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Court hears uranium protesters locked in container Civil action starts over uranium protest in 2000 A civil trial has started in the SA Supreme Court over police treatment of protesters at an outback uranium mine. Ten protesters who were locked in a shipping container at Beverley in South Australia in 2000 are claiming damages from the government for injury and suffering caused by their allegedly false imprisonment. The government has already settled out of court with three other plaintiffs who had been part of the class action. A lawyer for the remaining plaintiffs, Brian Walters, told the court the protesters were given no warning before police beat them with batons, used capsicum spray and locked them in a shipping container with no water or toilet facilities for up to eight hours. They are now suing the state government over their treatment by police.

Court hears uranium protesters locked in container Civil action starts over uranium protest in 2000 A civil trial has started in the SA Supreme Court over police treatment of protesters at an outback uranium mine. Ten protesters who were locked in a shipping container at Beverley in South Australia in 2000 are claiming damages from the government for injury and suffering caused by their allegedly false imprisonment. The government has already settled out of court with three other plaintiffs who had been part of the class action. A lawyer for the remaining plaintiffs, Brian Walters, told the court the protesters were given no warning before police beat them with batons, used capsicum spray and locked them in a shipping container with no water or toilet facilities for up to eight hours. They are now suing the state government over their treatment by police.

It was almost exactly 30 years ago that Peter Garrett's band Midnight Oil played their first big anti-uranium mining benefit concert at Sydney Town Hall. From 1978 to 2008, Mr Garrett's translation from rock rebel to political pragmatist appears complete today after he gave the Ministerial go-ahead for the expansion of the Beverley uranium mine in South Australia.

"A court has ordered the South Australian Government to pay the legal bills of nine people who were assaulted and unlawfully detained during an anti-uranium protest. The Supreme Court had already awarded more than $700,000 in damages. Back in April, it found eight protesters, a news cameraman and a girl were unlawfully detained and assaulted during a protest at the Beverley mine in South Australia's far north-east, a decade ago. Police locked some of the group in a shipping container and the girl, who was 11, had capsicum spray used on her. "

The Greens are outraged at Federal Government approval for expansion of the Beverley uranium mine in South Australia's far north-east. Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says a comprehensive process considered potential environmental impacts before he made his decision.

Australia, which is looking to sell more uranium overseas to meet growing demand for nuclear power, on Thursday approved a proposal by Heathgate Resources to expand its outback Beverley uranium mine.

HEATHGATE Resources wants to build a uranium conversion plant at its Beverley mine to add greater value to the raw material it mines at the site. Heathgate president David Williams said it was time to consider conversion, which is the stage before uranium is enriched in preparation for use as a nuclear fuel. "You are still not into the contentious stage. Why couldn't we do a conversion in Australia?" Mr Williams says in an interview in today's SA Weekend magazine. "Why couldn't we do that value add in Australia? "I think that will be an interesting debate to go forward. Are we simply going to stay as an exporter of the raw material or are we going to do a bit more?"

Protestors in Alice Springs say opposition is growing to a proposed uranium mine close to the town. Jess Abrahams, from the Arid Lands Environment Centre, says they believe industries like cattle grazing and ecotourism will be at risk should the mine go ahead. He says they're calling on the government to reject any application for a mining lease at Angela Pamela, 25 kilometres south of Alice Springs.

Protestors in Alice Springs say opposition is growing to a proposed uranium mine close to the town. Jess Abrahams, from the Arid Lands Environment Centre, says they believe industries like cattle grazing and ecotourism will be at risk should the mine go ahead. He says they're calling on the government to reject any application for a mining lease at Angela Pamela, 25 kilometres south of Alice Springs.