Why is old Has-Been Hawke pushing the (illegal) nuclear waste importing plan?
Greens condemn plan to turn Australia into the world’s nuclear waste dump Australian Greens spokesperson on nuclear policy, Senator Scott Ludlam. 24 August 2013. The Greens have strongly rejected the proposal by former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke to turn Australia into a dump for the world’s nuclear waste.
Greens spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam said the plan was “the worst imaginable way to raise revenue”.
“What Mr. Hawke is proposing is criminal activity. The Parliament passed Greens amendments last year to prohibit the importation of nuclear waste.
“Mr Hawke seems to think the way to fill the Budget hole is to fill a hole in Australia with the world’s nuclear waste. The Labor Party and the Coalition must rule out this dangerous proposal immediately.
“Having seen both the Howard and Rudd-Gillard Governments make an absolute mess of trying to force a dump for Australian nuclear waste on Tenant Creek in the Northern Territory, heaven help us if they were trying to deal with nuclear waste from around the world as well.
“The question is – is Mr Hawke expressing this view as a hobby or as an earner on the side? If he has any commercial interests in a waste management company he should make that clear now
Greens leader Christine Milne shows strength in difficult election situation
Monash University’s Paul Strangio says that now, more than a year after succeeding Brown, Milne has established her identity as the party’s political leader………
After Julia Gillard’s demise, Milne is also the only female national political leader. She notes that the two big parties are now led by married men, each with three children, both of whom go to church on Sunday. ”People who have difficulty with women in leadership are quite satisfied now that the stars are aligned and everything’s back as it should be,” says Milne. ”That’s a tragedy in Australia because women in leadership have a lot to offer.”
Her leadership of the Greens, she explains, is therefore also about making it easier for the next generation of women to lead
Tenacious Milne walks the thin green line SMH, Shane Green Associate Editor of The Age 24 Aug 13 Christine Milne takes her seat for another flight on the campaign trail. Behind is a woman about her age with her elderly mother. As the flight progresses, the younger woman taps Milne on the shoulder and passes a note, written by her mother.
”You’ve got my vote, Christine,” it reads, instantly providing Milne the personal fillip that is intended. Yet its true significance becomes apparent only when the elderly woman gets up to make her way to the toilet. She is struggling, obviously battling a debilitating physical disease. The note of support would have taken half the flight to write.
The Greens leader is deeply touched. It’s a powerful and poignant reminder of the responsibility we place on those who seek to lead us, and the importance of delivering. In an era of pervasive cynicism about politics and politicians, this is a telling moment.
”I’ve always stood up for what I’ve believed in regardless of whether it’s popular or not. And it means a great deal when you have a very elderly person saying to you, I’m going to vote for you,” says Milne. ”All that investment of trust from someone like that really matters.”…….
These kids are great, she says, but her party has supporters across the generations. Among the youthful enthusiasts are two greyer heads, for boomers have also come to the aid of the party.
All of which will be needed in an election that will not only be a fight for survival for Bandt, made all the harder by the Liberal decision to preference Labor above the Greens. It will also be the first big electoral test for the Greens under Milne’s leadership. Continue reading
Bob Hawke sees $$$$s in nuclear waste importing for Australia
Hawke drops a nuclear-tinged poll bombshell SMH, August 24, 2013 Susan Wyndham If anyone is looking for a policy to liven up the election campaign, Bob Hawke has an idea: make Australia the repository of the world’s nuclear waste.”It’s a no-brainer,” he says. ”If you’ve got the safest geological sites in the world, why haven’t you got the moral responsibility to make them available?”
Mr Hawke has made the argument before, and it’s the one issue he raises when asked if he has achieved all he hoped for in the 22 years since he was prime minister.
