Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2005 and Commonwealth
Radioactive Waste Management (Related Amendment) Bill 2005
The Senate has referred this bill and a
related bill to the Employment, Workplace Relations and Education
Legislation Committee for report by 28 November 2005. The purpose of the
bill is to put beyond doubt the Commonwealth's power to do all things
necessary for or incidental to the selection of specified Commonwealth
land as a site for, and the establishment and operation of, a radioactive
waste management facility.
On 15 July 2005, the Government announced
that it would proceed with its waste management policy by investigating
three Commonwealth sites in the Northern Territory. The three potential
sites that have been identified are at Mt Everard, Harts Range and Fishers
Ridge.
The bill will, if passed, provide
legislative authority to undertake the various activities associated with
the proposed facility; override or restrict the application of laws that
might hinder the facility's development and operation; and provide for the
acquisition or extinguishment of rights and interests related to land on
which the facility may be located.
The Committee invites submissions from
interested parties. The closing date for submissions is
Friday 18 November 2005.
The Committee has resolved to hold a public hearing on the bills in
Canberra on Tuesday 22 November.
Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02) 6277 7799. Adobe also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. These tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/. If you require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a committee inquiry, please contact the committee secretary.
For further information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia