Campaign Against Nuclear Energy
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The Campaign Against Nuclear Energy (CANE) was established in Perth, Western Australia on February 14, 1976 by Peter Brotherton, the coordinator of Friends of the Earth (WA). CANE was a non-profit people's organisation whose aim was to stop the establishment of a nuclear power plant in Western Australia (WA) and it operated out of the Environment Centre in Wellington Street, Perth. The Whitlam Federal government, in 1974 had dedicated about AUS$7,000 per State, to set up Regional Environment Centres, and Perth’s Environment Centre was where groups other than CANE operated, including the Australian Conservation Foundation,the Conservation Council of WA, Friends of the Earth, Campaign to Save Native Forests and Friends of the Railways.
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[edit] Aims of the Organisation
CANE's statement of objectives said it was:
| A coalition of groups and individuals working for the ideal of a more ethical and equitable energy future.
We urge the adoption of long range energy policies designed to meet the legitimate needs of future generations, rather than the common practice of extrapolating present trends… CANE is totally opposed to the mining and export of Australian uranium for other than biomedical purposes. All mining and development operations currently being undertaken should cease. We oppose militarism as an instrument in the foreign policy of all – and we stress all – nations. We support attempts to establish nuclear free zones in our region. We are totally opposed to the use of Australian ports by nuclear powered or nuclear armed vessels, and would never support this country acquiring nuclear weapons. Idealistic perhaps, but we think it illogical to presume that a stable world situation will ever grow out of proliferating insanity. |
[edit] Campaign Activities
1977 was CANE's initial year of protest. Supporters believed WA should not mine and export uranium, nor have a nuclear reactor. CANE decided to hold three major demonstrations that year and set its goals at attracting 500 people to the first, 1,500 to the second and 4,500 to the third. At the first rally in April, supporters marched from the Esplanade to Parliament House and the attendance was estimated at 600. At the second rally, on Hiroshima Day, the march attracted 2,800 people and by the third, in November, 9,000 people marched. That was more than the size of the anti-Vietnam rallies in Perth a few years earlier.
The Premier Sir Charles Court proposed on 15 June 1979 that Breton Bay, 90km north of Perth, and Wilbinga, 70km north of Perth as possible sites for a nuclear power station. On 4 July 1979 a Public Meeting was conducted jointly by CANE and FOE at the Perth Town Hall in response to the announcement. Three speakers (Peter Brotherton of FOE; Peter G. Cook of CANE and Peter F. Cook of the WA Trade and Labour Council) addressed the audience.
The Government responded by attacking CANE. The West Australian newspaper on 25th August 1979 reported: "The Premier, Sir Charles Court, last night warned of a subtle new propaganda offensive against democracy. He said that the susceptibility of democratic governments to electoral pressure was being exploited as never before… Locally, mysteriously financed pressure groups were trying to force governments into irrational decisions through high powered arousal of emotions based on false evidence. Sir Charles said: “When you consider that governments make thousands of decisions a year on the basis of close-contact experience of what they are doing backed by outside top-level advice on critical matters, it is clearly against the public interest to exchange this process for one of street-march campaigns and loaded opinion polls.”
Senator Ruth Coleman (Australian Labor Party) established another anti-nuclear group Women Against Uranium Mining and started collecting anti-nuclear information about nuclear accidents from every media source. She then presented this list of accidents for public distribution, with the relevant sources, so that West Australians could see the whole story of nuclear safety.
‘Desperate Measures’ was a group of street theatre activist actors based in Fremantle who wrote their own material. They provided social comment at numerous anti-nuclear events that brought home the messages better than a speech. They presented a show for the finale of CANE's Wilbinga bike ride again the proposed nuclear power station and it including burying a paper mache nuclear reactor on the site.
Fundraising events included the CANE 'Concert-in-the-Sun' on 19th December 1981. The Concert was organised by Peter Kaldor and featured local rock acts Dave Warner, Matt Taylor-Phil Manning Band, the Essentials and the Eurogliders. The audience of around 3,500 people raised $8,000, enough to fund a substantial number of CANE activities throughout the following year.
CANE was a member of the Coalition for a Nuclear Free Australia, (CNFA)- a coalition from across Australia of 79 organisations, unions, anti-nuclear groups, environment centres and Friends of the Earth.
[edit] People
CANE coordinators included Annabelle Newbury, David Worth and Louise Duxbury. Prominent supporters included Jo Vallentine who was elected to the national parliament in 1984 as a Nuclear Disarmament Party candidate.
[edit] End of campaigning
The West Australian reported on 7th April 1983 that the new Australian Labor Party State Government abandoned plans for a nuclear power station. The Cabinet decided to stop all State Energy Commission inquires that could lead to a nuclear power station. The Premier, Mr Brian Burke, said that the Cabinet had reaffirmed that in no circumstances would a nuclear power station be built in WA.
After this announcement, many of the CANE activists joined People for Nuclear Disarmament (WA) to campaign against the efforts of the USA and USSR to place short range nuclear missiles into Europe, and CANE finally folded in the late 1980s.
