Central Land Council

Irati Wanti - The Poison, Leave It!

Popular conference speakers included two little old ladies from Coober Pedy who were a key to preventing a nuclear waste dump being built in northern South Australia .

Emily Munyungka Austin and Eileen Kampakuta Brown were among a small group of senior Aboriginal women who took on the Federal Government and won a dramatic victory when the Federal Court ruled last year that the Government could not lawfully compulsorily acquire the Arcoona sheep station as a nuclear waste dump.

These fiesty old ladies had fought the idea of the waste dump for six years and based their opposition on tragic personal experiences with relatives who were victims of the Maralinga nuclear testing in the fifties.

"We found out from our grandmothers and grandfathers you know, " said Eileen Brown. "They used to talk about it a long time They tell us. Its poison you know. They would say wante, leave it, no more dig em.

Emily Austin and Eileen Brown at the conference sitting in front of one of the CLC's spectacular 30th anniversary banners

Eileen Brown's nephew Yami Lester was blinded by the British atomic explosions and their camp at Wallatinna was devastated by the test, leaving many sick and vomiting the morning after the 'black mist' rolled through the scrub.

"I was at Wallatinna. Lay down sleeping, next day sick. That's why my son Yami Lester is blind. Lose my brother and sister that's why no more," she said.

Emily Brown said that while radiation may have its uses, people still hunted and collected bush tucker on their traditional country and the experience of Maralinga was enough.

"They make bombs out of that radiation and they kill a lot of people out of that. Good for hospitals and needles but not for bombing and killing people That's what I don't like. That Maralinga bomb was good enough, we don't want no more," Emily said.

"We look after the land and looking after the land from the poison, the radiation. They dig it up everywhere and want to come and bury it in South Australia . They were going for a good while now but we kept on going and we stopped it," she said.

Emily and Eileen were both enjoying themselves at the conference.

"It's useful for us. It's beautiful country here, we love the country. Where we live, we got no trees, only in the yard we got creeks a long way though.

"I like this conference that's on because we want to come and listen to what people got to say and make one voice," Emily said.