South Australian aborigines again face a nuclear threat – as Federal Government plans a nuclear waste dump
Trident celebrations ignore Aboriginal victims of British nuclear weapons testing, Green Left, Linda Pearson, April 26, 2019 Issue 1218, Scotland New threat from nuclear waste dump
“………..Aboriginal communities in South Australia now fear that they will be forced to bear the risks of radioactive contamination again. The Australian government is currently considering three sites for the location of a national nuclear waste dump, two on Barngarla land, near Kimba, and one on Adnyamathanha land at Wallerberdina Station, near the Finders Ranges.
The dump will host nuclear material currently stored at different sites in Australia, plus waste from Britain pursuant to a 2012 agreement between the British and Scottish governments. The agreement relates to waste generated by the reprocessing of Australian nuclear fuel at Dounreay. However, that waste is to remain where it is and a substituted amount will be shipped from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing and decommissioning site, located on the coast of the Irish Sea.
The views of traditional owners have been sidelined throughout the process for choosing the dump’s location and Adnyamathanha’s traditional owners say that federal government contractors have already damaged sacred sites. As a result, two separate human rights complaints are outstanding in Australian courts.
Campaigners have called on the British and Scottish governments to halt the shipment while there is a risk that it will end up dumped on Aboriginal land without the consent of the Traditional Owners. However, the British government said the shipment “will comply with all relevant international laws” and the eventual destination of the waste is “a matter for the Australian authorities”. The British Environment Agency has so far failed to respond to requests to halt the shipment of waste from Sellafield.
The Scottish government has also failed to act to stop the shipment, despite expert advice it commissioned, which states that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and, ultimately, Scottish ministers could refuse to authorise the shipment on human rights grounds.
Britain’s plans to celebrate 50 years of at-sea nukes erases the experience of Indigenous people affected by nuclear weapons testing. Those experiences should be front and centre in any discussion about nuclear weapons, as ICAN recognised.
Instead of celebrating, we should be looking at ways to redress the past and prevent future harm. Britain should apologise for its nuclear weapons testing and pay adequate compensation to those affected. The shipment of nuclear waste from Sellafield should be stopped.
But there is only one way we can prevent more lives being destroyed by nuclear weapons and that is by eliminating them altogether. https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/trident-celebrations-ignore-aboriginal-victims-british-nuclear-weapons-testing
Clandestine approval for controversial uranium mine is evidence Australia needs better environment laws
https://www.acf.org.au/clandestine_approval_for_controversial_uranium_mine, 26 APRIL 2019
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Radioactive risks last longer than any politician and deserve real assessment, not backroom fast-tracking. The Morrison Government’s quiet approval of a controversial uranium mine in Western Australia on the eve of the federal election being called is more evidence our national environment laws are broken, the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) says. Environment Minister Melissa Price approved the Yeelirrie uranium mine on April 10, the day before the Prime Minister headed to Government House to call the 2019 federal poll. Ms Price did not announce the approval via a public release. Instead a notice was later placed on the Environment Department’s website. The mine had been previously rejected by the WA Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) because it could drive to extinction rare subterranean fauna species and do harm to other wildlife species like the Malleefowl, Princess parrot and Greater bilby. The Yeelirrie mine, which is in Ms Price’s electorate of Durack, is still being legally challenged on appeal by senior Tjiwarl native title holders and conservationists. Ms Price had previously told media: “My department advised that it was prudent to wait for the result of the WA Supreme Court proceedings before finalising the federal assessment [for Yeelirrie].” ACF Nuclear Free Campaigner, Dave Sweeney, said Yeelirrie could produce more than 35 million tonnes of radioactive mine waste, use up to 10 billion litres of groundwater, and require 2500 hectares of vegetation to be cleared for its nine-kilometre long open pit. “The lack of respect for the Australian people and due process demonstrated by this clandestine approval under the cover of a national election is astounding,” Mr Sweeney said. “The Western Australian EPA explicitly rejected this mine because it threatens rare native fauna with extinction and would harm other species. This prudent recommendation was overruled by the Barnett Government weeks before it lost the 2017 state election. “Now the Morrison Government has performed the same trick, approving it hours before a federal election was called. This was done without regard for the Tjiwarl Traditional Owners, on whose land the planned mine sits, or the people of Esperance, who could have radioactive material shipped through their port. “There are many with deep concerns about this project. Any move to mine at Yeelirrie will be actively contested. We thought the rushed approval of Adani’s plans to guzzle billions of litres of groundwater for its massive coal mine on the eve of the election was a new low. But somehow hours later this low point was dug deeper by Minister Price. “Radioactive risks last longer than any politician and deserve real assessment, not backroom fast-tracking. “For too long Australia’s environment laws have been abused and short-changed by politicians cutting deals that put the interests of big companies over nature, Traditional Owners and local communities. “The assessment of this project has been deficient. This rushed rubber stamp must be reviewed by any future federal government. “Australia needs new and stronger national environment laws that actually protect nature and take politics and undue influence out of approval decisions for major industrial projects. “These laws should be overseen by an independent national EPA that is charged with making approval decisions free from the interfering hand of big businesses and their politician mates.” |
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Morrison govt approved Yeelirrie uranium mine just the day before calling the election
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Government approved controversial uranium mine one day before calling the election ABC News, 25 Apr 19, by national environment, science and technology reporter Michael Slezak, The Morrison Government signed off on a controversial uranium mine one day before calling the federal election, and did not publicly announce the move until the environment department uploaded the approval document the day before Anzac Day.
Key points:
The Yeelirrie Uranium mine, located 500 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, requires both federal and state approval. The state approval of the proposed mine is still being fought in the state’s Supreme Court by members of the Tjiwarl traditional owners. In 2016, the West Australian Environment Protection Agency advised the mine not be approved, concluding it posed too great a risk of extinction to some native animals. The former Liberal Barnett government controversially approved the mine in 2017, just weeks before it lost the West Australian election. Canadian company Cameco, the world’s largest uranium producer, is seeking to develop the uranium mine, which would cover an area 9km long and 1.5km wide. It would involve the clearing of up to 2,422 hectares of native vegetation. It is also approved to cause groundwater levels to drop by 50cm, and they would not completely recover for 200 years, according to Cameco’s environmental reports. A spokesperson for Environment Minister Melissa Price said the approval was subject to 32 strict conditions to avoid and mitigate potential environmental impacts. Traditional owner of the area, Tjiwarl woman Vicky Abdullah, said she was surprised by the announcement, and was hoping for the project to be rejected. “It’s a very precious place for all of us. For me and my two aunties, who have been walking on country,” she said……. Ms Price has declined an interview with the ABC. …… Dave Sweeney, an anti-nuclear campaigner at the Australian Conservation Foundation, said the timing suggested the decision was political. “We need decisions that are based on evidence and the national interest, not a company’s interest or not a particular senator’s or a particular government’s interest,” he said. “This reeks of political interference, rather than a legal consideration or due process.” The approval is one of several controversial moves the Government made before entering caretaker mode, where such decisions would be impossible, including approving Adani’s two groundwater management plans for its proposed Carmichael coal mine. At a federal level, both Labor and the Coalition support the development of uranium mining in Australia…….. The company said the mine was expected to produce up to 7,500 tonnes of yellow cake concentrate over a 15-year period. Over its life, the mine would produce around 36 million tonnes of radioactive waste, which would be stored at the site. The West Australian EPA’s recommendation to block the mine was based primarily on the impacts the mine would have on animals that live in groundwater, called stygofauna. Dr Tom Hatton, chairman of the West Australian EPA, said there was more stygofauna in the area near the mine “than anywhere else in the northern Goldfields”. “The stygofauna habitat at Yeelirrie is particularly rich, with 73 species recorded,” Dr Hatton said in 2017. The federal approval is conditional on Cameco producing a groundwater management plan, which manages the risks to those animals. It also has a number of other conditions, including surveys to confirm reports of night parrots in the area, and if they are found, a night parrot management plan would be required. Ms Abdullah told the ABC she and her family have used the area for years to hunt and camp. “Where are all the next generation of our kids going to go,” Ms Abdullah asked……. Ongoing court challengesIn October, it was reported that Ms Price would not approve the mine before the court case in Western Australia was resolved. “My department advised that it was prudent to wait for the result of the WA Supreme Court proceedings before finalising the Federal assessment,” she reportedly told the Kalgoorlie Miner. “This ensures that we know the state decision is valid and we can avoid overlapping with any state approval conditions.”…….https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-26/government-approved-uranium-mine-day-before-election/11047252 |
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Yeelirrie has a low grade of uranium, and Cameco has closed McArthur River mine with a much higher grade
It’s not worth wiping out a species for the Yeelirrie uranium mine, SBS, BY GAVIN MUDD “……. So are the economic benefits worth wiping out a species?
Short answer: no. But let’s, for a moment, ignore these subterranean animals and look at whether the mine would be beneficial.
Yeelirrie is one of Australia’s largest uranium deposits – and yet it has a low grade of 0.15 per cent (as uranium oxide). This refers to the amount of uranium found in rock. For comparison, the average grade of uranium mines globally is normally 0.1 to 0.4 per cent of uranium oxide (with some higher and others lower).
And Cameco’s Cigar Lake and McArthur River mines in Canada have typically been 15-20 per cent of uranium oxide. Despite such rich ore, McArthur River was uneconomic and closed indefinitely in early 2018.
What’s more, the future of nuclear power is not bright. According to the World Nuclear Industry Status Report, the number of nuclear reactors under construction around the world is at its lowest point in a decade, as renewable energy increases. The amount of nuclear electricity produced each year is flat. And nuclear’s share of global electricity is constantly falling behind renewables……..https://www.sbs.com.au/news/it-s-not-worth-wiping-out-a-species-for-the-yeelirrie-uranium-mine
Bill Shorten questions Environment Minister Melissa Price’s shonky Yeelirrie uranium deal
Labor questions ‘shonky’ WA uranium mine deal, Federal Labor leader Bill Shorten wants to know why Environment Minister Melissa Price approved a controversial WA uranium mine, labelling it a “shonky deal”. SBS 26 Apr 19, Labor leader Bill Shorten says the government has to explain its “shonky” approval for a controversial uranium mine in Western Australia, which occurred the day before the federal election was called.
Canadian-owned Yeelirrie uranium mine, about 500km north of Kalgoorlie, was given the tick of approval by Environment Minister Melissa Price on 10 April, according to an Environment Department document.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison triggered the 18 May election on 11 April……
Labor’s environment spokesman Tony Burke says no detail is known about the approval and is accusing Ms Price of being in hiding.
“I want to find out what on earth has happened,” he told ABC radio……
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John is calling on Labor to tear up the “absolutely disgraceful” approval if it wins government. …..https://www.sbs.com.au/news/labor-questions-shonky-wa-uranium-mine-deal
UK nuclear testing in Australia – Trident anniversary – no cause for celebration.
Trident celebrations ignore Aboriginal victims of British nuclear weapons testing, Green Left, Linda Pearson, April 26, 2019 Issue 1218, Scotland
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) General Secretary Kate Hudson said the plan is “morally repugnant” and the organisation is urging supporters to convey their opposition to Defence Secretary, Gavin Williamson. Two Bishops and more than 20 priests have called on Westminster Abbey to cancel the service, which is set to take place on May 3……
The rhetoric of “deterrence” and “defence” is routinely invoked by nuclear-armed states to obscure the horrifying truth about nuclear weapons and justify national security doctrines that rely on them. Nuclear weapons are unique in their destructive power; “designed to indiscriminately kill and destroy thousands of innocent civilians”, as the Bishop of Colchester told The Times last week. This reality was recognised by most of the world’s countries, which voted to ban nuclear weapons in 2017.
Britain’s nuclear weapons program has already destroyed the lives of countless innocent civilians. More than 1200 Indigenous Australians were exposed to radiation during British nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s, while many others were displaced. The effects continue to be experienced by their families today. Some are now calling on the British government to apologise for the testing, instead of celebrating Trident.
Nuclear testing in Australia
Britain conducted 12 major nuclear weapons tests in Australia at the Montebello Islands, and at Emu Field and Maralinga in South Australia.
After securing the agreement of the Australian government, the British established a permanent test site at Maralinga in 1955. Seven major and several hundred “minor” tests were carried out there, releasing 100kg of radioactive materials into the surrounding area.
The British and Australian governments of the day demonstrated a callous disregard for the lives of Aboriginal people that is characteristic of the settler-colonial mindset. Permission to conduct the testing was not sought from Aboriginal landowners and the Australian government decided they should not be informed of the risks.
When an Australian scientist asked British authorities about the potential danger to local Aboriginal people, the response was that “a dying race couldn’t influence the defence of Western civilisation”.
Many Aboriginal people were forcibly removed from their land prior to the tests, destroying their way of life. Others experienced serious health issues as a result of their exposure to radiation.
Yankunytjatjara man Yami Lester went blind after a “black mist” from the explosions enveloped his country. Others experienced skin rashes, diarrhea and vomiting. Today, Aboriginal communities in the area experience high rates of diseases associated with the effects of radiation poisoning.
Yami Lester’s daughter, Karina Lester, and her family played a crucial role in the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). They collected and shared stories from the survivors of nuclear weapons testing that were instrumental in convincing 122 states that the only safe way to deal with nuclear weapons is to eliminate them.
ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to bring about the 2017 United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The historic treaty recognises “the disproportionate impact of nuclear-weapon activities on Indigenous peoples”. The British and Australian governments boycotted the UN negotiations, however, and have ruled out signing the treaty.
