South Australia Is Holding A Referendum On Whether The State Should Be A Nuclear Waste Dump
Have they never seen Godzilla?!
The South Australian Labor government has clearly never watched Godzilla.
For the past 18 months the government has been trying to build up public support for the construction of a nuclear waste storage facility in the state. Last year a Royal Commission was established to explore the idea. Then the government initiated a citizen’s jury to evaluate the proposal. The jury rejected the plan, but that isn’t stopping Premier Jay Weatherill.
Today he’s announced that a state-wide referendum will be held on the issue.
SA Nuclear Dump: "I believe it's a matter that the South Australian public should continue to discuss" @JayWeatherill wants a referendum pic.twitter.com/DNISSr1exR
— Phoebe Bowden (@PhoebeBowden) November 14, 2016
Weatherill is keen to pursue the idea of nuclear waste storage as a way to boost South Australia’s economic fortunes. According to the Royal Commission, becoming the world’s nuclear dumping ground could net the state $100 billion. Which sounds like an enormous amount of money until you realise that figure was projected out over 120 years.
By the time 2136 rolls around we could all be under water due to climate change (an increasing risk now that a climate sceptic will be sitting the White House) or we could have fallen prey to giant mutant lizards preying on South Australia’s delicious, radioactive waste.
If you thought Godzilla was terrifying wait till you see enormous, nuclear-infused blue-tongues!
The Premier is likely to struggle with getting the referendum off the ground. The Liberal party has come out against the idea of a nuclear waste storage facility and without their votes it will be difficult to pass the legislation enabling a referendum.
The Nick Xenophon Team are strongly opposed to the plan. Xenophon is planning on running a bunch of candidates at the next SA state election in 2018, putting even more pressure on Labor.
It’s pretty weird to see the government pursuing the idea so strongly when political support for it has evaporated and, as the citizen’s jury demonstrated, most people aren’t convinced.
Surely there are lots of other things the government could invest in to create jobs… that isn’t nuclear waste. Like renewable energy? It must be sort of sad being a South Australian at the moment and realising that all your government thinks you could amount too is being a trash can for the world’s leftover uranium.
Bleak stuff.