Antinuclear

Australia: nuclear news this week

Nuclear wastes and the old dead High Flux nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights back in the news, as Federal Government plans (listed in Budget) to move these from South Sydney, for dumping on Aborignal land in the Northern Territory. This would clear the way for further nuclear development at Lucas Heights. Nobody seems to have thought of the idea of just stopping making this radioactive trash, importing radiopharmaceuticals made by non nuclear methods. Sydneysiders are anxious about the radioactive transport.

Federal Budget. 

• Uranium miners  squealing as the Federal Budget moves to stop the rorts on tax exempt exploration, (but they keep all their other perks, such as the fuel rebate).
• Nuke Dump gets $35.7m over 4 years.
•  ANSTO gets $38.7m for decommissioning High Flux Nuclear Reactor and $8.1 m for increasing costs of running OPAL Nuclear Reactor
• ARPANSA  Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency gets  $ 7.8 m over four years 
•  Rum Jungle radioactive decontamination  funds gets $1.5m this year.
• A mixed result for renewable energy and climate change action.  The Australian Renewable Energy Agency survives, with funds deferred. The Clean Technology Programs did not receive rumoured cuts. It could have been worse – and certainly will be, if Abbott gets in, in September.

Uranium market gloom.  .Underneath the hype of the future “uranium boom”, some analysts actually coming out now and predicting indefinite stagnation for Australia’s (and everybody’s)  uranium industry.

Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations going on, in secret, in Lima, Peru.  I bet you’re not hearing anything about this.  So far, the Australian government has resisted conditions that would endanger the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, limit access to Internet material, and permit US corporations to over-ride Australian legislation, in investor-state dispute provisions.  Australia is admired, as a model for resisting this. However, this could all change very quickly if the Liberal Coalition wins on September 14.   You think that this is not nuclear-related?  Well, I think that it’s related to everything!

May 16, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina reviews