THE federal government is preparing to have another crack at officially selecting the Napandee site, near Kimba, as the location for the National Radioactive Waste Management Facility, once a further consultation period has passed.
A Stock Journal poll indicated almost three-quarters (73.8pc) of readers believe more consultation is indeed needed, although I wonder what this consultation will actually achieve, since the government seems set on selecting Napandee.
Related reading: Further consultation causes delay, landowner claims
This isn't an issue that attracts a lot of fence-sitters - it's something local people are passionate about. Some say a waste facility will secure the region's future prosperity, while others maintain it could destroy the local agriculture sector. More consultation seems unlikely to change these firmly-held viewpoints.
Furthermore, if those who are neither for or against the proposal haven't been swayed by one side of the debate by now, it's unlikely to happen in the next 60 days.
The government could conduct consultation about the proposal until the proverbial cows come home, but there will never be a complete rejection or total acceptance of a waste facility.
A lingering question remains - how will the latest round of consultation be conducted, and how will it be different from all the rounds before it?
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