Action against Jabiluka

By Damien Bradley

HOBART — On the Parliament Lawns on February 20, Resistance organised a speak-out against the Jabiluka uranium mine. The speak-out was chaired by Edwina Foster; speakers included Huw Lockwood, Ema Corro and Alex Bainbridge, all activists from either Resistance or the Democratic Socialist Party.

The event included a Resistance stall, which distributed Jabiluka information, music by folk singer Peter Hicks and street theatre.

Foster gave an overview of Resistance and its activity in the anti-Jabiluka campaign. "The decision to mine at Jabiluka is undemocratic — up to 75% of the public disagree", she said, adding, "If this mine does go through, it raises the possibility of other uranium mines going ahead".

Alex Bainbridge described the importance of continuing actions against the Jabiluka mine. He stated, "Actions like this play an important role in stopping atrocities such as the Jabiluka mine. We need to stop Jabiluka uranium mine as the first step in producing an ecologically safe world that puts the needs of the mass of people first."

To demonstrate to the crowd the deadly effects of uranium mining, activists staged a toxic spill and a slow, painful die-in. This dramatically demonstrated the effects of exposure to these deadly substances produced by the nuclear fuel cycle.

As the die-in occurred, Foster ran through some pertinent facts about uranium, including that it is "toxic for 250,000 years, lethal to all those who work around it". Loud chants of "Jabiluka mine no way, we're going to fight it all the way" erupted through the course of the street theatre.

From GLW issue 351