PREAMBLE

ESTABLISHMENT

Following presentation of the report of the Select Committee on Radioactive Waste in April 1996, the Senate decided, on 2 May 1996, to reconstitute the Committee as the Select Committee on Uranium Mining and Milling. The terms of reference are set out in the front of this report.

 

AVENUES OF INVESTIGATION

For the purposes of its inquiry the Select Committee used four means for acquiring information: submissions; public hearings; inspections; and research.

Submissions

The Committee advertised for submissions in major newspapers in May 1996. It also wrote directly to organisations expected to have an interest in the inquiry, including to everyone who had lodged a submission with the Committee's predecessor, the Senate Select Committee on Radioactive Waste.

As a consequence the Committee received 110 submissions. These are listed at Appendix P1. The sources of submissions is as follows:

Government:

Commonwealth departments/ agencies 7

State/ Territory departments/ agencies: 3

Industry:

Mining companies 4

Mining industry organisations 6

Business (other than mining industry) 8

Unions 2

Aboriginal organisations 4

Other community & environmental groups 30

Academics/ professionals 6

Other individuals 40

Public Hearings

The Committee conducted a comprehensive series of public hearings in Canberra, Jabiru, Darwin, Perth, Parnngurr (Cotton Creek), Roxby Downs and Adelaide. Details of the public hearings are contained in Appendix P2.

It was of particular note in the public hearings program that the Committee heard oral evidence on more than 50 of the 110 submissions it received and from a number of other organisations and individuals. The Committee also heard oral evidence from the four Aboriginal organisations and individuals who lodged submissions. Those giving public evidence were:

Government:

Commonwealth departments/ agencies 9 [1]

State/ Territory departments/ agencies 3

Industry:

Mining companies 4

Mining industry organisations 4

Business (other than mining industry) 1

Unions 1

Aboriginal organisations 10 (1 in camera)

Other community & environmental groups 14 [2]

Academics/ professionals 1

Other individuals 4

Inspections

During the inquiry several members of the Committee visited various locations involved in uranium mining and milling. These visits included former, existing and possible mine sites at Rum Jungle, Nabarlek, Ranger, Jabiluka and the Olympic Dam Operation. Weather prevented a visit to the site of the proposed CRA mine at Kintyre.

The program of inspections and visits was as follows:

2 September 1996	Nabarlek; Environment Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist; Jabiru Town Council
4/5 September 1996	Ranger; Rum Jungle
21 January 1997	Parnngurr (Cotton Creek)
22/3 January 1997	Olympic Dam Operation

The Committee held a public hearing at Parnngurr (Cotton Creek), WA.

L to R: Senator Mark Bishop, John Nethercote (Committee Secretary),

Senator Grant Chapman (Chair), Senator Sandy Macdonald,

Senator Alan Ferguson, Senator Dee Margetts (Deputy Chair)

The Research Program

To complement traditional methods of parliamentary inquiry and investigation the Committee sponsored a comprehensive research program broadly covering the terms of reference. These studies were undertaken by an officer of the Department of the Senate; three members of the Parliamentary Research Service; an officer of Worksafe Australia engaged on a consultancy basis; and an officer of the Defence Department assigned to the Committee's secretariat under the Public Service Senior Women in Management Program.

They were Paul Kay, Parliamentary Research Service; Derek Drinkwater, Committee Office, Department of the Senate; Dr Rod Panter, Director of Science, Technology, Environment and Resources Group, Parliamentary Research Service (seconded to the Committee secretariat to undertake the project); Dr James Leigh, Worksafe Australia Pty Ltd; Irene Wilson, Department of Defence (attached to the Committee Secretariat under the Public Service Senior Women in Management Program); David Anderson, Department of the Parliamentary Library(seconded to the Committee secretariat to undertake the project).

The research program served several purposes. It provided a framework in which submissions and evidence from diverse sources could be assembled in an orderly and coherent way in relationship to the terms of reference. So assembled, it could much more readily be related to both public reports and academic work relevant to the inquiry.

It also furnished an avenue, in several instances, whereby individuals with expertise in complex fields such as the impact of uranium mining on the environment, health and safety matters and international safeguards could make a sustained and systematic contribution in a form not only of use to the Committee but to be available more generally.

Research papers composed under the Committee's auspices are available in Volume 2 of the Report.

Performance of research assignments, especially in fields of complexity such as the environment, health and safety and international nuclear safeguards, on a contract or consultancy basis has considerable benefits for a parliamentary committee. It provides access to expertise and experience which it is unlikely that generalist staff, however able, could acquire in the time available for an expeditious inquiry.

Providing the purpose of the research is well-defined, an appropriate individual is chosen for the assignment, and the project is consciously linked into material coming to the Committee in submissions, evidence and inspections, there is likely to be undoubted value for money in this approach.

In the case of the Select Committee, both Dr Panter and Dr Leigh went to Jabiru, visiting both the Ranger mine and the Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist.

Dr Leigh also accompanied the Committee on its visit to the Olympic Dam Operation.

Irene Wilson accompanied the Committee on its visits to Western Australia and South Australia.

While it would be unwise to draw general propositions about research for a parliamentary inquiry on the sole basis of the Select Committee's experience, it may with confidence be concluded that, especially where complex scientific matters are involved, our approach, properly overseen by the Committee, can with confidence be recommended.

[1] The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Safeguards Office made a joint submission and were heard together.

[2] A joint submission was made by the Conservation Council of South Australia and Friends of the Earth Nouveau.