Leader of the Opposition

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NUCLEAR WASTE

PRESS STATEMENT NO.

20 September 1977

Statement by the Hon. E.G. Whitlam, PC, MP .

The Prime Minister’stated in the' House of Representatives

.  today that in his view, "The elements of a bi-partisan policy"

in relation to the problem of the storage and disposal .  .

of nuclear waste now existed between the Government and

the Opposition. .  .

Sadly, this is an utter distortion of the facts.

On 'Monday Conference' yesterday evening, I emphasised that the

problem of the safe storage and disposal of nuclear waste

remained one of the major unresolved issues in the uranium

question. I indicated that the International Atomic Energy

Agency has a major role to play in international action to

make the use of nuclear materials safe. Ã¢ÂÂ   .

In the ParliamentÃ¢ÂÂ today Mr Fraser quoted a statement made by

the Director General of I.A.E.A'., Dr Sigvard Eklund and asserted

that Dr Eklund's statement proved that the waste problem had

been solved. In fact, Dr Eklund merely repeated .that waste

disposal technology exists. This fact is universally recognised;

but the fact remains that nowhere in the world is this technology -

being applied practically or commercially to dispose of high

level radioactive wastes. The General Accounting Office of

the United States Government pointed this out last week and

reported that there are some 74 million gallons of radioactive

waste - much in liquid form - still temporarily stored in the

United States alone.

If the technology was being or could be applied in practice..that

extraordinary quantity of waste which remains toxic for up to a

Parliament H ouse, Canberra. A.C.T. 2 ÃÂ ÃÂ¿ ÃÂ¿  .

quarter of a million years would have been disposed of with safety.

Mr Fraser's embarrassment on this subject is manifest. He

sj:a.ted in his recent address to the nation that because

the technology existed the waste problem was solved. Last

week his Minister for the Environment admitted that the technology

was not being applied in;.practice anywhere in the world.

The problem therefore remains" unsolved

No amount of juggling of technical opinion or aspirations

will alter the fact that it is irresponsible for "Australia

to renew the export of uranium before safe methods of disposal

are in practical and commercial operation and subject to .

international supervision and audit.

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