By Arun Pradhan
MELBOURNE — More than 1000 people crammed into Chisolm Hall for the Yellowcake Dance Party on May 9. DJs and performers raised more than $5000 for the Jabiluka Action Fund. Posters for the event highlighted the dangers of uranium and called for an end to "nuclear madness".
Dave Sweeney, Jabiluka campaign coordinator for the Australian Conservation Foundation, told Green Left Weekly the Jabiluka campaign would grow after the go ahead to start mining was given on May 7.
"This proposed mine is a horrible trifecta", Sweeney said. "It will decimate a pristine, internationally recognised heritage area, it will mine uranium, and it directly contradicts the wishes of the indigenous traditional owners of the land." Even on economic rationalist grounds, he said, the mine should be stopped because it threatens the Kakadu National Park which attracts 300,000 tourists a year.
Sweeney said the blockade of the mine site is being consolidated and, as well as "putting a spotlight on an event that Energy Resources Australia wanted to keep secret", it is frustrating ERA's attempts to use road transport.
The anti-Jabiluka campaign, involving mass actions, stunts and a range of grassroots events, also aims to draw international attention. "We are already receiving support from the European parliament. May 19 is an international day of action against the mine", Sweeney told Green Left.
In Melbourne, the Jabiluka Action Group (JAG) has organised a protest at ERA's parent company, North Ltd, on May 19. To draw attention to the plight of the Mirrar people, protesters have told media that the North building is located on important mineral deposits and will be dug up, whether the company likes it or not.
On World Environment Day, June 5, the Jabiluka campaign will join forces in protest actions with the campaign against the Werribee toxic dump under the demand, "From Kakadu to Werribee: no more toxic waste!".
JAG has begun speaking at Melbourne high schools. Reuben Endean, a high-school member of Resistance and JAG, initiated the speaking tour to involve more young people in the campaign.
Other upcoming campaign events include a week of action on campuses beginning May 25 and a bike ride to Kakadu scheduled to leave Melbourne on June 20. After its success in Melbourne, the Yellowcake Dance Party will begin a tour to Byron Bay, Adelaide and Hobart.
To get involved in JAG call 9417 6660.
In Hobart, the high level of interest in the Mirrar people's struggle against the Jabiluka uranium mine was demonstrated by the attendance of 150 people at the second screening of David Bradbury's film Jabiluka. The screening, organised by Everyone for a Nuclear Free Future, raised over $500.