Japan has closed down the Tomari nuclear plant in Hokkaido, the final reactor to close in response to the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex.

"The people of Japan have stopped believing the lies told to them for decades about nuclear power being clean, cheap and safe," said Senator Scott Ludlam, Australian Greens spokesperson on nuclear policy.

The Australian Greens welcomed today's call from the Medical Association for Prevention of War for uranium miners Toro Energy to stop promoting the view that low-level radiation is beneficial to human health.

The Greens nuclear policy spokesperson, WA Senator Scott Ludlam, said Toro's plans to mine uranium at Wiluna, Western Australia, should be abandoned.

The Australian Greens will mark the 26th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe by calling on whistleblowers to lift the lid on Australia's own nuclear industry.

Greens spokesperson on nuclear policy Senator Scott Ludlam said the impact of the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986 continued to be felt to this day. Senator Ludlam today released a research paper on the situation at Chernobyl today and its ongoing costs:

http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/chernobyl

Opening the Labor Party conference, Julia Gillard told her party faithful she wanted the ALP to be the party that says "yes to the future".

Yet the Prime Minister spent the next three days advocating for the resurrection of the old, tired conservative policies of John Howard. On policies covering asylum seekers, uranium and same-sex marriage, Labor's leader backed the stance of the former ultra-conservative Liberal prime minister.

The "year of decision and delivery" is quickly coming to an end and the Prime Minister is determined to get the government's mining tax passed through the House of Representative this week before the summer break of Parliament. The Senate would then deal with the legislation when Parliament resumes in 2012.

The "year of decision and delivery" is quickly coming to an end and the Prime Minister is determined to get the government's mining tax passed through the House of Representative this week before the summer break of Parliament. The Senate would then deal with the legislation when Parliament resumes in 2012.

Senator LUDLAM (Western Australia) (19:07): I rise to speak briefly on an issue that is very close to my heart and an issue that in many ways brought me into this chamber in the first place. The day before yesterday I woke up at a rock pool about 20 kilometres from Wiluna in the north-east goldfields of Western Australia to see off about 100 people who are taking part in the walk against uranium mining. Just the sheer logistics of getting a hundred people to Wiluna in the first place was quite an extraordinary feat.

Western Australians will begin a one thousand-kilometre protest march against uranium mining this Sunday 21 August.

Australian Greens nuclear affairs spokesperson, Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam, will join the ‘Walk Away From Uranium Mining' on Sunday as it begins the long journey from Wiluna to Perth.

"This is an extraordinary moment for our state and for the future. The nuclear industry is in decline around the world and public awareness of the dangers of uranium mining and nuclear power is growing.

Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and Greens (WA) MLC Robin Chapple

The Australian Greens welcome indications that BHP Billiton may be abandoning plans for its Yeelirrie uranium mine.

"The political and community backlash in WA is indeed significant" Senator Scott Ludlam said today, citing the story in today's West Australian.

The Australian Greens have welcomed this week’s fall in global uranium prices, due to a global peace deal to reduce nuclear weapons.

“When world leaders sign off agreements to reduce their weapons arsenals the uranium market becomes flooded with weapons-usable nuclear fuel,” the Party’s Nuclear Spokesperson, WA Senator Scott Ludlam said.

“Warheads are converted into fuel for reactors and the price for uranium drops dramatically.