Newsletter date: 11 September 2013
Contents:
* ABC News: Date set for court fight over Muckaty nuclear waste dump
* Tennant & District Times: Muckaty trial date set
* Lawyers Weekly: QC to fight nuclear dump plan
* Oliver Milman, The Guardian: Northern Territory nuclear waste dump 'contravenes UN declaration'
* Greens Senator Scott Ludlam: Greens condemn plan to turn Australia into the world’s nuclear waste dump
* Antinuclear: Dump under the pump: Pressure grows against Muckaty radioactive waste plan
* Dave Sweeney, New Matilda: Nuclear Waste Lasts Longer Than Politicians
* Dr Tom Keaney, Tennant & District Times: Reconsider dumping at Muckaty
* care2 petitionsite: Australia - Stop Nuclear Waste Dump in Northern Territories
* Background to the proposed Muckaty nuclear waste dump
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: Banjima peoples Federal Court win over iron-ore rich Country
* Amy McQuire, Tracker: Protect the Burrup from "continued vandalism": Greens MP
* CAAMA Radio: Historian pays tribute to Aboriginal land management
* Socialist Alliance Policy: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights: Sovereignty, Treaty and Land Rights
* ABC NEWS: DATE SET FOR COURT FIGHT OVER MUCKATY NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP
- News
ABC News: Date set for court fight over Muckaty nuclear waste dump
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-26/court-date-set-for-nuclear-waste-d...
26 Aug 13: "A date has been set in the Federal Court case of Aboriginal traditional owners fighting plans to use their land as a nuclear waste dump. The site on Muckaty Station near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory is the Federal Government's preferred site for Australia's first radioactive waste facility. Beyond Nuclear Initiative spokeswoman Natalie Wasley says the month-long trial has been listed for June 2014. "After eight years that's a big relief for traditional owners and the community who have had this nuclear cloud hanging over their heads," she said."
* TENNANT & DISTRICT TIMES: MUCKATY TRIAL DATE SET
- News
Tennant & District Times: Muckaty trial date set
http://www.tennantcreektimes.com.au/story/1741920/muckaty-trial-date-set/
30 Aug 13: "A TRIAL over the proposed nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station will be held next June. Traditional owners are contesting the Federal Government’s plans, claiming the nomination of Muckaty is invalid. The group says the Northern Land Council (NLC) did not correctly identify the traditional Aboriginal owners, did not consult adequately and did not get proper consent before recommending the site. At a Federal Court directions hearing in Melbourne this week, a month was set aside for the trial which begins on 2 June 2014."
* LAWYERS WEEKLY: QC TO FIGHT NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP PLAN
- News
Lawyers Weekly: QC to fight nuclear dump plan
http://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/news/qc-to-fight-nuclear-dum...
28 Aug 13: "Ron Merkel QC (pictured) will act on behalf of traditional Aboriginal land owners fighting the Federal Government’s proposal to build the country’s first national nuclear waste dump. The Federal Court made orders on Monday (26 August) for a trial to start in June 2014 over a proposed nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory. A group of traditional owners, including nationally renowned Aboriginal elder Lorna Fejo, have alleged that the Government’s nomination of the land for Australia’s first national nuclear waste dump is invalid."
* OLIVER MILMAN, THE GUARDIAN: NORTHERN TERRITORY NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP 'CONTRAVENES UN DECLARATION'
- Analysis / Opinion
The Guardian: Northern Territory nuclear waste dump 'contravenes UN declaration'
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/14/test-nuclear-waste-no...
14 Aug 13: "The government risks breaching an international agreement if it goes ahead with a controversial nuclear waste dump in a remote part of the Northern Territory, conservationists say, with Labor Senate candidate Nova Peris calling for the plan to be dropped. Conservationists claim that the Muckaty dump, near Tennant Creek, would be in contravention of the UN declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples, which states that nations must "ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed consent"." Oliver Milman, a reporter at Guardian Australia, focused on environmental issues, based in Melbourne
* GREENS SENATOR SCOTT LUDLAM: GREENS CONDEMN PLAN TO TURN AUSTRALIA INTO THE WORLD'S NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP
- Media Release
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam: Greens condemn plan to turn Australia into the world’s nuclear waste dump
http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/greens-conde...
24 Aug 13: "The Greens have strongly rejected the proposal by former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke to turn Australia into a dump for the world’s nuclear waste.
Greens nuclear policy spokesperson Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam said the plan was "the worst imaginable way to raise revenue".
