Antinuclear

A Yeah! Boo! day for Australia on carbon tax and Olympic Dam uranium mine

Carbon tax:  it is a good day for Australia. At last Australia is to have some international credibility on climate change action. Australian business can now have certainty on carbon price plans. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) now gives renewable energy companies the opportunity to develop. Australia’s renewable energy can now attract investment, as prices for solar and wind technologies are becoming cheaper.

Tony Abbott’s pledge to repeal this legislation sounds pretty hollow. When and if Abbott has a go at repealing it – say in 3 -5 years –  is he also going to take back all the compensation measures?  There will be a lot of unhappy pensioners and low income earners, medium income earners and businesses, too, when Abbott tries to do this.

Olympic Dam uranium mine.   It’s a sorry story of hypocrisy. South Australia’s Liberal party leader mouthed a few pious statement about the proposed new Roxby Downs Indenture Bill –   Liberals seemed to have a few problems with it. That was then.  This is now. The Liberals agreed to the Bill “without amendment or delay”.

Still, the Olympic Dam story is not over.  BHP Billiton to decide on it in 2012. It is all a very expensive gamble on supposed profits to take place well over 20 years hence.  Many a slip between even copper prices and future profitability.  And as for uranium –  well, as the Globe and Mail puts it (below) there’s “continuing upheaval in the nuclear industry”  When nuclear lobbyists talk about the “glowing future” for uranium, it sounds more and more like some sort of desperate religious faith. – Christina Macpherson

November 8, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina reviews