South Australia is exploring the idea of setting up a repository for nuclear waste in the state and plans to reach to out to its partner countries including India if the recommendation mooted by its Royal Commission is accepted.
"South Australia is considering...Recommendations of Royal Commission. It points out that there is a multi-billion dollar opportunity for Australia to become a repository for nuclear waste," Martin Hamilton Smith, Minister for Trade and Investment, South Australia said today.
"There could be a legislation by the end of the year if the community decides to go ahead with that, to make that a reality, in which case will be talking further to India and our partners about how we can better engage with the nuclear industry," he said here.
The proposal assumes significance as India and Australia have signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement to ease the supply of uranium for India's nuclear power plants and 81 per cent of Australia's uranium is in South Australia.
"It is quite a big opportunity in the sense that there will be some place to send the nuclear waste and could lead to further linkages and engagements," Smith said.
If the recommendation are accepted, "It simply opens another business opportunity between Australia and India and...To agree to store waste in a site in South Australia," he noted.
Asked why Australian companies have not come forth to supply uranium to India even after the deal came into force last year, the Minister said: "It is now a matter of an Indian company and a South Australian company to do a deal together to buy and sell Uranium. My understanding is all the obstacles to that process have been cleared".
Asked about prospects of trade between India and Australia in the absence of a free trade agreement (FTA), Smith said: "Trade is happening. The non-existence of a free trade agreement has not stopped it at all."
However, he said, it might improve things to have an agreement in place.
"We would like to see in particular very few trade barriers tariffs and GDs applied to food and wine," Smith added.
The talks for a free trade pact between the two countries started in 2011 to boost bilateral trade and investment.
Both sides were expecting to conclude negotiations by December last year, but there were differences in areas like duty cut on dairy products and wines.
Smith further said he sees a lot of scope for technology transfer in water and food between India and South Australia.
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission was established by the South Australian Government on 19 March 2015, to undertake an independent and comprehensive investigation into the potential for increasing South Australia's participation in the nuclear fuel cycle.
