Nuclear industry in South Australia

Radium Hill uranium mine (1954)

Uranium mining has occurred in South Australia, since the early 20th century, when radium was the target mineral in uranium-bearing ore. During the Cold War, the Playford government facilitated the development of the Radium Hill uranium mine and the associated Port Pirie uranium treatment complex. These closed in the early 1960s after a seven-year contract of supply had been fulfilled. In the 1970s, the discovery of a massive uranium-bearing IOCG orebody near Roxby Downs led to the eventual opening of the Olympic Dam mine in 1988.[2] In the 2000s, the sector expanded to include in-situ leach mining operations at Beverley, Four Mile and Honeymoon. As of May 2016, Beverley and Honeymoon mines are in care and maintenance mode[3] owing to weak uranium prices in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Exploration for uranium in South Australia reached a record high in 2006 with forty companies exploring for the mineral.[4]

Kevin Scarce in Adelaide (2016)

Rowan Ramsey (2015)

Concentrations of nuclear waste in South Australia exist in the tailings ponds at the Olympic Dam mine, at the site of the former Port Pirie uranium treatment works and in the tailings block at the former Radium Hill mine. CSIRO operates a nuclear waste storage facility at Woomera in the state's far north. Unsuccessful attempts were made by the Howard Government to establish further nuclear waste storage facilities in South Australia between 1998 and 2004.[8]

A prospective nuclear waste storage site at Barndioota was announced in 2015.[9] The property is owned by Grant Chapman, and the traditional owners are the Adnyamathanha.[10] The site is a candidate for a future National Nuclear Waste Management Facility,[11] where domestically produced nuclear waste, and repatriated, reprocessed spent nuclear fuel from Australia's research reactors at Lucas Heights would be stored. Two other candidate sites exist near Kimba on Eyre Peninsula, and as of 2017, community consultation there is ongoing.

The Kimba sites are located in the federal electorate of Grey, for which Rowan Ramsay is the sitting member. Ramsey has publicly advocated for the establishment of nuclear waste storage facilities in South Australia, and has stated that he would be comfortable storing it on his own property.[12] Ramsay did not nominate his own property for the project after receiving advice that it would constitute a conflict of interest. Opinion on the benefits and risks associated with establishing a facility has divided the township of Kimba.[13]

Opponents of the establishment of a new national facility for domestically produced nuclear waste believe that such waste should be stored long-term at Lucas Heights, where much of the waste was and continues to be generated. Spokespeople for the opposition include Jim Green of Friends of the Earth and David Sweeney of the Australian Conservation Foundation.[14]

The prospect of storing nuclear waste in the tunnels of the Olympic Dam mine has also been speculated upon by opinion writers, politicians and the community.[15]

Support for the development of new nuclear waste storage facilities in South Australia was expressed by the Committee for Adelaide on 6 May 2016.[16]

The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission's final report, which was delivered to the Governor of South Australia on 6 May 2016 recommended the consideration of the establishment of a repository for imported spent nuclear fuel in South Australia. The report was released in full on 9 May 2016.

The report was put before a Citizens Jury, which ultimately voted not to proceed with investigating the prospect of importing spent nuclear fuel for storage and disposal in South Australia. In December 2016, a group of prominent citizens signed an open letter expressing an opposing view. It stated:

"We, the undersigned, call on South Australia’s elected representatives of all parties to continue to explore this opportunity. We request further investigations into issues that a) are essential for better understanding project feasibility and b) could be investigated at relatively low cost. We call for partnership between the State Government and relevant Federal Government agencies to formally meet with prospective client nations in order to gain greater certainty and ensure we are fully informed as to the nature of this opportunity."

Signatories were: Fraser Ainsworth AM, Rob Chapman, Tim Cooper AM, Di Davidson AM, Colin Dunsford AM, Geoff Day OAM, Robert Gerard AO, Ian Gould AM, Kathy Gramp, Jim Hazel, Mike Heard, David Klingberg AO, Theo Maras AM, Karlene Maywald, Jim McDowell, Mike Miller AO, Tanya Monro, Creagh O'Connor AM, Leanna Read, Karen Reynolds, Richard Ryan AO, Antony Simpson, Michael Terlet AO, Meera Verma, Graham Walters and Stephen Young.[17][18]

A similar letter was published in March 2017 on Ben Heard's website, Bright New World. Many of the former signatories signed again, and the following new names were added: Rick Allert AO, Amanda Blair, Corey Bradshaw, Mark Butcher, Matt Clemow, Greg Clothier, Brian Cunningham, Colin Goodall, John Heard AM, Mark Malcolm, Hon. Ian McLachlan AO, Carolyn Mitchell, Craig Mudge AO, Goran Roos, Raymond Spencer, Lissa Van Camp, Jodie Van Deventer, Hon. Trish White, Paul Willis and Stephen Yarwood.[19]

In March 2017, it was estimated that $30 million would need to be spent to manage nuclear waste stored at Woomera. Barrels containing the wastes were found to be rusting and deteriorating.[20]

A series of British nuclear weapons tests were conducted at Maralinga and Emu Field during the 1950s and early 1960s. Land remains contaminated at these sites and access is restricted.

