nuclear-news

Special BHP “protected area” gives police stronger rights over peaceful anti uranium protest

Elder Kevin Buzzacott, who had previously tried to stall the mine expansion through a legal challenge, said the uraniumindustry was ”deadly”. “The sooner it stops the better. If people really knew what they were destroying they wouldn’t touch it.”

Police accused over Olympic Dam protest BY: SARAH MARTIN,  The Australian July 16, 2012 PROTESTERS at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine have accused police of heavy-handedness, as more than 400 people joined a “mutant zombie march” to the Roxby Downs site yesterday.

Organiser Nectaria Calan said police were harassing protesters and depriving the group of their civil liberties by demanding identification and controlling access to and from their campsite. ”They have barricaded us into camps . . . and you can’t get out with a two-wheel-drive,” she said.

“They are forcing us to go through the roadblock with an escort through the protected area, where police have increased powers. We feel like our civil liberties are being undermined.”

Ms Calan said protesters were still arriving for the five-day Lizard’s
Revenge Festival and urged police to respect their right to
protest…… The anti-nuclear activists, who are protesting against
the mine expansion and the uranium industry, have vowed to shut down
the mine, with further protest action planned.

They say the company and the state and federal government have put
short-term economic gain ahead of environmental and health concerns.

Elder Kevin Buzzacott, who had previously tried to stall the mine expansion through a legal challenge, said the uranium industry was ”deadly”. “The sooner it stops the better. If people really knew what they were destroying they wouldn’t touch it.”

July 16, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general