Nuclear Monitor #938
Jim Green
Australian governments and industry have a sorry history of disrespecting the rights and interests of Aboriginal people in order to advance nuclear projects. This history dates from the British atomic bomb tests in the 1950s and ‘60s, and scandal-plagued ‘clean-ups’ of contaminated test sites in subsequent decades. Racism has also been a constant companion of the uranium mining industry. For the past 30 years, successive governments have attempted to override opposition from Aboriginal communities to impose nuclear waste dumps. And since 2021, federal and state government have passed legislation disempowering Aboriginal people in order to advance the AUKUS nuclear submarine project.
Governments and industry deploy any number of tactics to dispossess and disempower Aboriginal people including ignoring their concerns; divide-and-rule tactics; radioactive ransom or bribery; ‘humbugging’ (exerting persistent, unwanted pressure); providing Aboriginal people with false information; threats, including legal threats; and stripping Aboriginal people of whatever feeble rights they enjoy under law.
There’s a long history of radioactive racism in Australia ‒ and an equally long history of resistance. Aboriginal people and their allies have fought long and hard for the decontamination of atomic bomb test sites, for victim compensation, and for access to land previously off-limits.
A remarkable chapter of the history of resistance to radioactive racism has involved successful campaigns to prevent the imposition of unwanted nuclear waste dumps. Four attempts to impose a national nuclear waste dump have been defeated by Aboriginal-led campaigns, and an attempt to establish an international nuclear waste import industry in South Australia was also defeated by an Aboriginal-led campaign.
Mirarr Traditional Owners in the Northern Territory have fought long and hard to protect country and culture from the uranium industry. The Ranger uranium mine was closed in 2021 and a rehabilitation of the mine site is underway. A Mirarr-led national mass movement prevented the mining of Jabiluka around the turn of the century. Areva’s plan to mine uranium at Koongarra was defeated by Djok Traditional Owners. Aboriginal and broader community opposition has stopped several uranium mine proposals in Western Australia. As of May 2026, only three uranium mines are operating, all of them in South Australia: Olympic Dam, Beverley and Honeymoon.
Legal challenges have sometimes been used to challenge and delay nuclear and uranium projects. Examples include:
* the successful Federal Court challenge in 2003 by the South Australian government and a native title claimant against the federal government’s acquisition of land for a national nuclear waste dump;
* a legal challenge against the nomination of a site in the Northern Territory for a national radioactive waste repository (the nomination was withdrawn in 2014, before the court case had concluded); and
* the Barngarla Traditional Owners’ successful Federal Court appeal in 2023 quashing the nomination of a site in South Australia selected for a national nuclear waste dump.
Legal challenges have a place in resistance against nuclear and uranium projects, but community resistance outside of the legal system has been a more important and successful strategy. Case studies reveal a common pattern involving determined resistance by Aboriginal people, supported by civil society allies including environment groups, trade unions, church groups, public health groups and others.
UN Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples
As well as fighting specific nuclear and uranium projects, Aboriginal people and their allies are working to enshrine the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) in legislation and to enshrine the principles outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in legislation. Article 29 of the UNDRIP states: “States shall take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples without their free, prior and informed consent.”
If FPIC / UNDRIP principles can be enshrined in legislation, the patterns of radioactive racism will be severely curtailed.
Efforts to enshrine FPIC / UNDRIP principles in legislation were given a boost by Dr. Marcos Orellana, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Toxics, who visited Australia in 2023. The final report of the Special Rapporteur stated:
“Indigenous Peoples have suffered grave maltreatment from radiation exposure due to nuclear testing, spraying of highly hazardous pesticides, uranium and other mining, and industrial activities with toxic impacts. The proposed siting of radioactive wastes on the lands of Indigenous Peoples illustrates the lack of respect for rights contemplated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.”
The Special Rapporteur‘s recommendations included the following:
“(a) Amend the National Radioactive Waste Management Act to explicitly reflect the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the right of free, prior and informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples;
(b) Provide adequate compensation and assistance to those affected by radiation exposure from nuclear testing, particularly Indigenous Peoples;
(c) Provide further assistance to affected communities and further environmental remediation in relation to the atomic tests conducted by the British Government on Australian territory.”
Federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, in its November 2023 report on the Inquiry into the UNDRIP in Australia, recommended that the federal government ensure its approach to developing legislation and policy should be consistent with the UNDRIP and that a National Action Plan should be developed to implement, and assess compliance with, the UNDRIP. The Committee further recommended that the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 should be amended to include the UNDRIP in the definition of ‘human rights’ so that it be formally considered when scrutinising legislation.
But the federal Labor government never responded to the Committee’s report, and has not adopted its recommendations. Efforts to enshrine FPIC / UNDRIP principles in legislation have a long way to go, but momentum is building. Those calling for FPIC / UNDRIP legislation (and for adherence to FPIC principles more generally) include the Aboriginal-led Australian Nuclear Free Alliance, Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation, the Nuclear Truth Project, and, among many others, a small number of progressive politicians such as Senator Lidia Thorpe and the Australian Greens.
Free, prior and informed consent
A 2024 paper by Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTAR) summarises developments in recent years:
“As of 2024, Australian law does not require corporations or others proposing projects on First Nations lands and waters to secure FPIC in accordance with the requirements of UNDRIP, despite the fact that Australia endorsed the Declaration in 2009. Still, there is an increasingly palpable expectation that First Nations Peoples are given a seat at the decision making table regarding laws, activities and projects that affect them.
“Partly this can be understood as a product of the 2023 Voice Referendum, which brought the issue of participatory decision making through a First Nations representative body into greater public consciousness. It is also a result of the destruction of Juukan Gorge in which a Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura sacred rock shelter containing a cultural sequence spanning over 40,000 years was legally blasted by mining company Rio Tinto in 2020. The devastation to First Nations cultural heritage sparked national and international outrage, as well as a Senate Inquiry which referred to FPIC as “a crucial principle that must be enshrined within Australian Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation and related practices”.
“Increasingly, non-resource companies and industries are also considering FPIC as part of their business practices. Both the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors ACSI and the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia have issued individual directives on interacting with First Nations communities, outlining the anticipation for companies to pledge to uphold the rights and cultural heritage of First Nations peoples in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and UNDRIP. The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute, comprising major financial institutions, investors, and insurers, has also advised financial entities to integrate FPIC into their decision-making processes, including to reassess investments in projects or endeavours where this standard cannot be met.
“In October 2021, the Australian Heritage Council published a policy statement on FPIC, which defines important concepts with respect to FPIC and outlines how the Council will work with First Nations Peoples, including through sustained and meaningful engagement. …
“Numerous inquiries (such as the aforementioned Inquiry into Juukan Gorge) and proposed regulatory changes have explored ways to enhance protection for First Nations peoples and effectively integrate FPIC into Australian legislation. …
“In August 2022, Senator Lidia Thorpe re-introduced the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Bill 2022. The Senate referred the Bill to the Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs to consider options to improve Australia’s adherence to the principles of UNDRIP, including FPIC.
“In November 2023, the Committee released its final report. In her additional commentary on the recommendations, Senator Lidia Thorpe acknowledged FPIC as a core principle of UNDRIP while also stating that FPIC is one of UNDRIP’s most disregarded principles.
“Several submissions made by native title bodies and Traditional Owners during the Inquiry suggested that the lack of appropriate processes for FPIC were at the heart of the problems with heritage and environmental protection laws. …
“Similarly, the National Native Title Council argued in their submission that the requirement of FPIC ‘should be central to all native title agreements and negotiations and needs to be legislated into the [Native Title Act] and other related legislations.’”
Unfortunately, a significant roadblock to ending patterns of radioactive racism, and enshrining FPIC / UNDRIP principles in legislation, is the AUKUS nuclear submarine project pursued by successive governments since 2021. The AUKUS project is being pursued with no regard to the rights and interests of affected Aboriginal people. The federal Labor government has secured passage of legislation through parliament allowing it to impose any AUKUS-related facilities ‒ including nuclear waste stores and dumps ‒ on Aboriginal land without consultation or consent. State laws providing feeble Aboriginal heritage protections and land rights are overridden by new federal laws.
For the most part, governments and industry are happy to try to dispossess and disempower Aboriginal people in the pursuit of civil nuclear and uranium projects … and even more so for a military project such as AUKUS.
Dr. Jim Green is the national nuclear campaigner with Friends of the Earth Australia and a member of the Nuclear Consulting Group.
