I have signed the Uranium Free Charter of WA along with a growing number of individuals and organisations who reject the dangerous, thirsty and costly uranium industry and instead want a clean nuclear free future for WA.
Following the latest nuclear disaster in Japan, private investors are reconsidering and divesting in the uranium sector, and nuclear power programs are being reviewed and closed around the world.
Now is a good time to place a moratorium on uranium exploration and hold an open, transparent and independent public inquiry into uranium mining in WA.
I am also strongly opposed to the use of taxpayers’ money to subsidise the uranium industry. The Minister for Mines and Petroleum promised in Parliament that the State government would not fund uranium mining, yet millions of tax payers’ dollars are being spent on uranium exploration and staff to advise and approve uranium mine applications in WA.
Opening up Western Australia to uranium mining will not only cost WA taxpayers, but will leave a ten thousand year legacy of pollution and radioactive waste in our soil and groundwater.
I urge you to ensure that no public funds or other subsidies are provided to support the uranium industry, and that existing government expenditure in this area is instead used to support renewable energy development.
Uranium Free Charter, Western Australia
Western Australians face a choice about uranium mining. We believe the current push to allow uranium mining in our state is a direct threat to workers' safety and the long-term health of our environment and communities. And, as history shows, uranium mining does not make good economic sense and leaves behind a radioactive legacy.
Uranium has uniquely dangerous properties and associated risks and is unlike any other mineral in our resource rich state.
Uranium mining is linked to the production of some of the world’s most toxic and long-lasting industrial wastes and the proliferation of the world’s most destructive weapons.
Uranium mining in Western Australia would result in severe environmental damage at and around any mine site, including the permanent contamination of water. It would increase health risks to workers and communities around WA through increased and concentrated exposure to radiation from uranium ore and other materials like radon gas, heavy metals, acids and other chemicals. It would also mean growing pressure for WA to host the storage of radioactive waste as a consequence of mining and exporting uranium.
The nuclear industry promotes nuclear power as a solution to climate change. It is investment in renewable energy, not uranium that will create thousands of jobs for Australian workers, without the health risks associated with uranium mining and nuclear energy. It is not the answer to attempt to solve one environmental and social problem by foolishly embracing another. The nuclear industry is high cost, high risk and not sustainable.
WA has an abundance of natural resources and highly resourceful people. We believe our state’s future lies not in the controversial and contaminating uranium industry but rather in being a national and international leader in secure and renewable energy generation and smart and efficient energy use.
We call on all Members of Parliament and political parties to resist the push by some mining companies to use the pretext of climate change and jobs to impose an unnecessary, costly and dangerous industry on WA.
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