Strong opposition to Toro Energy’s application to mine uranium in Western Australia
The Battle To Keep WA Uranium Free, An application has been lodged to build WA’s first uranium mine in Wiluna. It’s a shonky proposal and lacks community support. New Matilda.com By Jim Green and Mia Pepper, 13 Sept 11, Toro Energy has submitted an application to build Western Australia’s first uranium mine, at Wiluna, the beginning of WA’s iconic Canning Stock Route.
The debate over the proposed uranium mine has far-reaching ramifications. The construction of WA’s first uranium mine is likely to be the thin edge of the wedge whereas a strong show of public opposition can significantly increase the likelihood of keeping WAuranium-free. That, in turn, is important in the context of the national debate over uranium mining.
The WA Labor Opposition reaffirmed its opposition to uranium mining at its state conference in June. Recent legal advice states that an incoming Labor Government may not need to pay compensation to uranium miners if it wins the 2013 election and reinstates the uranium mining ban lifted by the Barnett Government in 2008.
The position of anti-uranium Labor Party members has been bolstered by a strong community campaign led by groups such as the WA Conservation Council and the Anti-Nuclear Alliance of WA. The August to October Walk Away From Uranium walk from Wiluna to Perth, organised by Footprints for Peace, is drumming up further support for the anti-uranium cause.
Public opinion also supports a ban on uranium mining in WA and nationally. A poll of 400 voters in four marginal Liberal-held WA seats in April found that 46 per cent opposed uranium mining, with 34 per cent in favour and 20 per cent undecided. The poll also found that among swinging voters, support for uranium mining was only 28 per cent. Voters strongly opposed to uranium mining (32 per cent) exceeded those strongly in support (8 per cent) by a factor of four.
At least two WA uranium projects have been delayed this year. In June, Mega Uraniumdelayed a feasibility study for uranium mining at Lake Maitland, and BHP Billiton put on hold the environmental approvals process for its Yeelirrie uranium project because it did not meet internal standards. The West Australian reported in June that Toro’s Wiluna project “will have to overcome weak investor sentiment in the face of a depressed uranium price and opposition to uranium mining”……
But the greatest problem with uranium mined from Wiluna — or anywhere else — is that in the best-case scenario it will end up as high-level nuclear waste. At worst it will end up as fissile material in nuclear weapons or spewing from a nuclear disaster such as that unfolding in Fukushima, Japan. http://newmatilda.com/2011/09/13/battle-keep-wa-uranium-free
Australian unions join Aboriginal opposition to nuclear waste dump
the unions were quite clear about not wanting nuclear material on highways or railway tracks. “All it takes is one accident, one ruptured container,”..“It’s simply not worth the risk and Territorians don’t need this in their backyard.”..
a legal challenge to the Federal Government’s waste dump plans at Muckaty will be heard in October.
Unions pledge support to oppose nuke waste dump – , – Tennant & District Times,19 April 11,TRADE union officials from across Australia have pledged support to traditional owners who oppose the construction of a nuclear waste dump on their land. Continue reading
1250 km walk as Western Australians protest against uranium mining
WA uranium protest to cover 1250km, Narelle Towie , PerthNow , August 21, 2011 ANTI-URANIUM protesters will begin their 1250km march from Wiluna to Perth today in their fight to have mining of the ore banned.Walk Away From Uranium Mining protesters will travel through two proposed uranium mining sites – in Wiluna and Yeelirrie – before arriving in Perth nearly a month later on October 27
Since the Barnett Government formally overturned a ban on uranium mining in November 2008, there have been dozens of exploration applications submitted in WA….
Three proposals, including BHP’s Yeelirrie, Mega Uranium’s Lake Maitland and Toro Energy’s Wiluna Lake way project, are advanced enough to begin production within the next few years.
WA Senator Scott Ludlam, who will take part in the march, said WA should joining a growing list of countries around the world, including Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Portugal, Greece and Ireland, who were walking away from nuclear power.
“This is an extraordinary moment for our state and for the future. The nuclear industry is in decline around the world and public awareness of the dangers of uranium mining and nuclear power is growing,: Mr Ludlam said.
“This march is a powerful statement from Western Australians who do not want uranium mining in WA and who do not want their state to support the nuclear industry in any way.” http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/special-features/wa-uranium-protest-to-cover-1250km/story-e6frg19l-1226118950758
Anti nuclear protest at Australian Uranium Conference on in Fremantle.
Anti-uranium protest in Fremantle, Anti-uranium campaigners have staged a protest outside Australia’s largest annual uranium conference., ABC News, July 21, 2011 “…….Politicians and uranium industry delegates are attending the forum to discuss the future of the industry in WA, which as yet has no operational uranium mine.
