Australians living in regional areas are worried they will bear the burden of energy decisions made in capital cities without their input or adequate consultation, an inquiry has been told.
Farmers, local councillors, property groups and traditional owners outlined concerns at the Nuclear Power Generation inquiry yesterday, which convened in Nanango in Queensland’s South Burnett region, with most telling MPs they were worried their voices were not being heard by decision-makers.
The parliamentary inquiry, called in June, is investigating nuclear power for Australia after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced plans to build seven nuclear plants if his party won government at the next election – including one outside Nanango.
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Locals were already concerned they were not being told enough about the proposals or the risks of nuclear power plants, farmer Nick Holliday told the inquiry. The decision about whether to build a nuclear reactor in the Queensland town could be made by people living far away from it, he said.
“If it’s true that Peter Dutton will take that as a mandate and build these power plants whether communities want them or not, that will be a decision made not by people in the South Burnett but by people in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane,” Holliday said.
Nuclear accidents or leaks could reduce property values in the region by as much as 25 per cent and it could devastate sales of food produced in the region, he said.
Native title-holders should be consulted closely about nuclear developments on the land, Dungibara traditional owner Peta May said, particularly in relation to nuclear waste that would need to be quarantined for thousands of years.
“I don’t see how anyone living today can make those sorts of decisions where you’re affecting this world for 100,000 years,” she said.
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