A September 15-16 national symposium hosted by the Beyond Nuclear Initiative ” a collaboration between Friends of the Earth, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Poola Foundation (Tom Kantor Fund) ” featured presentations on the health and environmental impacts of the nuclear cycle by the Medical Association for Prevention of War; renewable energy technologies and climate change by outspoken alternative energy academic Mark Diesendorf; nuclear weapons proliferation by former diplomat Richard Broinowski; and winding back the global nuclear arsenal by MAPW’s Tilman Ruff.
Indigenous perspectives were strongly represented with contributions by traditional owners from the Northern Territory, including Margie Lynch, Jillian Marsh and Christopher Poulson.
A film made by the Central Australian Media Association was shown that featured interviews with residents from two of the federal government’s proposed NT nuclear waste dump sites. Howard’s Yellowcake Dreaming, an exhibition of Aboriginal art opposing radioactive waste dumps and uranium mining, which premiered in Alice Springs in October, was displayed at the symposium.
