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The Northern Territory has a law called the Nuclear Waste Transport, Storage and Disposal Prohibition Act 2004. This law prohibits a nuclear or radioactive waste facility in the Northern Territory.
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South Australia and Western Australia have similar laws.
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The Territory law cannot prevent the Commonwealth deciding to place a radioactive waste facility in the Northern Territory because Australian law overrides Territory law and in the case of some radioactive waste laws the Commonwealth will prevail.
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What if we were a State? The relevant Commonwealth law is the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Act 1987 which says certain State and Territory laws do not apply to ANSTO activities.
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The ANSTO Act deals only with the activities of ANSTO. ANSTO activities include the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights in New South Wales. Waste from ANSTO may be stored in any State or Territory.
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However, valid State laws could still prohibit radioactive waste storage facilities that are not from ANSTO.
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This is where Statehood is relevant. States will have an advantage if they want to prohibit other sources of radioactive waste (not generated by ANSTO), because they can enact valid laws to prevent that waste being stored in their State. Remember Commonwealth laws will always prevail over Territory laws but only sometimes over State laws.
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Some people have said that South Australia being a State prevented the placement of a radioactive waste facility at Woomera. This is not correct.
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In the South Australia case, the Federal Court ruled there was ‘no urgent necessity for the acquisition’ of the privately owned land under the Land Acquisition Act 1989 and rejected the Federal Government’s argument that it would have been contrary to public interest for the purchase to be delayed.
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The Commonwealth is proposing to use Commonwealth owned land for a radioactive waste facility in the Northern Territory, so the acquisition argument cannot be raised. The Commonwealth’s new legislation is specifically aimed at preventing Territory laws or objections to the facility having any impact on the siting or building of the facility.
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The Statehood Steering Committee provides this information as factual advice for all Territorians. It does not have a view on the merits or otherwise of a radioactive waste facility. This is a matter for Territorians and for the Northern Territory Government to discuss with the Commonwealth.
