Antinuclear

On Monday afternoon, it transpired that the Veteran’s Affairs Minister, Dan Tehan, was preparing to announce that Aboriginal people who were near British nuclear testing in the in 1950s and 1960s would finally receive a gold health card, which would mean access to improved health care, and most costs covered.

“The measure will provide Gold Cards to Indigenous people present at or near Maralinga, Emu Fields or the Monte Bello Islands at the time of the British Nuclear Tests in the 1950s or 1960s,” Mr Tehan told the ABC’s Q&A program.

The Government will also provide a gold card to cover the health care costs of the surviving participants of the British Nuclear Test program and veterans who served as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). The Government has allocated $133.1 million for this initiative to cover eligible veterans.

The announcement has been a long time coming for many Indigenous people and veterans alike, who have campaigned for decades to receive compensation.

Yankunytjatjara man Yami Lester, who was blinded by atomic fallout says the support comes “60 years too late”.

“Most of our people have passed away. They were young ones then, now they’re older ones now, a few of them still living now today.”