Black Smoke

On the 15th of October 1953, the first British Atomic test on mainland Australia was undertaken on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands, in the north west of South Australia. 70 years on, the legacy of contamination of the land and the intergenerational health impacts remain unaddressed. First Nations people did not consent to the tests and weren’t warned. They were heavily impacted by the radioactive fallout, the ‘Black Smoke’, and have still not received an apology. Rather they face further nuclear colonialism and the question of where high level radioactive waste from the AUKUS nuclear submarines will end up looms large. We bring you part of a conversation between Anangu-Yankunytjatjara woman Karina Lester and Gunai-Kurnai broadcaster Bunjileenee Robbie Thorpe from his program Bunjil’s Fire on Wednesday 10th of October.  Listen to the full interview here.