Antinuclear

The latest Australian nuclear news

It seems as if nothing is happening in the nuclear and uranium scene in Australia.  However, a renewed propaganda effort is going on – in both departments.  Articles in national and South Australian media have promoted an old, (but never discarded) idea of the Liberal Party, to make Australia the world’s nuclear waste dump.   The uranium industry has been strongly promoted by Australia’s new Minister for (Nuclear) Energy, Gary Gray, and of course, by the Australian Uranium Association and their faithful business  journalists.

The nuclear waste dump idea, (to enrich a few entrepreneurs like John White of Australian Nuclear Fuels Leasing) comes as the world’s nuclear waste crisis becomes more apparent, and as the Australian nuclear lobby is tantalised at the thought of a Liberal Coalition win on September 14.

The uranium promotion idea looks more like a desperate effort by the uranium industry to jolly itself up, as uranium prices drop below US$40/lb with no prospect of coming up again. This puts the lid on the Western Australian Wiluna uranium mine project – unless there’s  a miracle recovery in the market.

Mary Kathleen uranium mine is still a toxically radioactive place, decades after closure. But that hasn’t stopped the Queensland government from deciding to  assess opportunities for mining at the site, which contains millions of tonnes of ore tailings.    The Mary Kathleen mine is under a Restricted Area 232 status, meaning exploration and production are both prohibited.

Wind energy.  Front groups for the fossil fuel and nuclear industry will put on an anti wind energy rally, at Federal Parliament on June 18.  Prominent anti climate change sceptics will be there, representing   front groups  Australian Environment Foundation, Lavoisier Foundation, Galileo Movement, Waubra Foundation – and blessed by the right wing Institute of Public Affarirs (IPA) .   The Liberal Colaition if elected, will impose new noise monitoring rules on wind farms – a complicated and tedious requirement that is likely to cripple the industry.

Meanwhile King Island continues to agonise over whether or not to allow a feasibility study for a wind farm there. It seems that at least one golf club is opposed – it is possible that fewer golf tourists would come to King Island  if there were a wind farm there.  In good old Aussie tradition, sport is having  a higher priority than clean energy?

Renewable energy powers on.  Regional Australia’s Renewables (IRAR) programs- will halve  electricity costs in  remote areas where settlements and mining projects have no connection to the grid, and which have relied almost entirely on fossil fuels to date. Households in South Australia are increasingly turning to solar power to alleviate or even obliterate energy bill woes.

Former Liberal  leader John Hewson praised the (Greens) plan to push Australia’s $80+ billion Future Fund to cut global warming risk in their portfolio. Former leader Malcolm Fraser  tweeted his Twitter followers to vote Green, after a discussion on global warming

June 12, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina reviews