”It could change the whole economic future of this country,” he says ”We have the world’s safest geological sites in the Northern Territory and north-west Western Australia. We could make the world a safer place and totally change our fiscal position by creating an enormous continuing source of income, then you’d apply some of that income to environmental and Aboriginal causes. But no one’s got the guts.”……….http://www.smh.com.au/national/hawke-drops-a-nucleartinged-poll-bombshell-20130823-2sh7p.html#ixzz2cujX6dn5
Fukushima disaster – in reality a 21 on International Nuclear Event Scale?
TV: Isn’t Fukushima Daiichi at least a 21 on International Nuclear Event Scale, equal to 3 Level 7′s? “Global catastrophe… Disaster of unimaginable proportions” (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/tv-isnt-fukushima-daiichi-at-least-a-21-on-international-nuclear-event-scale-global-catastrophe-disaster-of-unimaginable-proportions-video
Title: Interview with Kevin Kamps
Source: The Thom Hartmann Program
Date: Aug 21, 2013
Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear7 is the highest rung on this [INES] ladder which is global catastrophe, in my words.
Only Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi have reached the seventh rung on this scale.
But as a colleague John Laforge with Nuke Watch in Wisconsin put it back at the time 2 ½ years ago, while there where 3 meltdowns and 4 explosions at Fukushima Daiich, isn’t that at least a 3 times 7, or a 21 on the scale? […] The ocean’s just getting hammered at Fukushima Daiichi.
Thom Hartmann, Host: A disaster of unimaginable proportions […]
Gigantic radioactive water loss from Fukushima’s tanks, basement, cracks
BBC: Fukushima “much worse than we’ve been led to believe, much worse” says nuclear expert — Contaminated water is leaking out all over site http://enenews.com/bbc-fukushima-much-worse-than-we-have-been-led-to-believe-much-worse-says-nuclear-expert-its-leaking-out-from-cracks-all-over-the-place
Title: BBC News – Fukushima leak is ‘much worse than we were led to believe’
Source: BBC News
Author: Matt McGrath Environment correspondent
Date: Aug 22, 2013
A nuclear expert has told the BBC that he believes the current water leaks at Fukushima are much worse than the authorities have stated.
He says water is leaking out all over the site and there are no accurate figures for radiation levels. […] “The quantities of water they are dealing with are absolutely gigantic,” said Mycle Schneider, who has consulted widely for a variety of organisations and countries [France, Germany] on nuclear issues.
“What is the worse is the water leakage everywhere else – not just from the tanks. It is leaking out from the basements, it is leaking out from the cracks all over the place. Nobody can measure that. […]
“It is much worse than we have been led to believe, much worse,” said Mr Schneider, who is lead author for the World Nuclear Industry status reports. […] Full BBC report here
Northern Territory Aboriginal candidate Barbara Shaw aims to end The Intervention
Born and raised in an Alice Springs town camp, Barbara Shaw, an Aboriginal activist and mother of two, is challenging Snowdon on the Australian Greens ticket.
Speaking about the intervention, Shaw, 37, told Al Jazeera, “All I have seen is racism and disempowerment of our people. It’s the old assimilation policy back again, to control how we live.”
