Nuclear Issues

The Greens (WA) believe that there are unacceptable environmental, health, security and social costs associated with every facet of the nuclear industry. We believe that alternatives to nuclear energy exist today which make the nuclear power industry obsolete.

Goals

The Greens (WA) oppose:

• the mining and export of Western Australian uranium
• the construction of any nuclear reactors in Western Australia for electricity generation or research purposes
• the transportation of any nuclear materials1, nuclear weapons or nuclear waste through Western Australia or in Australian waters
• any visits by nuclear powered or armed vessels to our ports
• the permanent deep burial of high level nuclear waste in any location
• any promotion of the nuclear industry in Australia or globally

Initiatives

The Greens (WA) will initiate and support legislation and actions that:

• amend the Mining Act 1978 to prohibit uranium mining in Western Australia
• cancel existing mining tenements or State Agreements held for the express purposes of uranium mining
• prohibit the importation of any radioactive waste material, from any source, into Western Australia
• prohibit the development of any nuclear power station or research reactor in Western Australia
• establish a State register of all workers in the nuclear and uranium mining industries and support research into the short and long term effects of these workers' exposure to all levels of radiation
• support the use of cyclotrons2 in Western Australian hospitals to generate isotopes for medical diagnostic and treatment procedures
• prohibit any facilities in Western Australia being developed or used for the US National Missile Defence system
• research into and implement sustainable power generation and energy conservation measures
• expand renewable energy production
• close all military communication facilities involved in nuclear weapons activities
• prohibit visits by nuclear powered and/or armed vessels
• supports the immediate negotiation of an International Nuclear Weapons Convention prohibiting the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, transfer, threat or use of nuclear weapons and providing for their elimination

Glossary

1. Nuclear material - any radioactive substance associated with the nuclear fuel chain, including fertile and fissile material, spent fuel and waste.
2. Cyclotron - a device to accelerate charged atomic particles in a magnetic field and produce new radioactive isotopes electrically.