Antinuclear

Anti-AUKUS march sets off from Port Augusta… and it’s a long one

“Entrenching militarisation in lockstep with the US is a real concern for us,”

“And opening the gates for nuclear facilities for high-level nuclear waste via highly enriched uranium, which Australia has never had before, which can be used to make nuclear weapons.”

A group of activists is on a month-long walk to Adelaide protesting the nuclear submarine construction program at Osborne.

InDaily, DavidSimmons, Aug 21, 2026,

A group of activists from around the country ranging in age from 20 to 72, are on a long walk to Adelaide protesting over the nuclear submarine construction program that is set to transform South Australia’s advanced manufacturing base.

The self-proclaimed ‘Peace Walkers’ – including First Nations people – are undertaking a mammoth journey on foot from Port Augusta to Port Adelaide to draw attention to the AUKUS defence pact.

They are expected to complete the 400-plus km walk in a month, supported by a convoy and funds raised in advance by an anti-nuclear group called Beyond Uranium Canberra. Other groups involved include Friends of the Earth, the Medical Association for Prevention of War and the Port Adelaide Community Opposing AUKUS.

The group will be camping along the way and staying at caravan parks, and has supplies and first-aid gear to make the journey safe.

A similar march was completed in 2024, when a group walked from Port Kembla in New South Wales to Canberra.

AUKUS – a trilateral military pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States – is set to transform SA, with a large part of the $368 billion project expected to be spent in Adelaide, where nuclear submarines – based on US technology – would be constructed.

Speaking to InDaily, organiser Reed O’Loughlin said there were currently 14 in the cohort but he expected that number to grow as the convoy headed south.

The group hoped to arrive in Port Adelaide on September 20, to coincide with a national day of action against AUKUS.

“We’re in really high spirits,” O’Loughlin told InDaily while on the road.

 “Our bodies are warming up and we’re feeling pretty good. We’ve got beautiful weather and the ranges are really beautiful – we’ve had a beautiful view all day.”

The collective of walkers, who hail from all corners of Australia, are an “anti-nuclear, anti-war movement”, said O’Loughlin, who took part in the 2024 ‘Peace March’ to Canberra.

“Entrenching militarisation in lockstep with the US is a real concern for us,” he said.

“And opening the gates for nuclear facilities for high-level nuclear waste via highly enriched uranium, which Australia has never had before, which can be used to make nuclear weapons.”…………………………………………………………………………………..

The protest march comes after an independent inquiry into the defence project docked in Adelaide last month.

Headed by former Labor politician and now-Lead Commissioner of the ‘AUKUS Public Inquiry’, Peter Garrett, the inquiry is gathering perspectives on the trilateral defence pact.

In Adelaide, the inquiry heard from self-described ‘transparency warrior’ Rex Patrick who raised concerns about the risk associated with the project as well as transparency warnings over the government’s plan for nuclear waste disposal…………. https://www.indailysa.com.au/news/just-in/2026/08/21/anti-aukus-march-sets-off-from-port-augusta-and-its-a-long-one

August 26, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Opposition to nuclear