By Anthony Benbow
PERTH — A one-day "nuclear showdown" conference, focusing on anti-nuclear campaigning, was organised here on May 27 by People for Nuclear Disarmament (PND), the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) and Critical Mass, a new anti-nuclear collective.
The conference opened with greetings by Dean Collard on behalf of the Nyungar people of WA, and a short introduction from Dr Fred Grauaug of MAPW. Four topics were addressed in the first session, followed by smaller group discussion on specific issues and plans for action.
Katie Dewes from the Aotearoa/New Zealand Foundation for Peace Studies made the point that the "Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has had little effect in stopping the 'vertical proliferation' of nuclear weapons in countries that already had them".
Since the mid-1980s, Dewes and activists in many countries have been working on the World Court Project, which aims to have nuclear weapons declared illegal. "Such a declaration would have enormous symbolic importance", she said.
This project took a huge step forward in December when the UN General Assembly passed a resolution asking the World Court to consider the issue urgently. The countries which fought hardest on the issue — many of them small Pacific Island nations — had to overcome huge obstacles simply to get the motion tabled.
"The last few years of UN voting figures show the overwhelming majority of countries vote against nuclear weapons every time the issue is considered", Dewes said. "However, the three countries which vote in favour all the time — Britain, the USA and France — use their economic and military superiority to influence the way other nations vote."
More than 60 countries did not vote or abstained on the World Court resolution last December. Australia and New Zealand usually "sit on the fence" unless public pressure is brought to bear. The World Court Project is now campaigning for support and submissions for UN hearings scheduled for 1996.
The Indonesian government's plans to build nuclear power stations were addressed by activist and researcher August Schlafer and Indonesian academic Dr George Aditjondro. Schlafer outlined the dangers of locating nuclear power stations in areas of high seismic and volcanic activity; any earth movements could damage the reactor structure and cause dangerous leaks of radioactive material.
Schlafer also pointed out that a few big power stations did not suit Indonesia's geography, and such expensive overseas nuclear technology would blow out Indonesia's external debt.
Aditjondro criticised the Indonesian industry and technology minister B.J. Habibie, who argues for developing nuclear power because it is the cutting edge of Western technology. Aditjondro listed examples of non-polluting power generators, such as solar electricity currently on trial in Indonesia, which have greater trade potential.
Aditjondro warned that the Indonesian government was considering placing radioactive waste sites in West Papua, East Timor, Sumatra and West Kalimantan. Any nuclear waste problem would also affect Australia.
Dave Sweeney from Friends of the Earth in Melbourne spoke about the campaign to stop Energy Resources Australia from dumping 500 million litres of contaminated water from the Ranger uranium mine into a river system that flows through the Kakadu wilderness in the Northern Territory. ERA also wants to open a new mine at Jabiluka, about 25 km from Ranger.
The Western Mining Company, which operates Roxby Downs in SA, is also trying to expand its operations, Sweeney said. Roxby Downs has one of the highest water usages of any mine in the world; it uses 33 million litres of water a day from the Great Australian Basin. The company has applied to increase this limit, which would most likely lead to water shortages.
The danger to workers in the industry was also highlighted. No national register of radiation exposure exists, and diseases such as cancer are occurring in some groups of miners at rates 10 times the national average.
Syarma Peebles from GASP (Goldfields Against Serious Pollution) spoke about the campaign against the establishment of a nuclear waste dump or "high-technology storage facility" in WA's goldfields.
GASP is trying to prevent the waste dump at Mt Walton (between Southern Cross and Coolgardie) from being expanded to handle waste products from a proposed mineral sands processing plant that the Rhone-Poulenc conglomerate wants to build at Pinjarra, south of Perth.
"We're not a NIMBY-type of group that objects to a radioactive waste dump because it's in our backyard", said Peebles. "We don't think such a dump should be in anybody's backyard.
"Industry must take responsibility for the waste it generates, storing it safely on site or developing a safe way to dispose of it. A facility like this just shifts the problem without solving anything."
Action proposals raised at the conference included: an "emergency meeting" of peace workers to plan actions before the World Court challenge; actions against US nuclear warships docking at Fremantle; pressuring local councils to actively enforce their "nuclear free zones"; establishing a better e-mail network for peace activists; helping anti-nuclear activists in Indonesia; writing protest letters to Indonesian diplomats in Australia; organising street actions with other Indonesian solidarity activists; campaigning for the establishment of a national register of radiation exposure for people working in the uranium and mineral sands mining and transport industries; and informing schools, communities and shire councils along the transport route to the mineral sands plant and Mt Walton waste facility of the dangers of the transported material.
A Perth-based group was set up to campaign more effectively against the Rhone-Poulenc monazite processing plant at Pinjarra. The anti-nuclear coalition Critical Mass will campaign to stop waste dumping and mining expansion in the Kakadu National Park. To find out more or get involved, phone PND on (09) 227 7880 or MAPW on (09) 381 5564.