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But as the "Ban the Bomb" movement gathered momentum in Western societies throughout the 1950s, so too did opposition to the British tests in Australia. An opinion poll taken in 1957 showed 49 per cent of the Australian public were opposed to the tests and only 39 per cent in favour.<ref name=brit/> In 1964, Peace Marches which featured "Ban the bomb" placards, were held in several Australian capital cities.<ref>[http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:114192 Women with Ban the Bomb banner during Peace march on Sunday April 5th 1964, Brisbane, Australia]</ref><ref>[http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:114194 Girl with placard Ban nuclear tests during Peace march on Sunday April 5th 1964, Brisbane, Australia]</ref>
But as the "Ban the Bomb" movement gathered momentum in Western societies throughout the 1950s, so too did opposition to the British tests in Australia. An opinion poll taken in 1957 showed 49 per cent of the Australian public were opposed to the tests and only 39 per cent in favour.<ref name=brit/> In 1964, Peace Marches which featured "Ban the bomb" placards, were held in several Australian capital cities.<ref>[http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:114192 Women with Ban the Bomb banner during Peace march on Sunday April 5th 1964, Brisbane, Australia]</ref><ref>[http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:114194 Girl with placard Ban nuclear tests during Peace march on Sunday April 5th 1964, Brisbane, Australia]</ref>


In 1969, a nuclear power plant was [[Jervis Bay Nuclear Power Plant |proposed for the Jervis Bay Territory]] in [[New South Wales]]. Some environmental studies and site works were completed, and two rounds of tenders were called and evaluated, but the Australian government decided not to proceed with the project, citing economic reasons.<ref>'Gorton gave nod to nuclear power plant', ''The Age'', 1 January 2000.</ref>
In 1969, a nuclear power plant was [[Jervis Bay Nuclear Power Plant |proposed for the Jervis Bay Territory]] in [[New South Wales]]. A local opposition campaign began, and the South Coast Trades and Labour Council covering workers in the region announced that it would refuse to build the reactor. Some environmental studies and site works were completed, and two rounds of tenders were called and evaluated, but the Australian government decided not to proceed with the project, citing economic reasons.<ref>'Gorton gave nod to nuclear power plant', ''The Age'', 1 January 2000.</ref>


===1970s===
===1970s===

Revision as of 22:14, 13 November 2008

Australia has no nuclear power stations and the current Rudd Labor government is opposed to nuclear power for Australia.[1][2] However, Australia does have a small research reactor (OPAL) in Sydney, and it does export uranium. Australia has 40% of the world's known uranium deposits as well as similar deposits of the other potential fission reactor fuel thorium, and sells uranium to members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.[3]

Uranium mining and export and nuclear issues have often been the subject of public debate, and the anti-nuclear movement in Australia has a long history. Its origins date back to the 1972–73 debate over French nuclear testing in the Pacific, which mobilised several groups, and the 1976–77 debate about uranium mining in Australia.[4]

History

1950s and 1960s

In 1952, the Robert Menzies Liberal Government passed legislation, the "Defence (Special Undertakings) Act 1952", which allowed the British Government access to isolated parts of Australia to undertake atmospheric nuclear tests.[5] These tests were mainly conducted at Maralinga in South Australia between 1955 and 1963, but the full legal and political implications of the testing program took decades to emerge. The secrecy which surrounded the British testing program and the remoteness of the test sites meant that public awareness of the risks involved grew very slowly.[6]

But as the "Ban the Bomb" movement gathered momentum in Western societies throughout the 1950s, so too did opposition to the British tests in Australia. An opinion poll taken in 1957 showed 49 per cent of the Australian public were opposed to the tests and only 39 per cent in favour.[6] In 1964, Peace Marches which featured "Ban the bomb" placards, were held in several Australian capital cities.[7][8]

In 1969, a nuclear power plant was proposed for the Jervis Bay Territory in New South Wales. A local opposition campaign began, and the South Coast Trades and Labour Council covering workers in the region announced that it would refuse to build the reactor. Some environmental studies and site works were completed, and two rounds of tenders were called and evaluated, but the Australian government decided not to proceed with the project, citing economic reasons.[9]

1970s

Ranger Uranium Mine in Kakadu National Park
Aerial view of the Ranger 3 site located within Kakadu National Park.

