Australia’s uneasy reliance on China for economy, and USA for ? defense security
“China is the elephant in the room for Obama and Gillard,”
Obama Meets Gillard as Embattled First Leaders Shadowed by China
Resources, Bloomberg, By Jason Scott and Margaret Talev – Nov 13, 2011 President Barack Obama arrives this week in an Australia whose economy is reliant on billions of dollars in mineral and energy contracts from emerging superpower China and whose security depends on an alliance with the U.S. — China’s biggest rival.
The dangers of U.S. nuclear powered ships, military equipment, in Darwin
Weigh up all the costs of greater US defence role SMH, Jan Thornley, 14 Nov 11 Your [Sydney Morning Herald’s] front page juxtaposition of disturbing information on the continuing radioactive contamination at Maralinga and the imminent announcement of the US military expanding its presence in Australia should be a warning to us all (”Greens fury at US build-up”, ”Ten years after the all-clear, Maralinga is still toxic”, November 12-13).
Fifty-five years ago we allowed British nuclear weapons tests on Australian soil, which has left this toxic, dangerous legacy for the health of people and the environment. We should be aware of the cloak of secrecy and lack of debate that surrounded the planning and decision making for this sorry chapter in our history. We are entitled to open and transparent information of all potential risks Australia may face by hosting US defence personnel and equipment at facilities here.
Questions must be answered – for example, on the inherent dangers of nuclear-powered and armed vessels in our ports; uranium-based munitions for aircraft and tanks; the use of hazardous depleted uranium weaponry, and the possible adverse effects and ecological harm of the American military escalation in Australia. These questions should be vigorously debated in our Parliament and media as part of an informed, democratic process. http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/iran-a-tragedy-of-the-wests-own-making-20111113-1ndx3.html#ixzz1djIWVyRf
Indonesia not happy about planned big USA military base in Darwin
”Psychologically, it is not easy to have such a big presence on the doorstep, people in Indonesia still look at Australia with suspicion about hidden motives,”
Indonesia wants answers on US military plans, The Age, Daniel Flitton and Jessica Wright, November 12 2011 INDONESIA will seek an urgent explanation from Prime Minister Julia Gillard about plans to station US marines in Darwin, questioning the need for a military build-up on the country’s doorstep. Continue reading
Australia needing protection from nuclear China? – but keen to sell uranium to China
Hey China, come get our uranium, Northern Territory News, DAVID WOOD | November 8th, 2011 TERRITORY Resources Minister Kon Vatskalis has told Chinese mining conference delegates there were many uranium mining investment opportunities in the Territory for the next decade…..
Mr Vatskalis said since the start of a government strategy to increase Chinese investment, there had been 16 agreements signed between Chinese and Territory companies and 53 exploration licences granted to Chinese exploration companies with $157 million in publicly announced deals.
There have been 21 Chinese companies investment in exploration and mining in the Territory…
He said that there was great potential for uranium mines, with a prime example being a majority equity investment in the Energy Metal Bigrlyi project in the Ngalia Central Australian mine by China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group…..
http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2011/11/08/271261_nt-business.html
Kevin Rudd’s contradictory messages on nuclear disarmament
Anti-nuclear Rudd urged US to keep arsenal for deterrence, The Age, Daniel Flitton November 14, 2011 KEVIN Rudd’s public ambition as prime minister to help rid the world of nuclear weapons was secretly tempered by private messages urging the US to preserve a ”reliable” and ”credible” atomic arsenal, newly declassified documents reveal.
Mr Rudd made a campaign against nuclear weapons a hallmark of his foreign policy while in the top job, saying Australia had to reclaim credentials for the ”ultimate objective of a nuclear weapons-free world”. This chimed with hopes of then incoming US President Barack Obama, who pledged to put nuclear disarmament back on the global agenda.
But reflecting the dilemma of pushing for disarmament but not fully trusting other countries to keep any such bargain, Australia urged its American ally to hang on to its nuclear weapons for ”deterrence”…..
The submission is one of a bundle of secret defence documents obtained by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons under freedom of information law. Defence officials acknowledged the human cost of a nuclear war would be ”staggering” but said without a time frame for eradicating atomic weapons – and with ”complex and prolonged” negotiations likely in the meantime – the nuclear option should remain. Continue reading
France’s nuclear waste dilemma
A pyramid to warn of a French nuclear waste site?, By Muriel Boselli, PARIS | Tue Nov 8, 2011 (Reuters) – How can mankind signal to future generations thousands of years from now that hazardous radioactive waste is buried deep underground in eastern France – by building a giant pyramid, a museum or a site for art projects or by employing geology? Continue reading
UK govt lied about the extent of the atomic bomb tests in Maralinga
A spokesman for Rosenblatt solicitors, which is representing veterans from the UK, New Zealand and Fiji since taking up the case six years ago, said: “This is potentially very significant information for the progress of the case.”…
RAF veteran says government covered up scale of nuclear tests, Ex-airman’s evidence could prove crucial in court case against Ministry of Defence, THE INDEPENDENT, OMAR OAKES, PAUL CAHALAN 14 NOVEMBER 2011 A former RAF navigator has claimed the size of a nuclear bomb detonated during tests in the 1950s could have been three times bigger than the Government officially stated, in evidence which could that prove crucial for more than 1,000 service veterans suing the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for upwards of £100m. Continue reading
Strong call against Australian company Lynas’ rare earths radioactive wastes in Malaysia
Lynas, ….. expects to bring in RM8 billion a year from 2013 that too tax-free, based on current prices.”……
Petition signed by 52000 residents protesting the building of the plant
By Aliran, on 12 November 2011, M N D’Cruz raises the alarm over the Lynas rare earth refinery near Kuantan and says it is the duty of every Pahang resident to oppose the plant……
The biggest question is ‘Why do we want this plant in Gebeng or for that matter anywhere in Malaysia’? Continue reading
Community owned, community funded, renewable energy getting a boost in Bendigo
Bendigo to host sustainability conference, Bendigo Advertiser, ROSA ELLEN, 14 Nov, 2011 COMMUNITY-owned energy projects from across Australia will meet in Bendigo today as part of a two-day national conference. Community Power Conference convener Professor John Martin said representatives would show what could be achieved despite a lack of political leadership on renewable energy.
“Bendigo needs to know that renewable energy driven by community is possible,” Professor Martin said. Hepburn Wind, whose chairman Simon Holmes a Court will be one of the presenters at the event, is a “clear example” of what could be achieved by community owned and invested projects, he said.
“For me it’s a no-brainer. The hurt will come as electricity prices go up and people will say ‘why didn’t we do anything about it?’” he said.
“All governments can worry about is the bloody carbon tax. There’s lots of news around on community action and we see no action from the government.
All we see them doing is banning wind farms.”
Professor Martin said it appeared politicians were more likely to follow the campaign for clean energy once it gained ground, rather than lead the way.
“There’s great enthusiasm from communities across Australia who want to do something,” he said. Among the projects presenting at the conference is the Warbuton Micro-Hydro project, a small hydro electric system set to power 50 to 60 homes when it starts in about three weeks.
Warburton Micro-Hydro project leader Luke Whiteside will be speaking about the financing of the project, which has its community bank as a major shareholder. Mr Whiteside said he would be interested to learn from other community run projects during the two-day event.
The conference at The Capital theatre is being held by La Trobe University’s Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities, and the Central Victoria Solar City project with the City of Greater Bendigo. It will also address managing peak energy demands and developing local renewable energy generators for the national distribution network.
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 