The nuclear week that was, in Australia
This week, it’s been all about the Australian government’s confusion – over its nuclear waste dump plan, over renewable energy, even over climate change.
Nationally, it’s becoming clear that the Australian government is in a muddle over its plan to set up a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory. The legal case brought by traditional Aboriginal owners, against the dump, continues. Australia is obliged to take back from France and UK, its nuclear wastes that originated at the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor. They could be stored at the Lucas Heights location. The nuclear reactor is not primarily for nuclear medicine, (that was always just an add-on) and medical radioisotopes could be obtained without that reactor.
The Muckaty site is uncomfortably close to an earthquake fault. Confused information is coming out about a plan to site the dump elsewhere, in the same area.The government’s nuclear illiteracy has come into focus lately – on this issue, among other muddles, such as its general ignorance about BHP’s intentions regarding a new Olympic Dam uranium mine, and the implications of Cameco’s plan to mine uranium close to Alice Springs.
USA military and corporate plans for South East Asia and the Pacific have been given two big boosts this week, at the AUSMIN talks in Perth. One boost was – strengthening the Trans Pacific Partnership (aimed at favouring USA business and excluding China ). The other – increasing USA’s military presence here – at the Stirling naval base, South of Perth, and increasing the already huge Talisman Sabre war games .
The federal government’s confusion is also shown in its approach to renewable energy policy. While it looks like keeping the Renewable Energy Target, it has caved in to the fossil fuel lobby, in abruptly closing its Solar Credits scheme, throwing investors into solar panel industry into uncertainty.
The uranium lobby continues its hype. Example, Marmota Energy’s chairman enthusing today about “clean nuclear energy’ and its “strong future”. Most of the hype now hangs solely on China – touted now as the great white hope for nuclear. Yet, its nuclear industry, like just about all of China’s business and politics, is mired in secrecy and corruption.
Lynas rare earths company faced Malaysian and Australian protestors, at its AGM in Sydney. Lynas’ plans for its Malaysian site’s radioactive waste management are still uncertain, though it has applied to regulators to return these wastes to Australia, (a statement probably mainly designed to try and pacify the Malaysians).
Climate change. Very worrying reports from the World Bank on impact of climate change on Australian agriculture. but what is our government doing? Well – it’s not sending a Minister to the international climate change negotiations. Sounds as if the government doesn’t see climate change as all that important.
Labor-Coalition plan to build a nuclear waste dump “somewhere” in an earthquake zone
21 November 2012. A new earthquake hazards map produced by Geoscience Australia reveals Tennant Creek – near the proposed site for a nuclear waste dump – is an area of high earthquake risk. Report: http://www.ga.gov.au/earthquakes/
Following revelations that an alternative site for the waste dump was under active consideration, Australian Greens spokesperson for nuclear policy Senator Scott Ludlam noted the Federal Government appeared increasingly desperate on the issue.
“The Government is now scrambling to solve a mess of its own creation, repeating the same errors as before. Parking Australia’s radioactive waste on Muckaty station, far from centres of technical expertise and against the wishes of local people, that’s bad enough. Doing it in an earthquake zone compounds the offence.
“What we need is an independent commission with the technical expertise to find a world’s best standard solution for Australia’s inventory of radioactive waste. What we’re getting is a shed with two security guards, stuck on a site chosen by politicians – which happens to be in an earthquake zone.”
Senator Ludlam today put extensive questions through the Senate to Minister Martin Ferguson on what consultation is underway for selecting an alternative site: http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/questions-notice/questions-relating-site-selection-nuclear-waste
Senator Ludlam’s speech yesterday asking why questions asked one month earlier had not been answered: http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/speeches-parliament/unanswered-questions-notice-regarding-muckaty-nuclear-waste-dump And answers received today: http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/sites/default/files/sqon2389_answer.pdf
Malaysians and Australians in protest rally outside Lynas AGM
Protesters rallied outside the Lynas AGM to voice their opposition to the miner’s processing plant. Source: AAP http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/activists-protest-miner-lynas-agm/story-fn3dxiwe-1226520502080 20 Nov 12, PROTESTERS outside the annual general meeting of rare earths miner Lynas in Sydney have vowed to maintain their opposition to the company’s controversial Malaysian plant.