Australia has no domestic nuclear weapons nor the capability to develop them. Australia is allied with countries which do maintain nuclear arsenals. As of 2016 the Liberal-National Coalition does not support a prospective ban on the possession of nuclear weapons, while the Australian Labor Party and Australian Greens do.[21]

In 2015, a Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission was initiated by the Government of South Australia. It was tasked with investigating opportunities and risks associated with potential expansion of the state's role in the nuclear fuel cycle. Commissioner Kevin Scarce delivered its final report to the Governor of South Australia on 6 May 2016. The Commission's final report recommended the repeal of prohibitions preventing nuclear industrial development in Australia, including the legalisation of nuclear power generation. The report recommended the establishment of a facility to store international stockpiled spent nuclear fuel and the consideration of a nuclear fuel leasing scheme to accompany it. The latter was also described by the Commission as a potential enabler for future enrichment and fuel processing activities, though such further processing developments were deemed to not be feasible within the next decade. The establishment of nuclear power generation in South Australia was also deemed inappropriate given the state's high penetration of solar and wind power.

Citizens' Jury process

Nigel McBride, Business SA

Following the conclusion of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet established a "YourSAy nuclear?" website, advertising campaign and Citizens' Jury process. Managed by the New Democracy Foundation, the Citizens' Jury process randomly invited 25,000 South Australians to participate by post. Of those who accepted the invitation, a total of 350 jurors will be chosen to meet and discuss the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission's final report, help produce a simplified version for further discussion, and ultimately express their support or rejection of its various recommendations. South Australian company DemocracyCo won the contract to facilitate the first Citizens' Jury. DemocracyCo spokesperson Emily Jenke described the process and its result as "one of the pieces the Premier and Government will be using to inform their thinking".[23]

The first Citizens' Jury was composed of 50 people. They were provided with the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission's final report and heard from a panel whose members are listed below.[24]

Member's Name	Primary Position Held	Other Relevant Affiliations
Jason Kuchel	CEO of South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy	Member of Minerals and Energy Advisory Council
Simon Longstaff	Founder of The Ethics Centre	Financial supporters of The Ethics Centre include BHP Billiton and Santos Ltd[25]
Nigel McBride	CEO of Business SA	Member of the State Advisory Council of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), former lawyer with MinterEllison
Michael Penniment	Director of Radiation oncology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital	Employee of the Government of South Australia
Leanna Read	Chief Scientist of SA	Member of Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission Expert Advisory and Medical Expert Advisory committees, member of the Economic Development Board of South Australia, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and Chair of the South Australian Science Council
Kelly-Anne Saffin	CEO of Northern and Yorke Regional Development Australia	RDA is funded by the Government of Australia and the Government of South Australia[26]
Keith Thomas	CEO of SA Native Title Services	SA Native Title Services is funded by the Government of South Australia[27]
Craig Wilkins	CEO of Conservation Council of South Australia	Wilkins is former Chief of Staff of Australian Greens MLC Mark Parnell. The Conservation Council of South Australia receives funding from the Government of South Australia.

Know Nuclear campaign bus shelter advertisement, August 2016

The first Citizens Jury produced a report after hearing witnesses and deliberating over four sitting days. Its publication was followed by the launch of a statewide community consultation program coordinated by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. The campaign carried the slogan "Get to know nuclear. Discover. Discuss. Decide" and included print, radio and television commercials, online discussions and community displays attended by DPC staff.

A second jury was later formed, expanding the cohort of jurors to approximately 350 people.

After hearing from a larger cohort of expert witnesses, the citizens' jury ultimately concluded, by a two-thirds majority vote, to not pursue to prospect of the importation of spent nuclear fuel to South Australia under any circumstances. A "lack of trust" was cited as a primary driver.[28]

Nuclear submarines

Profile of the Barracuda type submarine, with her pump-jet propeller and X-shaped stern planes.

The prospect of constructing nuclear submarines in South Australia has been raised on various occasions during the 2010s.

In 2011, the CEO of Defence SA, Andrew Fletcher expressed his personal view that it would be unlikely for Australia's Future Submarine project to commit to producing nuclear powered submarines, unless a nuclear industry was established in Australia beforehand, or if their production was outsourced offshore. He expressed his belief that a commitment to 12 diesel-powered submarines was more likely.[29]

Authors from UCL Australia have written opinion pieces and produced research papers on the topic. In 2016, the contract for the supply of Australia's Future Submarines Project was awarded to French company Direction des Constructions Navales Services (DCNS), and the Barracuda-class submarine was selected. The Barracuda-class submarine is currently a nuclear powered submarine, but the Australian Government has sought a modified design with diesel-powered pump jet propulsion. The other bidders which were competing for the tender do not make nuclear powered submarines. Australian Cabinet ministers have discussed the merits of keeping the nuclear propulsion option open by choosing the Barracuda-class design and the coalition government is supportive of nuclear industrial development in Australia.[30]

In 2015, former Rolls Royce nuclear engineer and submarine expert Steve Ludlam was appointed to the Defence SA Advisory Board.

in 2017, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott spoke of the merits of considering nuclear propulsion for Australia's Future Submarine Project, claiming various advantages over diesel propulsion, including range and speed.[1]

Jason Kuchel, South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy