Michaela Stubbs, Melbourne
On August 30, anti-nuclear campaigners staged protest actions at the offices of engineering company Parsons Brinckerhoff as part of a national day of protest against the federal government's plan to set up a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory.
Parsons Brinckerhoff has been contracted to assess the proposed dump sites. Its offices were targeted by anti-nuclear campaigners in Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne.
The company has previously carried out work in relation to Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor, South Australia's Beverley uranium mine and the abandoned plan to dump nuclear waste in SA.
"Parsons Brinckerhoff is a key player in the expansion of Australia's nuclear industry, collaborating with the Howard government to push ahead with new uranium mines, nuclear reactors and waste dumps in Australia", Jim Green, anti-nuclear campaigner with Friends of the Earth, stated in an August 30 media release.
"Last year, the Howard government passed legislation overriding NT environmental and Aboriginal heritage protection laws to facilitate the nuclear dump project", Green added.
"The planned dump is an unwanted, unnecessary imposition and Parsons Brinckerhoff should play no part in the government's grubby, racist nuclear dump plans."
In Melbourne, 20 peaceful protesters entered the Parsons Brinckerhoff office to demand that the company end its involvement in the planned dump.
[Michaela Stubbs is an anti-nuclear campaigner with Friends of the Earth in Melbourne.]