ntnews.com.aulllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll NEWS Teens’ plea to Toxic say no to cigs reactor By ELLIE TURNER Health Reporter TWO indigenous Territory girls will wage war on can- cer sticks and have urged rods in smokers to do the same. It’s World No Tobacco Day, and the NT has the highest rate of smoking in Australia. More than 65 per cent of indigenous men and 50 per cent of indigenous women smoke, compared Darwin with 22 per cent of non- indigenous Territorians. Rose Peris, 15, and Susie Munkara, 14, will launch By ALYSSA BETTS make up about 1 per cent of Menzies School of Health Re- Australia’s total nuclear search’s innovative multi- TOXIC fuel rods from Syd- waste, but represented more media anti-smoking project ney’s Lucas Heights reactor than 90 per cent of the stock- — targeting indigenous are set to be shipped to Dar- pile’s radioactivity. teens — among their Kor- win and freighted down ‘‘If you took just one of the milda College peers today. south when Muckaty be- spent fuel rods from Lucas Susie said that the word comes Australia’s first nu- Heights, that’s more radio- ‘‘cigarette’’ made her think clear waste dump. active than the entire 2000 of lung cancer. ‘‘Some kids The cargo’s likely move- cubic metres (of radioactive think they’re deadly when ments are being highlighted waste) stored at Woomera,’’ they smoke,’’ she said. Rose by a loose confederacy of Dr Green said. said she worried about loved anti-Muckaty dump groups He said the type of mater- ones who were smokers. — which include unions, ial that would be stored at Bangarra dancer Rarr- traditional owners and a sci- Muckaty would range from iwuy Hick, comedian Sean ence mob. low-level up to ‘‘long-lived Choolburra and hip-hopper The groups are in Darwin intermediate level’’ material Corey ‘‘Yung Nooky’’ Web- at the moment trying to — some of which, such as ster will go live at the site build opposition to the plan. plutonium isotopes, would NoSmokes.com.au today. Nuclear campaigner Jim take as long as 24,000 years Teens can try a quit quiz, Green, from the Energy- to break down. He gave a hip-hop dance-off, smoking Science Coalition, said spent briefing to Darwin council calculator and Choolburra’s nuclear rods from the Syd- on Tuesday night. version of a Beyonce tune, ney reactor get shipped The council would not All the Cigarettes. overseas for reprocessing. have the power to stop pass- Dr Sheree Cairney said ‘‘(They are) pencilled in age of the material through traditional anti-smoking for coming back through the port. campaigns didn’t cut it but Darwin Port,’’ he said. But Dr Green views the multimedia, video, social Dr Green said the waste council as a potential ally in networking, animation, mu- should be kept, in the short ratcheting up the pressure sic and mobile phones were to medium term, at Lucas on pollies. useful in overcoming lang- Heights’ storage space, be- Lord Mayor Katrina Fong uage and literacy barriers. cause the country’s nuclear Lim said the council had yet NT Tobacco Control Ad- expertise was concentrated to receive any real concerns visory Committee chairman there. It is not known how from Darwin residents Dr David Thomas has called much would actually come about the issue. on the Territory Govern- through Darwin each year. She said the council also ment to bring in a ban on Dr Green said Australia’s hadn’t had the chance to smoking in cars with kids. nuclear waste stockpile was form an opinion on it, and He said the NT had lifted about 4000 cubic metres. that the details were sketchy its game with smoking out- He said each year about 50 at this point. lawed in 50 per cent of pub cubic metres were produced ‘‘That’s the first time the outdoor areas and a ban in and Lucas Heights went council has received inform- prisons to be introduced through about 40 fuel rods. ation at this level about next year. Susie Munkara and Rose Peris reckon there’s nothing cool about smoking Picture: ELISE DERWIN He said the rods might their concerns,’’ she said. ShoreBarge services communities Third Darwin show for Hi-5 fans to Kalumburu in the west and throughout Arnhemland. Our vessels are available for Charter. By CAINE EDWARDS ‘‘Considering we’ve been on TV Entertainment Reporter for quite a while now and this is sort of that first chance, it CHILDREN’S entertainment doesn’t surprise me,’’ he said. juggernaut Hi-5 has added an Their Darwin performances extra show to their visit to mark the end of the Hi-5 Darwin due to overwhelming Holiday national tour – demand from young fans. which has included 25 venues The tiny-tots supergroup over a four-month period. were due to perform two shows Maddren said after per- at the Darwin Entertainment forming the show many times Centre on Saturday but have around Australia, Darwin added a third in light of strong audiences could expect to ticket sales. see Hi-5 at their best. 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