Submitted by kim.stewart on Thu 1 Dec 2011 12:05pm
Dear Premier Bligh,
We are writing to congratulate you for re-affirming your commitment to keeping Queensland free of uranium mines. We thank you for not backing down on your principles on the sale of uranium to India , and for stating that you will maintain Queensland Labor’s “no uranium mines policy”, despite the pressure applied by Julia Gillard and uranium industry promoters.
We are disappointed with Federal Resource Minister Martin Ferguson's attempts to justify the sale of uranium to India, a country that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, by commenting that Australia already supplies uranium to China and Russia. Rather than being a principled rationale, this only demonstrates how far Federal Labor has strayed from its principles for the sake of the market place. While existing “safeguards” are largely ineffective, at least those countries are signatories to the Nuclear Proliferation Agreement which leaves them open to some accountability. Ironically, India carried out a nuclear-capable missile test on the very day that Julia Gillard announced the decision to sell Australian uranium to India. A truly principled stance on this matter would see Australia refuse to sell uranium to any nuclear weapons states, including “democracies” like India and the USA.
We are heartened that your commitment and reading of the electorate’s opposition to uranium mining in Qld has prompted even the LNP to reflect upon its position! Campbell Newman’s quote (16/11/11) that the Opposition will not be “beholden to prominent people in the business community “ on uranium sales to India, supports the understanding on both sides of politics that this is not a road we want to travel.
As you know, the dangers and long-term impacts of uranium mining far outweigh any short-term financial gain from the industry.
- Uranium mining is the first link in the nuclear industry that leads to nuclear weapons production and proliferation.
- Uranium mining and nuclear power are unsafe for workers and the broader community. Exposure rates are particularly harmful to workers in nuclear power plants where severe malfunctions can put workers at risk of radiation sickness. School children in Fukushima were exposed to radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
- Dust, tailings dams and transport mishaps expose the environment to persistent ecological damage of generational proportions. Every mine is a de-facto radioactive waste dump.
- The Olympic Dam uranium mine at Roxby Downs, proposed to be the largest in the world, is a huge open cut mine that is licensed to use up to 42 million litres of water daily from the Great Artisan Basin. Many of Queensland’s uranium sites also sit on the Great Artesian Basin. It is highly irresponsible to use and contaminate these ancient and precious waters, upon which our environment and numerous communities rely.
- Inherent in uranium mining a lack of transparency and authoritarian control which denies people the right to democratic scrutiny. Once again, Olympic Dam (at Roxby Downs) flouts many of our environmental and cultural protection laws, including the Environmental Protection Act and the Land Rights Act and claims immunity from the Freedom of Information Act by invoking business confidentiality agreements. There are reports of workers being threatened with disciplinary action for exposing flaws in its operating system. These unscrupulous practises are all sanctioned by the South Australian government - a position we are sure the Queensland government would not endorse. The nuclear industry as a whole is a toxic industry based on the denial of human and ecological rights.
For these, and many other compelling reasons, Queenslanders have fought to ensure that uranium mining does not take place in our state.
Queensland Labor has made a strong commitment to a nuclear-free future with its Nuclear Prohibitions Act, banning nuclear waste dumping and nuclear power in Queensland. Queensland Labor must take this once step further to ensure that Queensland plays no part in fuelling the dangerous nuclear chain. It is time for Queensland Labor to legislate its excellent “no -uranium mines” policy.
We call on you to act now for our future! We look forward to discussing these matters further with you and to working with you for a clean energy future for Queensland, free of uranium mines.
Thank you,
Jack Ingram and Robin Taubenfeld
Friends of the Earth Brisbane
PO Box 5702
West End Qld 4101
Member Queensland Nuclear Free Alliance
to
Premier Anna Bligh
PO Box 15185
City East
Queensland 4002