No cause for celebration
Karina Lester said “survivors of the British Nuclear Tests carried out on Australian soil in the 1950’s and 1960’s in South Australia’s outback are still haunted. The Indigenous communities still suffer with high numbers of deaths, cancers, respiratory illnesses and autoimmune disease.”
Several attempts to clean up the Maralinga site have been made by British and Australian governments, thanks to the campaigning of survivors like Yami Lester, but contamination at the site remains. In 1995, Aboriginal peoples received just £7.5 million for the loss and contamination of their land. Only £110,000 has been paid to five Aboriginal people to compensate for their exposure to radiation. A class action was blocked by Britain’s Supreme Court in 2013.
Karina Lester said that the affected communities “have had no apology for the wrongdoings on our traditional lands to this day. As the British Government celebrates 50 years with nuclear weapons, Australia’s Indigenous communities in South Australia wear the scars.”
Instead of celebrating, Lester said, “we Indigenous South Australians urge the British government to own up and apologise for your actions…………”https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/trident-celebrations-ignore-aboriginal-victims-british-nuclear-weapons-testing
It’s not worth wiping out a species for the Yeelirrie uranium mine
SBS, BY GAVIN MUDD 26 Apr 19, Like the rest of the Western Australian outback, there’s a wonderful paradox where the land appears barren, but is, in fact, rich with biodiversity – and animals are under threat of extinction if the mine goes ahead. The Western Australian outback may look bare at first glance, but it’s teeming with wildlife, often beneath the surface.
The Tjiwarl Traditional Owners have fought any uranium mining on their land for the last 40 years, and the decision by the government wasn’t made public until the day before Anzac Day……..
This region is home to several of Australia’s deposits of uranium and not only holds cultural significance as part of the Seven Sisters Dreaming Songline, but also environmental significance. If the mine goes ahead, groundwater levels would drop by 50cm and wouldn’t fully recover for 200 years. And 2,422 hectares of native vegetation would be cleared.
I visited the site 16 years ago and, like the rest of the Western Australian outback, there’s a wonderful paradox where the land appears barren, but is, in fact, rich with biodiversity.
Native animals living in underground water, called stygofauna, are one such example of remarkable Australian fauna that aren’t obvious at first glance. These animals are under threat of extinction if the Yeelirrie uranium mine goes ahead.
Stygofauna are ecologically fragile
Most stygofauna are very tiny invertebrates, making up species of crustaceans, worms, snails and diving beetles. Some species are well adapted to underground life – they are typically blind, pale white and with long appendages to help them find their way in total darkness.
n 2016, the Western Australian Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advised against building the Yeelirrie uranium mine because it would threaten the stygofauna species there, despite the proposed management strategies of Cameco Australia, the mine owner.
Stygofauna are extremely local, having evolved in the site they’re found in. This means individual species aren’t found anywhere else in the world. EPA chairman Tom Hatton said:
Despite the proponent’s well-considered management strategies, based on current scientific understanding, the EPA concluded that there was too great a chance of a loss of species that are restricted to the impact area.
And to get to the uranium deposit, the miners need to dig through the groundwater, a little like pulling the plug in the middle of the bathtub. Stygofauna have adapted to living at different levels of the water, so pulling out the plug could dry out important parts of their habitat.
Stygofauna are also susceptible to any changes in the chemistry of the groundwater. We simply do not know with confidence what mining will do to the groundwater chemistry at Yeelirrie in the long term. Various wastes will be backfilled into former pits, causing uncertainty for the welfare of surrounding stygofauna.
The approval conditions suggest that the mine should not be allowed to cause extinction – but if this does happen, nothing can be done to reverse it. And there would be no penalty to Cameco either – which has said it can’t guarantee such a condition can be met………..https://www.sbs.com.au/news/it-s-not-worth-wiping-out-a-species-for-the-yeelirrie-uranium-mine
A Maralinga nuclear veteran’s grim story
Maralinga nuclear bomb test survivor reveals truth of what happened in the SA desert https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/east-hills/maralinga-nuclear-bomb-test-survivor-reveals-truth-of-what-happened-in-the-sa-desert/news-story/697b17f6d3427a78aa0262b09727c169, 24 Apr 19
The nuclear bomb tests, under British Government control, at Maralinga in far west South Australia in the 1950s were conducted at the highest level of secrecy. But they had thousands of witnesses. Most were Australian servicemen, innocently used as guinea pigs and exposed to deadly radiation. Craig Cook talks to a survivor, one of the last of a group of men who built the Maralinga camp as part of 23 Construction Squadron and watched in awe as the bombs were exploded, little knowing they were risking their lives and the futures of their children.
