The first siting

The first Munchkin movement occured on Wednesday the 11th of October. Sites around Adelaide that have a close association with the nuclear industry were targeted and the Munchkins left slogans designed to raise awareness about the nuclear industry in their wake. The purpose of this page is to provide more information about the sites targeted in the action...

Below, we name the sites that were targeted by the Munchkins in this action and explain the reasons behind the slogans that were pasted at these sites. Photos of the paste `down' will be uploaded as they become available.

What's with the feet?

The feet represent the nuclear `footprint' that is left on our country by our nuclear activities - it is larger and will affect more than we could ever predict. The feet are walking the yellow cake road (hence they are yellow!) that we are all on at present.

Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd

Heathgate Resources, a 100% foreign owned subsidiary of American company General Atomics, are currently mining uranium at Beverley, which is north east of the Flinders Ranges near Arkaroola.

Uranium is extracted from the mine using the acid In Situ Leaching (ISL) process whereby sulphuric acid at a concentration five times higher than that of battery acid is injected into the aquifer (underground water). Once the acid has been injected into the groundwater, it is pumped to the surface where the yellow cake (raw uranium) is removed from the solution. This is then collected, packaged and prepared for sale on the overseas market where it will be used for power generation and potentially weapons manufacturing. The remaining solution, contaminated with heavy metals and radionuclides, is pumped back into the groundwater where it is largely untraceable and has the potential to contaminate connected underground water systems, including Australia’s agricultural life-blood, the Great Artesian Basin. Under US codes of practice, Heathgate Resources would be required to rehabilitate the underground water, however in Australia they are not, and as such the Beverley aquifer is fast becoming a liquid radioactive waste dump. By failing to impose strict codes of practice the Australian government is allowing an American company to operate by standards that are far below those imposed in their own country.

Furthermore, the inherent dangers of the mine were highlighted before the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was even considered. While operating as a ‘trial mine’ in March 1998, a pipe containing the leachate solution burst spraying 500 litres of solution onto the surrounding earth. Although legally required to do so, Heathgate Resources failed to report the accident preferring to cordon off the area with tape instead of cleaning it up.

While General Atomics laugh all the way to the bank, Australians are left with a legacy of radioactive waste and toxic underground water; in approving the Environmental Impact Statement and allowing the mine to go ahead the Australian government has failed us.

The solution is simple...

NO URANIUM MINES = NO REACTORS = NO RADIOACTIVE WASTE
CLOSE BEVERLEY DOWN AND HELP END THE NUCLEAR CYCLE

Western Mining Corporation (WMC)

Western Mining Corporation (WMC) owns and operates the Olympic Dam uranium mine located at Roxby Downs on the rim of the Lake Eyre Basin in central South Australia. Following its extraction, uranium ore is milled on site to produce yellow cake that is then exported for enrichment.

The milling process uses large quantities of water. WMC extracts up to 42 million litres of water per day from the Great Artesian Basin (GAB), a vast ground water reserve essential for life in this arid region. The GAB feeds hundreds of unique Mound Springs that are of ecological and cultural significance. Since WMC began extracting water for uranium milling many Mound Springs have suffered flow reduction or complete dehydration. WMC’s attempts at spring ‘rehabilitation’ have failed.

Radioactive tailings are the by-product of the uranium milling process. There remain 250 tonnes of tailings waste for every 1 tonne of yellowcake produced. The Tailings Retention System at Roxby Downs is an open 165 hectare dam – it does not comply with the design originally specified. In 1994 it was reported that radioactive sludge had leaked from the dam into groundwater over several years.

By the end of WMC’s operations at Roxby Downs, the quantity of radioactive tailings remaining will be the volume of 159 football fields each 30 metres high. Tailings remain radioactive for tens of thousands of years; they are stored in dams designed to last a few hundred years. WMC is responsible for the radioactive waste generated at Roxby Downs for only the next 200 years.

Without consulting traditional land owners or the South Australian public, the government proposes a radioactive waste dump in the Woomera/Roxby Downs region – the mining operations of WMC mean one already exists.

NO URANIUM MINING = NO RADIOACTIVE WASTE
MAKE WMC ACCOUNTABLE
SAVE OUR PRECIOUS GROUNDWATER
CLOSE ROXBY DOWNS
HELP END THE NUCLEAR CYCLE

Genocide Corner

Genocide corner was started, when Western Mining Corporation destroyed the Keepers Of Lake Eyre Camp at Lake Eyre South in late 1999. This camp was a protest against the activities of WMC in the area, see the keepers of lake Eyre site for more details.

In response to this, Uncle Kevin Buzzacot, set up Genocide Corner, a protest camp outside the governor's office, on the corner of King william St and North Terrace, South Australia's busiest street, over the road from Parliament House, and only 100 metres from the Adelaide central railway station.

