Call to boycott Kakadu
Lex Martin
DARWIN — The Northern Territory government is currently pressuring the federal government to approve a second uranium mine at Jabiluka within Kakadu National Park. There are also plans to develop a third mine at Koongarra, close to Noulangie rock inside the park.
Almost half of all tourists to the NT are from within Australia — NSW 40%, Victoria 31% and South Australia 29%. With some 619,000 interstate visitors each year, tourism is the Territory's second largest growth industry. In 1995-96, tourists spent around $718 million in the NT.
The main lease holder and recipient of uranium from Kakadu is the French corporation Cogema. The mining is conducted by Energy Resources Australia (ERA) — a North Ltd subsidiary. The NT government expects visitors to Kakadu to turn a blind eye to the dump trucks carting ore from Jabiluka to Ranger mine while at the same time keeping a close eye on the dirt roads to avoid collision. The visitor is also expected to ignore the visible distress of indigenous people whose land is being mined while being sure not to miss the rock art at Ubirr, Noulangie and other areas.
The government doesn't care that three uranium mines will be operating alongside some of the country's most important cultural sites. We are asking people who do care to tell the NT minister for tourism that he can't have his cake and eat it too — as a potential visitor you won't be fooled. Kakadu is a national park, not a large mine site. Tell him you won't visit the park and will encourage your friends and overseas visitors not to enter the NT while it's government continues to allow the destruction of our national and cultural heritage.
Send the message to the NT Tourist Commission, fax (08) 8999 3888, or Eric Poole, Minister for Tourism, fax (08) 8999 6733.
[Lex Martin is a member of NT Greens.]