Aboriginal nation delays nuclear waste ballot
The Barngarla Aboriginal nation of South Australia have won a court action to delay a postal vote on a planned nuclear waste dump on their land.
The South Australian supreme court will hear the case next Thursday. The federal government has shortlisted Kimba in South Australia for Australia's future nuclear waste dump.
The Barngarla people, traditional owners of much of the Eyre Peninsula, won their injunction by arguing the ballot contravened the Racial Discrimination Act.
Their lawyers argued that the District Council of Kimba did not have the power to conduct the postal ballot, which was due to begin on Monday.
(For the complete report click on the headline.)
The Australian Human Rights Commission has been asked to decide whether the Barngarla people should have a say on the location of a proposed nuclear waste dump their traditional homeland.
The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation last week won the Supreme Court injunction against the District Council of Kimba, postponing the postal vote which was scheduled to be sent out last Monday.
The group argued the vote of about 800 Kimba residents contravened the Racial Discrimination Act by not including native title holders. Click here for more on this report.
The Adnyamathanha Traditional Lands Association, who is also challenging against the location of a potential site near Hawker, has applauded the court’s decision and the Barngarla’s efforts.
Two days after the interlocutory injunction was handed down, hundreds of people from across the state rallied at a bridge in Port Augusta, one of the main larger towns in the area, against the proposed national radioactive waste management facility. The rally was organised by the Barngarla.
Barngarla man Harry Dare said it was important for people of all backgrounds
to stand together against the facility. '“United we can fight. We can’t fight singularly,” Mr Dare said. ...
Adnyamathanha woman Candace Champion, a guest speaker, called on the government to listen to the opinions of the traditional owners.
“I do not want to bring a child into this world knowing that I’m going to leave them
more burdens and heartbreak than blessings and a safe environment,” she said.
“You can study your whole life in a classroom, but my family have studied, witnessed, watched and grown on that land for 60,000 years.”
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