Dave Sweeney reports that Queensland Premier Campbell Newman broke his 2012 election promise and overturned a longstanding ban on uranium mining in Queensland, writes Sweeney, and is now looking at exporting the radioactive material across the Great Barrier Reef. The legacy of uranium mining lasts longer than the promises of politicians...but why across? This lesson has particular resonance today as it was not so long ago Premier Campbell Newman wrote to the ACF with a promise that only lasted a matter of weeks. The risk of a maritime accident involving a radioactive uranium shipment on the Great Barrier Reef does not appear to have been seriously considered by the Newman Government or by the uranium industry.
The ALP and the Greens have clear policies supporting the reinstatement of the ban on uranium mining in Queensland, a position recently reaffirmed at the ALP State conference. The positions of the minor parties have been less clear, but we know the Katter Party and PUP have also voiced concerns about the resumption of uranium mining. In the shadow of Fukushima, a continuing nuclear disaster (which is an incorrect claim by Sweeney that killed no one or experienced radiation sickness) directly fueled by Australian uranium, Sweeney claims that it is more important than ever to ensure uranium mining is kept out of the Sunshine State. Does that mean more coal? The above report by Sweeny is just another example of adversarial misstatements containing improper assumptions.
Yes, there was a problem with the Ben Lomond (Harvie Range) uranium mining back in 1975, and some of the radioactive tailings and residues were not properly managed and some leaked into the nearby Keelbottom Creek and Burdekin River, but the issues were handled with little impact and no damage. Yes, some Indigenous sacred sites were encroached upon but such has been withdrawn. Finally, the risk of a shipping problem regarding the Great Barrier Reef can be handled safely. What is a Luddite?
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