Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items

Renewed call against Martin Ferguson’s nuclear waste dump plan for Aboriginal land

“It is a long way from Northcote and Preston to Muckaty but today’s message to Minister Ferguson is simple: this issue is not out of sight and not out of mind and many people in this region do not support or accept this plan to push a radioactive waste dump on an unwilling community,”…Minister Ferguson’s dump plan is irresponsible, divisive and out of step with both international best practice and local community opinion.

Not in our name: locals say no to Minister’s dump plan , 18 Nov 10, Local community members will today join with representatives of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) to deliver thousands of petitions calling on federal member Martin Ferguson to dump his plan for a controversial radioactive waste dump at Muckaty, north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory.

Before the recent federal election, ACF joined with Aboriginal Traditional Owners to help ensure that the human face of the Muckaty story was seen and heard in the heartland of the plan’s main architect, Resource Minister Ferguson.

The Dump the Dump campaign was made possible by public donations and included a billboard on High St, Northcote (attached), ads in local newspapers and gathered over 2,500 petitions calling on Minister Ferguson to abandon the plan in favour of a new approach based on sound science, best process and community consent.

It is a long way from Northcote and Preston to Muckaty but today’s message to Minister Ferguson is simple: this issue is not out of sight and not out of mind and many people in this region do not support or accept this plan to push a radioactive waste dump on an unwilling community,” said ACF nuclear free campaigner Dave Sweeney.

The campaign against a dump at the highly contested Muckaty site is growing with opposition from the ACTU and other trade unions, medical and civil society groups as well as with increasing concern from communities and the NT Government.

Traditional Owners opposed to the dump are currently taking legal action in the Federal Court to end the threat and have vowed to ramp up their campaign efforts.

Minister Ferguson’s dump plan is irresponsible, divisive and out of step with both international best practice and local community opinion. It is a bad plan that is based on a broken promise. Instead of trying to dump and run we need to develop effective, responsible and lasting ways to manage Australia’s radioactive waste”.

 

November 18, 2010 - Posted by | General News, uranium | , , , , , , ,

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