Peace on Earth – with a nuclear free world – theme for December 2013
Australia can be proud of its history of anti nuclear activism – it has kept 
Australia nuclear weapons free, nuclear power free, and has limited and slowed the uranium industry. Now more than ever, Australia needs its anti nuclear movement, and the Greens party
In both Liberal and Labor parties, machinations go on, behind the scenes, to make Australia a nuclear industry hub, – from uranium quarry right through to nuclear waste dump for the world.
What nice Christmas presents these would make, for their corporate backers!
The Liberals have always been ready to sell out Australia’s clean energy future – and both parties make hypocritical statements about peace, while allowing BHP, ERA, to supplying uranium – fuel for nuclear weapons.
The Labor party already has reneged on its commitment to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, since Prime Minister Julia Gillard dramatically caved in to USA pressure and allowed uranium sales to India. The ALP is stacked with little go getters who know where their corporate backing comes from. Gary Gray, Paul Howes are the prominent pro nuclear Labor figures.
But Labor in general shuts up until they think the timing is right. Labor leader Bill Shorten proclaims Labor’s anti nuclear policy (for now) but in reality, Shorten sits on the fence, ready to go whichever way the wind is blowing – “in the case for nuclear power the jury is out” “I do see the uranium mining debate as separate to the nuclear power debate”.
Aboriginal Senator Nova Peris stands out in her opposition to the Muckaty radioactive trash dump plan. And The Greens are still there – with Christine Milne, Scott Ludlam, Adam Bandt, Larissa Waters standing firm in their anti nuclear commitment.
Australia’s anti nuclear movement continues – and with it grows the movement, at home and abroad, towards clean, non nuclear, renewable energy.
Arabunna elder highlights the costs of BHP’s uranium trade at annual meeting
21 Nov 13, Mr Kevin Buzzacott, the President of the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance and a respected Arabunna elder will today take his concerns over the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia to BHP Billiton’s annual meeting in Perth. Mr Buzzacott has been vocal in opposing the Olympic Dam uranium mine and the planned expansion. Mr Buzzacott unsuccessfully tried to halt the expansion through the courts and has now been ordered to pay court costs to the Government and to BHPB. At today’s meeting he will be asking whether BHP, the world’s largest miner, will be seeking to follow this cost order.
“I’m an Arabunna elder and I’ve spent the last thirty years trying to protect my country and the water from my country from this monster mine,” said Mr Buzzacott. “Now I’ve come all the way from South Australia because this is so important for me, I’m getting old and this could be my last chance to get BHPB to quit to shut Olympic Dam down and leave the desert and us in peace.”
“All my life I’ve stood up for my country because that is the right thing, that’s what we’re taught to do. Now BHPB have a choice whether they’re going to penalise me, take me for the court costs, for standing up for my country – or whether they’re going to respect my rights to protect those sacred places.”
The planned massive expansion of Olympic Dam has been shelved because of low uranium prices and market uncertainty. The current Olympic Dam mine consumes over thirty five million litres of water day from the Great Artesian Basin from Arabunna country and any future expansion would increase pressure on water resources.
“Now you say the expansion is on hold well we have a right to know whether you’re going to try and get this expansion happening or not. I mean it doesn’t make sense to dig deeper when people are waking up and saying no to the nuclear industry around the world.”
“Our land is our life and we will follow BHP Billiton to the ends of the earth to stop this mine from damaging our country and draining our water,” concluded Mr Buzzacott.
Doubts on future of ERA’s new uranium mine, after more safety breaches at Ranger
New NT uranium mine in question THE AUSTRALAN, NEDA VANOVAC AAP NOVEMBER 20, TRADITIONAL owners in Kakadu National Park have been rocked by a second security breach in two weeks at the Ranger uranium mine, and say the site’s radiation control measures are failing. Four uranium storage barrels were discovered in bushland outside of Darwin on Monday, outraging the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation (GAC), which acts on behalf of the Mirarr people.
The weathered and fire-damaged drums had apparently been there for some time, and a preliminary inspection by the Northern Territory Department of Health and mine operators Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) shows no radioactive material was detected.But the incident follows another two weeks ago when a controlled vehicle was driven off the site, allegedly through a long-standing hole in a fence, before being stopped down the highway by Ranger security personnel.
GAC CEO Justin O’Brien said Ranger’s radiation management plan is failing, in breach of the industry code.This may also be a breach of ERA’s mining authorisation, in which case the Rio Tinto subsidiary should be prosecuted, he said.
“To us it’s a no-brainer,” Mr O’Brien told AAP on Wednesday.”If you can steal a controlled vehicle coming from a contaminated part of the mine through a hole in the fence, if you can remove drums of the type used to store (uranium oxide) and store them in a public area outside Darwin, and both of these things occur under the nose and without the knowledge of the mining company, then you’ve got a problem,”
ERA is exploring a potential underground mining operation on the Ranger site, called Ranger 3 Deeps, but has undertaken not to begin any work without the permission of the Mirarr people.