Tony Spruzen knew the drill at the top secret Maralinga facility in the South Australian desert in the spring of 1956.
Just like hundreds of others at the nuclear site at 11-mile camp during Operation Buffalo, he was told to turn his back and cover his eyes to protect himself from the gigantic glare of the exploding atomic bomb.
What they didn’t tell the Australian Army sapper was, at the moment of the flash of detonation, he would see the bones of his hand through his tightly shut eyelids.
“It was like a massive x-ray,” Tony, 83, from Glengowrie says. ‘Unlike anything I’d ever known before.”
A week after One Tree, on October 6, 1956, Spruzen witnessed the detonation of Buffalo 2, named Marcoo.
The bomb was only a tenth the size of One Tree but this time was detonated directly above and just under the ground.
“The bomb was in an amphitheatre of hills and we were far closer to that one, maybe only 200 yards away,” he remembers.
“We were close enough to see the trenches with dummy soldiers in them holding rifles and fake aeroplanes and tanks used to test the blast effect.
“And we could see the scientists walking around in their white suits checking out the site before and afterwards but we were just in khaki shorts and short sleeved shorts. Even the dignitaries had no protection.”
Every hour, from five hours out, an elaborate PA system across the complex announced the timing of the bomb detonation.
In the final 30 seconds, and with a rising and excited inclination, the voice on the PA dramatically counted….ten, nine, eight…down to zero.
When Marcoo exploded at 7am it only took a few seconds for a heavy shower of dust to descend on the witnesses.
“We had this large piece of litmus paper attached to our shirts,” Spruzen recalls
Spruzen, originally from Victoria and a carpenter by trade, enlisted in the Army at just 16.
Four year later he was at Maralinga as part of a detachment of 23 Construction Squadron, an acclaimed unit of the Royal Australian Engineers and exclusively raised in South Australia.
Around 40 young men were selected from the unit to build a desert tent camp with cook houses and latrines for the Commonwealth military ‘high-ups’ who were having their first look at the impact of the devastating nuclear weapon.
Around 200km from the ocean, the tent city gained the facetious name of the ‘Sea View Holiday Camp’.
“It was an adventure…we were all excited,” he recalls.
“A lot of young single guys together and we had some fun.”
The lads knew it was serious too as this was a hush-hush operation. They weren’t even allowed to take a camera along for snapshots so Spruzen has no personal photos from Maralinga.
“Then we all turned around to see this mushroom cloud climbing into the sky. The next thing was the blast. The boom was deafening…and then the wind came about thirty seconds after that blowing dust and soil and debris all over us.”
But he does have a terrible reminder of his three months spent in far western South Australia.
“Of the 40 men who went up with me I only know of three of us still around,” he says. “The rest have all died – many from cancers.”
The first Maralinga bomb, Buffalo 1, with the nickname One Tree, was detonated after being dropped from a 31m high tower.
At 15 kiloton it was the same size as Little Boy, the bomb dropped by the US air force that demolished the Japanese city of Hiroshima in August 1945, killing more than 100,000 instantly and tens of thousands slowly in the aftermath from burns and radiation poisoning.
“They said, keep an eye on that and if it changes to pink come and see us. Well it turned pink for every one of us.
“Had I have known what I know now I wouldn’t have been so close.”
Transferred to Sydney on a training course, Spruzen missed the final two detonations at Maralinga that year: on October 11, 1956, Buffalo 3 (Kite) was released by a Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant bomber, the first drop of a British nuclear weapon from an aircraft; and then on October 22, and again dropped from the 31m tower, (Buffalo 4) Breakaway exploded.
There were a total of seven nuclear desert tests at Maralinga performed during Operations Buffalo and Antler.
The 1985 McClelland Royal Commission heavily criticised the detonations, declaring the weather conditions were inappropriate and led to the widespread scattering of radioactive material.
The radioactive cloud from Buffalo 1 reached more than 11,000m into the air and with a northerly wind blowing radioactivity was detected across Adelaide.
Radioactive dust clouds from other bombs were detected in Northern Territory, Queensland and across New South Wales, as far away as Sydney, 2500km from Maralinga.
Around 12,000 Australian servicemen served at British nuclear test sites in the southern hemisphere between 1952 and 1963.
In recent years, the British Government’s claim that they never used humans “for guinea pig-type experiments” in nuclear weapons trials in Australia has been revealed to be a lie.
