Antinuclear

BHP and South Australian government keen to remove Federal oversight of environmental assessment

Sounds innocuous, doesn’t it?   –  “streamlining the environmental impact process” 

But, it’s exactly this process which threatens to hold up BHP Billiton digging the biggest man made hole in the world, and creating the biggest pile of radioactive waste in the world, while taking up the biggest amount of Australia’s groundwater.

You see, the current legal action against approval for the new Olympic Dam uranium mine hinges on the Federal environmental approval for the  mine to go ahead.

Of course BHP Billiton and its lackey South Australian Government would want all environmental control of such huge ventures to be limited to that lackey State.   Even though Olympic Dam’ s effects –   such as radioactive dust clouds will reach other States and State capital cities.

If Australia’s Federal Government abdicates from its power of environmental jurisdiction over mining, and other big enterprises, it will be open slather for any big corporation with a subservient State  Government. – Christina Macpherson

Premiers to slash green tape, inefficient climate schemes, Sydney Morning Herald, Lenore Taylor, Phillip Coorey April 12, 2012 Before today’s first pre-Council of Australian Governments meeting between business leaders, the Prime Minister and the premiers, the federal and state governments indicated the business push to streamline environmental approvals would be endorsed…..

In a joint submission for today’s meeting, the nation’s peak business and industry groups complained the environmental impact process, which involves separate state and federal government assessments, needed to be streamlined…..

The South Australian Labor Premier, Jay Weatherill, who, as the chairman of the Council for the Australian Federation, will represent the state and territory leaders at today’s meeting, welcomed the initiatives proposed by the business groups. He singled out as having ”great merit” the proposal to remove the state-federal jurisdiction from the environmental impact assessment process….

Twenty-six business leaders will attend the meeting, including business group heads and chief executives such as BHP’s Marius Kloppers, Cameron Clyne of the National Australia Bank and Westpac’s Gail Kelly. The business leaders will make recommendations to tomorrow’s COAG meeting. : http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/premiers-to-slash-green-tape-inefficient-climate-schemes-20120411-1wsd7.html#ixzz1rswQiHA7

April 12, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics