Natalie Whiting reported this story on Friday, October 16, 2015 12:15:00

KIM LANDERS: The first shipment of Australia's nuclear waste to be returned from reprocessing in France has now left a French port, and will arrive on our shores next month.



The return of the 25 tonnes of nuclear waste is putting renewed pressure on the Federal Government to find a location for a permanent waste dump.



The shipment began its journey just a day after senior Aboriginal women gathered in Adelaide to mark their fight against a proposed dump in South Australia in the 1990s.



The women say they'll fight any new move to put the waste on their land.



In Adelaide, Natalie Whiting reports.



NATALIE WHITING: More than a decade ago, South Australia won a legal battle against the Federal Government to stop a nuclear waste dump being built in the state's outback.



While that may have put an end to the South Australian dump, it hasn't put an end to the problem of nuclear waste.



Australia has been sending nuclear waste to France, the UK and the United States for it to be processed.



Spent fuel was sent to France in four shipments in the 90s and early 2000s. Now, a ship carrying 25 tonnes of processed nuclear waste is on its way back.



When the shipment of waste from France arrives next month it will be temporarily kept at the nuclear facility in Lucas Heights.



David Sweeney from the Australian Conservation Foundation says that's the best option.



DAVID SWEENEY: It is where this waste was originally generated, and it's where there has been a dedicated and purpose-built facility to host it for an extended interim storage.



So we say that it is the least worst option and it is sensible and responsible to keep it at Lucas Heights.



NATALIE WHITING: The Federal Government has begun a process to try to find a permanent site for the waste, calling for people to voluntarily nominate possible sites.



DAVID SWEENEY: We're hoping that that will be a different and better approach than what's been used to date, but what we need to do is not do the wrong thing. We need to not rush. Radioactive waste lasts a very long time and it's a very significant issue and a very significant management challenge, so we need to not rush.



(Singing)



NATALIE WHITING: The proposed waste dump in South Australia attracted fierce opposition, especially among local Aboriginal people.



An event in Adelaide last night remembered the campaign of a group of senior women against the plan.



NATALIE WHITING: Emily Austin is one of the women who led the campaign.



EMILY AUSTIN: We used to fight, fight. We travelled everywhere. We went to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and we were telling them that's poison, you know. They're going to bury it in our country, and that's no good.



NATALIE WHITING: South Australia's outback is still seen as an ideal location and the State Government's attitude to the industry has shifted.



It's currently holding a royal commission into the nuclear fuel cycle.



The organiser of last night's event Karina Lester is the granddaughter of one of the women who campaigned, and her father was blinded by the British nuclear tests at Maralinga half a century ago.



She says the Aboriginal people in South Australia's north have a long and tortured history with the industry.



KARINA LESTER: Maralinga's had a huge impact because people speak from first-hand experience. People like the amazing (inaudible), many of those old women who are no longer with us today.



They were there the day the ground shook and the black mist rolled. It's an industry that doesn't sit comfortably with our community.



NATALIE WHITING: The royal commission is investigating possible involvement in the nuclear industry, obviously not weapons but other aspects of it, including the possibility of a waste dump.



Is it good to see that there's consultation this time before any decision is made?



KARINA LESTER: Yes, I think that's a credit to the royal commission that they've made an effort to, you know, engage with a broader community of the Aboriginal communities.



But how many of those are really understanding the technicality of this royal commission and what the whole industry really means?



NATALIE WHITING: Emily Austin says she's ready to fight any attempts to set up a waste dump.



EMILY AUSTIN: Oh yeah, I still got fight yet. They might stop, they might listen, I don't know.



NATALIE WHITING: The Federal Government's nomination process for a site for the waste dump ended in May, but a preferred site is yet to be named.



KIM LANDERS: Natalie Whiting.