Australia has a history of poor management of radioactive waste.
Continue readingAustralia’s history of mismanaging radioactive waste
Vale Tauto Sansbury
Barngarla Statement
On Friday 12 July 2019 Justice White handed down his ruling that the exclusion of Barngarla Native Title holders who do not live in the Kimba District from participating in a ballot to gauge community support for the radioactive waste facility was not a breach of the Racial Discrimination Act. Read the statement released by the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation here.
In August 2018, The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation (BDAC), Native Title Holders for the Kimba area, sought an injunction in the Supreme Court based on their exclusion from participation in the ballot planned to gauge community support for a radioactive waste facility in the region. The matter was referred to the Human Rights Commission and was then heard in the Federal Court in January 2019. On Friday 12th July 2019 Justice White handed down his ruling. The matter was dismissed. The exclusion of Traditional Owners from participating in the ballot was deemed not a breach of the Racial Discrimination Act. No Dump Alliance congratulates BDAC and their legal team for their efforts. This ruling in no way means that the site selection process is ok and we will continue to work towards responsible radioactive waste management.
The Barngarla Statement released after the ruling is reproduced with permission below.
Barngarla StatementThe Barngarla People have ancient historical connections to the land around Kimba, and we are the determined Native Title Holders for the broader area. The Barngarla hold significant areas of native title in the area, and we are also property owners for the purpose of the Local Government Act. The Barngarla respects the decision of the Federal Court, as the Court has to interpret complicated legislation. However, more generally we consider it sad that in the 21st Century we are required to take legal action to allow us to have the right to vote on the major decision of the day.From the beginning of this process, the Barngarla have been trying to ensure that their members, the first people for the area, can access the same right to vote as other people in Kimba. This case has been about standing up for the right of Aboriginal people to vote on important issues which affect their rights.Our lawyers are reviewing the decision. Although Barngarla have only had an opportunity to review the decision in the last two hours, at this stage it appears that the legal issues are now very narrow and we consider that we will likely appeal the decision. However, this decision will be made by the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC after receipt of full and informed legal advice.The BoardBarngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC ICN 8603
Three Years of Saying NO
Monday 29th April 2019 marks three years since the federal government named Wallerberdina Station in the Flinders Ranges its preferred site for a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility.
Read the media release: Media_release_3_years_29_April19
Sovereign Acts III Refuse – Unbound Collective
Saturday 24 November
8pm sunset performance
9:30pm fire yarn
Hart’s Mill grounds (west side), Port Adelaide
Sovereign Acts III – REFUSE is the third work in a trilogy of research, video and performance works by The Unbound Collective. Called Bound and Unbound: Sovereign Acts, the trilogy has explored the capacity of ideas to both bind and set free, alongside cultural continuance and institutional containment. The Unbound Collective brings together four First Nations women who are working across art, activism and academia.
Sovereign Acts III – REFUSE continues their investigation through the lens of community continuity, environmental campaigning, and the Port River. Through their ongoing research and collaborative practices Unbound are exploring critical-creative resistance and refusal to acts of environmental degradation on Aboriginal land, the role of Aboriginal women in caring for Country, intergeneration transmission of knowledge and sovereignty through protest.
Join Unbound and their collaborators (including performer and language activist, Dr. Lou Bennett, and violinist Katie Inawantji Morrison) for a very special evening event, in two parts, that brings together this research through performance, ceremony and conversation.
See the full creative and cultural team credits here: https://vitalstatistix.com.au/projects/sovereign-acts-refuse/
Rally Don’t Dump on SA
The federal government is currently deciding on whether to build a facility to house Australia’s nuclear waste at either Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula or near Hawker in the Flinders Ranges. More information can be found here and here.
Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan wants to make a decision on the waste dump by the end of the year. This timing is based on politics, not need. The time to act is now. He has said that he will not impose a dump on an unwilling community – join us on November 3rd and show him that SA is unwilling.
