The weeks’ Australian nuclear news in brief
Australia: Once again, the most serious, and the least covered in the media, is the issue of Martin Ferguson’s National Radioactive Waste Bill, under consideration by the Senate.
Mining companies bribing activities. Australian mining companies getting anxious about their operations in Africa and Asia; they might get caught bribing government officials, (as BHP Billiton, the Big Non Australian was caught with its “tea money” to Cambodia).
In country Australia, many are becoming aware of the financial loss to rural communities of governments preventing wind energy projects. Astroturfing pressure groups have prevailed over science, in the “debate” over wind power.
Continuing angst about Gina Rinehart and her push to influence content on the Australian media.
Continuing opposition to Australian company Lynas’ rare earths project in Malaysia – as it has no long term radioactive waste disposal plan. Temporary approval process by the Malaysian government has aroused much protest.
Decentralised solar energy proving to be a winner for Queensland.
Australian government launches a series of energy efficiency programs.
Muckaty is not needed for radioactive waste, and the traditional owners will fight on
Medical professionals have called for federal politicians to stop using nuclear medicine as justification for the Muckaty proposal.
Both the NT and Commonwealth governments have systematically stripped back resources for small remote Indigenous communities, placing increased pressure on them to accept long-term and high impact projects like the waste dump.
there is a simple solution: leave the waste where it is produced at the Lucas Heights nuclear research centre .. As Dr Ron Cameron from ANSTO said: “ANSTO is capable of handling and storing wastes for long periods of time. There is no difficulty with that.” Similar views have been expressed by the Commonwealth nuclear regulator, ARPANSA, by the Australian Nuclear Association and even by Martin Ferguson’s own department.
Ferguson’s Dumping Ground Fights Back New Matilda , 13 Feb 12, The Gillard Government is pushing ahead with plans to host a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty in the NT, despite local opposition. Traditional Owners have vowed to fight on, writes Natalie Wasley…. The legislation names Muckaty, 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, as the only site to remain under active consideration for a national nuclear waste dump.
The proposal is highly contested by the NT Government and is also being challenged in the Federal Court by Traditional Owners. Despite this, the Bill is currently being debated in the Senate — and will likely pass.
Ferguson’s law is a crude cut and paste of the Howard government’s Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act that it purports to replace. It limits the application of federal environmental protection legislation and it curtails appeal rights. The draft legislation overrides the Aboriginal Heritage Protection Act and it sidesteps the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. It allows for the imposition of a dump on Aboriginal land with no consultation with or consent from Traditional Owners. In fact, the Minister can now override any state or territory law that gets in the way of the dump plan. Continue reading
“tea money” – Australian mining companies’ bribery in Africa and Asia
The US Securities Exchange Commission is investigating BHP Billiton for possible violation of anti-
bribery laws. The company has been under scrutiny after it was revealed it paid $1 million to the Cambodian government to secure a mining project in 2006. A senior Cambodian minister later described the payment, which has been unable to be traced, as ”tea money”…..
Firms tell of possible bribes, The Age, Richard Baker and Nick McKenzie, February 14, 2012, SEVERAL large Australian public companies have provided federal police with information implicating themselves in possible foreign bribery offences.
The Age understands companies involved in mining, exploration and other sectors in Africa and Asia have discovered possible evidence of overseas bribery during recent internal audits…. Documents released by the federal Attorney-General’s Department to The Age under Freedom of Information laws show that in May last year Australia had four active foreign bribery investigations. Continue reading
Japan’s ‘Nuclear Village” gang in disrepute, nuclear power to end in Japan
Nuke-Free Japan by 2022 says Prof Broinowski, Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog, By Brett Stokes. 14 Feb 12, ” Author and former ambassador, now adjunct Professor at Sydney University, Richard Broinowski gave a talk to more than 100 people at The Bob Hawke Centre at the University of South Australia in Adelaide .
The talk was promoted as Fukishima and the Future of Nuclear Power, with a revised title on the night “The Fallout From Fukushima”. Broinowski predicts that the Japanese nuke power industry is in decline and will be all over within ten years.
So strong is the public reaction to the TEPCO Fukushima disaster, that the Japanese chapter of the Nuke Gang, known as The Nuclear Village, is doomed, says Professor Broinowski.
Broinowski spoke accurately about the disaster for some 40 minutes, highlighting the push to renewable energy which Japan has in abundance with the geo thermal activity which makes nuclear such a stupid choice for Japan.
