Rally opposes uranium mining, woodchipping, greenhouse emissions
HOBART — About 150 people staged a lively march through the city streets here on November 28 to protest against plans to mine uranium at Jabiluka in Kakadu. The protest, organised by Everyone for a Nuclear Free Future (ENuFF), also opposed the Howard government's stand at the Kyoto global warming summit and the recently signed Tasmanian regional forest agreement.
The action began with a rally in Franklin Square. Penny Law from ENuFF spoke on the Jabiluka mine proposal and the Mirrar people's struggle against this desecration of their land. There is no technology for dealing with nuclear waste, she pointed out. Because of "flag swapping", there was no guarantee that Australian uranium would not be used in nuclear weapons.
Paul Wheatley from Health Workers for Global Responsibility gave an alarming account of the health risks associated with uranium mining.
Tony Iltis, from ENuFF and the Democratic Socialists, condemned the Australian government's refusal to support binding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions at the Kyoto climate change conference. He rejected nuclear energy as an alternative to fossil fuels, saying safe energy alternatives should be funded. He proposed that public transport be expanded so that car dependence could be eliminated.
Many passers-by joined the march. The crowd stopped outside the offices of North Ltd, a major culprit in the devastation of Tasmania's forests and owner of 68% of Energy Resources Australia — the company given the go-ahead to mine Jabiluka.
At Parliament House, Amanda Sully from the Wilderness Society said that North Ltd's woodchipping operations pulp 2,279,000 tonnes of forest annually while employing only 311 people.