The following can be attributed to a spokesperson for the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science:
“The department has said on numerous occasions that the facility will only be delivered alongside a community that broadly supports it, that no single metric or number will determine the level of support, and that no one group or individual will have a right to veto the facility,” the spokesperson said.
“The government will consider all of the available technical and community sentiment information, including from Traditional Owners, once the results of both local community ballots are known. In Kimba, 61.58 per cent of respondents voted ‘yes’ to the facility. The Hawker ballot concludes on 12 December 2019.
“The Minister and department have worked closely with the relevant Indigenous representative groups for many years, including on a number of occasions offering financial support for a ballot of their members to gauge sentiment towards a Facility, and those conversations are in some instances ongoing.
“With respect to heritage, while Native Title on both of the Kimba sites has been extinguished, expert heritage consultants were engaged by the department to conduct an independent desktop assessment of Aboriginal cultural heritage, and confirmed no registered heritage sites in or surrounding them.” [See details we provided about the assessment or read the full report.]
“We will consider the results of the Barngarla’s own ballot alongside the ballot of people who live in Kimba, as well as submissions received, neighbour and business surveys, and direct feedback including at our drop-in offices over several years.”
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For more information on the project, visit our webpage on managing radioactive waste.
Media contact
Phone Phil McCall: 0438 619 987