Atomic Australia

Scene
This production takes place inside a large map of Australia laid out in natural materials. A bench stands in the center of the map. Off to the right, a large board displays the date: 1949.

Choir
Opening number to set the scene. Matilda enters the stage, looks around dreamily, lies down on her bench and falls asleep.

The Bright Nuclear Future
Three Radsuits arrive with geiger counters, scanning the stage (and parts of the audience) for signs of radiation. They're excited. They plant white mine symbols at Rum Jungle (NT) and Radium Hill (SA) They wave to get the attention of their bosses.

The nuclear Mafia arrive. The Politician, the Businessman and the General bustle on to the stage, chatting animatedly among themselves.

BUSINESSMAN "Our only problem is, how do we turn a weapon of genocide into an engine of profit? How to be comfortable and relaxed while threatening to blow up the world?"

POLITICIAN "You can't put the genie back into the bottle of course - we might as well make it work for us."

GENERAL "But how do we convince people that the best way to keep world peace is to threaten to kill everyone?

ALL "A-HA!"

BUSINESS "We need…"

ALL "…the Friendly Atom!"

Enter the Friendly Atom, bubbling with enthusiasm, skipping around the stage while the 3 Mafia in suits launch into a smooth sales pitch.

POLITICIAN "It's 1949 - the dawn of the Nuclear Age! It's time to put the past behind us and build a better world for our children!"

BUSINESSMAN "That's right! And while we're doing it, we're all going to make pots of money! You see, Australia might be a bit of a wasteland, but it's got uranium all over it, just begging us to dig it up and flog it off to the poms."

GENERAL (a pom) "And we'll certainly make it worth your while, chaps! Your freedom and the defence of the free world are at stake, and what better way to protect our children than with thousands of nuclear weapons?"

POLITICIAN "I see Australia as a hole…a big hole…well, what do you people think?"

The friendly atom is busy handing out sweets to kids and money to adults.

GENERAL "Looks like they're all for it, boys. It's going to be…

ALL TOGETHER "…A Bright Nuclear Future!"

BUSINESSMAN "Come on then - who wants to join the Yellowcake Rush?"

6 workers come on stage with spades, overalls and hardhats.
Singers turn over the date page to 1954.

WORKERS "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work we go…"

While this is happening, Radsuits are laying out more symbols at El Sherana (NT), and Mary Kathleen (Queensland).

44 gallon drums are rolled into position at Rum Jungle and Radium Hill, and mining begins. Workers dig uranium out of the drums and load a wheelbarrow.

The Businessman hands the Politican a fat wad of money and they give each other a big kiss and exit.

GENERAL (on telephone) " Put me through to Number 10, will you? Thankyou. Hello? They've bought it Sir. Yes Sir. Come on over whenever you're ready Sir. Oh…don't worry about that Sir, they haven't got a clue. Har har har!!!"

Worker 1, with a wheelbarrow full of yellowcake and a bad cough heads offshore, waving goodbye.

WORKER 1 (cough…gag)

WORKER 2 You OK mate?

WORKER 1 Yeh…yeh mate, just a bit of dust…

Mining continues but some of the blokes are looking a little ill.

Worker 1 passes a small, suspicious looking team carrying an atom bomb, shrugs and carries on.

GENERAL "Splendid!! Just lay it down over here. The Monte Bello Islands I believe."

The General welcomes his team, directs them to lay down their bomb in WA. They point their scanners and block their ears.

GENERAL "Backs to the Blast!"

There is a huge BANG. Death strides onstage and flings a handful of ashes into the air. The team engage in hearty back slapping while the radsuits scan the area for radiation and back away in alarm.

GENERAL "Well - that one certainly worked. But - what about this one?? Try over here, in this completely uninhabited area…what's it called..? Maralinga!"

The radsuits pick up the bomb and shift it to South Australia.

GENERAL "Duck and Cover! (BANG) Great! What about the Monte Bello Islands again?" Freedom and Democracy ! (BANG)

At each turn, Death follows patiently, making a mess of the landscape. Matilda is tossing and turning, in the grip of a nightmare.

GENERAL "Well…they all seem to be in perfect working order. Thanks chaps. Byee!"

POLITICIAN "I did but see her passing by…and yet I love her, till we die."

The Politician, Businessman and the workers, looking on from just offstage with a certain amount of alarm, wave uneasily as the British team scans them for radiation and then heads home in a bit of a hurry.

The workers get back on the job.

An elder woman dressed as a cleaning lady steps onstage with a mop and bucket. She shakes her head at the mess and wakes Matilda. This is Mrs G.

MRS G "Wake up Matilda. You must wake up."

MATILDA (groggy) "What's happening…where am I?"