“It’s profoundly disappointing that this comes at a time when we have on the table proposals for further mining at Ranger,” Mr O’Brien said. : http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/new-nt-uranium-mine-in-question/story-fn3dxiwe-1226764354951#sthash.QjIXBn42.dpuf–
Unprecedented problem of 3 melted nuclear reactor cores at Fukushima
AP: Melted Fukushima fuel is 12 inches from entering ground after eating through concrete, says simulation — Study: Molten core suspected of eroding through concrete foundation — Gov’t Expert: We just can’t be sure until actually seeing inside http://enenews.com/study-fukushima-molten-fuel-suspected-of-melting-containment-shell-then-eroding-through-concrete-foundation-ap-fukushima-melted-fuel-12-inches-from-entering-ground-after-eating-through-concrete
Associated Press,, Nov. 19, 2013: […] the real challenge: removing melted or partially melted fuel from the three reactors that had meltdowns, and figuring out how to treat and store it so it won’t heat up and start a nuclear reaction again. “This is an unprecedented task that nobody in the world has achieved. We still face challenges that must be overcome,” said Hajimu Yamana, a Kyoto University nuclear engineer who heads a government-affiliated agency that is overseeing technological research and development for the cleanup. […] Computer simulations show the melted fuel in Unit 1, whose core damage was the most extensive, has breached the bottom of the primary containment vessel and even partially eaten into its concrete foundation, coming within about 30 centimeters (one foot) of leaking into the ground. “We just can’t be sure until we actually see the inside of the reactors,” Yamana said.
Atomic Energy‘ Volume 114 Issue 3, July 2013 (Emphasis Added): [If there’s no safety system to cool Fukushima melted fuel from Units 1-3], the accident developed rapidly: the second safety barrier (fuel element cladding) failed 2 hours after the initial event, the third one (reactor vessel) at 13 hours, and the fourth one 7 days after the easing of the dry box of the containment shell melted and through erosion of the concrete foundation occurred. These data were transmitted to the operational headquarters of Rosatom and the crisis center at the IBRAE RAN in order to estimate the possibility that the population of our country in the regions bordering with Japan would be exposed to radiation. […] According to the computed picture. in all power units of the Fukushima-I NPP flooding with water stopped the downward flow of melt, but because energy continued to be released in the melt it was necessary to feed water into the reactors continually.It is known that the operation of the active safety systems, with whose help the core could be cooled reliably in a closed cycle, could not be restored for another several weeks.
Australia’s 99 year leases – a blatant Government campaign to end Aboriginal land rights.
Don’t take our lands – Yami Lester The Stringer, by Gerry Georgatos November 16th, 2013 There is a wave of fear spreading across remote Aboriginal communities where people had believed that in the least they had achieved the return of Country through various forms of land rights and agreements. Elders around the country are joining Northern Territory Elders in speaking out against the blitzkrieg campaign being conducted by the Federal Government for communities to effectively sign away their Country for 99-year-leases – what many Elders believe a blatant Government campaign to end Aboriginal land rights.
South Australia’s Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Elders are concerned that the Minister Nigel Scullion-led-campaign in the Northern Territory remote communities to sign away their townships over to 99-year-leases is on its way across the border to South Australia’s APY lands. APY Maralinga Tjarutja Pitjantjatjara Elder Yami Lester said it is self-evident that this is what is occurring.
Mr Lester lost his sight as a young child in 1956 after the atomic bomb tests at Maralinga. “I may be blind but I can see what is happening, and so can many others of our people in this Country. Across the border in Country shared, everyone, there and here, is worried by what is happening.”
“The leases are about ending our land rights. Continue reading
Fukushima nuclear plant should have concrete cover, but now it might be too late
Fukushima Reactor Designer: I doubt plant can be decommissioned, perhaps enclose it in cement — Nuclear Professor: Solution is to pour concrete all over, but now it’s too late (VIDEO) http://enenews.com/fukushima-reactor-designer-i-doubt-plant-can-be-decommissioned-perhaps-enclose-it-in-cement-nuclear-professor-solution-is-to-pour-concrete-all-over-but-now-its-too-late-video
Associated Press,, Nov. 19, 2013: “I doubt if Fukushima Dai-ichi’s full decommissioning is possible. Its contamination is so widespread,” said Masashi Goto, a nuclear engineer who designed the Unit 3 reactor and now teaches at Meiji University in Tokyo. “We should not rush the process, because it means more exposure to workers. Instead, we should wait and perhaps even keep it in a cement enclosure.” […] “If you just put concrete over this, groundwater still will be flowing and things like that, and you have an uncontrolled situation,” [Tepco adviser Lake] Barrett said. “I just don’t see that as a plausible option.”
Arirang’s ‘Prime Talk’,, August 30, 2013 (at 2:30 in): I think they have to be really opening up their minds. If it comes to nuclear disaster, it’s an international one. It never was a national one because nuclear disasters truly going over and beyond and above the borders. Think about the atmosphere, hydrosphere, oceans. But they realized this a little too late. Probably they were the last one on the planet to realize this is situation. […] The solution again [is] concrete. Just think about Chernobyl, they just poured concrete all over. Sarcophagus, that’s the solution. And they should have done it a couple years ago, they actually lost the opportunity, because by now the soils are all too much contaminated.
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 