The deadly serious issue of the exploitation of uranium and bauxite deposits in the northern half of Australia is the focus of this excellent documentary. In league with the mining companies are the U.S. National Regulatory Commission and the former U.S. Atomic Energy Commision (a part of the U.S. Dept. of Energy and of the NRC since 1974). Representatives from the latter commission are on the boards of directors of the companies and the NRC is a partner of the mining groups. At issue is the land that belongs to the Aborigines and the quality of their lives, as well as the environment and the ecology. As more and more Aboriginal councils are forced to deed over land due to pressure from the companies and people involved in the deals, some Australians react with astounding insensitivity to the true situation of the Native Australians in this area. Some of the elder Aborigines fully sense the dangers to the survival of their people as fishing, subsistence agriculture, and hunting are all threatened by the burgeoning growth of the mines.
by Eleanor Mannikka
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