The Minister was going to partly base his decision on a ballot in the affected communities. This is currently on hold and may not happen at all because the Barngarla people, Native Title Holders for Kimba, were granted an injunction in the Supreme Court of SA just before ballots were to commence. Their argument was that the exclusion of Native Title holders who did not live in the narrowly defined ballot areas was in breach of the Racial Discrimination Act. This court process has put the ballots in the Kimba district and also the Flinders Ranges area on hold. There is some uncertainty regarding whether the ballots will proceed at all yet the Minister is determined to choose one of the sites before the end of 2018.
We believe this is a statewide issue and we have legislation that bans such facilities – the SA Nuclear Waste Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000. The objects of this Act are “to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of SA and to protect the environment in which they live by prohibiting the establishment of certain nuclear waste storage facilities in this state.” This law is sensible and powerful and we want all our state politicians to use it to stop the federal government imposing a nuclear waste dump on SA.
Responsible radioactive waste management is a national issue that requires national scrutiny. It should not be the primary burden or sole choice of voters in a specific part of regional SA. Australia has a responsibility to properly manage its nuclear waste, and we are asking the federal government to set up an independent inquiry into to explore the full range of options.
Join us on 3rd November – We Still Say NO to a nuclear waste
Facebook event here Saturday, November 03, 2018 at 11:30 AMKaurna Land, Parliament House
Traditional Owners Call for Widening of Consultation Over Nuclear Waste Site in South Australia
Yankunytjatjara Traditional owners in the north of South Australia have welcomed news that ballots about the proposed National Radioactive Waste Facility have been deferred until proper consultation with native title holders takes place.
There are two proposed waste sites in South Australia for the National Radioactive Waste Facility…. One on Barngarla country near Kimba on the north of the Eyre Peninsula, and one on Adnyamathanya country near the township of Hawker.
The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation applied for an injunction in South Australia’s Supreme Court, to halt the vote in the Kimba District arguing it contravened the Racial Discrimination Act 1975.
The Court deferred the ballot until a later hearing.
A similar ballot is pending in the community of Hawker, until the outcome of the hearing. The Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association (ATLA) are Native title holders of the area, are also campaigning strongly against the site being located on their land.
Chairperson of the Yankunytjatjara Native Title Aboriginal Corporation Karina Lester says that the Federal Government should take note of the voice of Traditional Owners and that all Australians need to be consulted. She adds that the Commonwealth should not ignore South Australia’s past activism against a Nuclear Waste Dump. Ms Lester has also called on the South Australian government to use existing state legislation – to prevent the establishment of a radioactive waste site in the state.
CAAMA’s Teghan Hughes spoke with Ms Lester to find out more about the site and why Aboriginal people of the state are saying….
Standing Strong Book Launch
Come and grab your copy, join community and remember this story….
On 8 February 2015 SA Premier Jay Weatherill announced a Royal Commission into the nuclear industry and a major community campaign against plans for an international high level radioactive waste dump began.
The No Dump Alliance (NDA) has released a book about this campaign. ‘Standing Strong’ covers the key issues championed by Aboriginal and civil society groups opposed to the plan including the lack of Traditional Owner consent, dubious economics, the risks to people and the environment and the impact on future generations.
The book shows how South Australians hit the streets, organised community meetings, got involved online, signed postcards, attended information sessions, door-knocked MP’s and breathed a sigh of relief in June 2017 when the Premier conceded that the plan was “dead” and that his government would not pursue the plan.
Today, South Australia faces the proposal of a national nuclear waste site near Hawker in the Flinders Ranges and at Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula, come and hear about these issues and more.
fb event here.
Saturday, July 21, 2018 at 06:00 PM
The Gov in Hindmarsh, Australia
No Dump Alliance submission for senate inquiry
No Dump Alliance’s submission to the Senate on the the selection process for a National radioactive waste management facility in South Australia.
Continue readingCanavan Fails to Consult TOs
Recently Minister Matt Canavan went to the Flinders Ranges and once again showed complete disrespect and failed to consult with the Adnyamathanha traditional owners. Please watch and share this short video message about it from Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association (ATLA) CEO Vince Coulthard