John Parker, secretary of Victoria's Gippsland Trades and Labour Council, condemned the findings of the federal government's panel of so-called experts on nuclear energy. "Any attempt to build a nuclear power plant in Gippsland will be strongly resisted", he said on November 22.
"Nuclear plants need a secure water source and they need to be close to the national grid, making Gippsland and the Latrobe Valley a prime location. The community and the union movement strongly oppose Gippsland going nuclear with the inherent risk of nuclear accidents and the long-term problem of storing and protecting highly radioactive waste.
"I fear that the federal government will use its new powers gained by the recent High Court decsion on industrial relations to by-pass the state Government", Parker continued. "How can we entrust nuclear facilities to private enterprise when their only concern is to make a profit?"