The Intervention Rollback Action Group in Alice Springs today (Feb. 26, 2010) said that the imposition of a nuclear dump on NT Aboriginal Land is yet another clear breach of ALP election commitments and demonstrates contempt for Aboriginal rights. 

IRAG says that Intervention policies, which only resource communities deemed ‘viable’ by government, are exacerbating pressure on Aboriginal people to give up their land for destructive projects like the nuclear dump. 

“Federal Labor’s new National Radioactive Waste Management Act is almost identical to Howard’s racist dump laws. It continues to override the NT Land Rights Act and Aboriginal Heritage protections. Any site selection will extinguish Native Title”, said Paddy Gibson from the Intervention Rollback Action Group. 

“This continues the Rudd government’s shocking record of broken promises to Aboriginal people. With the Intervention, Minister Jenny Macklin promised to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA). But her legislation before the Senate gives no room to challenge core Intervention powers using the RDA”. 

“This new legislation has a heavy emphasis on procedures for NT Land Councils to nominate dump sites. It’s clear that if the nomination for Muckaty station is defeated, the government will move on to target other increasingly desperate communities in the NT,” concluded Mr Gibson 

“Our people in remote areas are being starved of resources through the Intervention and the NT government’s ‘hub towns’ policy. They are coming in as refugees to Alice Springs. The Intervention housing program (SIHIP) will build no new houses for most communities and won’t even upgrade existing housing to public housing standards. Now Labor is continuing Howard’s policy– saying communities can get access to $12 million for basic infrastructure like housing and roads, only if they accept a nuclear waste dump”, said Barbara Shaw from the Intervention Rollback Action Group. 

“Labor’s platform is clear in its support for Land Rights. But with the Intervention and now this dump they just override the Land Rights Act, take over and devastate our communities and our country. No other group of people in Australia would be treated this way. The Ministers sitting in Canberra are not the ones who are going to be poisoned by this. Their kids are not the ones who are going to get cancer. They have no idea how we still live off our land,” continued Ms Shaw. 

“Article 29 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which Labor says they support, clearly prohibits the imposition of toxic waste onto Indigenous land without consent. I know my family and many others from that country are fighting hard against this. We as Aboriginal people intend to enforce our rights.” 

“I ask our Health Minister and local member Warren Snowden - how is putting poison into Aboriginal Land going to Close the Gap? We are joining a protest at Minister Snowden’s office today at 12pm organised in support of the Warlmanpa and Warumungu people targeted by this dump. We will continue to fight for housing, jobs and land rights not nuclear dump sites!” concluded Barbara Shaw.