Call for inquiry into proposed uranium mining in Queensland
The Newman government must hold a fully independent and open inquiry into the real risks of uranium mining before Queensland starts down a risky pathway for existing industries, workers and our environment.
If it’s as safe as they claim, then they have nothing to fear from any inquiry.
Independent inquiry needed into uranium mining Brisbane Times, Mark Bailey, October 23, 2013 This week marks one year since the Newman government breaking its pre-election promise by overturning Queensland’s ban on uranium mining – without any mandate to do so.
Queenslanders across the state should be deeply worried about the dangers of mining and transporting uranium yellow cake due to the many radioactive risks involved. It was no surprise to hear Premier Campbell Newman admitting no research or modelling had been done before overturning the ban.
Given the extensive history of over 150 recorded mishaps at the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory, why would our state allow a uranium mine located in our tropical climate prone to heavy summer rainfall and cyclones from the Coral Sea and the Gulf?
Given the vast amounts of radioactive sludge (or ‘tailings’) involved in uranium mining, the impact of inevitable extreme weather events slamming into mine sites with many hectares of tailings risks radioactive sludge spreading over vast distances in our state. That’s not a risk worth taking for existing industries in north and north-west Queensland let alone residents.
Uranium mines use vast amounts of water that are likely to come from the Great Artesian Basin for most of the year. While rainfall is often torrential in the wet season in north Queensland, much of the north west is dry most of the time.
The cumulative impact on the Great Artesian Basin of anywhere between one to five uranium mines may have a significant impact on water resources for other existing agricultural and cattle industries. Once one uranium mine is approved then other mines will likely be approved……
Shamefully, the Newman government has not ruled out exporting uranium across the Great Barrier Reef which should be a source of great national and international concern. Continue reading
Tony Abbott rubbishes top United Nations secretary on Climate Change
Tony Abbott accuses UN official of ‘talking through her hat’ on climate change (VIDEO) ABC News By chief political editor Emma Griffiths 23 Oct 2013, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has dismissed a UN assessment that the New South Wales fires are linked to climate change, accusing a senior UN official of “talking through her hat”.
Earlier this week, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,Christiana Figueres, said the fires proved the world is “already paying the price of carbon”.
She also criticised the Abbott Government’s direct action plan to tackle climate change as being potentially “much more expensive” than the carbon pricing scheme that it is moving to dump……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-23/tony-abbott-fires-climate-change-rfs-un/5039932
Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, has an outstanding record of contribution to protection of the environment, and in particular, climate action.
She is one of the world’s most highly respected negotiators, having represented Costa Rica and the Americas before taking up her global role. I met her at the UNFCCC talks in Durban in 2011, and was impressed not only by her obvious knowledge and professionalism, but by the warmth she brought in her engagement with NGOs and government representatives alike.
For Tony Abbott to not even know who she is in the global climate change negotiation context, and to dismiss her role and expertise in such a cavalier manner, shames Australia and does not auger well for Australia’s engagement in the lead-up to the 2015 global treaty discussions.
Submissions on repeal of carbon pricing due by October 29
Repeal of the carbon tax: exposure draft legislation and consultation paper Department of the Environment 23 October, 2013 23 October 2013 | The Australian Government will introduce the carbon tax repeal legislation as its first item of business for the new Parliament. The Government invites submissions on the exposure drafts of the carbon tax repeal bills. The Government encourages submissions by 29 October 2013.
Submission guidelines
1. Please read the consultation paper and exposure drafts……… http://apo.org.au/research/repeal-carbon-tax-exposure-draft-legislation-and-consultation-paper
Concern as Tepco prepares for critical removal of spent nuclear fuel from reactor N0 4 at Fukushma
TEPCO prepares for critical removal of spent fuel from Fukushima reactor http://japandailypress.com/tepco-prepares-for-critical-removal-of-spent-fuel-from-fukushima-reactor-2438441/ Oct 24, 2013 John Hofilena Fukushima nuclear power plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.(TEPCO) is prepping for one of its most critical and dangerous processes to date in its incident-filled cleanup of what has been called the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Starting in November, the embattled operator will be removing 400 tons of spent nuclear fuel from Fukushima’s reactor no. 4, where even a little mistake may result in a totally new nuclear disaster for Japan. The operation is scheduled to start in the beginning of November and be completed by around the end of 2014.
Under normal circumstances, the operation would take around 100 days. TEPCO had initially planned for this process to take two years, but due to the urgency of the situation – a minor earthquake could trigger an uncontrolled fuel leak – they reduced the schedule to one year. In this process, TEPCO will be removing more than 1,300 used fuel rod assemblies, packing radiation 14,000 times the equivalent of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb, from their cooling pool. Normally, this would be a computer-controlled process, but due to the situation at Fukushima, this time it has to be done completely manually – compounding the danger and risk. “The operation to begin removing fuel from such a severely damaged pool has never been attempted before. The rods are unwieldy and very heavy, each one weighing two-thirds of a ton,” says fallout researcher Christina Consolo.
Should this attempt fail, a mishandled fuel rod could be exposed to air and catch fire, resulting in large quantities of radiation released into the atmosphere. In the worst-case scenario, the cooling pool could crash from its crane to the ground, dumping the rods together into a pile that could fission and cause an explosion many times worse than in March 2011. “The worst-case scenario could play out in death to billions of people. A true apocalypse,” Consolo said. The concern is palpable and real, as TEPCO’s track record these past few months have been less than stellar. Leaks have hounded the cooling process of the molten down reactors, resulting in radioactive waste water freely and daily flowing into the Pacific Ocean.
Al Gore on the link between climate change and bushfires
Al Gore weighs into debate over links between bushfires and climate change http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-23/al-gore-weighs-into-debate-over-bushfire-climate-change/5041776 Former US vice-president and environmentalist Al Gore says there is a proven link between climate change and bushfires.
This week, a United Nations official said the devastating fires in New South Wales proved the world is “already paying the price of carbon”.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott dismissed the comment on Wednesday, accusing the official of “talking through her hat”.
He argued that “fire is a part of the Australian experience” and not linked to climate change. …
Mr Gore, a Nobel laureate for his work to fight climate change, has told the ABC’s 7.30 that climate change will bring about more extreme weather.
“Bushfires can occur naturally, and do, but the science shows clearly that when the temperature goes up, and when the vegetation and soils dry out, then wildfires become more pervasive and more dangerous.
“That’s not me saying it, that’s what the scientific community says.” Continue reading
Petition to Australian Labor Party – keep carbon pricing
Stop Abbott fanning the flames of climate change AVAAZ 24 Oct 13 As NSW burns, PM Abbott is working to kill the carbon price, our best tool to fix climate change and prevent more deadly fires in the future. The new ALP team can help stop Abbott’s plans, but they’re not convinced climate change is an issue that’s worth fighting for — let’s show the ALP that public opinion is desperate for climate leadership! Sign now: http://www.avaaz.org/en/abbott_fanning_the_flames/?bqFCVab&v=30617
Top disarmament award to New Zealand
NZ’s nuclear-free legislation wins top disarmament award, Scoop, 24 October 2013, World Future Council New Zealand’s ground-breaking nuclear-free legislation wins top disarmament award
Hamburg/Geneva/New York – 23 October 2013: In 1987, against the backdrop of rising Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, New Zealand passed its ground-breaking Nuclear-Free Act, which banned nuclear weapons and meant US nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered ships were no longer allowed in New Zealand ports.
Today, more than 25 years later, the policy has been announced by the World Future Council as winner of the Silver Future Policy Award. This year’s award seeks to highlight disarmament policies that contribute to the achievement of peace, sustainable development and human security. This evening, a formal awards ceremony will be convened at UN Headquarters……
New Zealand’s policy started as a radical and utopian gesture, and has become part of our national identity – our DNA,” says New Zealander Alyn Ware, winner of the 2009 Right Livelihood Award for his work on nuclear disarmament, and a participant in the Future Policy Award ceremony at the United Nations on 23 October. “It inspires other countries, and empowers us kiwis to take nuclear abolition global.’
The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) won the 2013 Future Policy Gold Award, while Argentina’s “National Programme for the Voluntary Surrender of Firearms” also received Silver. Four additional disarmament policies from Belgium, Costa Rica, Mongolia and Mozambique/South Africa were recognized as Honourable Mentions.
The Future Policy Award is the only award that honours policies rather than people on an international level. The World Future Council convened this year’s Award in partnership with the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1310/S00241/nzs-nuclear-free-legislation-wins-top-disarmament-award.htm
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 