The small band of 19 Malaysians flew to Australia over the weekend to stage Tuesday’s demonstration against the company’s rare earths processing plant currently under construction near Kuantan on the country’s east coast. Continue reading
Exodus of young Japanese from radiation tainted Japan
Foreigners tended to assume Japan had bounced back from the triple disaster, and in some areas that was true. But many Japanese now had, for the first time, a deep distrust of their government. The extent of the radiation release from the Fukushima plant, and the barrage of significant aftershocks, have been sources of stress for the Japanese
a woman in her early 40s, said she wanted to take her family to Australia or New Zealand because of the danger of radiation from the Fukushima disaster and the prospect of another quake.
some radiation-conscious and well-researched New Lifers have even questioned Australia as a destination because it has a nuclear reactor
Quake, nuke, economy fears chase Japanese overseas BY: RICK WALLACE, TOKYO CORRESPONDENT The Australian November 20, 2012 NEW figures reveal the number of Japanese leaving their homeland for a life abroad has more than tripled in the wake of last year’s earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident. The number of Japanese living abroad jumped by more than 40,000 in the year to October last year, according to the latest Ministry of Foreign Affairs figures – more than three times the normal rate of growth.
Next year the number is likely to climb further, Continue reading
The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) needed, as AUSMIN locks Australia into USA militarism
why is the Australian government co-operating in United States planning for the military containment of China? There is no threat to Australia
Stirling naval base south of Perth is set to become a major base for US operations in the region although details are not yet confirmed. Some reports suggest that US nuclear submarines may be based in Stirling.
The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) was set up recently with the expressed aim of organising against this gathering rush by the Australian government further into an unquestioning and subservient relationship with the US and its arms corporations.
AUSMIN confirms Australia’s subservience to US military, The Guardian, Denis Doherty, 20 Nov 12,
AUSMIN, the annual talks between the Australian and US foreign and defence ministers, have come and gone for another year and the agreement reached makes depressing reading for Australians who want to live in peace and prosperity.
The AUSMIN communiqué outlines plans for the future benefit for US corporations at the expense of the people of
the Indo Pacific region. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta and their Australian counterparts Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Defence Minister Stephen Smith met for the AUSMIN talks on November 14 in Perth. Continue reading
South Korea – no idea where to put its growing piles of nuclear wastes
South Koreans to ponder where to store nuclear waste http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/20/us-nuclear-korea-idUSBRE8AJ0CP20121120 By Meeyoung Cho SEOUL Nov 20, 2012 (Reuters) – South Korea is to hold public consultations on where to store 
waste nuclear fuel as storage capacity at its reactors is reaching full capacity, the government said on Tuesday.
The plan to set up an independent consultative body comes as South Korea grapples with its worst nuclear crisis ever after forged certificates were used by parts suppliers to the nuclear industry, causing stoppages at two reactors as the bitter Korean winter draws near.
The government has been criticized for a lack of transparency over safety for its nuclear programme and for the dual supervisory and promotion roles of its regulators. The Ministry of the Knowledge Economy and its officials said in a statement on Tuesday that the consultations over storing waste fuel temporarily – for perhaps 50 years or so – would be completed by the end of 2014. Continue reading
Anti nuclear parties joining together to fight Japanese election
Ozawa, Kamei to fight election on anti-nuclear line, November 20, 2012 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN Two veteran politicians hoping to draw support for their small parties are drawing a line in the sand against nuclear power, a key issue in the Dec. 16 Lower House election.
Ichiro Ozawa, who leads People’s Life First, plans to capitalize on the issue to differentiate his party and draw support away from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party.
People’s Life First, mainly consisting of DPJ defectors, calls for moving away from nuclear power in 10 years in its basic platform. Continue reading
Lynas Corporation did apply to Australian regulators for shipping radioactive waste back to Australia
Lynas defends Malaysia project amid ongoing protests Australia Network News, 19 Nov 12 By Canberra correspondent Stephanie March “….Members of the Malaysian Stop Lynas Save Malaysia movement have also met with members of the minority Greens Party.
The Greens are concerned not only about the development in Malaysia but also the possibility of radioactive waste from the plant being shipped back to Australia.
Lynas has applied to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), a regulatory authority, for a permit to send the by-product back. “I think it is a ruse. I think the company has no intention,” said Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, the member for the area in Western Australia where the material would most likely be shipped back to.
“It is an alarmingly bad idea and I object to the idea they can hoodwink local residents that they have a safe dumping strategy for Australia, which we know would be difficult.” Continue reading
AUDIO: radiation denialism from TEPCO and the Japanese government
Audio :Japan government, TEPCO deny Fukushima radiation tainting fish http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/connect-asia/japan-government-tepco-deny-fukushima-radiation-tainting-fish/1049052 20 November 2012, It was the largest radioactive contamination of the sea in history but Japan’s government is disputing a study by a respected international research group suggesting that radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is still entering the food chain.
Japan government, TEPCO deny Fukushima radiation tainting fish (Credit: ABC) Last month the US-based Woods Hole Institution revealed that about 40 per cent of the fish caught off Fukushima is contaminated with radioactive caesium which is above the government’s own limit.
