Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Yesterday was a time to celebrate for the majority of the population that live in my home town of Kimba, with the naming of the town as the host of the National Radioactive Waste Management Facility. We have been on this pathway for six years. It is six years since I first raised in a public meeting in Kimba the possibility of putting our hand up for this place. I understand there is a group that is opposed to this going ahead, and we have listened to their voices, but, in the end, you can't listen to every voice, and the majority is going to have its way.

There are going to be 45 permanent jobs in Kimba. In about 1983 there were nearly 1,900 people in the district; there are now about 1,050. So 45 jobs in that population will make an incredible difference. There is a $300 million facility to build, and it is my intention to draw that out as long as we can to make sure we maximise the benefit to the local community and build capacity in the community, which will then be able to generate services for the rest of Eyre Peninsula. We are going into the third round of a $2 million community grant funding program. There is $8 million for facilitating the capacity in the town and a $20 million trust fund that I think will sit in perpetuity. There is $3 million for the Barngarla. There is proposal to bring the school in, to bring in STEM funding and agriculture and to generate extra capacity off this great decision. (Time expired)

See this speech in context