Tony Spruzen has struggled to come to terms with being placed in danger by his own government who had full knowledge of the consequences of exposure to radiation.
“Once we all found out later what we’d been exposed to at Maralinga it makes you very angry,” he says.
“We believed them when we were told we would be safe — but we haven’t been.”
Spruzen met his wife Shirley, the daughter of an army veteran, in Adelaide where they settled after marriage in June 1960. He left the army seven months later to work in civil construction. He thought his Maralinga days were well behind him but soon after they came to haunt him.
In the first four years of marriage, the couple agonisingly suffered six miscarriages, including twins.
Alarm bells started ringing when he was sent a survey from Veterans Affairs asking about his general health and, specifically his history of cancers.
“It turned out those involved in the atomic tests had a 30 per cent higher chance than getting cancers than the general public,” he says.
“Most of those got them within the first five years and a majority of those were dead before a decade had passed.”
Spruzen, who eventually had three children with Shirley, didn’t get cancer at that time, although he has since had several melanomas removed.
But when his son was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia at the age of 41, he wondered about the possibility of faulty genes, damaged by exposure to radiation, as has been documented in Japanese survivors of the atomic bombs, jumping a generation.
“My son was told by the QEH (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) there was nothing could be done for him but we went up to Queensland and after a bone marrow transfer from his sister he survived,” he adds.
“A decade on he’s working as strong as he has but I don’t think his condition was a coincidence given my history.
“There’s been nothing (compensation) for those of us who were there although they gave us a white card for our cancers and now we have a (full health) gold card.”
Ken Daly, President Royal Australian Engineers Association says it is the least the men, who literally put their bodies on the line, deserve.
“You get these young men, aged around 25-30, with a history of exposure to radiation, coming down with cancers in those numbers and you just know what has caused it,” he says.
“Many died within a few years of being exposed to the fallout and many passed on generational health problems and birth defects to their children.”
Mr Daly, who was based at Warradale Barracks for 15 years, where 23 Construction was based until being disbanded in the early 1960s, hadn’t heard of the Squadron until around five years ago.
Since then he has been central to the group gaining due recognition.
In its earliest days the Squadron, with a strength of eight officers and 160 in other ranks, built the El Alamein Army Reserve camp, part of which later became the Baxter Detention Centre, outside of Port Augusta.
It also assisted the South Australian community by providing aid during bush fires, the grasshopper plague of 1955, and significant infrastructure construction.
During the record flood of 1956, while those squad members were at Maralinga, the rest of 23 Construction were out sandbagging River Murray towns and then cleaning up after the water receded.
In 2011, the Royal Australian Engineers constructed a memorial at Warradale to all who have served in its ranks.
This year a bronzed engineer’s slouch hat, of actual size, by Western Australian sculptor and former army engineer Ron Gomboc will be incorporated into the memorial.
“The hat will be mounted on the memorial in such a way it will look like it’s suspended in mid-air,” Daly adds.
“It acknowledges the ultimate sacrifice of the more than 1250 engineers who died in World War I and the remarkable service and sacrifice of 23 Construction Squadron that has never been recognised before.”
The slouch hat, costing $6,000 and one of only six to have been cast, will be unveiled during a service at Warradale Barracks at midday on Sunday April 28.
Contact Ken Daly at dailydouble@bigpond.com for further details.
The Adani coal mine is a test of Australia’s environmental intelligence – Bob Brown
 Adani an Australian litmus test: Bob Brown, SBS, 24 Apr 19, Former federal Greens leader Bob Brown is leading a convoy of people opposed to Adani’s planned coal min the Queensland’s Galilee Basin.
The Adani coal mine is a test of Australia’s environmental intelligence and its capacity to grasp the dire effects of climate change, former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown says. The ex-Tasmania senator leaves Brisbane on Tuesday at the head of his Stop Adani Convoy bound for Queensland’s coal country, where he expects a warm welcome from communities fearful of job losses due to the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef, which is vulnerable to climate change. The convoy, which aims to derail Adani’s plans for a new coal mine in the Galilee Basin, drew thousands of people to a protest in Brisbane on Monday. Mr Brown says he expects a similar response as the convoy heads to coastal communities near existing coal mines. “I’ve been to Airlie Beach quite recently. People up there are terrified about burning coal because it’s threatening 64,000 jobs on the Great Barrier Reef,” Mr Brown told ABC radio on Tuesday. “This is not some sort of doom and gloom. The reef is half dead. And a major factor in that is the burning of coal.” Mr Brown said many Australians understood the inherent harm in allowing an overseas company to dig up Australian coal and sell it for use overseas, especially when Australia could be a world leader in renewable energy. “Adani is a litmus test on whether we’ve got the God-given intelligence as a nation, and as a people, to move to renewables,” he said. “We should be phasing out coal, and that, of course, means you don’t phase it in for somebody else.”……. The convoy, which left Hobart about a week ago, is heading north. An event to mark the end of the Queensland leg will be held in the farming and mining town of Clermont on April 28. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/adani-an-australian-litmus-test-bob-brown |
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Adani coal mine expansion has become a decisive issue for Queensland’s marginal seats
 Adani mine stymies battle for Queensland’s marginal seats, SBS News, 24 Apr 19, Both major parties are battling against opposition to the Adani mining project in Queensland’s marginal seats. Coal has become a divisive and decisive issue in the federal election campaign, again being highlighted as Bob Brown’s anti-Adani convoy makes its way north through Queensland.
