Opening the jury

Premier Jay Weatherill opened today’s first Citizens’ Jury urging the group of randomly chosen South Australians to “set the agenda” for the ongoing statewide consultation.

Mr Weatherill welcomed the jury for Day One of their proceedings, saying that their contribution to the ongoing discussion about possible further involvement in the nuclear fuel cycle was “an important job” for the state.

“This jury will help bring clarity and precision to the statewide consultation phase, ensuring it can be carried out with confidence, integrity and effectiveness,” he said.

“This is not simply about getting people into a room and taking a vote, is about hearing from experts, exploring issues in depth, asking questions and putting forward the community’s views.

“We’re not asking the citizens jury to say yes or no; we’re just asking them to assist us to make the best possible decision”

Royal Commission summary

The jury then heard from senior Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission staff, who presented an overview of the report, the Commission’s Terms of Reference and detailed the process involved in preparing the 320-page report.

Former chief of staff Greg Ward, counsel assisting Chad Jacobi and senior solicitor Lucinda Byers provided a summary of the report, and outlined the 12 recommendations in detail and how they were developed.

The trio talked about the key topics, including safety, economic modelling and the environment, which were central to the Commission’s investigations, and took a range of questions from the jury.

During the Q & A sessions, jurors explored radiotoxicity and radiation, the impacts of the Fukushima disaster, the technical details and safety of deep geological disposal, the siting of any facility, environmental concerns and the risks facing nation’s already involved in nuclear activity.

Witness identification

As part of the deliberative process, the Citizens’ Jury has the power to call witnesses – and this afternoon’s session saw jurors working together to develop a list of experts – people they would like to hear from to help them understand the Royal Commission’s Report.

A ‘foundation’ witness list of 85 experts has been compiled offering a broad, comprehensive and diverse range of voices which may be relevant in relation to the nuclear fuel cycle topic.

During their deliberations today, the jurors added extra witnesses to their list, seeking to hear from experts across areas such as science, health, economics, regional impacts, indigenous communities and international experience.

Tomorrow’s program

A group of eight eminent Australians will tomorrow contribute a broad range of opinions, technical expertise and interests into the jury’s proceedings.

The expert panel will present, over two sessions, followed by a lengthy Q&A session with the 50 member Citizens’ Jury.

To be live-streamed, the panel will explore the topic “What’s important to discuss as we consider SA’s future & whether we should deepen our involvement in the Nuclear Fuel Cycle”.

Speakers include:

Panel #1: Starting at 10am.

Craig Wilkins, Chief Executive, Conservation Council SA
Dr Leanna Read, Chief Scientist of South Australia
Nigel McBride, Chief Executive, Business SA
Keith Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, SA Native Title Services

Panel #2: Starting at 12.30pm.

Dr Simon Longstaff, Chief Executive, The Ethics Centre
Associate Prof Michael Penniment, Director Radiation Oncology, Royal Adelaide Hospital
Kelly-Anne Saffin, Chief Executive, Northern and Yorke Regional Development Australia
Jason Kuchel, Chief Executive, SA Council of Mines and Energy

Background:

The first Citizens’ Jury is meeting this weekend in Adelaide and then for another weekend on July 9 and 10. Working together over four days, the Jury will dissect the report and hear from a range of experts. It will then prepare a simple report outlining the information they believe the community should consider during the three month statewide consultation period.