But Japan’s Fisheries Agency says the contamination is sinking deeper into the seabed and is not entering the food chain, while the nuclear plant operator TEPCO denies any tainted water is leaking from the facility.
Exposing Australian Liberal Party’s absurd climate change policies
Turnbull calls out Abbott’s carbon hypocrisy (again) , REneweconomy,. By Giles Parkinson on 20 November 2012 Malcolm Turnbull has once again publicly outed the federal Opposition’s absurd climate change policies – playing word games over Tony Abbott’s “blood pledge” to repeal the carbon tax, and highlighting that the Coalition’s policy position is only a short-term one, at best.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Opposition will find it nearly impossible to deliver on Abbott’s pledge to repeal the carbon price. And for months, as we pointed out in July, it has only been described as a pledge to repeal the carbon tax, not the carbon price. It’s a subtle but critically important distinction, and one that Turnbull was keen to highlight on ABC TV’s Q&A program last night…….
there is nothing to celebrate in a carbon price that is too low to inspire investment from a scheme that is too weak to meet environmental targets. This was underscored this week by a petition of 100 leading companies – including Shell, Unilever, EDF Energy, Statoil, Swiss Re, and Skanska – who complained that the carbon price was not sufficiently robust to drive the investments required in abatement technologies. And there is nothing to complain about in a renewable energy target delivering more renewable energy that planned. It’s more than just a box-ticking exercise.
Questions in Australian Senate on the status of Olympic Dam and other uranium mines
(7) What is the current status of expansion plans at Olympic Dam.
(a) what is the current status of this project;
(b) what assessment and approvals are needed to further advance development;
(c) have there been any formal or informal application or discussions between the department and the project proponent around this issue; and
(d) what implications does the recent change of government in the Northern Territory have for this project.
Australia is complicit in USA’s militarisation of space
AUSMIN confirms Australia’s subservience to US military, The Guardian, Denis Doherty, 20 Nov 12,”…..In the AUSMIN talks Australia has agreed to establish a space surveillance station which has the aim of detecting space debris. It will be established at the US North West Cape facility in WA. Efforts to stop space debris hitting commercial satellites are welcome. However, the station will also have the capability to gather intelligence to target other satellites and will be configured to provide an interface for anti-satellite warfare.
In its headlong drive to control the planet, the US is also working to control space – and Australia is complicit in this.
Space should be used for the benefit of all humanity and Australia should promote the UN resolution on the prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS)….. http://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2012/1574/06-ausmin-confirms.html
Limiting the News – THE AUSTRALIAN twists a story to climate denialism
The Australian skews climate science… again, Independent Australia, 20 November, 2012 The Australian newspaper continues its relentless misrepresentation of climate change science. Graham Readfearn reports. “COOL spell to chill hearts of climate activists,” says the clickbait headline in yesterday’s The Australian (19/11/12).
The story, a reprint from the Sunday Times’ Jonathan Leake, is just the kind of editorialised-opinion-disguised-as-news which The Australian has become known for whenever it reports about climate change.
Let’s have a look through this piece; it begins:
THE world’s climate has cooled during last year and this year, temperature data from Britain’s Met Office reveals — just before this year’s talks on cutting global greenhouse gas emissions.
The figures show that, although global temperatures are still well above the long-term average, they have fallen since the record seen in 2010. The findings could prove politically sensitive, coming ahead of the UN’s climate summit in Doha, Qatar, where the global system for regulating greenhouse gas emissions faces collapse.
The threat comes because the Kyoto Treaty, under which developed nations pledged to cut their carbon emissions, expires at the end of this year. Doha is seen as the last hope of securing an extension.
In such a febrile situation, any data casting doubt on climate scientists’ predictions is potentially explosive.
Come again?
…. The findings could prove politically sensitive …. any data casting doubt on climate scientists’ predictions ….
I would challenge Jonathan Leake to find any climate scientist who in the peer reviewed literature – or anywhere else for that matter – has “predicted” that global temperatures will rise uniformly year upon year. This only becomes “politically sensitive” if the politicians in question accept this sort of spoon-fed misrepresentation of the science.
Given that 2012 will probably end up as another year in the top ten warmest years ever recorded (something the Met Office predicted back in January), actually reinforces what the climate scientists have been “predicting” rather than casting doubt on them.
Not only that, but the expert from the UK’s Met Office which Leake quotes, Peter Stott, even spells out for Leake why the strawman argument Leake went on use in his story was wrong.
However, it is such a short period that it is scientifically meaningless. Climate change can only be measured over decades — and the records show that the world has warmed by 0.75C over the past century….
1 This month
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