http://www.smh.com.au Thursday, November 26, 1998 World Heritage officials demand Jabiluka closure By MURRAY HOGARTH, Environment Editor A damning report by World Heritage authorities calls for the Jabiluka uranium project to be shut down to protect Kakadu National Park. Australia's intense diplomatic efforts failed to stop the harsh findings of the 30-page report on one of Australia's greatest tourism icons. It paves the way for Kakadu to be placed on the World Heritage "in danger" list at United Nations meetings in Kyoto, Japan, which start tomorrow. But last night, the Environment Minister, Senator Hill, said the Government intended to allow the mine to proceed. He called the report biased, unbalanced, superficial and inaccurate. "We reject this finding," Senator Hill said. "We are greatly disappointed by the superficial assessment. It's almost as if the conclusion was reached first and then there was an attempt to collar together an argument to support the conclusion. We were given no opportunity to contribute to the final documentation." In Kyoto, Australia will seek World Heritage listing of 1million hectares of the Blue Mountains, near Sydney. But the Government is assembling a large team of bureaucrats in Japan in anticipation of condemnation of Australia's approach to World Heritage protection. The Jabiluka report says the mining lease - which is entirely surrounded by Kakadu - threatens Aboriginal culture and archaeological and sacred sites. It says the rights of indigenous people "must be taken into account" when interpreting World Heritage conservation. It also notes the concerns of eminent Australian scientists about the "unacceptably high degree" of uncertainty surrounding the mine's design and radioactive waste tailings dam. The World Heritage investigation was called in June following a campaign by Jabiluka's traditional owners, the Mirrar people, environmentalists and scientists. It "seriously questions" the compatibility of mining, particularly uranium mining, with the park. Jabiluka is upstream of the park's world-famous wetlands. Sources have confirmed that the Government threatened to pull out of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) over the Kakadu report during furious overseas lobbying. Australia was a founding member of UNESCO in 1946. Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List As vilified, slandered and attacked by One Nation mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
