Public meeting: 50 years since Maralinga

Beyond nuclear testing – Australia’s nuclear past…towards a nuclear free
future

Speakers:
Lew Rice, National President Atomic Ex-Servicemen’s Association
Keith Jaffray, Shoalwater Wilderness Awareness Group
RobinTaubenfeld, Peace Convergence/Friends of the Earth
Medical Association for the Prevention of War

Date: Oct 1 (Sun)
Time: 2pm – 4pm
Place: Ahimsa House 24 Horan Street West End

September 27th marked the 50th anniversary of British atomic tests at Maralinga in South Australia. Further nuclear tests took place at Maralinga on October 4, 1956.

Australia’s nuclear history is little known and rarely discussed by the government which is now promoting nuclear expansion at home and overseas. Australian uranium was used to make the bombs dropped at Maralinga. The fallout clouds from these tests dispersed over most of Australia, reaching Townsville in the north and Lismore in the east.

The safety and clean up of contaminated areas has never been successfully achieved. The indigenous people whose lives and lands were torn apart by these tests have never been compensated.

Nuclear testing in our region has left a legacy of contamination and health problems for Australians and Pacific Islanders for generations to come. Australia has the potential to play a major role in reversing the nuclear legacy by refusing to be part of the nuclear chain.

We have the opportunity to safeguard where our uranium goes by not mining it and we have the possibility of promoting peace on the planet by refusing to take part in military expansion.

Join us for a forum to explore our nuclear past and to develop a vision for a nuclear free future today.

For more information or media:

Friends of the Earth Brisbane
Robin Taubenfeld 0411 118 737