The Australian anti-nuclear movement has several roots. The 1972–73 debate over French nuclear testing in the Pacific mobilised several groups, including some trade unions.[10] In 1972 the International Court of Justice in a case launched by Australia and New Zealand,[11] ordered that the French cease atmospheric nuclear testing at Mururoa atoll.[12] In 1974 and 1975 this concern came to focus on uranium mining in Australia and several Friends of the Earth groups were formed.[10] The Australian Conservation Foundation also began voicing concern about uranium mining and supporting the activities of the grass-roots organisations. Concern about the environmental effects of uranium mining was a significant factor: poor management of waste at an early uranium mine, Rum Jungle, led it to become "one of Australia's most notorious pollution problems" in the 1970s.[13] The Australian anti-nuclear movement also acquired initial impetus from various individuals who publicly voiced concern about the nuclear option, such as nuclear scientists Richard Temple and Rob Robotham, and poets Dorothy Green and Judith Wright.[10]

The years 1976 and 1977 saw uranium mining become a major political issue, with the Ranger Inquiry (Fox) report opening up a public debate about uranium mining. Several groups specifically concerned with nuclear issues were established, including the Movement Against Uranium Mining and Campaign Against Nuclear Energy (or Power), cooperating with other environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth and the Australian Conservation Foundation.[14] In 1977, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) national conference passed a motion in favour of an indefinite moratorium on uranium mining, and the anti-nuclear movement acted to support the Labor Party and help it regain office. However, a setback for the movement occurred in 1982 when another ALP conference overturned its anti-uranium policy in favour of a "one mine policy". The 1984 ALP conference voted in Favour of a "three mine policy".[15] This referred to the then three existing uranium mines in Australia, Nabarlek, Ranger and Roxby Downs/Olympic Dam, and articulated ALP support for pre-existing mines and contracts, but opposition to any new mining.[16]

1980s and 1990s

The Nuclear Disarmament Party won a Senate seat in 1984, but soon faded from the political scene.[17] The years of the Hawke-Keating ALP governments (1983-1996) were characterised by an "uneasy standoff in the uranium debate".[18] The ALP acknowledged community feeling against uranium mining but was reluctant to move against the industry. The policy preventing new uranium mines continued, despite occasional reviews and debate.[18] Following protest marches in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane during 1998, a proposed mine at Jabiluka was blocked.[19][20]

Also in 1998, there was a proposal from an international consortium, Pangea Resources, to establish a nuclear waste dump in Western Australia. The plan, to store 20 per cent of the world's spent nuclear fuel and weapons material, was "publicly condemned and abandoned".[17][21]

2000s

In 2000, the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory and the Roxby Downs/Olympic Dam mine in South Australia continued to operate, but Narbarlek had closed. A third uranium mine, Beverley in SA, was also operating. Several advanced projects, such as Honeymoon in SA, Jabiluka in the Northern Territory and Yeelirrie in WA were put on hold because of political and indigenous opposition.[17][22]

Following the McClelland Royal Commission, a large clean-up was completed in outback South Australia in 2000, after nuclear testing at Maralinga during the 1950s contaminated the region. The cleanup lasted three years, and cost over AUD$100 million, but there was controversy over the methods used and success of the operation.[17]

As uranium prices began rising from about 2003, proponents of nuclear power advocated it as a solution to global warming and the Australian government began taking an interest. However, in June 2005, the Senate passed a motion opposing nuclear power for Australia.[17] Then, in November 2006, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry and Resources released a pro-nuclear report into Australia's uranium.[23] In late 2006 and early 2007, then Prime Minister John Howard made widely reported statements in favour of nuclear power, on environmental grounds.[19]

Faced with these proposals to examine nuclear power as a possible response to climate change, anti-nuclear campaigners and scientists in Australia emphasised claims that nuclear power could not significantly substitute for other power sources, and that uranium mining itself could become a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions.[24][25] Anti-nuclear campaigns were given added impetus by public concern about the sites for possible reactors: fears exploited by anti-nuclear power political parties in the lead-up to a national election in 2007.[26][27]

