Protestors continue to gather for the Lizards Revenge music and arts festival at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam uranium mine. The event officially begins today and is scheduled to run for the next five days.
The event will open with a welcome to country. At 11.00 am Uncle Kevin Buzzacott will be holding a press conference at the camp, and at 12.30 pm there will be a march to the gates of the mine. The music will start in the afternoon, featuring musicians from around the country. The event will showcase sustainable energies such as solar and wind power.
“We have full authority to be here from senior Kokatha custodians,” said Uncle Kevin Buzzacott.
“People worldwide are against the nuclear industry, especially since Fukushima. It’s in the public interest to close the mine. People need to look and learn how deadly this industry is. The sooner it stops the better. We are here to make a strong stand for country, and are fighting to save our sacred land. If people really knew what they were destroying they wouldn’t touch it,” he continued.
“Whilst the police have publicly stated that our right to protest will be upheld, policing approaches to date have set an unreasonable precedent for depriving people of their civil liberties and their right to engage in political demonstration and communication,” said Nectaria Calan.
“After key details relating to the protest have been publicly available for a number of months, those seeking to participate have arrived to discover road blocks preventing access to the site and a