Beyond Nuclear symposium held

November 17, 1993
Issue 

Tim Stewart, Melbourne

A September 15-16 national symposium hosted by the Beyond Nuclear Initiative — a collaboration between Friends of the Earth, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Poola Foundation (Tom Kantor Fund) — featured presentations on the health and environmental impacts of the nuclear cycle by the Medical Association for Prevention of War; renewable energy technologies and climate change by outspoken alternative energy academic Mark Diesendorf; nuclear weapons proliferation by former diplomat Richard Broinowski; and winding back the global nuclear arsenal by MAPW's Tilman Ruff.

Indigenous perspectives were strongly represented with contributions by traditional owners from the Northern Territory, including Margie Lynch, Jillian Marsh and Christopher Poulson.

A film made by the Central Australian Media Association was shown that featured interviews with residents from two of the federal government's proposed NT nuclear waste dump sites. Howard's Yellowcake Dreaming, an exhibition of Aboriginal art opposing radioactive waste dumps and uranium mining, which premiered in Alice Springs in October, was displayed at the symposium.

Speakers pointed out that Australia has set itself a mandatory renewable energy target of 2%, compared to the European Union target of 20%, by 2010. The claim that Australia needs uranium "export dollars" was debunked; just two wind farms exported to China recently by the Roaring Forties company in South Australia earned $300 million, the same amount as is earned annually from uranium exports.

Activist workshops discussed building the international day of action against climate change — the "walk against warming" — on November 4 and organising contingents in the protests against the November 18-19 G20 summit of finance ministers in Melbourne, where "energy security" will be discussed. "Energy security" is capitalist governments' code for protecting the huge subsidies and concessions they give to the fossil fuel and uranium mining companies.

With the Howard government's Uranium Mining, Processing and Nuclear Energy Review due to be released in December, symposium participants resolved to call a national day of protest to counter the green light for expanded uranium mining that the review is expected to give.


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