The Conservation Council of WA organised the rally, which included Australian Manufacturing Workers Union WA boss Steve McCartney, Greens MP Robin Chapple and Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitte.
The protesters say they hope to draw attention to the decline in the nuclear industry and reflect on the recent tragedy at the Fukushima plant in Japan…
Police charge student protestors at International Uranium Mining Conference
Four Students moved on from International Uranium Conference, Beyond Nuclear 8 June 11 Four university students were escorted by police from the Pan Pacific Hotel this morning after protesting at the International Uranium Mining Conference.
Dylan Lehmann (20), Amy Mowle (20), Alexandria Molony (19) and Elbert Rydall MacCurtin (22) were opposing the expansion of the nuclear and uranium mining industry in the wake of the Fukushima 1 disaster.
The students blocked the entrance to the registration of the conference bearing a banner stating, “Uranium Mining: Our Future for Short Term Profit. Are You Kidding?!”.
Group spokesperson Dylan Lehmann said, “We came here on behalf of the people who have had their lives destroyed by the nuclear and uranium mining industry, and on behalf of the environment which has been continually disregarded in the pursuit of toxic and contested industry.”…..
Hotel staff positioned themselves in front of the banner after the students refused to leave the premises.
After forty-five minutes, police arrived to remove the students from the building. They were issued with move on notices and summons to appear in court on charges of trespass.
The International Uranium Mining Conference is being held today and tomorrow to discuss the future prospects of the industry.
Warning on expansion of Olympic Dam uranium mine – report from the ground
“Recent research from Monash University has demonstrated that the mine could operate profitably exporting copper, gold and silver but not uranium. We would like to see the radioactive risks left out of this mine expansion. It is incredibly disappointing that BHP continues to peddle the fiction that uranium export is necessary and unavoidable.”
ROXBY EIS CONCERNS ENVIRONMENTALISTS FROM THE NORTH TO THE SOUTH 23 May 11, The annual Friends of the Earth’s Radioactive Exposure Tour has visited the Olympic Dam mine a week after BHP Billiton‘s Supplementary EIS was released.
The expansion plans which include a 3.5km X 4.1km open pit mine have triggered concerns with environmentalists from Darwin to Melbourne. Continue reading
Darwin protest rally against nuclear waste dump
Traditional owners, environmentalists and trade unionists called on federal politicians to block a bill before the Senate, which would allow a waste dump to be built at Muckaty Station, about 100 kilometres north of Tennant Creek
Nuclear waste dump opponents rally, ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), By Jano Gibson, 11 May 11 , A Northern Territory Labor Minister has called on his federal colleagues to abandon plans to set up a nuclear waste storage facility in the Northern Territory. Continue reading
Australia’s Nuclear Waste Bill debated today – despite Strong Local Opposition
“It’s false to claim that the waste dump is purely for medical waste.”..
The National Radioactive Waste Management Bill 2010 was expected to pass through the Senate last night. But the Senate failed to debate the Bill by the time of print. Senate continues today.
Locals reject waste dump, Northern Territory News, CONOR BYRNE | May 12th, 2011 ‘NO’ was the message from an anti-nuclear waste dump protest at Parliament House in Darwin on Wednesday. The gathering rejected a nuclear waste dump anywhere in the NT, especially at the planned Muckaty Station site, about 120km north of Tennant Creek. Continue reading
Time for Australia to phase out its involvement in nuclear
Specifically, ACF has called on the Federal Government to:
• Grant no further approvals to Energy Resources of Australia’s Ranger mine in Kakadu
• Not approve any uranium projects in Western Australia and Queensland, where there are no commercial mines and no bi-partisan political support for uranium mining
• Grant no further uranium sales agreements
• Ensure BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam project keeps its uranium product and other radioactive mine waste on site and sells only non-radioactive minerals.
Chernobyl anniversary a reminder of the true costs of the uranium trade 26 April 11 On the 25th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear disaster the Australian Conservation Foundation has called for a halt to uranium exports and a national debate on the full costs and consequences of Australia’s uranium trade. Continue reading
Darwin hears Aboriginals, scientists, call to close Ranger uranium mine
Monash University engineering academic Dr Gavin Mudd said that Ranger was one of the most heavily monitored uranium mines in the world, but this was still insufficient to deal with the problems.
The Ranger mine has been closed for several weeks because the extreme wet season has threatened to overflow a dam site used to hold radioactive tailings.