"What Mr. Hawke is proposing is criminal activity. The Parliament passed Greens amendments last year to prohibit the importation of nuclear waste. ...
"Having seen both the Howard and Rudd-Gillard Governments make an absolute mess of trying to force a dump for Australian nuclear waste on Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, heaven help us if they were trying to deal with nuclear waste from around the world as well. ... ""
* ANTINUCLEAR: DUMP UNDER THE PUMP: PRESSURE GROWS AGAINST MUCKATY RADIOACTIVE WASTE PLAN
- News
Antinuclear: National pressure growing in Australia against Muckaty radioactive waste plan
Dump under the pump: Pressure grows against Muckaty radioactive waste plan.
http://antinuclear.net/2013/09/05/national-pressure-growing-in-australia...
5 Sep 13: "Territory trade unions, medicos and environmentalists have been joined by their national counterparts in a call to end a planned radioactive waste dump in the NT. The groups have placed an advertisement (attached) in the Tennant and District Times today to highlight their concerns over federal plans to dump radioactive waste on Aboriginal land at Muckaty, north of Tennant Creek and their commitment to continuing campaigning on the dump plan after this Saturday’s federal election. ... "
* DAVE SWEENEY, NEW MATILDA: NUCLEAR WASTE LASTS LONGER THAN POLITICIANS
- Analysis / Opinion
New Matilda: Nuclear Waste Lasts Longer Than Politicians
https://www.newmatilda.com/2013/08/26/nuclear-waste-lasts-longer-politic...
26 Aug 13: "Opponents to the planned nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station are taking their case to the Federal Court this week to address unresolved issues of ownership and consent, writes Dave Sweeney. ... That got more attention than the continuing struggle of Aboriginal people to save their land at Muckaty - north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory - from becoming Australia’s national radioactive waste dump, a case that involves an issue that will last far longer than any politician sits in parliament." By Dave Sweeney
* DR TOM KEANEY, TENNANT & DISTRICT TIMES: RECONSIDER DUMPING AT MUCKATY
- Analysis / Opinion
Tennant & District Times: Reconsider dumping at Muckaty
http://www.tennantcreektimes.com.au/story/1741950/reconsider-dumping-at-...
30 Aug 13: "I AM writing about the proposed radioactive waste repository at Muckaty. This is an area of policy which seems to have been neglected in the upcoming Federal Election. There are a number of reasons why the proposed repository at Muckaty needs to be reconsidered. First, scientific methodology and principles of best practice in the management of radioactive waste appear to not have been applied in the choice of Muckaty as the preferred site for a repository. ... Second, a comprehensive process of community consultation about the proposed repository with the landowners and custodians of Muckaty and the Barkly community was not performed. ... " By Dr Tom Keaney, Alice Springs
* CARE2 PETITIONSITE: AUSTRALIA - STOP NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP IN NORTHERN TERRITORIES
- Petition
care2 petitionsite: Australia - Stop Nuclear Waste Dump in Northern Territories
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/992/371/324/australia-stop-nuclear-waste-...
"author: Judith B.
target: Gary Gray, Minister for Resources and Energy, Australia"
"Australia is planning a brand-new nuclear waste dump in a distant corner of the Northern Territories. It is also one that would, according to conservations, illegally violate the rights of indigenous peoples. The Mukaty dump, near Tennant Creek, apparently has not received full permission from the indigenous communities of the area, leaving Australia at risk of breaching a UN agreement on the issue. ... "
* BACKGROUND TO THE PROPOSED MUCKATY NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP:
Last updated: 5 August 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-proposed-muckaty-nu...
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: BANJIMA PEOPLES FEDERAL COURT WIN OVER IRON-ORE RICH COUNTRY
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: Banjima peoples Federal Court win over iron-ore rich Country
http://thestringer.com.au/banjima-peoples-federal-court-win-over-iron-or...
30 Aug 13: "A trickle of the resource-rich Pilbara will finally finish up in the hands of the impoverished Banjima peoples, after a 15-year long Native Title claim struggle. The Banjima fought for recognition in their right to claim Title over Country, and this was finally remedied by last week’s Federal Court judgment. The Banjima claimants won rights over 10,000 square kilomtres of Australia’s Pilbara mining boom heartland. Banjima Elder Alec Tucker said that the decision had tested the resilience of his peoples, and that he is joyous for those who have lived to see it and who will now have in their knowledge that they can secure some positive legacies for their children." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
* AMY MCQUIRE, TRACKER: PROTECT THE BURRUP FROM "CONTINUED VANDALISM": GREENS MP
- News
footprintsTracker: Protect the Burrup from "continued vandalism" : Greens MP
http://tracker.org.au/2013/09/protect-the-burrup-from-continued-vandalis...
