Agriculture ministers from the nation’s Labor governments have joined forces to raise concern about how the federal coalition’s nuclear energy plan could impact food production.
Ministers from every state and territory affected by the opposition’s nuclear proposal released a joint statement on Thursday, saying they had a duty to protect the future of the agriculture industry. The only state currently held by the Liberal Party, Tasmania, was not party to the statement.
“We have serious concerns that this duty would be compromised by the federal opposition’s proposal for nuclear power in and around prime agricultural land,” it said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton announced the nuclear strategy a month ago, flagging reactors at coal power station sites in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.
More than 11,000 farms would be within an 80km radius of the seven earmarked sites, according to a analysis released by the federal government.
Under international standards, that radius is classified as an “ingestion exposure pathway” in which people may be left vulnerable to radiation through contaminated food, milk and water in the event of a nuclear accident.
US farmers in those zones are obliged to take on preventative measures during an emergency, such as providing livestock with separate feed and water, holding shipments and decontaminating produce.
Leaks have been detected in groundwater at 37 out of 54 nuclear sites in the US since 1979, though the radioactive material dissipates quickly and is rarely found outside reactor boundaries, according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission report.
Australia’s agriculture ministers called on the coalition to explain to farmers how its nuclear vision would sit alongside the sector.
“It’s about time the federal opposition provided some answers … about where the water will come from,” Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said ahead of a meeting of the group in Brisbane on Thursday.
“What would happen in the event of a nuclear accident? And what preparations (would) they be making to prepare for such an event?”
When Senator Watt made similar comments during an address to the Global Food Forum on Wednesday, Nationals leader David Littleproud accused Labor of scaremongering and hypocrisy.
“The Coalition’s policy is to use existing entitlements from the coal power plants so water would not be taken from agriculture or communities,” Mr Littleproud said.
“For him to talk about water security after this Labor government changed the Murray Darling Basin Plan to include water buybacks, as well as scrapping several new dam projects is hypocrisy of the highest order.”
Mr Watt denied using scare tactics, saying answers were needed about the cost of nuclear energy and its implications.
The ministerial gathering in Brisbane also discussed national priorities including fire ants, the wine industry, the sector’s workforce, sustainability and drought.
Something going on in your part of the region you think people should know about? Send us a news tip or email newsdesk@netimes.com.au.