The Rudd Labor government was elected in November 2007 and is opposed to nuclear power for Australia.[1][2] The anti-nuclear movement continues to be active in Australia, opposing expansion of existing uranium mines,[28] lobbying against the development of nuclear power in Australia, and criticising proposals for nuclear waste disposal sites.[29]

Issues

Main article: Nuclear debate

The case against nuclear power and uranium mining in Australia has been concerned with the environmental, political, economic, social and cultural impacts of nuclear energy; with the shortcomings of nuclear power as an energy source; and with presenting a sustainable energy strategy. The most prominent adverse impact of nuclear power is seen to be its potential contribution towards proliferation of nuclear weapons. For example, the 1976 Ranger Inquiry report stated unequivocally "The nuclear power industry is unintentionally contributing to an increased risk of nuclear war. This is the most serious hazard associated with the industry".[10]

The health risks associated with nuclear materials have also featured prominently in Australian anti-nuclear campaigns. This has been the case worldwide because of incidents like the Chernobyl disaster, but Australian concerns have also involved specific local factors such as controversy over the health effects of nuclear testing in Australia and the South Pacific, and the emergence of prominent anti-nuclear campaigner Helen Caldicott, who is a medical practitioner.

The economics of nuclear power has been a factor in anti-nuclear campaigns, with critics arguing that such power is uneconomical in Australia,[30] particularly given the country's abundance of coal resources.

From the perspective of the anti-nuclear movement, most of the problems with nuclear power today are much the same as in the 1970s. Nuclear reactor accidents remain a possibility and no convincing solution to the problem of long-lived radioactive waste has been proposed. Nuclear weapons proliferation continues to occur, notably in Pakistan and North Korea, building on facilities and expertise from civilian nuclear operations. The alternatives to nuclear power, efficient energy use and renewable energy (especially wind power), have been further developed and commercialised.[19]

Active groups

Individuals

There are several prominent Australians who have publicly expressed anti-nuclear views in recent years:

Quotes

Nuclear power in particular is rejected because of its substantial risks (proliferation of nuclear weapons, terrorism, waste management and reactor failures) and economic costs, and because within several decades it will become a significant emitter of CO2, mainly from the fossil fuels used in mining and milling low-grade uranium ore. Based on existing technologies, nuclear power is neither a long-term nor a short-term solution to global warming. -- Dr Mark Diesendorf, 2007.[48]

Promoting nuclear power as the solution to climate change is like advocating smoking as a cure for obesity. That is, taking up the nuclear option will make it much more difficult to move to the sort of sustainable, ecologically healthy future that should be our goal. -- Professor Ian Lowe, 2007.[49]

