Honourable Jay Weatherill Greg Johnson

Premier of South Australia Contact Details Removed

The Premier's Office Contact Details Removed 5018

15th floor Contact Details Removed State Administration Centre 12th February 2015 200 Victoria Square Adelaide SA 5000

Risk assessments and issues which need to be thoroughly investigated and publically reported on by the South Australian Government Royal Commission into expanding South Australia's involvement into key elements of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

I would like to introduce my concerns by asking what 'facts' are to be included and what 'facts' are to be omitted in the Commission's terms of reference? It appears from the contradictory comments from the head of the Commission, Kevin Scarce, 'I know the dangers of the (nuclear) industry' and 'how do we convince South Australians that it is safe and what are the benefits of so doing?', that Kevin does not come to his appointment with an open mind. It seems Kevin already knows what's best for us.

On the contrary, history demonstrates the nuclear industry does not have a clean safety record! It has also been prone to secrecy and of distorting the 'facts'. We need to remind ourselves that civil nuclear programs worldwide were born out of and have continued to be connected to military / industrial complexes. We also need to be conscious of the 'fact' that over time governments and their members are replaced; some by degrees of democratic process, some through corruption and some by direct or imminent force. You only have to look at the contemporary world to witness changes in circumstances, context, creed, character, type, priorities, policies, practices and behaviours of political parties, leaderships and oppositional groups, to conclude we live in and will likely continue to live in uncertain times.

Will the Commission honestly detail and disclose to the public the nuclear industries past and current faults, failures and range of future human health risks associated with embracing any stages of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle including the who, when, where, how, along with the $ costs and who pays of?: -  an independent and ongoing organisation which would have the authority, technical expertise and substantive resources to diligently authorise, supervise, monitor, inspect, report, and police the industry with powers to prosecute when issues arise  choice of and changes to particular nuclear technologies [old, contemporary, emerging)  transportation of radioactive materials  storage of low, medium and high levels of radioactive components, materials and waste  establishment, running, maintaining and expansion of nuclear enrichment plant/s  nuclear power generation plants  decommissioning of nuclear infrastructure  new laws, indenture and security arrangements  worker conditions  community safety  Indigenous land rights, cultural identity and movement through country  whistleblower protection and the right for peaceful civil disobedience  who 'cleans up' when things go wrong? [if that's possible]  who is legally responsible when things go wrong? As can be seen from the above list getting involved deeper into the nuclear industry inevitably brings with it an immediate and ongoing range of complex arrangements and responsibilities if taken seriously. Accompanying the engineering plant design, construction, components, operation, maintenance, upgrades, replacement and disposal of plant, pipes, valves, gears, rotors, motors, conveyer systems, workers attire, etc is the added 'fact' that when the nuclear industry has 'incidents' / 'leaks' / 'spills' / 'fires' / 'crashes', 'energy failure', / 'cooling failure', / 'explosions' / or worse, ionizing radiation is released to the air, onto the land and into waterways. Unlike other potentially hazardous industries these toxic isotopes are impossible to contain, capture and eliminate from the environment for thousands of years.

I draw your attention to the article 'The dark side of a fully wired world' on page 24 in the INQUIRER section of The Weekend Australian newspaper of Saturday, February 7-8, 2015. Alan Dupont, Professor of International Security at the University of NSW highlights specific global CYBER ATTACKS on government institutions, private business and industry. The dilemmas faced by governments and industry to defend themselves against this type of attack and potential catastrophic consequences are alarming. Inevitably the State and Private Sector will increase security and surveillance measures impacting on individuals and groups democratic rights and movements within the community.

There are many more potential 'facts' to contribute to the public debate. Consider the following short [nowhere exhaustive] nuclear disaster scenario list: -  a rogue pilot/crew or terrorist group activate an aircraft or drone to crash into a nuclear facility [what caused the recent disappearance of Malaysian flight MH370?]  a truck or ship carrying spent fuel rods is hijacked or has a serious accident  the cooling system of or energy supply to an Uranium Enrichment Plant fails  another country targets South Australian nuclear facilities with weaponry

Expansion of the nuclear industry in South Australia opens up a myriad of potential industrial accidents, security breaches, espionage, sabotage and physical attacks; resulting in the release of radioactive isotopes to the environment and damaging current and future human populations health.

Before committing our state to further participation in this 'dirty' and 'dangerous' nuclear industry decision makers [the people's representatives] need to be mindful that they have a responsibility, indeed an obligation not to leave a toxic legacy for future generations.

Kindest regards

Greg Johnson (Concerned Citizen of Australia) cc: South Australian Premier and Cabinet Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Incorporated (ALRM) Honourable Susan Close, MP Reggie Martin, State Secretary, ALP South Australia Honourable Tom Koutsantonis, MP Joe Szakacs, Secretary, SA Unions Honourable John Rau, MP Honourable Bill Shorten, MP Honourable Jack Snelling, MP National Secretariat of the Australian Labour Party Honourable Stephen Mulligan, MP Australian Council of Trade Unions Executive Honourable Ian Hunter, MLC Honourable Kyam Maher, MLC Honourable Mark Parnell, MP Honourable Mark Butler, MP