Support for the mine has put key marginal must-win seats in the central and north Queensland coal belt at stake for both parties while they also try on satisfy anti-Adani sentiment south of the border.Campaigning about climate change ahead of coal mining jobs is a tough sell in the Queensland city of Townsville.Jobs are top of mind for many voters in the Labor-held seat of Herbert in Townsville. “It’s more important we have jobs for our children,” one voter said. Another echoed the sentiment: “It’s a good opportunity for jobs for the people, but I don’t know about climate change.” The Indian-owned coal mine and rail project in the Galilee Basin has become synonymous with climate change. Wendy Tubman from the Stop Adani Townsville group said she believes voters will discover that Adani project’s promise of jobs won’t save the city. “It’s like a cargo cult now. Adani has been saying it since 2011, people will wake up to it. I would like to think people will balance benefit for Adani against the huge cost.”…….. Anti-Adani sentiment stronger in marginal southern urban electoratesThe Coalition backs the Adani mine, Labor’s support is qualified but both are also juggling strong anti-Adani sentiment in marginal southern urban electorates. District president of the CFMEU mining union Steve Smyth is worried about what he calls real jobs. “We’ve seen what happens under the LNP, what happens in the coal industry, massive casualisation, the highest ever, where they’ll support the mining bosses, not the mining workers.” Labor is under pressure from within with Steve Smyth calling on local candidates to pledge their support for Adani. “I think Labor needs to be clear on that, from what I’ve heard the Labor party has said if it meets the regulatory requirements, it stacks up, it goes ahead and that’s where it’s at.”……… The Adani rail line also runs through Birriah country where Ken Dodd is a traditional owner and lawman. “Our main concerns are the artesian basin, and the water and the land and it doesn’t need to be opened, we have enough mines in our country.” Adani is the vanguard for opening up the Galilee Basin to a number of other major coal mines. Past experience makes Ken Dodd doubt the jobs mantra. “None of these outcomes or targets are being met by the proponents so by using the old business and opportunities and jobs and everything, it’s the same old social licensing talk we hear all the time.” https://www.sbs.com.au/news/adani-mine-stymies-battle-for-queensland-s-marginal-seats |
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Journalist Glenn Greenwald defends Assange
Journalist Glenn Greenwald defends Assange: The Hill, Julia Manchester 24 Apr 19 ‘Things that journalists do every single day’ Journalist Glenn Greenwald on Monday defended WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after he was charged by the Justice Department earlier this month for allegedly conspiring to hack a government computer in connection with the organization’s release of sensitive government files in 2010.
“So much of what’s in the indictment, encouraging a source to get more documents, helping a source cover her tracks in order not to be detected, are things that journalists do every single day,” Greenwald, co-founding editor at The Intercept, told hosts Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton in an appearance on Hill.TV.
“You can say journalists don’t typically help a source hack into a password in order to get you know, a better way of hiding her identity, but helping a source avoid detection is definitely something journalists are not just entitled to do, but obligated to do,” he continued. ……https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/439992-greenwald-defends-assange-these-are-things-that-journalists-do-every-single-day
Adani’s bid to bankrupt traditional owner hits court
Adani’s bid to bankrupt traditional owner hits court, Courier Mail 24 Apr 19,
A date has been set for Indian mining giant Adani’s case to bankrupt a traditional land owner who fought to stop its $2 billion Carmichael mine – and it falls just days before the Federal Election. …(Subscribers only)
Hanson denies humans behind climate change, blames ‘fearmongering’
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SBS, 24 Apr 19, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says humans are not behind the causes of climate change which she believes has been happening since dinosaurs were around.
