title had not entered the equation. "Our examination is entirely focused on one topic: safety," he said. "The dominant issue is . . . can you dispose of this material in this region to meet international and national standards?" ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
