Shoalwater bay





Motion to make
Livingstone Shire Nuclear Free

Hi again all,
 Support Brett Svendsens's Move to declare the Shire Nuclear free.Brett's motion is based on the motion declaring Brisbane "Nuclear Free". Contact your councilors asking them to vote for the motion to make Livingstone Shire Nuclear Free. see details and attached list of councilors below  .

Facts: Acknowleded by the ADF and DOD

1. USA forces are permitted to import DU into Australia ( but not  to Use it) during Talisman Saber 07

2. US nuclear  powered Submarines will be in Cap[ricorn Coast Waters and have been approved to use Gladstone Port.

3. Nuclear weapons capable warships and aircraft will be involved in TS07

4. Dr Helen Caldicott ,leading expert in USA defence capabilities ,rates the likelyhood of Nuclear Arms and long range nuclear missiles being on board US warships  during TS07 as certain

 Also
Central Queensland has been listed as a likely site for a nuclear power station
Radio active waste dumps are planned in military training areas in the Nortern territory.

 Act now! Ring / email the councilors, attend the meeting!

Dear Friends

Brett Svendsen is a Councillor for the Shire of Livingstone in Central Queensland.

Livingstone is the Shire responsible for the land on which the Shoalwater Bay (Military) Training Area (SWBTA) is situated.

Many of you are aware that Operation Talisman Sabre 2007, a joint training exercise between Australian and US forces, is due to begin at SWBTA later this year.

At a full meeting of Livingstone Shire Council Wednesday 23 May 2007, Cr Svendsen will table a motion to declare the Shire of Livingstone a NUCLEAR FREE ZONE in an effort to prevent the use and/or storage of depleted uranium weapons at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area or at sea adjoining or in the air over the area.

He does not have the backing of the Council for this move. He may not even have a seconder to allow for debate.

To support Brett in his endeavours he needs you to:

1) Contact Livingstone Shire Council and Livingstone Shire Councillors at the addresses on the link below to assure them Australia is watching and expecting this motion to succeed.

http://www.livingstone.qld.gov.au/councillors.htm

2) Pressure your own local State and Federal members of parliament to take an active interest by supporting this move.

3) If you are in the area attend the meeting.

4) TELL EVERYONE IN YOUR NETWORK, ESPECIALLY ANY MEDIA CONTACTS YOU MAY HAVE.

The future thanks you.

Mark Svendsen
Unit 14/12 Colton Street
HIGHGATE HILL
Brisbane, AUSTRALIA Qld 410-

Depleted Uranium

Blowin in the Wind posterExcerpts from ‘Making Badlands’

According to Hansard (February 2003) “From 1981 to 1990 the RAN [Royal Australian Navy] expended 43,000 DU rounds at sea during training ... sourced from the US Navy.” Predictably, the Department of Defence will neither confirm nor deny whether this training occurred at Shoalwater Bay but local knowledge suggests that the Raymond and Townsend Island bombing ranges were likely targets. Hansard also records that “There was no ammunition left in the inventory after 1990.” A recent statement by the Department of Defence rather significantly makes no reference to whether DU weapons have been used in the past, only that they are not being used now. Either way, it makes little difference. According to Leuren Moret, a nuclear weapons scientist turned whistle-blower interviewed in Blowin’ in the Wind: “DU particles are so fine that they behave like a gas. Anyone downwind or within a thousand miles of where this is being used will be exposed.”

There is no truth in suggesting DU weapons cause no harm. According to the Department of Defence: “The Navy ceased using the ammunition due to occupational health and safety considerations” (Hansard). If as Whitehead believes, DU is harmless, the ADF would have no grounds to stop using it for reasons of occupational health and safety. A study by epidemiologists Hindin, Brugge and Panikkar reveals a number of health risks associated with DU. “In aggregate the human epidemiological evidence is consistent with increased risk of birth defects in offspring of persons exposed to DU.” The authors believe there are “Indications that DU passes into humans more easily than previously thought after battlefield use.” They also observe, “DU can disperse into the air and water,” and cite a UNEP study that states “The most important concern is the potential for future groundwater contamination by corroding penetrators (ammunition tips made out of DU)” (Hinden, Brugge and Panikkar).

(http://transformations.cqu.edu.au/journal/issue_13/article_06.shtml)