MRS G "You have to make them stop! It's going to take me millions of years to clean up the mess they just made. And those bombs…They simply don't know what fire they play with. They think they're so powerful but it's as though they're all sleepwalking."

MATILDA "It's nothing to do with me. It's not my problem."

Matilda is trying to get back to sleep.

Mrs G "I'm afraid you can't sleep any longer, child. It's time to wake up now."

Mrs G. packs up the bench and then starts mopping the mess made by the bombs. Matilda gets up and approaches the workers.

MATILDA "Excuse me…Who'se going to clean up here?"

POLITICIAN "Watch it !! She's trying to take your jobs away!"

The workers are all ignoring Matilda. She approaches the Mafia.

MATILDA "Excuse me? I wonder if you could tell me…"

BUSINESSMAN "Out of the way love, you don't need to worry your pretty little head about this."

POLITICIAN (stepping past Matilda to address the crowd) "I wish to announce that we have just commissioned a nuclear research reactor for metropolitan Sydney. This is what we need to be global players in the nuclear age."

MATILDA "But aren't there people living there..?"

POLITICIAN "Go and make us a cup of tea would you love?"

Two radsuits carry on the reactor and dump it in Sydney. There is a round of applause. The date board is flipped to 1958.

A barrel is carried on to Mary Kathleen and mining starts there.

The worker with the wheelbarrow returns from overseas looking a bit sheepish.

WORKER "Um…fellas…they don't want any more."

BUSINESSMAN (boggled) "What?"

GENERAL (pops his head out from offstage) "Thanks awfully chaps, but, ah, that's probably sufficient for now. Cheerio."

BUSINESSMAN (strides up to his workers) "Right. You're all sacked. Clean up this mess and leave my property. Actually…don't worry about cleaning up. Just bugger off."

There is a heated argument. Matilda is still trying to get the business man's attention. He swats her away in annoyance. The workers and radsuits carry away the drums and tools, very angry, and the businessman follows them offstage.

Mrs G arrives to begin the cleanup. The board now reads 1962.

MRS G (to Matilda) "You see what I mean now? Look at this mess! I mean, this just has to stop."

MATILDA "I still don't understand what I can do about it. They won't even listen to me."

Mrs G "Think, girl…"

The Mafia have gone into a huddle. An agreement is reached. Money is passed from hand to hand and back very rapidly.

POLITICIAN (into a telephone): "We've had a bit of a think and we'd like to offer new terms. Yes…yes, that would be wonderful. Thankyou. No, thank you." (loudly, to the others) "It's a DEAL."

MATILDA "Look, what on earth is going on here? What are you going to do about the mess up north?"

POLITICIAN "Are you still hanging around dear? I thought I asked you to make me a cup of tea.

BUSINESSMAN "We're experts at this. Trust us."

Matilda strides away in a fury as the Radsuits re-enter the map. Matilda calls the names of the deposits while everyone looks on. Mrs G is elbowed aside rudely as huge discoveries are made:

MATILDA: "And so exploration went ahead." reads:

Beverley 1969 SA
Ranger 1970 NT
Narbalek 1970 NT
Yeelirrie 1972 WA
Manyingee 1974 WA
Roxby Downs 1975 SA

The date flips to 1975.

As each new discovery is pegged and a symbol added to the map, the Mafia twitter amongst themselves, loudly call out the names of the new finds and adding them to their ledger book.

The Mafia step onto the map and address the audience. The friendly atom is back, doing pirouettes. She's not well. She keeps baring her teeth and having little fits.

BUSINESSMAN "There's gonna be a BOOM"

POLITICIAN "We're talking jobs, jobs, jobs for Australia.

GENERAL (rejoining them): You're needed to help defend the free world from being undermined by the rising tide of the domino effect.

The atom is trying to fire up the crowd. There are boos.

POLITICIAN "Did I mention JOBS? What do you say, people?"

Mrs G sweeps the General off stage with her broom.

MATILDA "Hey."

BUSINESSMAN "We're all going to-"

Matilda finally snaps, grabs a mic, stands directly in front of them and yells in their faces.

MATILDA "HEY!!!"

Everyone stops and stares at her, shocked.

MATILDA "I am sick to death of being ignored." (Turns to the audience) "Look at the mess they made already. Now they want to set up more of these things. I want to know who's going to do the cleaning up."

The Politician (Malcolm Fraser at this point) steps forward and shmoozes up to Matilda

POLITICIAN "I think you're perfectly right my dear. (schlurrrp) Look, I want to be popular. (schlurrrp) Why don't we have Justice Fox hold an inquiry into uranium mining?"

MATILDA "OK then. That'll do…for starters."

The atom prances up with a big sheet of card emblazoned with the words 'Fox Report'.

Everybody crowds around to look at it. The Businessman and Matilda grab an end each and start reading the bits they like.

BUSINESSMAN "It says here we should go ahead with mining"

MATILDA "It says here there should be no mining until we solve the safety issues"

They are both reading different sides of the report. As they walk away from each other reading their favourite bits, the report tears in half. Mrs G looks over, shakes her head and keeps mopping.

Fraser tears off a small piece of the report and steps forward magnanimously.

FRASER: Well it says here that there are a few problems with uranium mining, but nothing a bit of Aussie ingenuity can't solve. Get to work at Mary Kathleen, boys."

The radsuits dump a 44 gallon drum on Mary Kathleen in Queensland. But the transport workers (in t-shirts) are not happy. They have a quick conference and down tools.

SPOKESPERSON "Sorry Mate. We're on strike."

Flip the date to 1977. Cheers from backstage and enter the protestors.

MATILDA: "Come on guys. This is it."

Matilda and the anti-nuke campaigners join the unions and sing a rousing protest song, surrounded by banners & flags.

After the song, Matilda takes center stage again.

MATILDA "We did our best. We really did. We had rallies of 12,000 people on the streets of Perth, and 20,000 in Melbourne in 1977. We collected a quarter of a million signatures. We had huge rallies right across the country including WA. We blockaded ports. The unions black-banned uranium ships and blocked transports."

BUSINESSMAN "But while you were busy in the cities, we were doing things on the quiet in the bush"

The Politician is negotiating on the telephone, with the Businessman providing helpful advice where necessary.

POLITICIAN "It'll be a great thing for you blackfellas…"
"Really. A lot of money will come here. Big mining, big money."

Pauses…

POLITICIAN "We can build you…what can we build you?"
He looks at the businessman for some guidance.

BUSINESSMAN: "School?"

POLITICIAN: (to the phone) "Yeh! A school! Bigfella school."

BUSINESSMAN: "Hospital?"

POLITICIAN: "Right, yeah, Hospital! Bigfella hospital."

BUSINESSMAN: (smirks) "Pub."

POLITICIAN "Har har har. Bigfella pub…" (breaks off and listens. Gets angry.)

POLITICIAN: "Ok. I tell you what. Either you sign the bit of paper, or we'll take away your land rights and build our mine on top of you. No money for your mob. Nothing. This is in the National Interest you know, and we're going to build it with your signature or without it. Just sign it. (pause) You will, huh? Great! You can keep the pen!"

He nods to the businessman, who strides up to Kakadu to retrieve the contract. He returns with his bit of paper, waves it under Matilda's nose and presents it to the audience. It is 1979.

The Businessman takes center stage, munching on a cigar. The Friendly Atom, now a bit psychotic, is bobbing up and down behind him.

BUSINESSMAN "We told you there was going to be a bright nuclear future! Basically, we're going to make a killing. All thanks to you. No really, thanks!"

He waves on the workers + radsuits. They arrive with 3 44 gallon drums and get started, first at Ranger, Narbalek and then at Olympic Dam.

WORKERS (sounding uninspired) "Hi Ho…" (they have taken to wearing dust masks)

The Ranger protesters are escorted roughly off stage.

Mrs G strides onto the stage to see what is going on. She has her hands on hips and is tight lipped. She gives Matilda a hug.

Death steps back onto the stage for a casual look around. He takes one of the workers away with him in the wheelbarrow.

The Businessman blows his nose on a million dollar bill.

BUSINESSMAN "The only thing that could really hurt us would be if…oh no…"

His face falls as Bob Hawke is wheeled onstage on a fridge trolley, croaking and muttering to himself.

The calendar flips to 1983.

HAWKE "Aaaah…basically, the Labor Party policy says uranium mining is a bloody evil affair.…and some of the leftys in the union movement are a bit, aaah fussy about cancer and bombs and so on, and so aaah…But…I'm the Prime Minister now, and…I don't think there's anything wrong with a little bit of uranium…aaaah, so we'll just keep it at Three Mines at the moment, I think. Ok everyone? Just these ones and we'll see about the rest later."

Bob cackles for no apparent reason and is wheeled off stage again mumbling incoherently.

The Businessman shakes his head and shrugs at the audience, lighting his cigar. He winks at Death, who has come over to stare at him.

BUSINESSMAN "Well, it's not ideal but I guess this will do us…for the moment."

Workers at Olympic Dam and Ranger are quietly working away, not talking to each other.

Matilda, looking a little more feral, takes the mic.

MATILDA: The eighties were a pretty amazing time. There are some people here who can maybe tell us more about what happened.

She passes to mic to a veteran anti-ship campaigner, who recounts a story from the 1980s.

The General takes issue with this, standing off to one side hugging his bomb. He has heckled everyone. Death has taken to standing behind him.

