Antinuclear

Stupidity of South Australia’s pro-uranium govt will cost taxpayers $millions

Justice Anderson awarded the plaintiffs a combined total of $724,000,….Costs will be awarded against the State of South Australia. Senior legal figures in Adelaide and Melbourne estimate that these could be between $4 and $5 million..

Blunder may cost SA millions,  The Independent Weekly, HENDRIK GOUT17 Apr, 2010 Hendrik Gout investigates the protest that went terribly wrong and became frightfully expensive. On November 14, 1997, Mines and Energy SA announced it had approval from the Liberal State Government to trial uranium mining at Beverley, 35km from Lake Frome and 520km north of Adelaide. The department claimed that concerns over the mine’s social, environmental and health impacts were “not for the public domain”.
Not everyone agreed. The mine would use a controversial process called acid leaching, which at the time was outlawed in the Western world….

10 years ago, a loose coalition of activists, protesters and demonstrators gathered under the stars of Lake Frome to protest against the new mine at Beverley. They came from Adelaide and Melbourne, from the local Flinders Ranges Environment Action Collective and from the native Adnyamathanha people……

The protesters were taken by police vans and locked into a shipping container.

“You couldn’t see,” Mr Holland says. “There were half a dozen holes the size of a 50 cent piece letting in light. Then the welding started.”

With protesters – and Mr Holland – still inside, police decided to weld a steel cage to the outside of the container, a move Justice Anderson last week described as “potentially dangerous and unnecessary”.

“There were sparks all over the place, smoke and smell. It was hard to breathe,” says Mr Holland.

Justice Anderson ruled last week: “There is no question that the right to protest in a sensible, organised and orderly fashion is part of the Australian culture and way of life…………..

“It is my view that most, if not all, of the force used was unnecessary because, in general, once the Star Force officers appeared, kitted out in helmets, and with shields and batons raised, the general body of the protesters naturally retreated and had no desire to remain on the mine site. The emergence of the Star Division officers in full riot gear was an imposing sight, which had the desired effect.”….”those detained had been singled out without being involved in any breach of the peace or the commission of any substantive offence.”

.. it was the police who hadn’t upheld the law. In fact, they’d broken it….

SA Treasurer Kevin Foley said: “The Government will not negotiate a wholesale settlement with a bunch of feral protesters who put the safety of our police officers in peril. The Government sends a clear message to any anarchist group of protesters that we will not be a soft touch,” ……

For damages, aggravated damages, exemplary damages and interest on damages, Justice Anderson awarded the plaintiffs a combined total of $724,000,….

Costs will be awarded against the State of South Australia. Senior legal figures in Adelaide and Melbourne estimate that these could be between $4 and $5 million for the 40-plus sitting days, non-court work, travel to Adelaide, accommodation for the plaintiffs’ legal team, plus all the costs associated with the Government’s own defence team.

“South Australians have every right to be angry,” Greens MLC and lawyer Mark Parnell told The Independent Weekly.

Blunder may cost SA millions – Local News – News – General – The Independent Weekly

April 17, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | civil liberties, South Australia, uranium | antinuclear, Australia, civil liberties, nuclear costs, radioactive, South Australia, uranium