South Australia’s Supreme Court rules in favour of Aboriginal landowners
Mining exploration on indigenous land blocked , WA News. com.yu 15 Jan 12,AN exploration venture in South Australia’s north has been blocked by a court ruling in favour of the land’s traditional owners. Argonaut Resources and its joint venture partners, Straits Resources Ltd, were planning to start drilling for copper, gold and iron-oxide in parts of Lake Torrens and Andamooka Island.
The companies had been given ministerial approval to access the area, which is part of the traditional lands of the the Kokatha Wati and Adnyamathantha people.
But the South Australian Supreme Court has overturned that approval, ruling that the traditional owners were denied procedural fairness in not being properly consulted.
The court also found problems with the nature of the approval, ruling that Straits did not actually hold any exploration rights but that they were held by another company……
South Australia’s Aboriginal Heritage Act requires TRUE consultation with Traditional Owners
the chair of the Andyamathanha Traditional Land Association, Vince Coulthard, says the aim of the Supreme Court challenge was not to block mining, but to challenge Government process.
He says Aboriginal Affairs Minister Grace Portolesi is legally required to consult with Traditional Owners before making a decision on exploration. But Mr Coulthard- who received the Premier’s NAIDOC award last year for work in his community- says that process never occurred
Aboriginal leader hits back at mining claim ABC News, 16 Jan 12, An Aboriginal leader in South Australia’s far north has rejected claims by explorer Argonaut Resources that the state’s Aboriginal Heritage Act is anti-mining.
In 2010, the Government granted Argonaut a licence to explore 6300 hectares of land near Lake Torrens in a joint venture with Straits Resources. Traditional Owners appealed against that decision, taking their case
to the South Australian Supreme Court. Their appeal was upheld, prompting Argonaut to claim the Act gives too
much power to Traditional Owners to veto mining……. Read more »
Court upholds Jabbir Jabbir people and the Goolarabooloo people against W.A. govt’s land grab attempt
Court quashes Kimberley gas hub land grab ABC News, December 06, 2011 Western Australia’s Supreme Court has ruled invalid the State Government’s move to compulsorily acquire land for a gas hub in the Kimberley. Chief Justice Wayne Martin ruled three notices of intention to acquire the land at James Price Point were invalid because they did not contain a description of the land. However his declaration does not prevent the Lands Minister from issuing further notices of intent to take land in the area. The claimant’s lawyers say the ruling means the land deal struck between the government and the Kimberley Land Council is now invalid, putting the future of the Browse gas project in doubt.
The action was brought by traditional land owners the Jabbir Jabbir people and the Goolarabooloo people. Michael Orlov, lawyer for the Goolarabooloo people, told reporters outside court that Lands Minister Brendon Grylls will need to commence the process again…..”We’re not going to be pushed around by the WA Government. We’re there to show that we can do it, so can every Indigenous person in Western Australia.”…http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-06/court-quashes-kimberley-gas-hub-land-grab/3715390?section=wa
Lawyers press for revealing secrets of Maralinga’s baby deaths after nuclear bomb testing
the medical records of those 23 stillborn babies remain sealed and held by the National Archives of Australia.
Now, as British lawyers search for others to join the class action against the British Ministry of Defence, they will also push for the secrets of the Woomera baby graves to be revealed.
Secrecy surrounding the disturbing rate of baby deaths and research suggesting fallout from tests blanketed the town despite being more than 600km from the Maralinga testing sites, warrants those families investigating claims as part of the class act
The Children’s Graveyard at Woomera South Australia. Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog, 1 Dec 11 What was known and when?. SECRET records detailing the fate of dozens of babies born in the shadow of Maralinga’s nuclear testing hold the key to a case building as the state’s largest class action. More than 100 South Australians have joined a class action against the British Ministry of Defence over deaths and disabilities they believe were caused by nuclear testing at Maralinga more than 50 years ago.
Among them are families of the Woomera babies – more than 60 lives lost, many without explanation, during the decade of nuclear testing, up to 600km away. Lawyers running the case say it is “just the tip of the iceberg”. They have heard only from people who are “very confident” they have a case for compensation. Already, families of some of the stillborn children, hours-old babies and toddlers who account for more than half the plots in Woomera Cemetery for the 1950s and 1960s, have come forward….. Read more »
Australia to break international law in selling uranium to India
Ms Gillard not only failed to inform Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd of her nuclear trade ambitions, but she also failed to consult government lawyers.
