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 on Thursday, which convened in Nanango in Queensland’s South Burnett region.
While those who appeared before the inquiry were split over their opposition to nuclear power plants and renewable energy projects, most told 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.
The facilities would be built on the sites of coal-fired power stations, including Tarong Power Station outside Nanango.
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” Mr 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.
“If I’ve got to declare to consumers that we are in a radiation danger zone, why would they choose our produce versus produce from the Sunshine Coast or northern NSW where no such risk occurs?” he said.
Native title holders should be consulted closlely 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.
But other groups before the inquiry were more supportive or open to nuclear power generation in the region and were frustrated with the development of solar and wind farms.
Locals’ concerns about the environmental and visual impacts of renewable projects were not considered by planning courts and had caused a rift in the area, South Burnett Regional Council Mayor Kathy Duff said.
“People are concerned about renewables because of the lack of planning around them,” she said.
The inquiry will hold a public hearing in Brisbane on Friday.
