Updated July 23, 2018 13:57:57

As debate rages over where Australia’s first permanent nuclear waste dump should be placed, the Federal Government has announced it will offer a $31 million package to the community which takes it on.

Two sites near Kimba and one near Hawker have been shortlisted to permanently hold low-level nuclear waste and temporarily hold intermediate-level waste.

However some concerned community members have likened the funding increase to “dangling a carrot” in front of the communities.

The new offer would include a $20 million community development package, $8 million to provide training and up to $3 million over three years for Indigenous skills training and culture heritage protection.

The Government had previously promised $10 million.

Senator Canavan said the increased incentive was not a bribe.

“I’ve said consistently through this process that a community that seeks to or wants to house a facility like this deserves to benefit from contributing to our national interest,” Senator Canavan told ABC Radio Adelaide.

“It is in our national interest that we supply and produce nuclear medicines to all Australians.

“Part of that process is having to handle the waste that’s associated with production and use of nuclear medicines.

“Just like when a mine is built, or a dam is built, I think it is right and appropriate that the local community benefits.”

Funding likened to ‘dangling a carrot’

Aboriginal elder Regina McKenzie is a custodian of the Barndioota site — west of Hawker — and is a traditional owner of the land.

She said the proposal lacked cultural respect and believed the Government was trying to bribe the communities.

“It’s not a good spot, it’s very seismically active,” she told ABC Radio Adelaide.

“The culture issues are bad as well, they wouldn’t put a waste dump on the Vatican… the respect for Aboriginal beliefs and customs should come into it.

“They’re dangling a carrot in front of the Hawker community, in front of the Kimba community.”

A close up of an Aboriginal woman. She has white hair and tears in her eyes. Photo: Aboriginal elder Regina McKenzie is a vocal opposer of the facility in the Flinders Ranges. (ABC News: Gary-Jon Lysaght)

Senator Canavan said that after consultations with both the Kimba and Hawker communities, locals thought more incentive would be needed to get long-term support.

He said the hope would be that the $8 million would be a package of $2 million over four years as the facility was built.

Nuclear waste facility a boost to employment

Mr Canavan said the facility would employ at least 45 people and the $20 million community fund would kick in once the facility was up and running.

“These resources here will help them not just have a facility that’s part of our scientific and medical ecosystem, but also diversify the broader economic health of their communities as well,” he said.

Concerns have also been raised about whether the Government had gone through the process of checking out the locations to see if they are suitable for such a facility.

But Phillip Speakman, joint owner of one of the proposed sites — Wallerberdina Station — said the Government had ticked “all the boxes” before moving forward.

But he said he wasn’t sure what kind of monetary benefit he and his partner, Grant Chapman would receive from the Government if their station was to be chosen.

“The valuations are being conducted as we speak by independent, well recognised rural valuers,” he said.

Senator Canavan said the community vote in Hawker and Kimba on August 20 would be important in the Government’s decision, but it wouldn’t be the deciding figure.

“Can I just stress, this has been a grassroots process, it will not proceed without that community’s support,” he said.

“The views that matter now are not the Government’s or mine, it’s the views of the people on the ground there in Kimba and Hawker.

“Obviously we’d love to have support from both communities.”

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-government, recycling-and-waste-management, environment, regional, community-and-society, regional-development, adelaide-5000, sa, hawker-5434, kimba-5641

First posted July 23, 2018 13:44:46