NADIA MITSOPOULOS: I started the program talking about the nuclear safety watchdog approving a plan; the first of many approvals that will have to happen for a radioactive waste facility at HMAS Stirling at Garden Island, and that will deal with the waste from those nuclear submarines that will be there as part of the AUKUS deal. 

Now, Madeleine King has very kindly joined you to allay those fears I suppose. She's the Federal Member for Brand, also the Minister for Resources. Madeleine King, good morning.

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Hi, Nadia. How you going?

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Good. The concerns that this opens up the door to more radioactive waste in WA, that it's high risk. First of all, how do you respond to those concerns?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Well, this is a low-level radioactive waste storage facility. It's not for permanent disposal of that particular type of waste. It is for storage for the moment. But when I say the moment, I mean, I don't want to be disingenuous . Like that will be some time until there's a national facility in place. But what's really important about this low-level waste, and I think some of your listeners have already mentioned-- sorry, the callers have mentioned it: it is the small things. And it's really important we have a system to monitor absolutely everything that comes into contact with the internals of the submarines that will be based here at HMAS Stirling. So, I mean like rags and cleaning equipment and particular items of clothing or scrap or masks, because if we don't monitor all those things and store them really well and securely in a highly monitored facility, that's when they do go missing and they might go out into the environment. So, it's really about addressing people's concerns in a really fastidious and hyper-regulated manner. And that's what that facility is all about. Just like it's about the hundreds of facilities around the country that store exactly this type of waste to do with medical research, as well as medical treatments, to do with radiology.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: So, then how do you rate the risk of this kind of waste?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: I rate the risk of this waste as low if it is monitored in the way it has been monitored in the past, which is very strict and very controlled, and that continues to happen. And that's why ARPANSA has a really important role in making sure, when the licences are granted, that they go through a particular process and the licences are monitored. And there's an extraordinary amount of checking because, I mean, we've got to think also of the people that are in close contact with this waste, the crew members of the submarines themselves and those people that deal with it directly into storage. And that's the same for medical practitioners as well that deal in radiological treatments and cancer wards. So, the risk is low if we do it right, and we have been doing it right for a long time, we need to do it better in terms of getting a national facility. But for this nature of waste, which is small but important, I'm confident of the facility which I live not two kilometres away from. So, I am confident in that.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: What about the lack of transparency? Well, there's unknowns and is this kind of information going to be available for people? The kind of materials that are being used, the volumes of waste, how it's being generated? I mean, will that be-- will you be open to the public about that sort of stuff?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: I'm happy to be. And I will talk to the Australian Defence Force about how they can perhaps be a bit more open about that kind of, those kind of questions around the volume. My understanding though--

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Are you suggesting that they're not being open enough at this point?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Look, I don't think they're not been open enough. I think they, the ADF have a lot of work to do in relation to AUKUS and perhaps they don't always reflect or grasp the amount of community concern. But I would have to say whilst, and I really respect James Mumme, who called earlier and I saw him on the news last night, he's a well regarded local citizen, has been involved in the environmental movement, has even received an OAM for his advocacy for the environment and conservation in Rockingham. And I applaud him and I've met with him and I know he opposes AUKUS as a principle, opposes the nuclear submarines as a principle, and that's another matter. But his concerns are valid, but they're not shared all that widely in the Rockingham community. I did check with my electorate office this morning. We haven't been inundated, to say the least, with calls. And that probably reflects the nature of the community that has indeed hosted both conventionally powered and nuclear-powered submarines here for decades. And I've grown up here in the seventies and the eighties and we've had these, you know, vessels visit here very regularly. And there's over 8000 people in this community that have either served in the ADF or are currently serving. It's just over 2000 current service members. So, it's a community that does support HMAS Stirling and the AUKUS idea. And I think, and I know because I speak with the Royal Australian Navy and the ADF quite a lot, they're always very mindful of the need to respect that local community's support for it.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Okay, because some people are saying, look, they don't feel that they've been told enough about consultation. What a lot of people are asking me is, can you confirm that there will not be any waste from the reactor stored at the base?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Absolutely. I can confirm that. Absolutely not. And that's a-- we do have to manage that process and I'm working on that with the Defence Minister now, because that is a different level of waste altogether. That's what I. That's the waste we say that's in the closed system and that's something that we have to deal with planning for it now, but it won't have to be gone for storage or disposal for some time yet.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: A couple of things before we get to news headlines. Madeleine King, the Minister for Resources and Federal Member for Brand, you are responsible for the national facility for permanent disposal of low level radioactive waste. Where is that at? Have you had, when will we know where that will be and how that will work?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Yeah, we are working on that now, as many might be aware, the Federal Court upheld a case by the Barngarla people in South Australia around the Kimba siding, which is a lovely little town in South Australia. And that was around apprehended bias in the decision of the former government. And there are lots of questions about consultation around that decision. So, we've had to go back to square one, which is regrettable, but at the same time, it's really important to get this right. And I know this is a country, our country has been working on this for a long time and we need to do better at it. In the meantime, in Western Australia, the Western Australian government and a private provider have managed to establish a low-level radioactive waste permanent facility disposal facility into the east of Kalgoorlie. And, you know, I take my hat off to those efforts, but that's not the same as what we have to do for a national Commonwealth facility. But we will look at all options. 

And, Nadia, before I go just on consultation, I just want to let people know that in regard to the infrastructure at HMAS Stirling, there will be drop in sessions this Saturday at Rockingham Shopping Centre and on next Monday at the Gary Holland Centre in Rockingham. And that's advertised in the West Australian, but also the local paper, the Sounds Telegraph. So, if people want to ask more about what's going on at HMAS Stirling, and I know this is not focused on the radioactive waste issue, but nonetheless, infrastructure will be important for the local community as well. There are these community sessions starting this Saturday.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Donald Trump - I'm watching the Republican National Convention, but his support seems to be strengthening, and he's not a fan of the AUKUS deal. How confident are you, that that deal is safe, no matter who is the US president?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: Our alliance with the US is safe no matter who's president, just like it's safe no matter with the UK, no matter who is leading the United Kingdom. The thing is, we are all representative democracies. We operate a bit differently. Of course we do. But I have a lot of confidence that AUKUS will remain.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: Andrew Forrest admitted yesterday that FMG will not be able to ramp up its production of green hydrogen quickly enough to meet its target for 2030. Is green hydrogen ever going to deliver on its promise?

MINISTER MADELEINE KING: I think it can deliver on its promise, and I've often said, you know, it's not here yet. And that's why we need important sources that we know exist and actually do firm up renewables like gas in our system. But I just-- and it's the same as CCUS-- just because things don't work right away, or as we had hoped, doesn't mean we give up on them. And the same goes for green hydrogen. So, you know, I applaud the work that Andrew Forrest and his team are doing. I applaud the work that's been doing in CCUS to make sure we can store greenhouse gas emissions. And equally, I'm quite thankful that we do have sufficient gas in this state to make sure we can keep the lights on and keep manufacturing going whilst also trying to drive down emissions.

NADIA MITSOPOULOS: I'll leave it there. Appreciate your time. Madeleine King there.