The Sydney Morning Herald New bill moves to silence nuclear critics By Bonnie Malkin September 11, 2003 - 3:02PM
Civil liberties groups and Lucas Heights residents have labelled a new bill that outlaws communication on the movement of nuclear waste "appalling." The provision, within the nuclear non-proliferation bill, would land in jail for two years anyone who flagged the shipment of nuclear waste in Australia, including journalists and resident action groups. "It is beyond frightening," a spokeswoman for People Against a Nuclear Reactor (PANP), Lorraine Dixon said, "If successful the bill would seriously curtail our scrutiny of what is happening at the plant." "It further clouds a very impenetrable industry," she said. PANP consists of 40 residents of Menai and Lucas Heights who, via email, information stalls, telephone calls and newsletters, regularly alert more than 200 locals to the latest movements of nuclear material. "Our newsletters mean not only does the community know what is going on, but the plant is aware that we know what they are up to, and that we know it isn't good," Ms Dixon said. If the bill is passed in the senate PANP, formed in 1997, would be almost completely disabled, Ms Dixon said. "Basically it would stop the movement of information on the safety of our neighbourhood and it would totally damage our ability to inform the community. "We are very, very concerned." Sydney-based civil liberties groups are worried that the bill represents an infringement of civil rights. "We are totally opposed to the provision," said NSW Council of Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) vice-president, David Bernie, "It is an overly heavy-handed approach typical of this government, which catches legitimate activity, including that of activists concerned with the safety of nuclear waste and the media reporting the issue." "We have to question the need for yet another inroad into the rights of the public, including the public right to know." The bill's success would be a blow for freedom of speech in Australia, Mr Bernie said, further restricting debate on the topic of nuclear power. "The government seems to want to close down discussion on any issue which could be potentially embarrassing to the them, and that is a problem." The bill's potential to outlaw protests about nuclear waste is another problem, NSWCCL president, Cameron Murphy said. "I think it is appallingly restrictive in that it has got the potential to turn protests around nuclear waste and power into national security issues, that is what's rubbish about it," he said. "It is very difficult to argue that a protest about nuclear waste poses a threat to national security, it didn't before September 11 and now the government are arguing it does." The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade today denied the bill would affect local protest groups and journalists. "What we are talking about is the communication of information that would affect the physical security of nuclear material," assistant secretary for DFAT's Safeguard and Non-proliferation office, Andrew Leask said. "You can report that a truck is leaving or arriving at Lucas Heights without being prosecuted, you can criticise the security at Lucas Heights without being prosecuted, but when you start to talk about the specific details of a situation, that may affect the physical safety of the operation, you could face prosecution." http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/11/1063249521005.html ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." . -- -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Sub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
