The state’s peak environment body will join representatives of the Barngarla people on the steps of State Parliament today as they move to formally challenge Federal Resource Minister Keith Pitt’s decision to site a national radioactive waste facility near Kimba.

MEDIA ALERT
21 December 2021

Kimba dump plan under the spotlight

The state’s peak environment body will join representatives of the Barngarla people on the steps of State Parliament today as they move to formally challenge Federal Resource Minister Keith Pitt’s decision to site a national radioactive waste facility near Kimba.

When:             TODAY, Tuesday 21 December 2021, midday

Where:           Steps of Parliament House

Who:               Jason Bilney (Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation – BDAC) and Craig Wilkins (Conservation SA Chief Executive) 

What:              Doorstop media briefing with an update on the legal challenge and the wider community campaign

“It is unacceptable that the clear opposition of the Barngarla community has not been respected,” said Conservation SA EO Craig Wilkins.

“This is a plan for Australia’s first dedicated national dump and store and some of the radioactive waste it would handle is a hazard to people and the environment for up to 10,000 years. To directly disenfranchise Aboriginal Traditional Owners and also deny the wider South Australia community a say in such a significant project is simply unacceptable”.

Conservation SA will today join with the Chair of the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation (BDAC) to help send the clear signal that this plan will be challenged in both the Federal Court and the court of public opinion. 

Conservation SA’s concerns with the Kimba plan include:

• No Barngarla consent
• A tightly managed ‘consultation’ process that has excluded the wider Eyre Peninsula and the SA community
• Unlawful - the federal plan is in direct conflict with long-standing state law
• Unnecessary - the recent allocation of $60 million to extend secure waste storage at ANSTO in NSW means there is no pressing need for the facility
• Uncertain - key project details are missing, including transport routes, emergency service capacity and impacts on reputation sensitive industries including agriculture and tourism

“Conservation SA supports responsible management of radioactive waste, and that is why we do not support the current deeply flawed and unnecessarily divisive Kimba plan,” outlined Mr Wilkins.  “It is important that this plan is tested - from the Federal Court to South Australian streets and kitchen tables. 

“We welcome the Barngarla’s efforts and will be working to highlight the problems with the Kimba plan and to promote better alternatives ahead of the state and federal elections in 2022,” Mr Wilkins said.

New report from Conservation SA on the Kimba proposal: www.conservationsa.org.au/kimba_report