‘Call to close Ranger uranium mine’ | Green Left Weekly April 10, 2011 By Peter Robson, Darwin One hundred and thirty people packed out a room in the Crowne Plaza hotel to hear traditional owners and nuclear experts call for the closure of the Ranger uranium mine in the world heritage-listed Kakadu national park.
Western Australia: Black and White Unite Against Uranium Mining
“Uranium mining is not like any other mining, it poisons water, land and life through radiation. The mining industry and the government are trying to make people believe uranium mining is inevitable but we say No.”
“We Can’t Close the Gap by Digging a Deeper Hole” 4 April 11The Western Australia Nuclear Free Alliance (WANFA), made up of Aboriginal Traditional Land Owners from the Pilbara, the Kimberley, the Goldfields, the Great Victoria Desert, the Central Desert, the Gascoyne, and the South West and their allies, met from 2 – 4 April 2011 on Whadjuk Boodjak (Noongar Land) near Perth.
The meeting was the first gathering of Western Australian traditional owners since the continuing nuclear emergency at Fukushima in Japan and comes against a backdrop of increasing contest over plans for uranium mining in WA. Continue reading
Community opposition to Angela Pamela uranium mine, hypocrisy of politicians
The desperate tone of the emails simply proves the effectiveness of the concerted community opposition to the dirty, dangerous uranium mine at Angela Pamela…..The Arid Lands Environment Centre, the Environment Centre NT and Families for a Nuclear Free Future continue to call for the Angela Pamela site to be permanently protected from uranium mining by declaring the area reserved land under s112 of the Minerals Titles Act.
Conlan/Cameco collusion proves power of community opposition The Arid Lands Environment Centre is not surprised by the conspiratorial content of the leaked email’s between the CLP’s Matt Conlan and Cameco’s Stephan Stander. Continue reading
Northern Territory Government and protestors united against Federal nuke waste dump Bill
the Bill showed no respect for NT legislation designed to ban nuclear waste dumps in the Territory…..”The Muckaty site didn’t even make the short-list when environmental and scientific criteria were used to inform a preliminary site assessment study in the 1990s, now they want to build a dump there.”
Protesters ramp up campaign against nuke dump | News | NT News | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, 24 Feb 2011, TERRITORY anti-nuclear waste dump protesters have started a small but concerted campaign against new legislation expected to be presented to the Federal Senate next week.The House of Representatives passed the Bill on Tuesday with Muckaty Station about 120km north of Tennant Creek the site most likely to be used for the dump. Continue reading
Big Australian union comes out strongly against uranium mining
The ETU, which largely represents electrical, communications and power industry workers, says sections of the Labor movement are dead against uranium mining.
“The ETU has no doubt that, once reacquainted with the facts, the community will also continue to reject the idea of more uranium mining,”
Unions clash over Qld uranium ban, Sydney Morning Herald, Petrina Berry, February 17, 2011 Attempts by Australia’s biggest blue-collar union to overturn Queensland’s ban on uranium mining will face strong opposition from another major union. Continue reading
Public anger at uranium mining exploration in Arkaroola Wilderness
Letters: Public opinion on mining Adelaide Now, 23 Dec 10,
Under the radar THE Government’s decision to allow miner Marathon Resources back into Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary shows a total disregard towards community opinion…..MATTHEW TURNERMiners broke laws …..Why grant a proven criminal the right to act, yet again, in the same area?… HORST WEBER
To come home to SA for Christmas and read about mining in Arkaroola makes me sad and angry... Stand up, be vocal. Be strong, SA….. LEW DUNGEY
Greedy politicians GREED knows no bounds….. KON KOURTEFF
Pressure of Chinese...Who cares of what the likes of John Quirke, Chris Schacht and Paul Howes put forward? Their self-interests are quite apparent…. JOHN HILLIER
Lobbyists in charge MORE and more unelected, unsolicited lobbyists are running policy debates….. RAY HILL,
Short-term profits …… There is more to life than money, Mr Rann, and more to life than self-serving companies like Marathon destroying this precious natural resource. It’s not too late to change your mind…….ADAM FURBANK
Hypocrisy of Labor …..SO the senior SA Labor heavyweights encouraging uranium mining at Arkaroola are now exposed (The Advertiser, 21/12/10). ……PATRICK NEVILLE
Perverse resilience I AM horrified that Mike Rann and his Government have extended Marathon’s lease at Arkaroola for another year, particularly in light of its illegal activities…..Where are our strong leaders when we need them? Obviously not in South Australia. ALISON DORN Letters: Public opinion on mining | Adelaide Now
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 