MEDIA RELEASE T H E  S E N A T E

PR 89-282  Canberra  9 June

LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE (NO URANIUMS: SANDERS

Senator Norm Sanders, Australian Democrats spokesperson on  the Environment and Nuclear Issues, today called on the  Government to introduce citizens' initiated referenda.

Giving Notice of Motion, Senator Sanders told the Senate that  the citizens of Sacramento, California, recently voted to  close down a nuclear power station.

"The nuclear power industry is an uneconomic lame duck," said  Senator Sanders. "Australians are aware of this, and would  vote (if they had the chance) to leave uranium in the ground.

"The uranium issue is a clear example of the Government  following the agenda of the transnational mining companies,   while the ordinary people have no way of expressing their  wishes" concluded Senator Sanders.

Notice of Motion:  That the Senate:-Notes that 500,000 citizens of Sacramento, California have  recently voted in a referendum to close down the Rancho Seco  nuclear power plant by a vote of 53.5% to 46.5%.

Further notes that the plant was considered both unsafe and  uneconomic because it was out of service due to cooling  system problems more than it was on line, suffered more than  100 unplanned shutdowns, was out of service for two years  while a $500 million refit was undertaken and subsequently

caused electricity rates to rise markedly in Sacramento.

Further notes that even though the plant will now be closed,  the citizens of Sacramento still face up to $US 500 Million  for decommissioning.

Is of the opinion that Australian citizens should be also  granted the right to express their wishes through referenda.

Is also of the opinion that the Australian Government should  cease forthwith to support a uranium mining industry which is  in serious decline because of problems inherent in the  generation of electricity by nuclear power.

More information from: Senator Norm Sanders 062-773770 Nick Goldie 062-773773

COMMONWEALTH  PARLIAME NTARY LI BRARY m ica; Â·;

u u u u i  i i v u u a i n j f  < m u non-alignment, as IS

suggested by the Democrats, presumably we  would be applying to join the non-aligned  movement or the third force in global poliÂ­ tics. Even if Australian people were interÂ­ ested in that proposition, when they saw the  cost to Australia, not only politically but also

economically, they would reject it.

Senator McLean talked about the way in  which Austeriia could have a non-aligned,  neutral Defence Force. He said we could do  this by havingXdiat I would describe as a

militia of 150,00(Xreople. That would mean  a substantially in ciX ^ d  cost to the AustraÂ­ lian defence budget. He raised all these matÂ­ ters because he could not g B ^ v e r the great

weakness of his a rg u m ^ ta S  we want a  neutrgVnon-aligned AuSÂ¥^p0fcem pletely  separatSpfrom any o t h u ^ f l h e ^ [ w e  will  have to o p t e  a much larger d eM f^ ^ o rc e

in order toXonvince the Austral  that we are cmable of defending * The only way tXdo that would be to introÂ­ duce conscriptionXhich is the case in counÂ­ tries such as Sweden and Switzerland. We

Jd not avoid it. Ldo not believe that it is in a country  t down the  gre_

to

that

m-

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n e c ta ry  to have co  such a^Vustralia. Once  road tra n s c rip tio n  and  defence capability we would  develop a mptary industrial

would end uploading us into vent  8Â» the Vietnam One of the reasons  Americans went into the Vietnam war  lh*l they had developed* ^  large military  if)du*triul complex—s o n t h a t  PresiÂ­ dent Eisenhower was^TaiilH etm in one of

ÃÂÂ» test major s

If the Australian Democrats  WlWed government expenditup^fed resources going into th p C e fe a ^  horce.  I ll y  Should say so. They shou^j^also bj^

Ã¢ÂÂ¢WW^iiid say that they would intro  wmeription.

Coulter—I thought they got con-  g ^ ^ ^ W l e r  they were in the Vietnam war,

. ^ ^ H T —The Democrats

to  introduce conscription if they  independent armed forces in  Â» McLean  in his speech used

l Â£ ? i 2 r e  CO\inlries that we can look  g p t l i a t  Sweden has been neutral for

a long time, There is much that 1 admire  about Swedish society; much of it is an exÂ­ ample that we in Australia can look to. But  when we talk about neutrality in Sweden we  should not forget that, during the Second

World War, although Sweden was neutral it  had no objection to large amounts of its iron  ore being sold to the nazis in Germany—  iron ore that was used to make weapons and  to build concentration camps.

Senator McLean—Australia sold iron ore  to Japan.

Senator SCHACHT—Senator McLean  uses the example of Japan. I do not think  he should. At the time the ALP condemned  what the then conservative government of  Australia was doing in selling iron ore to  Japan. We gave the correct warning. But  Senator McLean has used Sweden as an exÂ­ ample of the way we should go. He has said  that it is neutral and non-aligned and reÂ­ ferred to its moral position. There is much  that I admire about Sweden but it should

forgotten when Sweden sold iron ore  ;h the Second World War to the  chine. I point out also that, in  1940, wlj^piFmland was invaded by the SoÂ­ viet did nothing to help

t h e i r S ^mcj JFavians. They sat by and  stayed neutra^W ien a country was overtly  d and suffered n j ^ i  in that war.

Sepifbr McLean also upriJw e example of  itzerland. S w itz e rla n o ^ ^ ^ e e n  neutral  non-aligned for a great mmly^Pituries.

Seiyinr McLean—I am a sl^ g ^ o u  to look  to the.

CHACHT—The honof  a m p l^  of these couni  eutrality and SwlTSerlfl^i is one of the very few  ountries that rera^W efoin the United Na-  5 ! B - a n  internatioqg^eeiw which I would  hajÂ£jÂ»hought even tbe^Qmiocrats would

|owell—Especially the Democrats. Tnntr^ f ^ L A C H T—Perhaps^.then, the  D em j^^^S flW ^B ain  why, if ned^ality and  non-alignment zxW so good, S w itz^pad is  refusing t^im j^m e United Nations. S e n io r  McLean tnentalked about other neutral a w   non-aligned countries. Should we follow the

Indian example? India is neutral and non-  aligned, but guess whatSkhas? It has atomic

1  that attackp 3 ^ h  Seniffor  ^ e e ^ llw itz er and noi

senator u;  to justify  dignmen

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