Another 'beautiful, boutique' nuclear reactor for Sydney
By Jim Green
SYDNEY — On March 30, federal environment minister Robert Hill announced his approval for the construction of a new nuclear reactor in the southern Sydney suburb of Lucas Heights. Hill's decision follows an environmental impact assessment which put a multi-million dollar bureaucratic whitewash over the dangers of the reactor.
The environmental impact statement (EIS) for the assessment was produced by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), which operates the Lucas Heights nuclear plant. If this strikes you as being like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank, you're not alone!
The EIS was neatly summed up by Tony Wood, former head of engineering and reactors at ANSTO: "If it is normal for the proponent to tell the truth, but not necessarily the whole truth, then ANSTO's EIS is normal. Sometimes the difference between the truth and the whole truth is quite remarkable."
An apparent obstacle to the reactor proposal remains in the not-yet-completed Senate Economics References Committee inquiry. However, the government can — and probably will — ignore the inquiry's findings.
The senate inquiry is a test of the Labor Party's supposed opposition to the reactor plan, which former shadow minister Gareth Evans has admitted is driven by popular opposition to the project. Labor's opposition nevertheless appears to have diminished dramatically since the 1998 federal election.
Opponents of the reactor proposal are demanding it be the subject of a public inquiry under the 1974 Environmental Protection Act. Otherwise, the proposal will soon be rubber-stamped by science and resources minister Nick Minchin, with construction expected to begin in 2002.
Hill says the reactor will be used to produce "life-saving" medical isotopes and for scientific research. However, as a former ANSTO employee says, "The real agenda has nothing to do with science and medicine; its international politics."
The reactor will be a prop for the uranium industry and Australia's alliance with the US, and it will facilitate the government's politicking in fora such as the International Atomic Energy Agency.
While deputy prime minister Tim Fischer said in parliament on March 30 that he would be more than happy if a "beautiful, boutique" nuclear reactor was built on his farm at Boree Creek in southern NSW, one of his neighbours, James Dunlevey, told the Australian (April 1) he did not think locals would welcome a nuclear reactor nearby.
Fischer criticised Lucas Heights residents for having a not-in-my-back-yard attitude. But the residents have always demanded that no reactor be built at Lucas Heights or anywhere in Australia. Given the additional cost of building a reactor at a new site, and the questionable need for a new reactor, the project would likely be dropped altogether if the Lucas Heights site is ruled out.
Fischer said, "I'm backing Lucas Heights all the way, a lot of jobs in that southern part of Sydney." However, less than one-third of the jobs at ANSTO depend on the operation of a reactor, according to an independent review by Professor Geoffrey Wilson. Staff numbers peaked at 1354 in 1976 and have since fallen to 750, despite the continued operation of the existing reactor.
In the mid-1980s, the ANSTO board agreed to push through staff cuts of 240 over three years, in return for more funding for capital works. It is a serious delusion to imagine that the new reactor (if built) will ensure job security for ANSTO employees. The 1980s experience suggests that another round of staff cuts may be instigated to fund the $300 million new reactor.
There is a simple win-win option: close the reactor and use the money for safe, clean medical and scientific projects at Lucas Heights. This would involve few if any job losses, much less radioactive waste, increased safety and no public opposition.
Until now the campaign against the Lucas Heights reactor has been localised. Campaigners are now looking to draw maximum support from throughout Sydney and beyond, beginning with a rally on April 11 (see the listing on page 27 for details).