A special serve was reserved for Adelaide Uni’s atomic energy puppet professor Barry Brook …. The Nuke Gang are organised, but they are losing ground fast. http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/nuke-free-japan-by-2022-says-prof-broinowski-by-brett-stokes/
Note. In a previous version of this post, I published an incorrect and derogatory statement about Barry Brook – for which I now apologise to Professor Brook, and have removed that statement from this website. – Christina Macpherson
Mining corporations’ control of Australian media to increase, as Gina Rinehart joins
Other mining billionaires may also join Rinehart’s bid to shape Australia’s media in her own image…….. the corporate rich’s control of the media is hardly limited to Rinehart. It is the rule, not the exception….. Australia already has the most monopolised media in Western world.
Rinehart grabs for media control, Green Left, February 11, 2012 ,By Paul Benedek She’s proposed nuclear explosions for open-cut mining, funded tours by climate deniers and called for bringing in cheap migrant labour to work her mines.
Now Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, has bought the largest individual stake in Fairfax Media, which runs the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Australian Financial Review, plus various radio stations and regional papers.
In 2010, Rinehart bought herself a seat on the Channel 10 board when she paid $166 million for a 10% stake in the television station.
Her expansion from mining baron to media mogul is most likely not a financial decision. Rinehart is spending less than 1% of her wealth on Fairfax, and media is far less profitable than mining. Continue reading
Fukushima reactor now hotter – tonnes of water poured in hourly
Fukushima reactor heats up again, ABC News, By Mark Willacy in Fukushima The operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant has begun injecting more water into one of the reactors, after the core temperature rose above Japan’s safety limit.
A gauge inside Fukushima’s reactor number two showed the temperature rising to 82 degrees Celsius over the weekend, its highest level since the reactor was put into a state of cold shutdown two months ago. Operator TEPCO insists there has been no nuclear reaction and that the reactor can be controlled.
Responding to the increase, the operator began injecting 15 tonnes of water an hour into the reactor in a bid to get the temperature down. TEPCO says it has not detected any xenon gas, which is created when a
nuclear reaction has been triggered.
The company suspects that cooling water has not been flowing freely into the the number two reactor, causing the rise in temperature. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-13/fukushima-heating-up-again/3825924
Nuclear slowdown – Finland, France, China, Belgium, Japan ..
Nuclear Problems, Environmental Research Web, 12 Feb 12, The European Pressurised-water Reactor (EPR) being built at Olkiluoto in Finland is now unlikely to be completed until 2014- five years late- and $3bn or more over-budget. Similar problems face the EPR being built at Flammanville in France.
And similar problems have emerged at the two 1.7GW EPRs being built at Taishan in China, 140km west of Hong Kong: variable concrete quality, unqualified or inexperienced subcontractors, poor documentation, language issues.
Unit 1 is meant to be ready in 2013, Unit 2 in 2014, followed by two more. China has also had some problems with rapidly deploying its re-engineered version of the Westinghouse AP1000, Continue reading
Increased rate of cancer of testicles due to increased exposure to ionising radiation
Fetal exposure to radiation increases risk of testicular cancer Medical Express February 13, 2012 Male fetuses of mothers that are exposed to radiation during early pregnancy may have an increased chance of developing testicular cancer, according to a study in mice at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 8,500 new cases of testicular cancer are diagnosed each year in the United States. During the past 50 years, the incidence has tripled in young Caucasian men throughout the world.
“This increase and the characteristics of germ cell tumors strongly suggest that fetal exposure to an environmental agent is responsible,” Continue reading
‘Shonky fast-tracked approval’ for Australian company’s rare earths plant in Malaysia
Ire over Lynas ‘sham’ plant consultation, SMH, Vince Chadwick February 13, 2012 Groups opposed to a rare-earths refinement plant in Malaysia plan to appeal against the atomic regulator’s decision to grant Australian miner Lynas a temporary operating licence…
.. Ms Tansaid two separate appeals would be launched this week, one by locals in Kuantan and another in Kuala Lumpur. She said objections would centre on the ”shonky, fast-tracked approval process” in which the licensing board temporarily approved the plant less than a week after public consultations closed.
The president of the Malaysian Bar association, Lim Chee Wee, said last week, ”it beggars belief that [the licensing board] could have adequately and properly considered the 1123 public comments within merely two working days.
”The only natural conclusion is that the whole public consultation process is a sham and charade, ” he said…..
Lynas expects to begin refining rare earths shipped from its $100 million mine in Mount Weld, Western Australia, by the second quarter of this year. It hopes to recycle some waste to make building materials or fertiliser. In the case of iron phosphate gypsum, for which there are no commercial applications, the company said it can store waste safely
for up to 17 years.
Mr Lim said ”the granting of a 10-month period for Lynas to provide the plan and location of the [permanent disposal facility] borders on recklessness: by then, even if the terms of the licence remain unfulfilled and the licence is suspended or cancelled, substantial amounts of radioactive wastes would have been produced”…..
