Australian Nuclear Free Alliance* Meeting Statement: August 2007
The meeting took place on Werre Therre land, 40 kilometres from Alice Springs on the weekend of August 11-12, 2007. The meeting site is three kilometres from country threatened by the Federal Government’s plan to impose a radioactive waste dump in the Northern Territory.
The meeting celebrated ten years of solidarity and effective resistance to the imposition or expansion of the nuclear industry in Australia. Since it began in 1997, the Alliance has been part of successful campaigns against uranium mining at Jabiluka and nuclear waste dumping in South Australia. Alliance members reaffirmed their commitment to continue active campaigning for a nuclear free Australia.
The Alliance heard the continued and emphatic opposition by Traditional Owners to the proposed federal radioactive waste dump in the NT and will continue to work together to end this threat. The cultural, social and environmental impacts of the toxic uranium industry are of deep concern – particularly its unsustainable use and contamination of precious water resources, links with nuclear weapons and production of radioactive waste. This most hazardous industry was recognised as no answer to climate change.
The current aggressive nuclear push has been characterised by extreme lack of community consultation and heavy handed laws and policies. This is echoed on Indigenous lands around the world. The current federal intervention in the NT undermines Indigenous rights. Linking land access and tenure to addressing child sexual abuse is a Trojan Horse. Removing a community’s right to control their land will never improve that community’s ability to control their lives.
The meeting committed to ongoing support for Indigenous people defending country, culture and communities. Alliance members will work collaboratively and creatively to maintain a high public profile for nuclear issues before, during and after the federal election.
*The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance has evolved from the Alliance against Uranium (formed in 1997). The name change has been adopted to better reflect the opposition of the group to the diverse range of nuclear threats currently facing Australia.