Uranium for India deal ‘may be illegal’, Canberra Times, BY CHRIS JOHNSON, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, 29 Nov, 2011 Australia will be in breach of international law if it sells uranium to India without the nuclear-armed nation first opening up its atomic facilities for independent inspection.
Leading international law expert Don Rothwell, from the Australian National University, has provided that legal opinion to the Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. The non-governmental organisation will issue the formal legal advice today. In it, Professor Rothwell insists that the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Rarotonga, prohibits Australia from selling uranium to countries that have not accepted full safeguards outlined in the Non- Proliferation Treaty. Read more »
The legal facts on who owns the minerals under your land
Why miners have a right to what’s under your land, Beef Central, By Samantha Hepburn Associate Professor, School of Law at Deakin University18 Nov 2011 All over Australia, landowners are fighting to keep mining companies off their property.
From the Darling Downs to the Liverpool Plains, farmers have been locking out coal seam gas extraction companies. In Victoria, exploratory licences have been granted to the Queensland based mining company, Mantle Mining Pty Ltd, to investigate private land situated in and around the rural Victorian areas of Bacchus Marsh, Darley, Myrniong and Ballan.
Landowners are worried about the effects that exploratory drilling may have upon their the land as well as the possibility that an open cut coal mine may be developed.
Who owns the minerals under your land? Read more »
Marathon uranium miner to sue South Australian government
Mining company Marathon Resources sues over Arkaroola ban, Courier Mail, Greg Kelton, From:AdelaideNow, November 12, 2011 MINING company Marathon Resources will sue the South Australian State Government over its plan to ban mining at Arkaroola in the Flinders Ranges.
The Government’s proposed ban, one of Mike Rann’s final acts as Premier, directly affected a Marathon mining lease which had been granted by the Government. Legal proceedings were issued in the Supreme Court yesterday by Kelly & Co on behalf of Marathon….. Marathon was carrying $15.8 million of exploration expenditure relating to its Mt Gee tenement in its December accounts and the Government’s decision would require the company to write off these expenses – destroying all but $500,000 of Marathon’s residual equity in one blow. While the State Government may not have a legal obligation to compensate Marathon for its expenditure, it is likely to offer an “egratia” payment for political purposes. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/marathon-resources-sues-south-australia-government-over-arkaroola-mining-ban/story-e6freooo-1226193147653
Northern Territory’s new mining law might put the brakes on uranium push
New Territory mining legislation comes into force, ABC News, By Tom Nightingale, November 07, 2011 The mining industry says exploration companies will be the most affected by new Northern Territory legislation that takes effect today.
The Minerals Titles Act aims to increase transparency about the environmental impacts of mining, by increasing obligations about what needs to be reported.The Minerals Council says it agrees with the changes in principle, but is mindful of the potential for excessive red tape….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-07/20111107-mininig-legislation/3650374
Mining giant Xstrata (and Glencore?) in court over global warming
it will be the first in Australia to argue for an outright refusal of a mine based on its climate change impacts
Graziers, greenies ally against Xstrata, Brisbane Times, Christine FlatleyAugust 22, 2011 – Global giant Xstrata should be refused permission to open a new coal mine in Queensland that will have serious adverse impacts on the climate and nearby graziers, a court has heard.
Green group Friends of the Earth appeared in the Brisbane Land Court today in an attempt to scuttle an 11,000-hectare coal mine planned for the small town of Wandoan, 400km northwest of Brisbane. Read more »
UK court victory gives hope to Australia’s nuclear test veterans
Sydney law firm Stacks/Goudkamp is representing hundreds of Australian veterans of the British nuclear tests at Maralinga and Montebello Island conducted in the 1950s and early 1960s……“The decision of the English Supreme Court to allow the UK veterans of Maralinga to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision against their claims keeps alive the prospect that these veterans, who have been so shamelessly treated by their own government, may finally receive the compensation they deserve.
“It also keeps alive the claims for the Australian veterans who have been waiting for the outcome of the UK case before launching their own class action against the UK Ministry of Defence.”
Australian veterans of British nuclear tests hopes for compensation boosted by UK court decision, Frank Walker, 31 July 11, The hopes of hundreds of Australian military veterans of British nuclear tests seeking compensation from the UK Ministry of Defence got a boost overnight after a significant victory in the British courts. Read more »
Atomic veterans’ compensation case drags, as nuclear test victims die
A seemingly disproportionate number of the 26,000 servicemen, also from Australia, Fiji and New Zealand, sent to the sites had died prematurely of a range of illnesses including cancer and heart disease. Complaints of skin disease and infertility were common, while many offspring were sickly…….
Britain urged to settle nuclear payout for veterans, THE AUSTRALIAN , 4 July 11, The British government was under pressure last night to settle a multimillion-pound fight with more than 1000 veterans of nuclear tests in Australia and the Pacific or risk wasting even more money on a “morally unjustifiable” legal battle that could drag on for years.Supporters of the pensioners, who participated in Britain’s atomic bomb trials in the Pacific in the 1950s, said that it was time for the Ministry of Defence to follow the world’s four other main nuclear powers and pay compensation.
A group of veterans who are dying of cancer and other conditions at a rate of about three a month will this month go to the Supreme Court to challenge an attempt by the MoD to have their landmark case thrown out. Read more »
Australia will abide by court decision on nuclear waste dump – Prime Minister Gillard
Gillard heckled on last day of NT visit ABC News 10 June 11, By Michael Coggan ”…..Ms Gillard says she thinks the intervention, which is approaching its fourth anniversary and involves measures such as child health checks and extra police, is working.
But arriving at Charles Darwin University to open a new $28 million medical training school, she was heckled by protesters who called for an end to the intervention and voiced opposition to a proposed nuclear waste dump near Tennant Creek……The Prime Minister also fended off protests about Federal Government plans to build a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station near Tennant Creek……
“I understand there is disputation about who the traditional owners are. We of course followed the advice of the Northern Land Council, which is the appropriate process for us to follow, but this matter is now before courts and of course we will abide by any decision that comes from those court proceedings.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/09/3240211.htm?section=justin
Australia’s Future Fund breaks Australian law with investments in nuclear weapons
the Future Fund’s investments chief appeared unaware that nuclear weapons are banned under Australian law.
The fund’s biggest holding is in Honeywell International (A$76.8 million), a company in charge of conducting simulated nuclear tests for the US government and helping to extend the lifecycle of America’s Trident II nuclear weapons.
Our Nuclear Sovereign Wealth | newmatilda.com, Tim Wright 1 June 11“ If the Future Fund is to comply with its own stated policy not to finance companies involved in activities that are unlawful in Australia, it should exclude nuclear arms makers from its investment universe.
The Future Fund would not be the first sovereign wealth fund to do so. The Norwegian Pension Fund and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund have both deemed it unethical to finance nuclear weapons companies, winding up all investments they once had. Read more »
Martin Ferguson disregarding Aboriginal court action against nuclear waste dump
Despite this, [Aboriginal landowners' legal action in progress] Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson is already forging ahead to get plans for a national radioactive waste dump underway
NT nuclear waste dump plan forges ahead 9 NEWS, May 7 2011 By Fiona Willan, A federal government plan to dump nuclear waste on Aboriginal land is set to be debated in Parliament, as a legal battle over the site continues in court. Read more »
Australian govt rushes nuclear waste legislation, while legal case continues
Legal battle over nuclear dump to resume in August - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) By Katrina Bolton Mar 1, 2011 A legal battle over the nominated site for Australia’s first nuclear waste facility looks set to continue for months. Muckaty Station near Tennant Creek is the only site nominated by the Federal Government for Australia’s first nuclear waste dump. Read more »
This month
For international news, go to nuclear-news
Check on the Ugly Australian company, Lynas, in Malaysia http://baddevelopers.nfshost.com/Docs/L.htm
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/49872 Peter Watts at Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World
Aboriginal protest in Canberra. Scroll down page. Video news shows no violence from protestors, only from police http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/breaking-news-blog/the-referendum-died-today/20120126-1qj4x.html
of the week. http://www.radiationreport.com/effects-of-radiation/nuclear-apologists-play-shoot-the-messenger-on-radiation/
Energy Matters Video News – Episode 56 – February 1, 2012
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3021
Anti nuclear action below: - more info at Action Australia « Antinuclear and at Event details « Antinuclear
EVENTS
- February 13 Adelaide Fukushima and the Future of Nuclear Power
- February 23 - Adelaide Nicole Foss – a Mentor For Turbulent Times. Nicole Foss speaks on Energy and the Economy http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=FqRGVNUK5x0
LATEST AUDIO & VIDEO ITEMS. arrive – so fast and so good – go to our audiovisual page Audiovisual « Antinuclear for information on these websites
Nuclear power and WATER – theme for February 2012
For Australia especially, Global warming means WATER shortage – drought over wide areas, more evaporation.
