Antinuclear

Northern Territory Mines Minister, Willem Westra van Holthe, says he supports transporting uranium oxide from Queensland through the Northern Territory……..

“Taking another state’s commodity and transporting through the Darwin Port is a good way to promote us as an important strategic location [? target – CM.] for the rest of the country.”……..”It would probably travel through Tennant Creek, having travelled along the Barkly Highway and then up the Stuart Highway to Darwin.”……

not everyone sees trucking uranium across the country as an opportunity.

Dave Sweeney from the Australian Conservation Foundation says he would be concerned to see radioactive material in large volumes on road or rail.

“It poses transport risks, it’s a long way from emergency and combat services that have the necessary technology and training to respond to accidents or incidents,” Mr Sweeney said.

“People in regional Australia know full well there are often accidents, incidents and unforseen events that happen during transport or travel.”

Mr Sweeney says the preferred option is to have no Australian port export uranium.

“If you’re talking words of ‘sustainability’ and being ‘environmentally friendly’, than you’re not talking uranium,” he said.

“This mineral is destined at best to become high level radioactive waste, which is a long term major and unresolved global environmental management problem.

“Australian uranium directly fuelled the Fukushima Nuclear accident, a continuing crisis.

“Our uranium dug up in Kakadu in northern Australia is now nuclear fallout in Japan and well beyond.

“The question of ‘which is the least worst – which port, which road, which rail?’ becomes a declining argument.”http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-13/queensland-looks-to-adelaide-anddarwin-to-export-uranium/5666458