Antinuclear

AREVA was not able to bribe Jeffrey Lee, and Koongarra is safe from uranium minng

Australia: Koongarra is now permanently protected from uranium companies INTERCONTINENTAL CRY, BY JOHN AHNI SCHERTOW • MAR 18, 2013 The Australian government finally made good on its word. On 6 February, 2013, Environment Minister Tony Burke introduced the “Completion of Kakadu National Park (Koongarra Project Area Repeal) Bill” signalling an end to one of three long standing struggles against uranium mining within the Alligator Rivers Region of Australia’s Northern Territory.

Just a few short days ago, Australia’s senate passed the Bill, ensuring once and for all that Koongarra is permanently protected.

“This is a great day for me, my country and my culture. My mind is at peace now that I know that there will be no mining at Koongarra and that Djok lands will be protected forever in Kakadu National Park,” said Jeffrey Lee, Djok Senior Traditional Owner and the Custodian of Koongarra, in a written statement.

“I have said no to uranium mining at Koongarra because I believe that the land and my cultural beliefs are more important than mining and money. Money comes and goes, but the land is always here, it always stays if we look after it and it will look after us.”

The 12,000 acre region was originally excluded from the National Park because of a large amount of uranium that was discovered there in the 1970s. It was an extremely controversial move, given that Koongarra is also home to at least 50,000 years of Indigenous history and culture.

In 1995, the Koongarra deposit was acquired by the French uranium giant AREVA. The company tried several times over the years to access the deposit; but they were blocked each and every time by Traditional Owners. However, that didn’t stop them from continuing to try.

Their last big effort, as it now turns out, was to bribe the Custodian of Koongarra. In 2007, the company told Mr. Lee–who was born the same year the massive uranium deposit was identified, in 1971–that he could be one of the richest men in the world.

Instead of accepting the offer, Mr. Lee began working to have the boundaries of Kakadu Park redrawn to encompass Koongarra. That way, as Mr. Lee said in 2007, “it will be protected and safe forever”.

Now it is. On 15 March, 2013, Koongarra officially became a part of the World Heritage listed Kakadu National Park.

As welcomed and important as this victory is, the struggle against uranium is still far from over……..http://intercontinentalcry.org/australia-koongarra-is-now-permanently-protected-from-uranium-companies/

March 20, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | aboriginal issues, environment, Northern Territory