GENERAL: "You're all being too emotional. Nuclear weapons have great strategic value. It's so simple when you see it rationally. If you mess with me, I'll kill everybody." He smiles a lunatic smile, all the time fondling his bomb.

The Businessman shuts him up hurriedly and waves him offstage.

BUSINESSMAN: "tut tut…bad for business…"

The general retreats with his bomb. The calendar flips to 1997.

MATILDA "So now we come to the present…here's where things get kind of weird."

A small suited figure bounces onto the stage, hops about and launches onto the drum standing at Roxby. He gurgles for a bit.

HOWARD "Hello, I'm John Howard. I think there should be more uranium mines in National Parks. We only have one at the moment, and frankly, it shames us in the eyes of the world. The world is looking at us with its eye, and … it can see things we can't. We're losing vital market competitive share advantage to Canada in this sector. If I wasn't so busy doing the taxes I'd be out there digging it up myself. (to the Businessman) Go on, get cracking at Jabiluka."

BUSINESSMAN: (grimly) "Finally. I've been waiting sixteen years for Jabiluka."

Matilda and the protestors are backing the Mirrar at Jabiluka when the miners arrive. They look like they mean business. Some of them have locked on to the mine symbol. They are joined by people from all over Australia.

BUSINESSMAN "Right you feral rabble, move aside. We have sensitive negotiations to conduct."

He tries to rip the banner away from the blockaders but is repelled. He tries another tack, fishing out a wad of money. They are having none of it. He retreats in confusion.

BUSINESSMAN "What's wrong with you people? This is money, dammit! Money is money!"

The blockaders launch into "In Solidarity we stand together" The Businessman looks on aghast and then retreats back to Johnny with his tail between his legs.

HOWARD "They didn't want the money? What's the matter with them?"

He demands to inspect the money. It looks ok to him. He strides up to Kakadu and is swiftly bundled up in the banner and carried away. The businessman looks on in alarm and retreats.

The protestors fan out and are trying to cover all the bases. It's obvious they're spread pretty thin. Things look serious.

PANGEA MAN "Hello boys and girls! We've been looking around the world, through the round window, and what we've decided is, well, what I mean to say is, we have rather a lot of nuclear waste piled up at home and not a lot of space, so we decided, since we've created a global problem after all, you can be part of the global solution."

The Businessman is intrigued, coming closer while everyone else looks horrified.

BUSINESSMAN "And your name is…?"

PANGEA MAN "That's not important. Here is my card. The company is Pangea Resources. We dump it, you lump it. For a fee of course."

BUSINESSMAN (reads from the card) Pangea Resources. Welcome to the future . . . suckers."

Howard, the workers and the Businessman ask simultaneously:

EVERYONE: "How much?"

PANGEA MAN "Well, let's see. Why don't we start with 6 billion dollars?"

EVERYONE: "6 BILLION DOLLARS?"

PANGEA MAN "That's just for starters, dear people. We're just returning what's rightfully yours, by the way, and it has to go somewhere. Remember, you helped us create a global problem. You have to think of your moral obligation since you have been selling the stuff for 40 years…remember?"

Howard returns from being carried away, and he's hopping up and down.

HOWARD: "We're going to have a nuclear carnival!"

Turgid carnival music and the carnival of death begins. The nuclear waste train comes cranking around the corner stage left, drawn by radsuits. It is followed by jugglers and stiltwalkers, radsuits, drummers and the Friendly Atom all jamming with Death.

Pangea radsuits take their train and wrap it around the map. It's a gruesome slow-motion dance.

Mrs G steps forward, revealing herself as Gaia.

MRS G: "STOP THE CARNIVAL!"

The radsuits melt into the ground, and lie dead while Mrs G takes the stage.

MRS G: "Look at this wasteland. What on earth are we doing?" (pauses to look around.)

"The facts.
Chernobyl, April 1986. Only 135,000 people were evacuated after the power station exploded. It is now estimated that more than half a million people will die of cancer as a result.
There are still some 35,000 nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the nuclear weapons states. Bombs a thousand times more powerful than the one that destroyed Hiroshima, on alert, every day, waiting for the signal.
Nuclear waste. Today we have 160,000 tonnes of high level nuclear waste and no idea how to deal with it. Pangea Resources wants to bring 20% of it here…to Australia."

SING: "Who'se gonna be there…at the waste dump?"

MATILDA: We've made a mess here. But after all that's happened there are still only two uranium mines. They're about to start mining at Beverley now and those people need our help. They're still fighting at Jabiluka and all the other places, and they need our help. We can stop all this from happening. But that's Over to You.

SINGERS: OVER TO YOU. Carnival is transformed into a carnival of life. The radsuits spring to their feet, ripping off their costumes to reveal colourful party gear. The carnival of life sweeps away the ruins of the nuclear age.