The royal commission is awaiting a final sign-off from the South Australian Governor Hieu Van Le for a formal start. The royal commissioner heading the inquiry is the previous South Australian governor, Kevin Scarce.

Ms Vlahos is the local MP in the seat of Taylor in Adelaide's outer northern industrial suburbs that also plays host to a large vegetable growing industry and a range of car component factories. It is adjacent to the suburb of Elizabeth, where General Motors Holden runs a car-making factory preparing to shut down by 2017 at the latest.

The Elizabeth district has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation at more than 30 per cent.

Ms Vlahos was the parliamentary secretary to Premier Jay Weatherill until January this year, when she shifted responsibilities to become parliament secretary to the Health Minister Jack Snelling and is a member of the right faction of the ALP. The nuclear industry is a political minefield for many politicians, particularly those from the ALP side.

Pros and cons

Federal Opposition leader Bill Shorten is opposed to the nuclear industry and Mr Weatherill's decision to hold a royal commission re-opened divisions as Australia wrestles with whether it should use its rich uranium resources to establish a broad nuclear industry involved in enrichment, energy and storage, expanding from being just a uranium miner.

Some of the elder statesmen of the Labor Party including former prime minister Bob Hawke and former energy minister Martin Ferguson are supporters of an expansion as a smart way of generating carbon-free energy and adding value to the vast store of uranium deposits in Australia.

Ms Vlahos also believes an advanced nuclear waste facility should be set up in the state and "has the potential to provide enormous economic benefits".


The Public Health Association Australia is vehemently against the nuclear industry. The Canberra-based organisation's Dr Peter Tait said in his submission there are health risks associated with all aspects of the nuclear chain and not only are they against any expansion but "existing nuclear projects should transition to a process of closing down".

Australia has five uranium mines, with four of them in South Australia. The state holds about 30 per cent of the world's known uranium deposits. Mr Weatherill, in early February, said he had changed his mind on the nuclear industry after being opposed to it when he was a younger man, as he announced the royal commission.

One of the uranium mines already in operation in the north of the state is the subject of an acrimonious battle between United States nuclear giant General Atomics and the ASX-listed Alliance Resources. General Atomics, which owns 75 per cent of the Four Mile uranium project, has made a $58 million buyout offer for the remaining 25 per cent held by Alliance, which refuses to budge and argues the offer price is too cheap.

Alliance managing director Steve Johnston said the long time frame of the royal commission and the practical implications of any recommendations it might make, are likely to come too late to influence the corporate stoush.

Mr Johnston said the decision by Mr Weatherill to hold a royal commission looking at the potential expansion of the industry into enrichment, energy and storage of waste is sensible.

"Anything that looks at value-adding is a positive step," Mr Johnston said.

South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy chief executive Jason Kuchel in his submission said the state produces over 4000 tonnes of uranium annually that is exported safely through the ports of Adelaide and Darwin.

He said if prohibitions on the nuclear industry were removed it would entice companies with nuclear engineering capabilities "to seriously consider investing in Australia".