Abbott’s absurd dream of Holden workers becoming uranium miners
Olympic Dam pipe dream no help for Holden workers CRIKEY, PADDY MANNING | DEC 12, 2013 THE CARGO CULT MENTALITY SURROUNDING BHP BILLITON’S OLYMPIC DAM MINE IS RIDICULOUS.
Now Prime Minister Tony Abbott seems to be hoping a BHP expansion of the copper/gold/uranium mine will help clean up the damage caused by the government’s bizarre mis-handling of Holden. Abbott told Parliament on Wednesday …. (registered readers only) http://www.crikey.com.au/2013/12/12/olympic-dam-pipe-dream-no-help-for-holden-workers/
Scrutiny needed on environmental regulation of Ranger uranium mine
Toxic spill highlights the perils of self-regulation The Conversation Gavin Mudd, Senior Lecturer at Monash University 13 Dec 13 The latest accident at the Ranger uranium mine is a timely reminder of the environmental risks of operating a heavy industry facility: especially a uranium mine on Indigenous land, surrounded by the World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park.
Online petition: call for independent audit of Ranger uranium mine
The Environment Centre NT has launched an online petition demanding action following last weekends toxic spill at the Ranger uranium mine – calling on Federal and Territory Environment Ministers to act swiftly for an independent and transparent audit of all operations and equipment at the mine site and that the proposed Ranger 3 Deeps underground mine be scrapped.Please sign and share the petition: http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/time-to-clean-up-ranger-uranium-mine-and-clear-out-of-kakadu
Senator Nova Peris doubts Abbott’s commitment to Aboriginal development
Nova Peris questions Abbott’s dedication to Indigenous affairs, SBS News 12 Dec 13, The parliamentary year has officially ended for Tony Abbott and the Coalition government, but questions still remain unanswered for Indigenous ministers. By Brooke Boney
Source
NITV News “……The new government established an advisory council headed by Warren Mundine, which will focus on community economic development in the coming parliamentary year.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared his dedication to Indigenous Australians, saying “I want to be the Prime Minister for Indigenous affairs.”
However, recent events in mining and tourism have lead Aboriginal communities to believe otherwise…….. the government is still in its infancy and plans to conduct three separate reviews aimed at closing the gap early next year.
The first review will assess all government expenditure in Indigenous Affairs, the second will review training and employment programs, and the third will focus on the merge of Indigenous Business Australia with the Indigenous Land Corporation.
In the final days of the 2013 election, Minister Joe Hockey announced that the Coalition would cut $42 million from the Indigenous legal aid budget.
Northern Territory Senator Nova Peris revealed her distress following this announcement in Parliament today where she questioned the attorney general during senate estimates and question time.
Thyroid and other cancers afflicting US sailors exposed to Fukushima radiation
Another 20 Navy Sailors: USS Ronald Reagan crew with thyroid cancers, leukemia, brain tumors, bleeding, blindness after Fukushima disaster — Young kids developing problems — Gov’t and Tepco involved in major conspiracy (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/another-20-navy-sailors-uss-ronald-reagan-crew-with-thyroid-cancer-leukemia-brain-tumors-bleeding-blindness-children-becoming-sick-after-responding-to-311-crisis-japan-govt-and-tepc
Nuclear Hotseat #129, Dec. 10, 2013:
Charles Bonner, attorney representing sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan: They’re not only going to the rescue by jumping into the water and rescuing people out of the water, but they were drinking desalinated sea water, bathing in it, until finally the captain of the USS Ronald Reagan alarmed people that they were encountering high levels of radiation. As a result of this exposure, the 51 sailors that we represent right now have come down with a host of medical problems, including cancers and leukemias, all kinds of gynecological problems […] people who are going blind, pilots who had perfect eyesight but now have tumors on the brain. These service men and women are young people 21, 22, 23 years old and no one in their family had ever (inaudible) any of these kinds of illnesses before…
Bonner: These sailors had none of these kind of medical problems, now they have back pains, memory loss, severe anxiety. They have testicular cancer, they have thyroid cancers, they have leukemias, they have a host of problems, rectal and gynecological bleeding, a host of problems that they did not have before […] And it’s only been 3 years since they went in. […] The Japanese government is in a major conspiracy with Tepco to hide and conceal the true facts….
