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Australian govt ignored true indigenous owners in planning nuclear waste dump

“We find it quite astonishing when we compare their determination against the land commissioner’s report which clearly identifies the traditional owners we’re speaking to as owners of the land.”

Lawyers step in as waste dump gets nod,  ABC Alice Springs – Australian Broadcasting Corporation, By Alex Johnson 11 May 2010, A team of solicitors will travel to Tennant Creek today to prepare their case against the Federal Government’s plan to build a nuclear waste dump north of the town.

The Darwin based legal team will speak to traditional owners as part of a push to challenge the nomination of the site at Muckaty Station.

A Senate committee has endorsed it as a suitable site for the facility.

Solicitor George Newhouse says the Northern Land Council failed to consult with the traditional owners which makes the nomination invalid.

“Essentially, the Northern Land Council appears to have consulted with the wrong people,” he said.

“The traditional owners with a direct spiritual connection to the site vehemently object to the nuclear waste dump and do not want it to proceed.”

Mr Newhouse says he is yet to see an anthropological report which the NLC has used to justify the nomination.

“We find it quite astonishing when we compare their determination against the land commissioner’s report which clearly identifies the traditional owners we’re speaking to as owners of the land.”

Lawyers step in as waste dump gets nod – ABC Alice Springs – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

May 11, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, indigenous issues | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, indigenous, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium