Then people became ill. They suffered skin infections and sore eyes, including Yami Lester, who went blind shortly after.

Dr Elizabeth Tynan, author of Atomic Thunder: The Maralinga Story, told BuzzFeed News the “layers of secrecy” around the trials meant there is no official death toll or information on the number of people injured, although “we can be sure it was a lot”.



After a lifetime watching her father battle both Australia and British governments for justice, resulting in a royal commission in the 1980s, Karina took her people’s fight to the United Nations last month to speak in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was formally adopted in New York over the weekend.

The treaty is seen as a vital step towards eliminating nuclear weapons, putting them on the same legal footing as chemical and biological weapons. It was adopted with a final vote of 122-1, with the Netherlands voting against and Singapore abstaining.

The treaty also recognises the disproportionate impact of nuclear weapons on Indigenous peoples around the world, and has provisions for assistance and reparations for those affected.



Despite its stated commitment to a nuclear-free world, Australia chose not to attend the treaty negotiations, along with all nuclear states: the United States, Britain, Russia, China, Pakistan, India, and Israel.



A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs told Fairfax in March that Australia was committed to eliminating nuclear weapons “in an effective, determined and pragmatic way”. A treaty without the participation of nuclear-armed states would not help that goal, the spokesperson said.



But the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons' Gem Romuld said Australia’s position was not justifiable “when we know how deeply devastating these weapons are, and with 15,000 of them still in the world”.



“The only way we can prevent them being used is to eliminate them, and the ban treaty is a very important step on the path to total elimination,” Romuld told BuzzFeed News.



Australia’s stance is also disappointing because of the impact of nuclear testing on Aboriginal people, she said.

“The whole campaign for the treaty has focused around the real world impacts of the weapon and what it does to people and the environment. Indigenous people have born the brunt of the impact, of not only nuclear weapons testing, but also the nuclear industry as a whole, from where uranium is mined, to the testing of bombs in South Australia and Western Australia,” Romuld said.



Not only did Aboriginal people near Maralinga and Emu Field suffer health problems following the nuclear tests, but they were also left dispossessed of their traditional lands. Many still fear it is unsafe to traverse their country despite clean-up efforts.