Shaw opposes the intervention, which continues under the government rubric of Stronger Futures, and agrees it remains a major source of disaffection for voters. “The Greens are calling for a five-year review of Stronger Futures. It was supposed to create jobs in the bush, but it hasn’t. We stand for sustainable communities and families and eventually to bring an end to Stronger Futures, to skill up people in the bush so they can run their own communities.”……
Aborigines sour on Australia’s Labor Party Angry over federal intervention in the Northern Territory, indigenous voters could sway upcoming polls. Aljazeera, Glenn Morrison 22 Aug 2013 “……largely missing from this picture is a tragedy that has been unfolding at the heart of the nation for more than a century – the plight of Australia’s indigenous people, the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders. Often a convenient platform for domestic political grandstanding, indigenous Australia receives scant attention in frontline election coverage
The electoral district of Lingiari, which comprises most of Australia’s largely undeveloped Northern Territory, is emerging as a litmus test for the political leanings of Aborigines and whites alike. Once considered a safe seat for the centre-left Australian Labor Party, incumbent Warren Snowdon’s future is now in doubt, according to political analyst Professor Rolf Gerritsen of the Northern Institute at Charles Darwin University. Continue reading
Japanese government has been covering up the severity of the Fukushima radiation leak
Media now exposing Fukushima cover-up: “So many terrible things are not being reported” — Official radiation figures cannot be trusted — Regulator suspects Tepco giving false data — Problems much worse than officials claim http://enenews.com/media-now-exposing-fukushima-cover-up-so-many-terrible-things-are-not-being-reported-official-radiation-figures-cannot-be-trusted-regulator-suspects-tepco-giving-govt-false-data-proble
BBC News, Aug 22, 2013: The “worsening situation” at Fukushima has prompted a former Japanese ambassador to Switzerland to call for the withdrawal of Tokyo’s Olympic bid. In a letter to the UN secretary general, Mitsuhei Murata says the official radiation figures published by Tepco cannot be trusted. He says he is extremely worried about the lack of a sense of crisis in Japan and abroad.
Time, Aug 22, 2013: “It’s time we faced the danger, ” said Takashi Hirose, a writer shocked by the under-reported radiation levels he found on recent trip into the evacuation zone. “So many terrible things are not being reported in the news.”
BBC News, Aug 22, 2013: Fukushima leak is ‘much worse than we were led to believe’ […] A nuclear expert [Mycle Schneider] has told the BBC that he believes the current water leaks at Fukushima are much worse than the authorities have stated. […] He says water is leaking out all over the site and there are no accurate figures for radiation levels. […] some nuclear experts are concerned that the problem is a good deal worse than either Tepco or the Japanese government are willing to admit.
Irish Timess,, Aug 21, 2013: Cover-up [….] Many experts believe Japan’s government continues to underestimate the cost and complexity of the decommissioning, and that Tepco has been systematically covering up problems.
Bloomberg, Aug 21, 2013: At least one commissioner at the regulator questioned the accuracy of data being released by operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) and whether the incident had been fully reported. […] “This INES evaluation is based on the 300-ton leak, but I really wonder if we can trust data provided by Tepco,” Toyoshi Fuketa, a commissioner at the NRA, said at a meeting in Tokyo today. “I really wonder if we should judge based on Tepco’s data.”
Australia’s Liberal Coalition selling out our children’s future, to get support of coal industry
Coalition out of step on renewable energy http://www.thecourier.com.au/story/1726125/coalition-out-of-step-on-renewable-energy/?cs=64 By Michael Weadon Aug. 23, 2013
The renewable energy sector now employs more people than the car industry with a fair proportion in the Ballarat area.
Unfortunately the development of clean energy and the associated benefits for Ballarat and the globe as a whole are being held back by the promises of Mr Abbott’s coalition.
Why does the coalition support a policy that is not supported by scientists, economists and business leaders?
I can only guess that the coalition are willing to sell our children’s future to win the support of the now dying coal industry. A myopic view at best.
Australian government study finds renewable energy economically viable
Greens leader Christine Milne described it as ”astonishing” that the government appeared to bury both the ”stunning” study and its summary findings.
”It puts a wrecking ball through claims by the Coalition and Labor that we can’t go a lot harder and set a 90 per cent target by 2030,” Senator Milne said. The operator should expand its study and release the modelling. ”Further work is required to factor in some costs and the many benefits of renewable energy that this first study ignored,” Senator Milne said
Renewable energy study tips viable reality by 2030 The Age, August 24, 2013 Peter Hannam Carbon economy editor Renewable energy such as wind, solar and hydro power could supply electricity at prices comparable to fossil fuels by 
2030, according to a study commissioned by the federal government.
Modelling by the Australian Energy Market Operator shows that 100 per cent of power from clean energy would be technically viable by 2030 – although with a price tag ranging from $219 billion to $252 billion.
