The proposal for a national radioactive waste dump in South Australia is integral to the massive expansion of the nuclear industry in Australia by the Coalition Government. Billa Kalina is a 67 000 square kilometer region in South Australia that has been identified as the most suitable area in which to site the dump. The region extends over the traditional country of the Kokatha people to the South and the Arrabunna to the North. The Kupa Pity Kungka Tjuta, are a council of Indigenous women elders representing the Kokatha, Arabunna, Antikarinya and Yankuntjatjara communities. The women have come together in an attempt to bring about the healing of their communities and deal with the problems resulting from the impacts of the nuclear industry. They have always said no to the nuclearisation of their land, and they are still waiting to be heard.

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is promoting the dump as it is vital to their plans to build a new nuclear reactor. ANSTO runs the Lucas Heights reactor in suburban Sydney, soon to be decommissioned. The reactor produces over 85% of Australia's nuclear waste, much of it high level spent fuel rods. ANSTO needs the dump to bury the old reactor and high-level waste produced by the new reactor. Because there is no safe or permanent solution to nuclear waste storage, ANSTO and the Federal Government have opted for the 'out of sight-out of mind' option to clear the way for a new reactor.

The proposed disposal method is shallow burial. Waste will be stored in steel drums in trenches less than 20 metres deep. It will then be covered by rammed earth or concrete. This design WILL NOT prevent leakage of liquid or gas or plant, human or animal intrusion. ANSTO claims it will have an 'engineering integrity' of 300 years, despite much of the waste having lifetimes that far exceed that.

While the South Australian desert region has little surface water, there are large amounts of groundwater in the Great Artesian Basin. The GAB is a deep underground water reservoir that underlies over one-fifth of the Australian continent. Water from the GAB is collected from as far north as Cape Tribulation and takes millions of years to collect in the basin before it resurfaces as fossilised water through natural springs and bores. The water from the GAB is of vital importance to outback regions of QLD, NSW and SA. This water is often the only available supply for towns, properties and communities for their domestic and industrial requirements. Natural Springs from the GAB are the lifeline of many delicate ecosystems throughout Australia. Supporters of the Dump can give no real assurance that the groundwater will not be contaminated, therefore plans should not proceed.

Siting a dump in a remote area poses much more of a threat than retaining the waste on site of production. Radioactive waste would be transported across the continent placing numerous communities en route at risk to accidental exposure and contamination. The tyranny of distance means there is a lack of expertise on site and it would be difficult to maintain communications, services and security. All this adds up to the human rights and environmental abuse that burial of radioactive waste on Aboriginal land entails. Remote dumping is an irresponsible abandonment of radioactive waste.