00:00On the day of Donald Trump's inauguration, a press conference at Osborne.
00:06And reassurances, AUKUS is still on.
00:09My state and this government is all in on AUKUS.
00:13Key to the agreement between the US, UK and Australia is the construction of nuclear submarines
00:18in Adelaide's Osborne shipyards.
00:21But that's led to questions.
00:23How will the site handle the nuclear technology and the waste it ultimately creates?
00:28Decisions around high-level nuclear waste are decisions that last for generations upon
00:35generations.
00:36They are not decisions that should simply be made and presented as a fait accompli.
00:42A former senator and submariner, Rex Patrick is running for the Senate again as the South
00:47Australian candidate for the Jackie Lambie network.
00:51He's obtained documents through Freedom of Information that include a briefing paper
00:56from a trip the Treasurer and Defence Industries Minister Stephen Mulligan made to the UK late
01:01last year.
01:03It says that he would discuss defence company Babcock's approach to nuclear-powered submarine
01:08sustainment, defuelling and disposal, including radioactive waste management.
01:14Rex Patrick says it's a sign there are plans underway for the nuclear submarines to be
01:19defuelled and dismantled at Osborne.
01:21I don't think it's reasonable for Rex Patrick to insinuate that that was the focus of the
01:27discussions because that wasn't the focus of the discussions.
01:31The Minister says the focus of the discussions with Babcock was on how it manages its relationship
01:36with the local community, as the state government embarks on a plan to triple the size of the
01:41Osborne shipyards, a challenge when locals are already voicing concerns about the program.
01:47The main thing is they haven't told us anything.
01:51Every step of the way we've been ambushed.
01:53We weren't informed, we weren't asked whether we wanted an orcas facility in our neighbourhood.
01:59Late last year legislation passed federal parliament allowing nuclear waste to be stored
02:04at Osborne, but the government insists it will only be low-level material, with a location
02:09for any high-level waste storage still to be decided.
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