Dear Mrs Irwin

Thank you for your letter of 27 May 2008 concerning a petition regarding nuclear reactors and waste dumps.

The Government has no plans to allow the construction of nuclear power plants in Australia.

As Australia does not have a nuclear power industry and does not produce high level radioactive waste, no high level radioactive waste facility is planned for Australia.

Successive Australian Governments have agreed that Australia should not accept the radioactive wastes of other countries. The Government’s position is based on the clear principle that countries deriving benefits from nuclear power should expect to make their own arrangements to safely dispose of their nuclear waste.

The Government has not made any decisions on a site for a low-level or intermediate-level radioactive waste facility.

We will not make any decisions on a radioactive waste facility without appropriate consultation, including with relevant state and territory governments and Indigenous and local communities. The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism is currently preparing a submission on these issues for consideration by the Government.

from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts, Mr Garrett, to a petition presented on 26 May by The Speaker (from 11 citizens)