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Busting ANSTO’s deceptive pro nuclear propaganda to the Kimba and Hawker communities
Kazzi Jai https://www.facebook.com/groups/941313402573199/ Fight To Stop Nuclear Waste In The Flinders Ranges 23 Apr 19, How many times do you have to explain this to people? In response to some of ANSTO’s propaganda directed at the rural communities targeted for nuclear waste dumping……So you have a specific inventory of what’s in the drums do you? You must be very special then – because that is not what has yet been released to the public! You seem to assume it’s in your words “aprons and gloves” from handling radioactive objects. There is much more to it. Did they mention that it must be shielded to be handled safely? The steel drums themselves act as the shield for the Low Level Nuclear waste and must be monitored to ensure they remain intact. The proposed dump is for the PERMANENT DISPOSAL of the Low Level Nuclear Waste as an above ground dump, but covered with yet to be determined substance so that it qualifies as an “near-surface” disposal site…and must be monitored for several hundred years for safety.
No-one in their right mind would guarantee that there will not be some form of leakage during all of those hundreds of years! Steel drums…concrete….do not last forever….especially when it comes to radioactivity as well as other external factors.And then there’s the above ground “Temporary” storage of the Intermediate Level Nuclear Waste which will be coming with it. We have been told that the proposed dump is not worth doing without the Intermediate Waste being “temporarily” stored there, from Lucas Heights – which is in fact double handling and NOT World’s Best Practise in any way shape or form! What is in the Intermediate Level Nuclear Waste shielded casks – Did they say? Did they say how long the Intermediate Level Nuclear Waste remains dangerous? Did they say how long the casks were guaranteed by the manufacturers?
Did they mention any hazards or risks? Any at all?
IF it is so safe as they say – why was Sally’s Flat NSW not hounded to take this waste instead? Sally’s Flat is MUCH closer to Lucas Heights at 260kms – Lucas Heights is where over 90% of Australia’s nuclear waste is generated on site – and Sally’s Flat was deemed suitable as one of the six sites chosen by the Federal Government! Even Oman Ama in Qld is closer! Why transport it over 1500+kms into a prime export grain area or into the iconic world renowned Flinder’s Ranges in South Australia?
The answer is that once it is over the state border it becomes South Australia’s responsibility and liability and South Australia’s problem!
And to top it off – as the NATIONAL Nuclear Dump – not just ANSTO’s – the title of it should ring alarm bells – then all of the other states can effectively become “nuclear-free” at South Australia’s expense!
This is NOTHING to do with FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN or “green goo”. It is nothing to do with comparing it with other objects which frankly is pretty stupid because it is just a way of selling it and blurring lines of understanding! It is MUCH to do with SHAFTING nuclear waste from Lucas Heights, where it is currently safely stored and monitored, and is securely held. Lucas Heights in fact are the first to say “not in my backyard”!
Keep it all at Lucas Heights until the Intermediate Nuclear Waste can be PROPERLY dealt with! Then the Low Level Nuclear Waste can go in with that! In fact that was the intention of Lucas Heights and its enormous space all along – is that they would retain any waste they generated on site UNTIL they had found a suitable way of dealing with it once and for all and not for the next generations to have to come to deal with this man-made problem which they continue to generate! They had given themselves 80 – 100 years to find a solution. This current proposal is NOT a solution. It is simply burying the waste and abandoning it – a caveman’s solution to a 20th century problem!
South Australia is NOT the Nation’s Nuclear Dumping Ground!
NO means NO! https://www.facebook.com/groups/941313402573199/
Countering the pro nuclear lies of the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA)
The Minerals Council of Australia joins in the current pro nuclear propaganda push – classing nuclear power as “reliable, at a very low cost, and with zero emissions” — Mining.com 22 April
Here’s my comment, which they did not publish – surprise, surprise
Nuclear power is not all that reliable, particularly now, as climate change brings extremes of weather, for which nuclear reactors are not prepared. As they require lots of water, they are usually placed near sea or rivers, posing an increasing problem with sea level rise, and sea surges. Australia is a water short country, and should not contemplate such a water-guzzling industry.
As for nuclear being “cheap” – it’s “cheap” only where the tax-payer cops the bill – Russia, China, France etc. In USA and UK the nuclear lobby is screaming for subsidies, and the building of new reactors -Hinkley Point C, and the boondoggle in South Carolina provide a cautionary tale. As for small nuclear reactors – their only hope of being economic is if the are ordered en masse – such a risk, and consequently there are no buyers. Then there’s that little problem of radioactive trash accumulating, with no solution in sight.
Meanwhile,Australia has the opportunity to be a leader in truly clean renewable technologies, which are getting cheaper, while nuclear costs mount.
1 This month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 