Bonner: We’ll be adding approximately 20 sailors, bringing the total number in the lawsuit to 70 to 75…
Bonner: 21 and 22 year-olds who are just beginning to start their lives, start their families, and many have little children and now they’re sick. They are going constantly to the doctors, their children are sick — we even have small children as some of our plaintiffs, because they too have developed problems.
Full interview available here
Nuclear veterans failed by Australian Human Rights Commission
The Australian Human Rights Commission shot down on Tuesday the nuclear veterans’ last legal avenue on a technicality – after 10 months they have just decided they can’t do anything as they don’t think they have jurisdiction.
Can you imagine finding out that our military personnel, our diggers, were sent into the desert, into the sky and out into our oceans to supervise, watch and secure, the explosion of radioactive nuclear weapons with little more protection than the shirt on their back?
You need not imagine because 61 years ago the Australian government, under the guise of former Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies, approved radioactive nuclear weapons to be detonated on Australian soil, and in our oceans, not once but hundreds of times between 1952 and 1963.
The result is a generation of our diggers lost to horrific radiation related cancers and illnesses. Out of the 8000 servicemen sent to Maralinga, Emu Field and the Monte Bello islands, some 2,000 remain living, fighting and suffering amongst us.
To think of the prospect that any human being, let alone our diggers, would be knowingly exposed to the effects of radiation after seeing the consequences of atomic weapons just seven years earlier in Japan is unforgiveable. Continue reading
Government team investigating Ranger radioactive spill excludes Aboriginal owners
Ranger clean-up ignores traditional owners 9 News, December 12, 2013 Aboriginal traditional owners have been left off a taskforce convened by the government to investigate a massive leak of uranium and acid at the Ranger mine in Kakadu National Park.
At 1am on Saturday a leach tank with a capacity of about 1.5 million litres collapsed, spilling out a mixture of uranium, sulphuric acid, and mud at the mine site, which has operated for 30 years inside the boundaries of one of Australia’s largest protected areas.
The federal government suspended operations at the mine and has formed a taskforce with regulators and the mine operators to respond to the incident, but traditional owners have not been invited to participate, says David Vadiveloo, acting CEO of the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation (GAC), which advocates on the behalf of the Mirarr people.
He told AAP the lack of an invitation to play a role “goes to the heart of our calls for the desperate need for independent oversight of that mine”.
“The regulatory procedures are just as archaic as the mine,” he said……..
an on-site GAC representative says radiation testing is still being carried out, with a large volume of contaminated material sitting on the ground outside the contaminated area.
Mr Vadiveloo said he was “stunned” to see ERA reassuring the community before testing was complete.
“Through good fortune – clearly not good planning – it hasn’t rained here since the accident, but what would ERA have done had the skies opened up and a huge dump of rain come in?”
Traditional owners did not feel safe on their own land, he said………GAC is calling for a fully independent review of the leak, along with a full audit of operations at Ranger.http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/12/12/18/42/ranger-clean-up-ignores-traditional-owners
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS OFFICE NT to monitor Government response to Ranger radioactive spill
EDONT to watch regulator response with interest in wake of Ranger Uranium Mine incident. ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS OFFICE NT, DECEMBER 11, 2013 “………What can the Commonwealth and Territory Government do to respond to the spill?
Clearly an incident of this nature demands a strong response from regulators of the mine. Currently the Office of the Supervising Scientist and the Northern Territory Government are investigating the spill.
Commonwealth –
Under the AEA the Commonwealth Minister has the power to impose an indefinite suspension of operations at Ranger if ERA refuses or fails to comply with or observe a condition or restriction provided in its Authority. It is unclear whether the Commonwealth Minister has given a direction under the AEA or whether he has directed ERA to cease operations pending investigation and ERA have voluntarily complied.
It is interesting to note that while ERA have stated that the spill was contained on site, Ranger Environmental Requirement 1.2 requires that:
the company must ensure that operations at Ranger do not result in environmental impacts within the Ranger Project Area which are not as low as reasonably achievable, during mining excavation, mineral processing, and subsequently during and after rehabilitation.
