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| Since the release of the Pangea Resources promotional video it has become apparent that whilst governments both state and federal still outwardly reject the proposal, many politicians have had contact with Pangea or are in support of the project. When the story broke, a spokeswoman for Industry Minister Nick Minchin said no formal proposal has been put to the Government by Pangea for a nuclear waste dump. The Minister has indicated that there have been no ministerial meetings over a number of years. She says it is not Government policy to import high-level nuclear waste, and there is no intention to change that position. John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia said he does not support the development of any international nuclear waste facility in Australia. Whilst making this statement it is important to note that on December 10th 1998 the federal government left the door open to the construction and operation of a nuclear waste facility when they defeated amendments to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Bill which would have prohibited them. Pangea Resources states that it does not seek government endorsement or approval, yet we know they have met with Hendy Cowan, the Deputy Leader of the West Australian Government. Pangea say they had not presented the concept to elected officials in Australia, though there had been informal informational discussions involving non-elected government officials, according to James Voss. In answer to questions put by Giz Watson MLC, Greens WA member of the Western Australian Legislative Council, the Government has denied any knowledge of the project, other than one meeting between James Voss and the Deputy Premier Hendy Cowan on the 14th November, 1997. It appears the meeting was surprisingly short on detail. James Voss met with Hendy Cowan on the 14th November, 1997. According to the Deputy Premier the meeting with Voss was a courtesy call as a result of a verbal request by Pangea. Hendy Cowan has refused to say on what date the request for the meeting was made, and which representative of Pangea made the request for the meeting. At that meeting, which was at a Ministerial level, Mr Cowan claims no documentation or information was left by Pangea. No written advice was given to Pangea that the state government did not support the development of an international nuclear waste facility, although Mr Cowan has said he advised them verbally that the government did not support such a development. On 01/03/99 it was announced that the Pangea Nuclear Waste Repository concept had been submitted to government. This was done at the Waste Management '99 conference at Tucson, Arizona, the chairman of Pangea Resources Australia Pty Ltd, David Pentz, outlined plans for an international repository for high-level nuclear waste in Australia.
Pangea will "also seek to stimulate and engage in an open discussion with the public and those groups which take a direct interest in our proposal". It is our understanding that this Pangea proposal was merely a letter to Bob Mansfield, the special projects advisor to the Prime Minister, asking for the opportunity to discuss the Pangea project. It has been acknowledged that discussions have been held between Pangea Resources and government bureaucrats about the international dump proposal. An article in Nuclear Fuel cites an Australian "source" who says that the government's opposition is not unbending. Certainly Pangea Resources has not been deterred by reactions to its proposal since it was publicly revealed in December. Liberal Party pollster Mark Textor has been testing public opinion for Pangea. The Canberra based firm Access Economics was commissioned to prepare a state-of-the-art report on the economic benefits of an international dump - $200 billion over a 40 year period, equivalent to $8,200 for each of Australia's six million households. "Pangea has concentrated on scientific aspects of a site first and then will deal with politics", John Bartlett said. Bartlett, who was director of the DOE civilian nuclear waste program during part of the Bush administration, is a consultant to Pangea as a member of the Sanford, Cohen and Associates consulting firm.
Wilson
Tuckey Mr Voss also denied he had met any Federal Government Ministers. As a result Pangea's head of science and technology, Charles McCombie, said Mr Voss had lied when he had in fact met Forests and Conservation Minister Wilson Tuckey, but "Pangea regretted this lie." Dr
Brian Hewitt Senator
Ross Lightfoot... "I don't think it's something that's going to happen perhaps in the next decade, but I'm sure as we go through into the next century those sorts of market arrangements...and security arrangements will come into place," he said. It has been acknowledged by Pangea that discussions have been held between Pangea Resources and government bureaucrats about the potential geological location and competing mineral industry issues associated with the placement of the international dump proposal. An article in Nuclear Fuel cites an Australian "source" who says that the government's opposition is not unbending. ...and
the Premier's Office Premier Richard Court has admitted that he received updates from US company Pangea after a meeting between the company and his former chief-of-staff, Ian Fletcher. On leaving Mr Court’s office in March, Mr Fletcher was approached by Pangea to act as its media adviser. The Sunday Times was told by a person in Pangea director Jim Vos’s office that there was regular contact with Fletcher Rowe. "I contact Fletcher Rowe from time to time to find out what is happening in the media in Perth," a Pangea spokesman said. In December 1999, the State Government finally bowed to public pressure and passed legislation against dumping international nuclear waste. But of course the story doesn't end there... |
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the Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western
Australia
email nfreewa@iinet.net.au |
