Antinuclear

Aboriginal legal fight against nuclear waste dump

VIDEO   http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-13/canberra-approves-nt-nuclear-waste-dump/3887536
 Parliament approves NT nuclear waste dump  

VIDEO   http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-14/traditional-owners-to-fight-nuke-waste-dump/3888116  Traditional owners to fight nuclear waste dump ,ABC Radio AM By Simon Santow,   March 14, 2012 People who say they are traditional owners of Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory say they will not stop fighting against a nuclear waste dump on their land.

Federal Parliament has passed legislation that will allow a dump to be built on the station near Tennant Creek. The Federal Government insists it will not defy the wishes of traditional land owners in the area.

But the Federal Court is still deciding who the traditional owners of the land are.

Lorna Fejo was named in then-prime minister Kevin Rudd’s apology to
the Stolen Generations.

She says she is a traditional owner of the area and is dismayed the
Government has pressed ahead while the legal challenge is unresolved.

“I am really disappointed because all my life things have been taken,
taken, taken,” she said.

Penny Phillips also says she is a traditional owner, and says her
family has not been consulted about the proposed dump.

She says her people do not want the dump on their land.

“I feel really sad, especially for the old, old people that fought for
land rights for years and years and years to protect our environment
and you get legislation that passed there so they can go destroy our
environment,” she said. Controversial nomination
Muckaty Station was the only site that was nominated for the waste dump.

The nomination was put forward by the Northern Council on behalf of
traditional owners.

Elizabeth O’Shea from Maurice Blackburn lawyers represents other
traditional owners who are fighting the nomination.

She says the Northern Land Council has applied to have the case struck
out but she is confident the case will be allowed to continue.

AUDIO: Australian nuclear dump closer to reality (AM)
“Lots of traditional owners have objected to this and lots of them
continue to very strongly oppose it,” she said.

“They were not fully aware of the proposal that the Commonwealth and
the Northern Land Council were putting forward. And as such they were
not able to consent to that nomination and many of them did not in
fact consent to that nomination.”…
The Territory’s Chief Minister, Paul Henderson, has expressed strident
opposition to the plan.

“I’m very disappointed that the Federal Parliament has once again
trampled over the rights of Territorians by legislating away our
rights in regards to Muckaty Station,” he said…. “My argument all
along has been that this is a very big decision for our nation,” he
said.

“I expect of our Federal Parliament to make those decisions based on
science, not based on a constitutional weakness as to where they can
put this waste because all of the other states don’t approve of it
going into their particular areas.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-14/traditional-owners-to-fight-nuke-waste-dump/3888116

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-13/canberra-approves-nt-nuclear-waste-dump/3887536
Parliament approves NT nuclear waste dump  VIDEO

March 15, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Audiovisual