There are significant constraints on the growth of nuclear power, such as its high capital cost and, in many countries, lack of public acceptability. As a method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear power is further limited because it is used almost exclusively for electricity generation, which is responsible for less than one third of global greenhouse gas emissions. Because of these problems, the potential for nuclear power to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing fossil fuels is limited. Few predict a doubling of nuclear power output by 2050, but even if it did eventuate it would still only reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 5% – less than one tenth of the reductions required to stabilise atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. -- Dr Jim Green, 2005.[50]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Support for N-power falls The Australian, 30 December 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  2. ^ a b Rudd romps to historic win The Age, 25 November 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  3. ^ China to buy Australian uranium BBC News, 3 April 2006. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  4. ^ Australia's anti-nuclear movement: a short history Green Left Online, 26 August 1998. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  5. ^ Britain's Nuclear Weapons Program
  6. ^ a b A toxic legacy: British nuclear weapons testing in Australia
  7. ^ Women with Ban the Bomb banner during Peace march on Sunday April 5th 1964, Brisbane, Australia
  8. ^ Girl with placard Ban nuclear tests during Peace march on Sunday April 5th 1964, Brisbane, Australia
  9. ^ 'Gorton gave nod to nuclear power plant', The Age, 1 January 2000.
  10. ^ a b c d Martin, Brian. The Australian anti-uranium movement Alternatives: Perspectives on Society and Environment, Volume 10, Number 4, Summer 1982, pp. 26–35. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  11. ^ Dewes, Kate (undated).Legal challenges to nuclear weapons from Aotearoa/ New Zealand Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  12. ^ Dewes, Kate (undated). The Evolution And Impact Of An Effective Citizens' Movement Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  13. ^ Australian Uranium Association, Former Australian Uranium Mines, Briefing Papers mines #3, updated April 2006, Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  14. ^ Drew Hutton and Libby Connors, (1999). A History of the Australian Environmental Movement, Cambridge University Press.
  15. ^ Power, Profit and Protest p. 175.
  16. ^ Chris Evans, 'Labor & uranium: an evolution', Labor E-herald, 23 March 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2008.
  17. ^ a b c d e Four Corners. (2005). Chronology - Australia's Nuclear Political History Retrieved 27 January 2008.
  18. ^ a b Friends of the Earth (2005). Hot Politics, Testing Times (PDF)
  19. ^ a b c Martin, Brian. Opposing nuclear power: past and present Social Alternatives, Vol. 26, No. 2, Second Quarter 2007, pp. 43–47. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  20. ^ Anti-uranium demos in Australia
  21. ^ Ian Holland, 'Waste Not Want Not? Australia and the Politics of High-level Nuclear Waste', Australian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 283-301.
  22. ^ Anti-uranium demos in Australia BBC News, 1998.
  23. ^ House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry and Resources (2006). Australia’s uranium — Greenhouse friendly fuel for an energy hungry world Retrieved 27 January 2008.
  24. ^ Diesendorf, Mark (2007). Paths to a Low-Carbon Future: Reducing Australia’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 (PDF)
  25. ^ Green, Jim (2005). Nuclear Power: No Solution to Climate Change (PDF)
  26. ^ Matthew Franklin and Steven Wardill, PM nukes Labor's "campaign of fear", Courier-Mail, 6 June 2006.
  27. ^ Joseph Kerr and Steve Lewis, Support for N-power plants falls, The Australian, 30 December 2006.
  28. ^ Ty Pedersen, Olympic Dam expansion: a risk too great, Green Left Weekly, 26 January 2008, Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  29. ^ ABC News, Anti-nuclear campaigners say Muckaty will be dumped, 26 November 2007, Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  30. ^ See, eg, Brian Martin, Nuclear Power and the Western Australia Electricity Grid, Search, Vol. 13, No. 5-6, 1982.
  31. ^ Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia. Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  32. ^ Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia. NewClear News (PDF)
  33. ^ Australian Conservation Foundation. Nuclear Free Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  34. ^ Australian Conservation Foundation. Australian Nuclear Free Alliance Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  35. ^ New alliance to mount anti-nuclear election fight ABC News, 13 August 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  36. ^ Cycle Against the Nuclear Cycle. Cycle Against the Nuclear Cycle Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  37. ^ EnergyScience. The Energy debate Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  38. ^ Friends of the Earth Australia. Anti-Nuclear Fighting Fund Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  39. ^ Greenpeace Australia Pacific. Nuclear power Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  40. ^ Friends of the Earth International (2004). Aboriginal women win battle against Australian Government Retrieved 29 January 2008.
  41. ^ Mineral Policy Institute (2006).Let’s clear air on real nuclear power agenda Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  42. ^ Nuclear Free Australia. Nuclear Free Australia Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  43. ^ People for a Nuclear-Free Australia. People for a Nuclear-Free Australia Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  44. ^ The Australia Institute. Nuclear Plants - Where would they go? Media release, 30 January 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  45. ^ The Sustainable Energy and Anti-Uranium Service Inc. The Sustainable Energy and Anti-Uranium Service Inc. Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  46. ^ The Wilderness Society. The Nation said YES! to a Nuclear Free Australia Retrieved 12 January 2008.
  47. ^ The Wilderness Society launches new anti-nuclear TV Ad
  48. ^ Diesendorf, Mark (2007). Paths to a Low-Carbon Future: Reducing Australia’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 30 per cent by 2020 (PDF)
  49. ^ Lowe, Ian (2007). Reaction Time: climate change and the nuclear option, p. 19.
  50. ^ Green, Jim (2005). Nuclear Power: No Solution to Climate Change (PDF)
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