Genocide corner became a gathering place for Nyunga people, where a camp fire hadn't burned for maybe a whole century. The impact of white society upon the Nyunga, and other original inhabitants of Australia, is still being felt. First, these people had bullets and poison to deal with. Next, the connections of family, kin, and language were steadily eroded. Presently, a scorched earth policy appears to be in place, which will leave the land almost uninhabitable... The legacy of the Maralinga atom bomb tests lives on; despite a token clean up the site is still contaminated.

Westpac - their link to Jabiluka uranium mine

Kakadu may be placed on the World Heritage `in danger' list due to the environmental problems associated with the Jabiluka uranium mine.

Westpac Custodian Nominees is listed as the number one shareholder in North Ltd. which is the parent company of ERA (Energy Resources Australia) the company that is directly involved with the development of the Jabiluka mine in Kakadu National Park. Westpac has loaned over $100 million to North Ltd., and is one of the major bankers for both ERA (Energy Resources Australia) and North Ltd.

As a major sponsor of the "Green Olympics" Westpac is claiming an environmental conscience. Their environmental policy states that the bank will "seek to take environmental issues into account in it's lending decisions" and will "meet or exceed recognised community environmental standards". However, this direct link of the bank to Jabiluka uranium mine shows that it is in breach of it's own stated policy. Clearly the funding of the Nuclear industry in a World Heritage area does not live up to these standards. Should there be public demand that the bank honour it's commitment to it's own agreements?

Parliament House

A bill prohibiting the establishment of a waste repository for long-lived intermediate and high level radioactive waste is currently being considered by the South Australian government. The fear is that an intermediate and high level radioactive waste repository (containing materials radioactive for 250,000 years) will be co-located with the low level waste dump in outback South Australia. While on the surface this appears as a positive step, in reality it is likely to be a case of too little too late.

For starters, the Federal government has the power to over ride state legislation thus reducing the effectiveness of the bill from being legally binding to simply a political statement. Furthermore, the Federal Government has made it quite clear that it will not hesitate to over-ride state legislation when a suitable site is chosen, regardless of the wishes of the South Australian public or parliament. South Australians do have a real need for concern. The international company Pangea Ltd., has expressed interest in developing an international radioactive waste repository in Australia and it is feared that this also may be co-located with the low level waste dump. While Federal government minister Senator Minchin has assured Australians that the Pangea proposal will not go ahead, the company has chosen to maintain an office in Perth, suggesting that this decision may change with the establishment of a radioactive waste dump in South Australia.

While the state government may be doing all that it can do now to stop the establishment of a intermediate and high level radioactive waste dump it must be asked why they have taken so long to act. Given that they have known of plans to establish a radioactive waste dump for several years, it seems surprising that they have waited until this point in time to actively oppose such a dump. Our governments have failed to act in the best interests of the people they represent and as a result we face a future where generations of Australians to come will be burdened with radioactive waste.

PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT ñ MAKE GOVERNMENTS ACCOUNTABLE

The Sinister Ministers

100 King William Street Adelaide

The Commonwealth Bank building is the dark abode of several Federal ministers including Senator Nick Minchin (minister for Industry, Science & Resources) and Senator Robert Hill (federal minister for Environment and Heritage) both of who are cogs in the wheels of the nuclear cycle.

Despite holding the portfolio of Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Senator Hill has played his part in contributing to the nuclear cycle by approving the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Beverley uranium mine. In doing this, Senator Hill both supported the expansion of Australiaís nuclear industry and allowed Heathgate Resources the right to pollute our underground water systems without having to apply any form of rehabilitation. Senator Hill is also helping to decide the fate of the Honeymoon uranium mine whose EIS is currently being considered for approval.

The Honorable Nick Minchin is the driving force behind Australia's expanding role in the nuclear cycle approving new uranium mines (including Beverley), pushing for the construction of a second nuclear reactor to replace the existing one at Lucas Heights and forging ahead with plans for the radioactive waste dump. The fact that Minchin holds a seat in suburban Adelaide has done little to tempt him to listen to the views of his South Australian electorate. Senator Minchin has approved the western world's first commercial acid In Situ Leach uranium mine at Beverley (see separate section on Heathgate Resources) north east of the Flinders Ranges despite the fact that 1,158 public submissions were received expressing concern over the mining technique proposed. Furthermore, he has continued to push for the construction of a new nuclear reactor, which will cost tax payers several million dollars, despite the fact that we do not need one as medical isotopes can be sourced from non-radioactive means. Finally, against the wishes of 87% of South Australians, Senator Minchin pushes ever forward with his proposal for a radioactive waste dump in South Australia.

OUR POLITICIANS ARE ACTING AGAINST OUR WISHES. BY BECOMING INFORMED AND ACTIVE WE CAN MAKE OUR GOVERNMENT MORE ACCOUNTABLE.