Stop uranium mining!
The World Heritage Bureau's condemnation of the proposed uranium mine at Jabiluka is a slap in the face for the Howard government and its plans for the uranium industry in Australia.
The UN mission's finding that the mine is a serious threat to the cultural and natural values of Kakadu National Park vindicates several years of campaigning by environmentalists and the indigenous traditional owners of the mine area, the Mirrar. It also adds new impetus to the campaign to stop the mine.
The report cites all of the problems with the mine already identified by activists, including the weaknesses in the mine design and tailings disposal, the impact of radiation waste on catchment ecosystems and the opposition of the Mirrar.
Federal environment minister Robert Hill said the report's recommendation that the mine not proceed was biased and lacked objectivity. In fact, this is the first independent assessment of the project so far and many of the leading scientists involved were invited by the government to present their views to the inspection team.
Moreover, with more than 70% of Australians opposed to the mine, the accusation of bias would be more accurately aimed at the government — bias in favour of the uranium mining industry.
The Coalition is not interested in the opinions of either the majority of Australians or the UN. The government has already defied the emphatic opposition of the Mirrar, ignored national and international protests, and helped with the construction of the site by forcibly removing blockaders. According to the Wilderness Society, even before the UN's finding, Hill stated publicly that "no matter what the inspection team find, the mine will go ahead".
While the government may try to ignore and discredit it, the UN report is a blow to Coalition plans to expand uranium mining in this country. The Coalition hopes Jabiluka will be the spearhead for 26 new uranium mines.
But it now seems that Jabiluka can still be stopped. The UN decision is a victory for the anti-uranium and indigenous land rights movements, not just symbolically but because it strengthens the potential to build a mass campaign against Jabiluka, the only sort that can succeed.
The UN report has prompted the Greens and Democrats to reiterate their opposition to the mine. The Democrats are calling on the government to trigger the World Heritage Act to stop the mine.
But these parties must do more — they must use their parliamentary positions and resources to help fund and publicise a mass campaign against the mine.
The deciding factor in this battle for land rights and the environment will be whether the still passive anti-mine sentiments of the majority of Australians can be directed into visible public collective action. A major weakness of the campaign to date has been the lack of focus on organising widely accessible political activities, the most important of which are rallies in cities across the country.
If the public leaders of the campaign, such as Jacqui Katona and Peter Garrett, called on people to publicly take a public stand against the mine, many thousands would respond. With this aim, the Sydney and Melbourne Jabiluka Action Groups are organising protests on December 6, which should be supported.
The Coalition is now under close international scrutiny. On November 27, when the World Heritage Bureau met in Kyoto, protests against the mine were held in Hiroshima, Paris, Madrid and outside the meeting itself. The bureau endorsed the report. The time is ripe for the renewal of a mass campaign against all uranium mines in Australia, starting with Jabiluka.