Fremantle residents rally against uranium

Fifty people rallied outside the Fremantle Esplanade Hotel on July 22. The hotel was the venue of the Australian Uranium conference. The protest was organised by the Fremantle Anti-Nuclear Group.

The protest was addressed by mayor of Fremantle, Peter Tagliaferri, who denounced the Western Australian Coalition government's support for uranium mining as a short-sighted and costly policy. He reaffirmed the Fremantle City Council's commitment to keeping Fremantle a nuclear-free zone.

Greens parliamentarian Lynn MacLaren denounced the federal environment minister Peter Garrett for his approval of the Four Mile uranium mine in South Australia. She called for the state government to invest in renewable energy rather than uranium mining which is dirty and dangerous.

The crowd was also addressed by Indigenous activists David Collard and David Gilroy, the state shadow environment minister Sally Talbot, Natalie Lowry from the WA conservation Council, and veteran peace campaigner and former Greens senator Jo Valentine.

Along with an anti-nuclear sing-along, a highlight of the action was a surprise visit from the Clown Army who searched the venue for radioactive waste. They managed to "uncover" Peter Garrett hiding in the crowd.

From GLW issue 804