Rhino Room

In 2016, ordinary South Australians shut down a major proposal for a nuclear waste dump in the state.

The plan to take nuclear waste from around the world and bury it in the SA outback was opposed by Mothers for a Sustainable South Australia (MOSSA) along with many other community, environment, Indigenous and trade union groups. It was then rejected by a specially formed ‘citizens jury’.

A decade later, South Australia is again being told to go nuclear via the AUKUS submarine deal, regardless of the environmental impacts, security concerns, economic costs and total lack of transparency.

What lessons does the victory over the dump hold for the fight against AUKUS, nuclear submarines, and their nuclear waste?

Join MOSSA member Senator Barbara Pocock, together with Karina Lester and Rod Campbell, as they discuss the lessons of the past and what they mean for South Australia’s nuclear future.

Please note that the venue is only accessible by stairs and does not have step-free access.

SPEAKERS:

Senator Barbara Pocock – Senator for South Australia

Barbara Pocock is a Greens senator for SA. Concern about the consequences of climate change took her to the Senate in 2022. She is currently the Greens spokesperson for Housing and Homelessness, Workplace Relations and Employment, Finance and the Public Sector. She is an economist who has spent her life fighting for the rights of working people, women and low-income workers. She was awarded an AM for services to industrial relations research and social justice in 2010. She has written many books and articles, worked in shearing sheds, on farms, in universities, in government and as a mother. She helped establish MOSSA: Mothers for a Sustainable South Australia, which remains outspoken in opposition to nuclear waste disposal in SA.

Karina Lester — Yankunytjatjara Anangu anti-nuclear activist and language worker from South Australia

Karina Lester is a Yankunytjatjara Anangu anti-nuclear activist and language worker from South Australia. As a second-generation survivor of British nuclear testing at Emu Field in 1953, she campaigns against nuclear weapons and waste. Karina has served as a global ambassador for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and contributed to the UN Treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. Karina was a leader in the No Dump Alliance against the proposed establishment of South Australian nuclear waste facilities and successfully challenged barriers to ensure Indigenous voices were heard during the 2016 Royal Commission. Beyond her advocacy regarding intergenerational atomic trauma, she works to preserve her native Yankunytjatjara language.

Rod Campbell — Research Director, The Australia Institute

Rod Campbell is the Research Director at The Australia Institute. An economist by background, Rod’s work often focuses on the economics of fossil fuel industries, he has published numerous landmark reports, as well as articles in peer-reviewed journals and he has appeared as an expert witness in major court cases and planning processes. Other areas of research include the management of the Murray Darling Basin, economic assessment of infrastructure projects and the role of economic modelling in policy and planning processes. When

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 at 6:30pm - 7:30pm ACDT

Where: Rhino Room 1 131 Pirie St Adelaide , SA 5000 Google map and directions