Anti-Nuclear Movement in Australia

1-Introduction:
In Australia, nuclear technology first appeared in the form of covert British
nuclear weapons tests that took place at Maralinga, South Australia, and Monte
Bello, Western Australia. Soon after these tests several uranium deposits were
discovered, and the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) was set up
in order to oversee uranium mining in Australia, and to promote nuclear research
within the country.

2-Deposits of Uranium in Australia:

Australia’s uranium deposits were very rich, and contain an estimated 15-20% of
the world’s high-grade uranium.

3-History:
3.1-1950s-1960s:

 In 1952, the Australian Government established the Rum Jungle Uranium

Mine 85 kilometres south of Darwin.
 Local aboriginal communities were not consulted and the mine site became
an environmental disaster.
 The "Ban the Bomb" movement gathered momentum in Western
societies throughout the 1950s.
 An opinion poll taken in 1957 showed 49 per cent of the Australian public
were opposed to the tests and only 39 per cent in favour.
 In 1963, Australia was one of the first signatories to a Partial Nuclear Test
Ban Treaty.

3.2-1970s:
 Environmental effects of uranium mining were poor management of waste
at an early uranium mine, Rum Jungle, led it to become a significant
pollution problem in the 1970s
 In April 1977, Uranium Moratorium, one of the most effective groups,
rallied 15,000 Melbourne residents to their cause. A petition circulated by
the Moratorium collected more than 250,000 names, and 50,000 more
Australians took to the streets in protest in August of that year.
3.3-1980s:
 The two themes for the 1980 Hiroshima Day march and rally in Sydney,
sponsored by the Movement Against Uranium Mining (MAUM), were:
"Keep uranium in the ground" and "No to nuclear war."
 The 1986 Palm Sunday anti-nuclear rallies drew 250,000 people.
 Australia's only nuclear energy education facility, the former School of
Nuclear Engineering at the University of New South Wales, closed in
1986.
 By the late 1980s, the political, social, and economic mood had swung
firmly in the favour` of the anti-nuclear movement.
 The anti-nuclear protests continued throughout the 1980’s, culminating
every year in a Palm Sunday march. The march drew 100,000 participants
in 1982, and reached 350,000 by 1985.

3.4-1990s:
Also in 1998, there was a proposal from an international consortium, Pangea
Resources, to establish a nuclear waste dump in Western Australia. The plan, to
store 20 per cent of the world's spent nuclear fuel and weapons material, was
"publicly condemned and abandoned".

4-Active Groups:

 Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia

 Australian Conservation Foundation
 Australian Greens
 Australian Nuclear Free Alliance
 Conservation Council of South Australia

5-Conclusion:
These anti-nuclear movements played an important in closing education facilities
of nuclear energy and their research centres, they also had an important role in
Australian politics. They visibly prevented any more pro-nuclear policies from
being enacted by the Australian government. Moreover, these movements show
a positive behaviour to save environment, earth this planet and ultimately us
because we are dependent on the natural cycles of this place for our survival.
References:
 http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2017/ph241/farley1/
 http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/australians-campaign-against-
nuclear-power-and-uranium-mining-1974-1988
 http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Anti-nuclear_movement_in_Australia
 https://www.uow.edu.au/~bmartin/pubs/82alternatives.html
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-
nuclear_movement_in_Australia#Active_groups