Independent MLC and Milton resident Justin Field has called on South Coast MP Shelley Hancock and Kiama MP Gareth Ward to reveal their position on a bill to overturn the ban on uranium mining in NSW.
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Yesterday, the NSW Cabinet decided against supporting a One Nation bill and instead will consider introducing its own bill.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the idea of backing a One Nation bill angered several senior ministers.
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Mr Field said there was little support for nuclear power or uranium mining on the South Coast and urged Mr Ward and Mrs Hancock to consider the views of their constituency.
"I'm surprised the government would try and talk about this as some economic opportunity for NSW. We don't have many deposits so there is not a huge economic opportunity here," Mr Field said.
"What it is, is an expensive distraction from the need to transition to renewable energy.
"The NSW people took a position many, many years ago that uranium mining and nuclear power was risky businesses and not something we wanted to be part of."
He said the community would see lifting the ban on mining as the first step towards nuclear power.
"They seem to be moving towards one of the most expensive and environmentally risk forms of energy going around and that is nuclear," he said.
In a statement, South Coast MP Shelley Hancock said she did not support nuclear energy on the South Coast but did not comment on the proposal to overturn the uranium mining ban.
"As I have said on a number of occasions, I would not support any plans for uranium mining or a nuclear plant on the South Coast," she said.
Kiama MP Gareth Ward declined to comment.
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Stuart Thomson
Journalist at the South Coast Register.
Journalist at the South Coast Register.