But a Community Summary of the report published this month without fanfare by the government has rekindled debate by stating that 100 per cent renewable power may cost no more than fossil fuels.
Based on the operator’s study and other modelling by Treasury, the CSIRO and the University of New South Wales, the summary concluded: ”Indicative wholesale electricity prices generally fall within a reasonably narrow range of around $100-$130 per megawatt-hour in 2030, and around $110-$150 per MWh in 2050
Consumers, who have seen electricity prices rise about 70 per cent over the past four years, may find the price trajectory – whether based on renewable energy or not – surprising. NSW and Victoria now have wholesale power prices of just under $60 per MWh. Still, the findings have cheered clean energy advocates, not least because curbing carbon emissions from the power sector – accounting for about 35 per cent of Australia’s total – would make big inroads in meeting climate change goals.
”It’s kind of incredible that we haven’t modelled (a 100 per cent goal) before now, given that the costs are basically the same,” said Jenny Riesz, a research associate at the UNSW’s centre for energy and environmental markets.
Dr Riesz is part of a UNSW team now examining the potential for additional benefits from a transition to much more renewable energy. Continue reading
Wind power could prove to be an economic boom for Cloncurry, Queensland
The project, expected to cost the sire $8 to $9 million dollars, already has support from local miner CuDeco and three potential pilot program sites will be tested over the next few weeks.
Wind power the future for Cloncurry Yes 2 renewables, n August 23, 2013 by martanieczyporuk Even in the far reaches of Australia, the benefits of wind energy are gaining interest among communities. The small town of Cloncurry can see a big future in wind. The North West Starreports on the Mayor’s proposal: ….
Friends of the Earth Australia renewable projects coordinator Leigh Ewbank said the ‘visionary’ idea could see the shire follow in the footsteps of a small French village that increased their budget from $573,000 to $3.29 million after installing 11 wind turbines.
“Income generated by a wind farm in the small French village of Afrons has resulted in a five-fold increase in the town’s budget,” he said. Continue reading
Independent candidate on NSW Central coast calls on Aborigines to fight Wallarah 2 coal mine
Independent Robertson candidate asks Local Aboriginal Land Council to “do more” to stop Wallarah 2 Mine http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-23/indpendent-robertson-candidate-asks-local-aboriginal-land-counc/4908878 23 Aug 2013, An independent candidate contesting the NSW Central Coast seat of Robertson has called on the local Aboriginal Land Council to do more to stop the Wallarah 2 coal mine from going ahead in the Wyong Valley.
Environmental activist Jake Cassar made the comment at an anti-mine rally outside the office of Energy and Resources Minister Chris Hartcher.
Mr Cassar says he has great respect for the Darkinjung people. But he says they need to take responsibility and join the fight to stop the mine.
“The mine needs to access their land and I’m calling on the Darkinjung Land Council to act as custodians of our local area and to fight passionately against this,” he said. “With enough pressure and I think if we get the land council on side then we’ve got a really, really good chance of winning this campaign.”
In Central Victoria, they’re keen to save money with solar power
We need a candidate who will roll up their sleeves and work with the four local renewable energy groups to address Powercor policy restrictions on new solar, ensure big polluters don’t interfere with a fair price for rooftop solar and develop business models for community owned renewables projects, with all profits powering the local economy instead of foreign-owned electricity companies.
Renewable energy will keep power bills down Bernard Tonkin Castlemaine http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/1727086/renewable-energy-will-keep-power-bills-down/?cs=82 Aug. 24, 2013, A letter by Rod Leunig in Wednesday’s Advertiser (“Greens all talk – Country Alliance has the answers”) claimed that renewables and carbon pricing would cause people to struggle with their energy bills.
You can Google “Solar Scorecard” on the web. http://www.solarscorecard.org.au/
All major local candidates are scored according to their commitment to renewable energy – easing cost of living pressures and powering our local economy. Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 