What labor promised ...

2007 ALP Platform

Labor's 2007 Policy Platform committed the party to repeal the Howard government's Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Managment Act, which gave the Federal Government extreme powers to impose nuclear waste on the NT.

Beyond promising to repeal the old CRWM Act, the policy platform committed to :

• establish a process for identifying suitable sites that is scientific, transparent, accountable, fair and allows access to appeal mechanisms.

• identify a suitable site for a radioactive waste dump in accordance with the new process.

• ensure full community consultation in radioactive waste decision-making processes.

• commit to international best practice scientific processes to underpin Australia's radioactive waste management, including transportation and storage.

Other election pledges

The Platform was not the ALP's only source of election commitments regarding the dump. On 6 March 2007, In a media statement by Science Minister Kim Carr and NT Labor politicians Trish Crossin and Warren Snowdon, Federal Labor also committed to:

• legislate to restore transparency, accountability and procedural fairness including the right of access to appeal mechanisms in any decisions in relation the siting of any nuclear waste facilities.

• ensure that any proposal for the siting of a nuclear waste facility on Aboriginal Land in the Northern Territory would adhere to the requirements that exist under the Aboriginal Land Rights, Northern Territory Act (ALRA).

On 27 September 2007, then Shadow Science Minister, Senator Kim Carr, stated:

“Labor is committed to repealing the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act and establishing a consensual process of site selection. Labor’s process will look to agreed scientific grounds for determining suitability. Community consultation and support will be central to our approach”

Other Federal Labor politicians made similar promises.

Other levels of commitment

A resolution was passed unanimously by the NT Labor Conference in April 2008 calling upon the Federal Government to exclude Muckaty on the grounds that the nomination was not made with the full and informed consent of all Traditional Owners and affected people and as such does not comply with the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin, Science Minister Kim Carr and Environment Minister Peter Garrett among others have acknowledged the distress and opposition of many Muckaty Traditional Owners.

So clearly, Labor promised a whole lot above and beyond merely repealing the bad old Howard government laws.

but did the ALP follow through on their commitments? see : what they delievered