Nuclear power and uranium mining are water-intensive
Uranium mining is water intensive. Already outback communities are being hit by water shortage, as water is being extracted from the Great Arterial Basin faster than it is being replenished.
Yet BHP Billiton has open slather, at no cost whatever, to its daily guzzle of 35 million litres, and BHPB plans to extract an additional 120 million litres of publicly-owned artesian water per day, every day, for the next 70 years.)
Out of sight, out of mind
Groundwater is a major resource, but one that has been taken for granted for decades. In the past, groundwater supplies were treated as an infinite resource, and subject to an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ attitude. But that’s changing. There’s now an enormous interest in the way our groundwater resources are measured, managed and utilised. There are also concerns over issues such as over-extraction of water, pollution, wastage, allocation and licensing issues, water pricing and groundwater salinisation.
The water source beneath one-fifth of Australia
The most well-known and important groundwater source in Australia is the Great Artesian Basin, or GAB. This is a vast groundwater source that underlies 22 per cent of Australia – extending beneath the arid and semi-arid regions of Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales. It covers about 1.7 million square kilometres, and contains an estimated 8700 million megalitres of water. Not surprisingly, it’s one of the largest artesian water basins in the world……
The sustainable yield of a groundwater source depends on balancing the use or discharge against recharge rates. Normally discharge of groundwater occurs through vegetation, into streams and lakes, or through evaporation into the atmosphere. Sustainable yield cannot simply be determined by a measure of the recharge rate. If water is extracted for human use at the recharge rate, discharge to other areas can be affected…..
Extraction of groundwater can also lead to salinity problems and have a negative impact on native vegetation with roots that tap into groundwater, as well as wetlands, rivers and streams. The full impact of using these aquifers as planned is not known, but is likely to reduce the rate of water flowing to support rivers and wetlands and other groundwater dependent ecosystems…. http://www.science.org.au/nova/100/100key.htm
Garlick said water from the Great Artesian Basin in Central Australia is being depleted to keep residual radioactive dust from uranium mining wet in order to keep it from blowing across the continent. Seven million gallons of water is being extracted from the basin per day to keep the radioactive dust in place, she said.
Despite its profits more than tripling in the last three years, BHP has never paid a cent for the vast amounts of water used by the Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine near Roxby Downs. The mine currently uses approximately 35 million litres of water a day from the Great Artesian Basin. Under the Roxby Downs Indenture Act BHP is not required to pay for this water usage.
The Indenture Act applies specifically to the Olympic Dam mine, and provides for wide-ranging legal exemptions and overrides from environmental and Aboriginal heritage protection laws that apply elsewhere in the state, including the Environmental Protection Act and the Natural Resources Act (which incorporates water management issues).
“The Indenture Act means that the Olympic Dam mine is not subject to the same environmental regulatory framework as other industrial projects in the state,’ explained Nectaria Calan of Friends of the Earth Adelaide. “Additionally, by allowing BHP to take water from the Great Artesian Basin for free, the South Australian government is essentially providing BHP with a massive subsidy,” she continued.
The water intake from the Great Artesian Basin has already had adverse impacts on the unique Mound Springs found near Lake Eyre, which are fed by the underlying Artesian Basin, and are sacred to the Arabunna people, the traditional owners of the area.
As part of the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam mine, BHP Billiton proposes to increase its water consumption by an additional 200 million litres per day. Water intake from the Great Artesian Basin will increase to up to 42 million litres per day, with the remainder to come from a proposed desalination plant at Point Lowly. This amounts to over 100,000 litres of water per minute.
“The vast water usage of uranium mines is often forgotten in the debate about uranium and nuclear energy. Here we are, in the driest state on the driest continent on earth, host to a mine which needs millions of litres of water each day. Due to the Indenture Act, we are essentially exporting our water overseas for free,” said Ms. Calan. (FOE)