Ms Tan said the ecologically sensitive area near mangroves meant toxic runoff into the South China Sea could affect local fisherman. http://www.smh.com.au/business/ire-over-lynas-sham-plant-consultation-20120212-1sznp.html#ixzz1mIqXT47j
Rural Australia’s economy damaged by stopping wind farms
there have been many credible health studies all over the world and none has ever found that wind turbines can directly cause health problems
wind farms currently proposed in Australia had the potential to generate up to $15 billion worth of investment across the
country and create nearly 10,000 direct jobs.
Wind farm halt would hurt nation, http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/news/local/news/general/wind-farm-halt-would-hurt-nation/2452728.aspx , Goulburn Post13 Feb, 2012 ANY moratorium on wind farm development would drive billions of dollars of investment out of Australia and hurt farmers and regional communities, the renewable energy industry’s peak body says.
The Clean Energy Council said a moratorium on new wind farms, called for by Democratic Labor Party Senator John Madigan and Independent Senator Nick Xenophon in the Senate last week, would hurt rural towns and businesses.
“Wind farms bring investment to regional towns and help farmers diversify to support their businesses and families,” Mr Thornton said. “Placing a moratorium on wind farms would remove this source of support to regional and rural communities. Continue reading
Toro Energy sells out of uneconomic Mt Woods uranium project
Toro Energy: shareholders accept termination terms for Mt Woods uranium project Proactive Investors, , February 14, 2012 by John Phillips Toro Energy (ASX: TOE) has updated the market on the Mt Woods uranium project.
Toro said that shareholders have voted to accept the terms of a termination agreement for the company’s involvement in the Mount Woods uranium project in South Australia….. OZ Minerals has conducted major exploration programs at Mt Woods and, despite extensive drilling campaigns, no potentially economic uranium results have been reported
from the project.
“Justice” – a new book on the value of the Aboriginal Legal Service
The Aboriginal Legal Service: born out of injustice Rebecca Boteler ABC News, February 13, 2012 Not so long ago, Aboriginal people weren’t even recognised as citizens of their own country. They didn’t have the right to vote, the right tohave legal representation or even the right to fight for their own land.
In the early 1970s, an organisation was started to right the wrongs of injustice and give Indigenous people equality before the law. 40 years later, the Aboriginal Legal Service has become much more than that.
A new book, ‘Justice’ documents the story of the ALS, from its humble beginnings to an organisation at the forefront of every major issue facing Aboriginal people today. Its author Fiona Skyring says when the ALS opened its doors in 1973,
there was initially just one full time lawyer…….
the ALS was instrumental in securing land rights agreements for the communities at Noonkanbah and Oombulgurri, paving the way for native title claims in WA.
Land rights wasn’t the only battle the ALS was fighting…..
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-13/the-als-in-the-last-40-years-feature/3827464?section=wa
South Australian govt gives uranium company $5 million compensation
SA to compensate Marathon for mining ban, 9 News, 13 Feb 12, Marathon Resources has accepted $5 million in compensation after its hopes of one day mining uranium at Mount Gee were dashed by a proposed ban on mining at the environmentally sensitive Arkaroola area.
The minerals explorer says it is dropping its civil law suit against the South Australian government because months of negotiation had resulted in the goodwill compensation for the ban on exploration and mining at Arkaroola in the northern Flinders Ranges.
The company had its licence to explore a deposit at Mt Gee, one of Australia’s largest undeveloped uranium deposits, renewed before the ban was announced in July 2011.
The plan, still before state parliament, would exclude the Arkaroola area from South Australia’s Mining Act, provide legislated protection for the sanctuary and have it nominated for world heritage listing….
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8418443/sa-to-compensate-marathon-for-mining-ban
At anti-submarine warfare forum, Yankee urges Australia to lease US nuclear submarines
Australia urged to lease subs,Canberra Times, DAVID ELLERY, DEFENCE REPORTER, 11 Feb, 2012 Australia would save billions of dollars if it leased used US nuclear submarines to replace the troubled Collins-class fleet, an American naval expert says.
”If you want to utilise the submarine force for long-range missions the nuclear submarine is the queen of the seas,” Sam Tangredi, a former US naval captain turned academic and strategic analyst, told The Canberra Times.
Dr Tangredi, who was in Canberra to speak at an anti-submarine warfare forum at the Australian Defence College, said taking over some of the submarines due to be retired early by the US Navy as part of its defence cuts was almost certainly the cheapest way to build an interim Australian underwater capability….
US nuclear submarines regularly use Australian ports and the defence posture review has suggested upgrading the submarine wharf at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia to make it better able to take American SSNs.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith recently reaffirmed nuclear submarines were off the agenda as far as replacing the Collins was concerned…. ”People can put the [nuclear] argument forward but that’s the only option that’s not on the table.”… http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/australia-urged-to-lease-subs/2451846.aspx
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 