Additionally, Environmental Requirement 12 requires the use of Best Practicable Technology (BPT) at Ranger. While it is contemplated that equipment on site may be able to fulfill its serviceable life, in light of this weekends events ERA appears to be failing in its duty to adequately review and update its equipment in line with Environmental Requirement 12.
Given that preliminary reports have suggested that the tank was over 20 years old, EDO NT would suggest that a full scale review of the mines equipment to ensure that there are no further equipment failures at the mine and compliance with the BPT requirement of ERA’s Ranger Authority is achieved.
Under the Atomic Energy Act it is an offence for a person to fail to comply with a condition of their authorisation. The maximum penalty for this offence, in the case of a body corporate like ERA, is $10,000.
Northern Territory –
The Northern Territory Government’s powers to regulate Ranger arise from the provisions of the MMA, which as stated above provides for the General Authorisation for Ranger, the Schedule to which set out the way mining operations are undertaken and the requirements for environmental protection.
In the event that the NT Government believes ERA has contravened an environmental obligation under the MMA and caused environmental harm, it is able to commence proceedings under the MMA.
The MMA provides three tiers of offences, namely for conduct causing:
- serious environmental harm (level 1 and 2);
- material environmental harm (level 1 and 2); or
- Environmental nuisance.
The penalties for the various tiers (and levels) range from about $55,000 for a body corporate who causes environmental nuisance to over $2.75 million for a body corporate that causes serious environmental harm.
The way forward
The time for taking a strong legal stance against lack luster performance at Ranger would appear to have come. The Northern Territory Government must send a message to ERA, and other mine operators within the Territory, that the Territory community will accept nothing less than strict compliance with the laws put in place to protect the environment.
http://edont.org.au/edont-watch-regulator-response-interest-wake-ranger-uranium-incident/
Australian National Radiation Dose Register to be exxpanded
Expansion of the Australian National Radiation Dose Register http://medical.wesrch.com/paper-details/pdf-ME1AU7TU3NJWR-expansion-of-the-australian-national-radiation-dose-register#page1 13 Dec 13, This medical presentation is about Expansion of the Australian National Radiation Dose Register. In the International Best Practice exposure records for each worker shall be maintained during and after the worker’s working life, at least until the former worker attains or would have attained the age of 75 years, and for not less than 30 years after cessation of the work in which the worker was subject to occupational exposure. This requirement has been adopted in Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation across Australia.
New report shows rise in renewable energy, decline in coal-powered
AEMO sees coal sidelined as renewables dominate new capacity REneweconomy By Sophie Vorrath on 12 December 2013 The need to add more ‘poles and wires’ to Australia’s electricity transmission networks has again been questioned, with a new report by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) predicting future oversupply of generation capacity in the National Electricity Market and signalling potential generation reductions.
The 2013 National Transmission Network Development Plan (NTNDP), released on Thursday, also predicts that only renewable energy generation will be added to Australia’s grid out to 2020; 84 per cent of which would come from wind, 13 per cent from large-scale solar PV, and 3 per cent from biomass. (graphs)
The report, which considers the impact of changing dynamics in the NEM over the next 25 years, including the effect of the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET) and of a carbon price – or the absence, thereof – finds that the LRET remains the main driver of national electricity generation investment up to 2020.
This includes 168MW of new wind generation that has recently come online in Tasmania, and a further 131MW in Victoria, 270MW in South Australia, and 386MW in New South Wales committed to come online from 2014-15. AEMO says it is aware of close to 15,800MW of proposed wind generation projects…….http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/aemo-sees-coal-sidelined-as-renewables-dominate-new-capacity-19726
Westpac Bank cautiously promoting renewable energy
Westpac focuses on renewables, Ecogeneration, 13 Dec 13, “In an exclusive excerpt from the February 2014 edition of EcoGeneration, Westpac Institutional Bank Director of Infrastructure and Utilities David Scrivener discusses the Bank’s approach to clean energy financing and the key things financiers look for when investing in clean energy projects……….Westpac is committed to financing the development of clean energy solutions and best practice pollution controls. Today, more than 50 per cent of our lending to the energy sector is to renewable energy generation, including hydro, wind and solar. Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 