The Government has calculated preliminary costs for the treatment and storage of high-level radioactive waste from AUKUS submarines. They’re just not willing to share the costs with those that have to pay for it. Rex Patrick reports.
According to the Defence Capability Manual, when Defence proposes a capability acquisition to the Government, it is supposed to present multiple options and their total cost of ownership.
In Senate Estimates last year Senator Lidia Thorpe asked about the radioactive waste costs for AUKUS, “There’s no costing as yet; is that right?”
Vice Admiral Jonathon Mead, head of the Australian Submarine Agency, responded, “That’s correct”.
That means the total cost of ownership for AUKUS has never actually been calculated. We know the price tag for AUKUS is $368B, but that price doesn’t include radioactive waste storage and disposal.
Whatever that extra cost is, it’ll be big.
Trillion dollar AUKUS subs plus nuclear waste in perpetuity?
Total cost of ownership
It seems over the past year the Government has decided it might be a good idea to understand how much it will cost to deal with AUKUS waste.
MWM FOI’ed the Australian Submarine Agency for “cost estimates for a solution for the treatment and storage of high-level radioactive waste from AUKUS”.
A Defence FOI decision maker responded to the request advising “I have identified one document that falls within the scope of the request.” She then went on to advise that MWM and the Australian public can’t see it.
Figure 1 – You can’t see the nuclear waste costs (Source: Defence FOI)
While the decision-maker is concerned that the information is preliminary (even though the Government can stamp “preliminary” on the document), surely having access to preliminary information is better for those that have to pay for it (you and me) than having no information at all?
Maybe it’s a case of “we can’t handle the truth”. The number will be big.
Senate exchange
The Australian Submarine Agency appeared at Senate Estimates this week.
Greens Senator David Shoebridge decided to try his luck getting the costing data. The Agency wasn’t very cooperative.
Vice Admiral Mead advised the Senate that his Agency was only in the “early stages” of the costing process. The Chief Financial Officer, Ms Marlena Davis, testified that the FOI document contained “initial data collection” which was “deliberative” and was also “national security information”, even though the Agency made no national security claim in the FOI decision.
Senator Shoebridge asked for the document to be produced to the Senate. Minister Jenny McAllister agreed to consider his request, but noted the claims made by the Chief Financial Officer.
So, after all that, we don’t have any idea what the cost will be. All we can be sure of, no matter what it is, is that it’s you and I that will be paying for it.
AUKUS waste plans. The hitchhiker’s guide to nuclear approvals
Rex Patrick is a former Senator for South Australia and, earlier, a submariner in the armed forces. Best known as an anti-corruption and transparency crusader, Rex is also known as the "Transparency Warrior."