Antinuclear

Aboriginal opposition to Wiluna and and to all uranium mining in Western Australia

“We are calling on the State and Federal Governments to stop any further approvals or development of the Wiluna uranium mine until the full project can be assessed and made public.”

Forty uranium mines is the plan for Western Australia The Stringer, by Gerry Georgatos November 29th, 2013“ Credible sources in the uranium sections of resource companies first told The Stringer, in February, of futurist uranium mining plans that are being deliberated by mining companies for Western Australia –……. A couple of insiders estimate potentially 40 uranium mines will arise right throughout Western Australia in the decades to come.

Environmentalists reject that this is possible while Aboriginal Elders resident on Country say they will resist uranium mining at all costs.Local Aboriginal Elder Mr Glen Cooke has travelled from Wiluna to attend Toro Energy’s annual meeting today to highlight community concern over Toro’s plans for uranium mining in the region. Mr Cooke and another proxy shareholder, Kylie Fitzwater, have come to Perth to raise concerns about Toro’s long term plans and the company’s failure to communicate these to Wiluna residents.

“Toro have been talking about one project on the Lake and now we hear that they are planning lots of uranium mines from Meekatharra all the way to Lake Maitland.”

“They never talked to us about that,” said Mr Cooke.

“Me and my family we never wanted one uranium mine, we sure don’t want seven of them scattered through that country.”

“Does this mean they will put uranium on trucks from all over and bring it to Wiluna and if so what will they do with the radioactive mine waste, and where will they get the water?”

“It’s just too dangerous. This is people’s homes, not just in town but we live all over and love all of that country. That place is a very special place – for all men north to south, east to west. It’s is too important to muck it up, once it’s broken it is broken forever, we could never get that back.”

“We don’t need this uranium; people in Japan don’t want it – not after Fukushima. Toro need to leave it in the ground where it belongs,” said Mr Cooke.

Kylie Fitzwater, who has family connections to Wiluna, said “we were already worried about 9.1 million tonnes of radioactive mine waste being stored on the Lake bed – now this could be doubled. We’ve been worried about where they’re going to get the water from – 3.1million litres a day – is that going to double too? This proposal is going from bad to worse and we’re all being kept in the dark about it.”

“We are calling on the State and Federal Governments to stop any further approvals or development of the Wiluna uranium mine until the full project can be assessed and made public.”

“The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has a responsibility to ensure that these uranium deposits are not developed in an ad hoc way but carefully considered based on the risk and impact to the environment. This cannot be done by chopping up a massive project into little bits.”

Western Australia may well be exporting uranium within two years after earlier in the year the Federal Government granted environmental approval to Toro Energy’s Wiluna project – To many people this was unexpected, including to Wiluna’s Aboriginal peoples and to anti-uranium mining and anti-nuclear advocates nationwide.

The then Federal Environment Minister, Tony Burke decided to provide the go-ahead to Toro’s $270 million uranium mining project. This allowed Toro Energy to enter financial negotiations with potential joint venture partners. Some of the touted potential venture partners are in China, India, Japan and South Korea.

Toro Energy needs to reach a mining agreement – an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) – with the two Native Title claimants in and near Wiluna. This though will be little problem for them despite many within the Aboriginal communities – Wiluna and Tarlpa peoples – vehemently against uranium mining on their Country. Wiluna senior Elder, Glen Cooke has been a long time outspoken critic of uranium mining.

“Uranium should stay in the ground. It can hurt our Country, the environment, our people, our children, our children’s children,” said Mr Cooke.

The Native Title Act is set up in such a way that both parties must enter into ‘good faith’ negotiations and hopefully come to a mutually beneficial deal within six months. If this fails you can count on the mining still going ahead. You can also count on the National Native Title Tribunal in granting the various licences required by the resource company and you can count on the Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations to stand idly by.

Once Toro’s project is operational, with a timeline of 2015, hence two open-cut mines at Centipede and Lake Way may well produce at least 780 tonnes of uranium oxide a year – for at least 14 years.

But the Conservation Council of WA anti-nuclear campaign coordinator Mia Pepper said at the time she believed Western Australians can stand in the way of uranium mining.

“The Federal Minister’s approval is an approval before the data is complete…………

Elder Glen Cooke said that people within his community will inevitably die from radiation related sicknesses. “They are going to kill our people, some will die quickly, some by a thousand cuts.”

“We don’t want Maralinga all over again where our people will be hurt and die sick and young, and then for decades the truth will be hidden.”

Angst has ripped through Aboriginal communities at Wiluna and Yeeliree.

“The Government has not said they can guarantee there will not be radiation poisoning of people,” said Mr Cooke.

Yeeliree Traditional Owner and chairperson of the Western Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (WANFA) Kado Muir said that if uranium is mined a catastrophe is inevitable – only a matter of time.

“The Government and these mining companies are putting human life last.”

“How many Western Australian communities suffered lead and aluminium poisoning from leaks along freight routes and in the refineries despite all the promises that it would not happen?”

“They can’t protect us against lead and aluminium, how are they going to protect us against uranium?”

Canadian company CAMECO is also seeking to eventually mine uranium on Mr Muir’s Traditional Country at Yeeliree.

WANFA is a State wide anti-nuclear association whose members are Aboriginal Elders. Mr Muir said WANFA will “challenge the Australian Uranium Association’s Indigenous Dialogue Group who are representing the industry rather than a true Aboriginal community view.”

“We will also continue to expose anthropologists, archaeologists and pro-industry consultants who attempt to validate negligent practices of the mining industry.”

WANFA has made a number of calls for an independent public inquiry or royal commission into uranium mining. But these calls fall on the deaf ears of Government.

“We need an inquiry and when this happens then maybe Governments and the nuclear industry will be forced to stop minimising and trivialising the dangers of radiation,” said Mr Muir.

For each of the last three years at least a hundred walkers have walked the Walkatjurra Walk – from Yeeliree to Leonora to send the message to resource companies and Governments that they do not want the land they walk on mined for uranium. Mr Muir has been on all three walks – they take place in May, usually about three weeks long.

Last April, on the 26th, was the 27th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. To this day the real death toll from the nuclear disaster is not known but it is more than the official record. …..http://thestringer.com.au/forty-uranium-mines-is-the-plan-for-western-australia/#.UpzLRNJDuik

December 1, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | aboriginal issues, Western Australia