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Brisbane urged to remain nuclear free

Brisbane urged to remain nuclear free Sydney Morning Herald March 17, 2009 Brisbane City Council (BCC) is expected to reaffirm the city’s status as a nuclear-free zone following the Liberal National Party’s (LNP) pledge to allow uranium mining if it wins government this weekend.Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and his LNP councillors are expected to abstain from Tuesday’s vote.Council’s Labor Party leader Shayne Sutton says the motion follows LNP leader Lawrence Springborg’s recent vow to lift a ban on uranium mining if he’s elected on Saturday.”It will be disappointing if the lord mayor chooses to abstain from this vote,” Ms Sutton said.”He’s the lord mayor of this city – he should be taking a position on this issue.”Brisbane has been declared a nuclear-free zone since 1995.”That declaration has been unanimously supported by all councillors in a bipartisan manner, but now in the context of an election campaign where Campbell Newman is trying to help his LNP leader, he seems to be walking away from that declaration,” she said.Ms Sutton has accused Mr Newman of trying to muddy the waters by saying Brisbane has never been nuclear free because of the equipment in medical facilities and scientific tools.”However, it has always been understood that type of equipment has been exempt from this policy,” she said.”As we come into the Brisbane city limits there are signs all around the city that say welcome to Brisbane – a nuclear free zone.”If the lord mayor doesn’t support the policy will he be seeking to take those signs down?”Brisbane was declared a nuclear free zone in 1995 after becoming an inaugural member of the Australian Nuclear Free Zones Secretariat in 1983 at a meeting in the Sydney Town Hall of councils around Australia.

Brisbane urged to remain nuclear free

March 25, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized