CANBERRA (London Post in Collaboration with AAP and ABC News) By Dr. Majid Khan-South Australia’s premier has hit back at suggestions from Labor counterparts that his state should take nuclear waste from the future AUKUS fleet, saying the decision on where the waste goes should be based on the “nation’s interests”.
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas says the waste should be stored wherever is safest
Victoria’s and WA’s premiers say SA should take the spent fuel,But Mr Malinauskas rejects that, saying decisions should be “free of domestic political concerns”.
Peter Malinauskas is currently visiting the United Kingdom, where he has met with Defence Procurement Minister Alex Chalk and toured BAE Systems’ facilities in Barrow-in-Furness, where Australia’s first SSN-AUKUS nuclear submarine will be built.
Divisions within Labor ranks over AUKUS — including over its $368 billion cost, and its strategic aims and consequences — have become increasingly apparent since Paul Keating’s blistering attack on what he described as the “worst international decision” by a Labor government since conscription.
While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday rebuked Mr Keating, Labor premiers have since voiced opposition to accepting nuclear waste from the AUKUS subs in their states. Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said yesterday that as South Australia gains jobs, it would not be “unreasonable” to suggest that submarines also accept spent nuclear fuel when they reach the end of their useful life.
“I think waste can go where all work goes,” he said.
Western Australian Prime Minister Mark McGowan took a similar position, proposing that South Australia take over the nuclear waste dump.
Where does Australia dispose of nuclear waste?
As part of the AUKUS agreement, Australia must dispose of all radioactive waste produced by submarines on Australian soil. What types of waste are there and where are they disposed of?
Nuclear warning sign
But Malinaukas said the possibility of SA waste disposal cannot be ruled out, while dismissing Andrews’ claim that SA was taking away jobs and therefore responsible for waste disposal.
“No, because it implies that this is not a national effort,” he said.
Malinaukas reiterated that the waste would be stored on defense land, saying there are “defense sites scattered throughout the Commonwealth and the country.”
Challenges Reach ‘Beyond Our Civilization’
On his ABC Radio in Adelaide this morning, Mr Malinaukas was further approached about Mr Andrews’ comments and asked if he had any opinions.
“No, no, he doesn’t.”
“The problem with Andrews’ comments is the simple assumption that the show is somehow about South Australia,” Malinaukas told hosts Stacey Lee and Nikolai Beilharz.
Australia’s first Her SSN-AUKUS submarine is being built at Barrow-in-Furness and the first Australian-made model to be built at Port Her at Osborne near Adelaide is expected to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy in the early 2040s.
Malinauskas met the trainee overnight at his BAE Systems site in the UK and said South Australia was desperate to “replicate a facility like this”.
One of these “insights” he said was a submarine-specific need, not a general shipbuilding capability base, according to Malinaukas.
“These two aren’t always as compatible as one would immediately assume.”
Britain’s Defense Procurement Secretary said development and construction are not a “one way street”.
“We recognize that South Australia has an enormous amount of expertise that we can benefit from here,” said Chalk. “Being greater than the sum of our parts ensures an integrated industrial base, an integrated supply chain. power is born.”