5 Sep 13: "WESTERN AUSTRALIA: A WA Greens MP has labeled a Pilbara operator’s proposal to quarry an area containing significant Aboriginal rock art on the precious Burrup Peninsula as "obscene and ludicrous". Thousands of rock engravings have been targeted by Burrup Materials who have lodged three prospecting licenses and one mining lease application, the Australian reports. The operator wants to quarry the area to supply crushed rock for a marina development. Greens MP Robyn Chappell has hit out at the government for even considering the proposal." Amy McQuire, a Darumbal and South Sea Islander woman, editor of Tracker
- Related Audio
3CR Community Radio: Earth Matters 08.09.2013
http://www.3cr.org.au/earthmatters/podcast/earth-matters-08092013
8 Sep 13: "This week on Earth Matters we look at the protection of rock in Australia, as the repository of some of the most amazing Indigenous rock art on the planet, now under significant threat from the mining boom, and as landscapes that are the physical history of land and climate."
* CAAMA RADIO: HISTORIAN PAYS TRIBUTE TO ABORIGINAL LAND MANAGEMENT
- Audio Interview
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association: Historian pays tribute to Aboriginal land management
http://caama.com.au/historian-pays-tribute-to-aboriginal-land-management
14 Aug 13: "Historian and adjunct professor in the Humanities Research Centre of the Australian National University (ANU), Bill Gammage, was in Alice Springs to delivery a presentation at the desertSMART EcoFair. Author of The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines made Australia, a book which challenges the myth that pre-settlement Australia was an untamed wilderness, says the claim has nothing to do with what Aboriginal people know now. It is this knowledge that they should be allowed to share with others."
* SOCIALIST ALLIANCE POLICY: ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIGHT ISLANDER RIGHTS: SOVEREIGNTY, TREATY AND LAND RIGHTS
- Policies
Socialist Alliance Policy: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights
4. Sovereignty, Treaty and Land Rights
http://www.socialist-alliance.org/policy/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-is...
26 May 13: "After three decades of Land Rights, and 15 years of Native Title, it is clear that consecutive governments and legislation have failed to meet the aim of increasing the rights of Indigenous people to live on traditional lands. The National Native Title Tribunal has failed to secure Indigenous rights in the face of corporate, especially mining, interests. The Howard government’s abolition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) and attack on Land Rights in the Northern Territory shows the vulnerability of Indigenous rights in the face of hostile Governments intent on a racist land-grab. Socialist Alliance stands for full Land Rights and compensation for land taken, and recognises the existence of Indigenous self-governance and the right of Indigenous peoples to self-determination."
- - -
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
About WGAR News:
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/30/about-wgar-news-working-group-for-abo...
Subscription to 'WGAR News' is free.
'WGAR News' monitors the media, including alternative media, focusing on:
* the Australian Federal government intervention into Northern Territory (NT) Aboriginal communities;
* the Aboriginal sovereignty movement and the Aboriginal tent embassies;
* Justice Reinvestment, Aboriginal imprisonment and Aboriginal Deaths in Custody;
* Aboriginal land rights and mining;
* Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing;
* other Aboriginal rights issues; and
* upcoming Aboriginal rights events around Australia.
'WGAR News' gives priority to grassroots Aboriginal voices and grassroots voices in solidarity with Aboriginal peoples' rights.
'WGAR News' publishes information and opinions from a wide range of sources.
These opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinions of WGAR.
The e-newsletters include media releases, opinion pieces, news items, audio, videos and events.
Subscribers can expect to receive about 6 e-newsletters each week.
To subscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "subscribe WGAR News" in the message header.
To unsubscribe, email wgar.news@gmail.com and include the words "unsubscribe WGAR News" in the message header.
Sample WGAR News e-newsletters:
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/03/about-wgar-news-sample-wgar-news-e-ne...
- - -
WGAR events postings:
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/03/about-wgar-news-wgar-events-postings
WGAR background info web-pages:
http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/03/about-wgar-news-wgar-background-info-...
- - -
You can also subscribe to our second list 'Contact WGAR' which provides a point of contact.
To subscribe, email contactwgar@gmail.com and include the words "subscribe WGAR Contact" in the message header.
- - -
WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)