STATEMENT ON PROPOSED NUCLEAR REACTOR AT MOUNT PIPER POWER STATION
Peter Dutton and David Littleproud have just announced Mt Piper Power Station near Lithgow as a site for a nuclear reactor.
Community members have already been contacting my office with questions about this announcement.
Here are some of them:
Why weren’t the Lithgow area communities consulted before this announcement was made?
Why weren’t the Lithgow area communities given the respect of making this announcement in Lithgow rather than doing it in Sydney?
How do we know it’s safe?
Can community safety be guaranteed in the event of a natural disaster, terrorist attack or armed conflict?
Where in Lithgow will the highly toxic radioactive waste be stored?
Have the owners of the Mt Piper power station been consulted?
What will happen to real estate prices in Lithgow and other communities of the Central West?
How much will this project cost and what is the timeline?
Where will the huge amounts of water required for the reactor come from?
After the Lithgow area was “volunteered” by the previous NSW Government for a waste incinerator that Western Sydney didn’t want, why has it now been volunteered for this without the community having a say?
Two state Central West National Party MPs recently flew to Europe and apparently met with representatives of nuclear power companies. Who did they meet, and what was discussed?
Even supporters of nuclear power have questions about this announcement and want them answered.
I’m calling on Peter Dutton and David Littleproud to answer these questions and provide specific information so that residents can fully understand what is proposed for our communities and have certainty about what the impacts will be.
I will soon be starting community consultations to hear local views about this announcement and welcome any input by contacting my office.
I will always listen to and advocate for our communities of Calare.
ENDS
Media contact: Sinéad Fogarty, 0417 852 386 or Kathleen Hewitt, 0482 942 089