Ecology - David Noonan

Martin has showed us how the choice of particular technology has it's own characteristic on environmental impact and Australia is still making those choices about which technologies to choose to provide what we need for the future. Particularly the Federal Government at present choosing a new reactor to impose on Sydney and that has the characteristic impact of producing nuclear waste apart from the risk of health and safety of the Sydney community for the operation of that reactor. And the Federal Government agenda if they have to manage the consequence of that choice of technology, the choice of nuclear technology in Sydney is to impose national nuclear waste dumps on South Australia. So you therefore get a test where a technology issue then becomes a case of environmental democracy. Do South Australians as a local community have the right to decide that we can legislate and we can prohibit and prevent and refuse national nuclear waste dumps in our state or will a Federal Government supporting a nuclear expansion in Australia over rule our environmental rights. It is not just technology but also environmental rights that are the determinants of how we make our decisions on these issues. I'd now like to introduce Fiona Hall who will speak to us about how botany has driven her interest in much of these issues and set about two particular projects to do with botany. One being leaf litter and she may also tell us about how a project may go off the rails.