Australia Places Aboriginal Land in Park to Bar Uranium Mining http://ens-newswire.com/2013/02/07/australia-places-aboriginal-land-in-park-to-bar-uranium-mining/
CANBERRA, Australia, February 7, 2013 – After 34 years of campaigning to keep uranium mining out of his ancestral land of Koongarra, Djok Senior Traditional Owner Jeffrey Lee sat in the House of Representatives Wednesday to watch this land be protected forever.
Environment Minister Tony Burke introduced a bill to repeal the Koongarra Project Area Act – a 1979 law excluding Koongarra from the original boundaries of Kakadu National Park because of its potential to be the site for a uranium mine.
“In 2010, the Government promised Mr. Lee that we would incorporate Koongarra into Kakadu National Park, to ensure that the threat of mining was banished forever,” Burke said. Koongarra is an area of native woodland of great environmental and cultural significance, now incorporated within the boundaries of Kakadu National Park. Kakadu is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 kilometers southeast of the territorial capital, Darwin.
The Koongarra uranium deposit is estimated at about 14,000 tonnes. Mining companies, most recently the French company AREVA, have been trying to mine the deposit for decades despite the opposition of traditional owners.
Through the Northern Land Council, Lee stated his wish that the land be included in Kakadu National Park, and that as a consequence, he has waived his interest in Koongarra as a mining lease.
The Gillard Government worked with Lee to secure UNESCO World Heritage recognition for Koongarra in 2011, and since then with the Northern Land Council to finalize the legal steps to make Koongarra part of Kakadu National Park.
“This Labor Government continues the legacy of previous Labor Governments of preserving and protecting the environment for future generations. It was Bob Hawke’s Government in the 1980s that protected Coronation Hill and recognised that this spectacular natural and spiritual environment is no place for mining,” Burke said.
“The decision of Jeffrey Lee means that finally the progress made by the Hawke Government is concluded and Kakadu National Park will be complete,” said Burke. “We are proud to honour the wishes of the land’s traditional owners and to protect one of Australia’s most magnificent national parks for our children and grandchildren.”
Koongarra lies in the shadow of Nourlangie Rock, one of Kakadu’s most popular visitor destinations, with rock art galleries that bear witness to the close relationship Aboriginal people have with their land and spiritual heritage.
On its other side, Koongarra faces Lightning Dreaming, home of Namarrgon or Lightning Man, the creation ancestor responsible for the dramatic electrical storms on the Arnhem plateau.
http://uranium-news.com/2013/02/11/aboriginal-landowner-gave-up-his-land-to-kakadu-national-park-to-prevent-uranium-mining/
CANBERRA, Australia, February 7, 2013 – After 34 years of campaigning to keep uranium mining out of his ancestral land of Koongarra, Djok Senior Traditional Owner Jeffrey Lee sat in the House of Representatives Wednesday to watch this land be protected forever.
Environment Minister Tony Burke introduced a bill to repeal the Koongarra Project Area Act – a 1979 law excluding Koongarra from the original boundaries of Kakadu National Park because of its potential to be the site for a uranium mine.
“In 2010, the Government promised Mr. Lee that we would incorporate Koongarra into Kakadu National Park, to ensure that the threat of mining was banished forever,” Burke said. Koongarra is an area of native woodland of great environmental and cultural significance, now incorporated within the boundaries of Kakadu National Park. Kakadu is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 kilometers southeast of the territorial capital, Darwin.
The Koongarra uranium deposit is estimated at about 14,000 tonnes. Mining companies, most recently the French company AREVA, have been trying to mine the deposit for decades despite the opposition of traditional owners.
Through the Northern Land Council, Lee stated his wish that the land be included in Kakadu National Park, and that as a consequence, he has waived his interest in Koongarra as a mining lease.
The Gillard Government worked with Lee to secure UNESCO World Heritage recognition for Koongarra in 2011, and since then with the Northern Land Council to finalize the legal steps to make Koongarra part of Kakadu National Park.
“This Labor Government continues the legacy of previous Labor Governments of preserving and protecting the environment for future generations. It was Bob Hawke’s Government in the 1980s that protected Coronation Hill and recognised that this spectacular natural and spiritual environment is no place for mining,” Burke said.
“The decision of Jeffrey Lee means that finally the progress made by the Hawke Government is concluded and Kakadu National Park will be complete,” said Burke. “We are proud to honour the wishes of the land’s traditional owners and to protect one of Australia’s most magnificent national parks for our children and grandchildren.”
Koongarra lies in the shadow of Nourlangie Rock, one of Kakadu’s most popular visitor destinations, with rock art galleries that bear witness to the close relationship Aboriginal people have with their land and spiritual heritage.
On its other side, Koongarra faces Lightning Dreaming, home of Namarrgon or Lightning Man, the creation ancestor responsible for the dramatic electrical storms on the Arnhem plateau.
http://uranium-news.com/2013/02/11/aboriginal-landowner-gave-up-his-land-to-kakadu-national-park-to-prevent-uranium-mining/
