Jabiluka is a pair of uranium deposits and mine development in the Northern Territory of Australia that was to have been built on land belonging to the Mirarr Aboriginal people. The mine site is surrounded by, but not part of, the World Heritage–listed Kakadu National Park.
Wiluna is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It is situated on the edge of the Western Desert at the gateway to the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway. It is the service centre of the local area for the local Martu people, the pastoral industry, the Wiluna Gold Mine, and many more people who work on other mines in the area on a "fly-in/fly-out" basis. Wiluna's climate is hot and dry, with an annual rainfall of 258 millimetres (10.2 in). Mean maximum temperatures range from 19 °C (66 °F) in July, to 38 °C (100 °F) in January.
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, or international level. Major anti-nuclear groups include Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Peace Action and the Nuclear Information and Resource Service. The initial objective of the movement was nuclear disarmament, though since the late 1960s opposition has included the use of nuclear power. Many anti-nuclear groups oppose both nuclear power and nuclear weapons. The formation of green parties in the 1970s and 1980s was often a direct result of anti-nuclear politics.
Koeberg Alert is an anti-nuclear activist organisation formed in 1983 as a local campaign against South Africa's nuclear programme, in particular the construction of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station. It is possibly the country's first activist green movement, apart from Nan Rice's Dolphin Action and Protection Group. For years it was allied to the broader democratic and anti-apartheid movement. It currently organises various anti-nuclear campaigns, as well as participates in the wider anti-war and peace movements.
Hugh Matheson Morgan AC,, is an Australian businessman and former CEO of Western Mining Corporation. He was President of the Business Council of Australia from 2003 to 2005. The Howard Government appointed him to the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia in 1996, where he remained until 2007. He also was the Founding Chairman of Asia Society Australia.
Kakadu National Park, located in the Northern Territory of Australia, possesses within its boundaries a number of large uranium deposits. The uranium is legally owned by the Australian Government, and is sold internationally, having a large effect on the Australian economy. The mining has been controversial, due to the widespread publicity regarding the potential danger of nuclear power and uranium mining, as well as because of objections by some indigenous groups. This controversy is significant because it involves a number of important political issues in Australia: Native Title, the environment, and Federal-State-Territory relations.
Kevin Buzzacott, often referred to as Uncle Kev as an Aboriginal elder, is an Indigenous Australian from the Arabunna nation in northern South Australia. He has campaigned widely for cultural recognition, justice and land rights for Aboriginal people, and has initiated and led numerous campaigns including against uranium mining at Olympic Dam, South Australia on Kokatha land, and the exploitation of the water from the Great Artesian Basin.
Jim Green is an anti-nuclear campaigner with Friends of the Earth Australia. Green is a regular media commentator on nuclear issues. He has an honours degree in public health from the University of Wollongong and was awarded a PhD in science and technology studies for his analysis of the Lucas Heights research reactor debates.
Nuclear weapons testing, uranium mining and export, and nuclear power have often been the subject of public debate in Australia, and the anti-nuclear movement in Australia has a long history. Its origins date back to the 1972–73 debate over French nuclear testing in the Pacific and the 1976–77 debate about uranium mining in Australia.
Anti-nuclear organizations may oppose uranium mining, nuclear power, and/or nuclear weapons. Anti-nuclear groups have undertaken public protests and acts of civil disobedience which have included occupations of nuclear plant sites. Some of the most influential groups in the anti-nuclear movement have had members who were elite scientists, including several Nobel Laureates and many nuclear physicists.
The prospect of nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of public debate since the 1950s. Australia has never had a nuclear power station. Australia hosts 33% of the world's uranium deposits and is the world's third largest producer of uranium after Kazakhstan and Canada.
Robin Howard Chapple is a Greens politician serving in the Western Australian Legislative Council.
Anti-nuclear protests began on a small scale in the U.S. as early as 1946 in response to Operation Crossroads. Large scale anti-nuclear protests first emerged in the mid-1950s in Japan in the wake of the March 1954 Lucky Dragon Incident. August 1955 saw the first meeting of the World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, which had around 3,000 participants from Japan and other nations. Protests began in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the United Kingdom, the first Aldermaston March, organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, took place in 1958. In 1961, at the height of the Cold War, about 50,000 women brought together by Women Strike for Peace marched in 60 cities in the United States to demonstrate against nuclear weapons. In 1964, Peace Marches in several Australian capital cities featured "Ban the Bomb" placards.
Beginning as a conservation movement, the environmental movement in Australia was the first in the world to become a political movement. Australia was home to the world's first Green party.
Radioactive ores were first extracted in South Australia at Radium Hill in 1906 and Mount Painter in 1911. 2,000 tons of ore were treated to recover radium for medical use. Several hundred kilograms of uranium were also produced for use in ceramic glazes. In 2017, of the world's estimated uranium resources, 30% were in Australia, ahead of the second largest, Kazakhstan. In terms of production, Canada is the largest supplier, followed by Kazakhstan and Australia. Australia exported 64,488 tonnes of uranium in the ten years to 2017.
The uranium mining debate covers the political and environmental controversies of the mining of uranium for use in either nuclear power or nuclear weapons.
Lake Way is a dry saline lake located in the Mid West region of Western Australia, approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Wiluna. It also gives its name to a nearby cattle station, the Lake Way Station.
Western Australia has considerable reserves of uranium, but to date no mined uranium has been exported from Western Australia. There has been considerable opposition to the uranium and nuclear industries in WA, especially since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission is a Royal Commission into South Australia's future role in the nuclear fuel cycle. It commenced on 19 March 2015 and delivered its final report to the Government of South Australia on 6 May 2016. The Commissioner was former Governor of South Australia, Kevin Scarce, a retired Royal Australian Navy Rear-Admiral and chancellor of the University of Adelaide. The Commission delivered 12 key recommendations, including identifying an economic opportunity in the establishment of a deep geological storage facility and the receipt of spent nuclear fuel from prospective international clients. The Commission also recommended repealing prohibitions which prevent the future development of nuclear industry in South Australia and nationally.
David Noonan is an Australian environmentalist and member of the anti-nuclear movement in Australia. Noonan is a former anti-nuclear campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation, and has been a prominent spokesperson during campaigns against the expansion of uranium mining in Australia and against the establishment of nuclear waste storage facilities. He has a science degree and a Masters in Environmental Studies.
