Sunday, 12 August, 2007

Australian Nuclear Free Alliance

A national anti-nuclear Alliance launched this weekend at a bush meeting in central Australia has committed to supporting Indigenous opposition to federal government and industry plans for uranium mining and radioactive waste dumping.

The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance is comprised of traditional owners, Indigenous community members and environmental, public health and community groups from every Australian State and Territory. The group has evolved from the Alliance against Uranium, a network of concerned people and groups that formed in 1997.

“For ten years, this group has worked to turn back the toxic nuclear tide”, said Natalie Wasley from the Arid Lands Environment Centre-Beyond Nuclear Initiative (ALEC-BNI).

“Now there is a new name, a new structure, a new enthusiasm and a new commitment to continue and expand our efforts for a nuclear free Australia.”

The meeting heard Indigenous concerns about the environmental, social and cultural impacts of uranium mining and proposed radioactive waste dumping and discussed strategies to highlight these ahead of the coming Federal election.

“This is a living land - the hills, ground, trees, springs and water tell stories. We teach the children stories from the land which they can pass on from generation to generation. If you destroy the land you kill our tradition, spirit and story. We don’t want the land destroyed by mining or nuclear waste”, said Christopher Poulson, a Traditional Owner for Pikilyi Springs who attended the meeting.