Rum Jungle uranium mine- its pollution still a costly problem over 60 years later
$200m sought to rehabilitate former Rum Jungle uranium mine, ABC News 31 Oct 14 By Joanna Crothers The 
Department of Mines and Energy is seeking $200 million from the Federal Government to rehabilitate the former Rum Jungle mine site.
Attempts to rehabilitate the site, Australia’s first uranium mine, stem back to the 1970s.
Scientists from the Department of Mines and Energy (DoE) have been drilling at the site over the past three weeks and analysing rock samples.It is estimated that five million cubic metres of rock will need to be relocated or re-buried in two of the mine’s deepest pits.
The process is likely to take three years and cost millions, scientists say…….Uranium and copper were mined at the site from the 1950s until the site closed in 1971. Waste rock at the site was buried but it started releasing acid and metals into the nearby East Finniss River. Ms Laurencont said the rocks were larger and more oxidised than was thought.
Last year the Federal Government allocated $14 million for developing a rehabilitation plan, in addition to $8 million already spent on a preliminary plan.
Acidic drainage has plagued the site since it closed and the Finniss River is a significant fishing sport for Indigenous people and Territory anglers.
The recreational reserve now known as the Rum Jungle South Recreation Reserve was shut from 2010 until 2012 by the Northern Territory Government where some low-level radiation was detected.
The Department will present its plan of rehabilitation to the Treasury in March next year.Other plans to rehabilitate include cleaning up other areas of the site and reintroducing vegetation onto the site. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-31/mines-department-seeking-200m-to-fix-former-rum-jungle-mine/5858764
Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) ‘s education campaign on the government’s ‘Direct Action’ policy
AUDIO: Environmentalists launch direct action education campaign, ABC Radio Friday, October 31, 2014 ELIZABETH JACKSON: The recently appointed head of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) says the organisation will embark on a public education campaign in response to the Government’s direct action legislation passing through Parliament.
Businessman, environmental activist and former Howard government advisor, Geoff Cousins says the legislation is shameful because it pays big polluters to keep polluting.
Mr Cousins has lashed out at the Business Council of Australia (BCA) for supporting the legislation which he says individual companies would have rejected…….
It is really quite a shameful situation and to have the Prime Minister of Australia running around the world as he did a couple of weeks ago saying coal is our future. Goodness me. It’s really just ridiculous. Not even the coal companies actually believe that……
But the Prime Minister and the Government are still trying to figure out whether there’s, in quotes, “any truth in it”……
Indigenous Canadians use social media and film to fight uranium mining
Cree leaders in Quebec use social media for campaign against uranium http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/cree-leaders-in-quebec-use-social-media-for-campaign-against-uranium-1.2809137?cmp=abfb
Drumming up support against development in their territory CBC News Oct 28, 2014 Cree leaders in Quebec are taking to social media to drum up support for their campaign against uranium development in their territory.
The community leaders say they may be far from urban centres — anywhere from an eight to 18-hour drive north of Montreal — but almost everyone has access to high speed internet and 3G cell service.
They want to make sure Crees show up and voice their concerns when the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) province-wide hearings into the uranium industry come to northern Quebec next month.
They’re also using Twitter to spread the word and gain support outside of Cree territory.
“We are encouraging the Cree Nation to participate in this important public process and to tell the BAPE what the Crees are thinking about uranium development in Eeyou Istchee,” said Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come.
The Cree government has launched a website and social media campaign, #StandAgainstUranium. They are asking people to take selfies with the Stand Against Uranium sign.
“The Crees are only one voice and so we are seeking allies,” said Coon Come.
A few weeks ago the Cree Nation government also released a trailer for a nine-minute film it sponsored, looking at the Cree’s response to a proposed uranium project. The film, The Wolverine: The Fight of the James Bay Cree, was featured at the Uranium Film Festival in Germany last month. “The Wolverine: The Fight of the James Bay Cree” – short film teaser from Rezolution Pictures on Vimeo.
The most advanced uranium project in the province is StratecoResources’ Matoush project, located in the Otish Mountains north of the Cree community of Mistissini.
The Cree Nation government firmly opposes all uranium exploration, mining and waste storage in Eeyou Istchee, Cree territory in northern Quebec.
In June 2013, Quebec’s environment minister refused to grant Strateco the permits it had requested to go ahead with the project.
Coon Come says that decision was partly due to Cree opposition to the project.
Cree youth participated in anti-uranium demonstrations during Earth Day celebrations in Montreal, and protested during the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s visit to Mistissini in June 2012.
“The BAPE is coming to Eeyou Istchee because of the strong stand taken by our people,” said Coon Come.
“The Minister of Environment heard us when we said no to Strateco’sMatoush project. The minister refused to grant Strateco’s permit in large part because the project was not socially acceptable to us Crees — the population that would be most directly impacted. So we’ve won some important battles but the fight against uranium development is not over.”
The BAPE will be in Chisasibi on Nov. 11, Chibougamau on Nov. 12 andMistissini Nov. 13.
Submissions called for on Australia-India nuclear energy co-operation
Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of India on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.
The Committee invites interested persons and organisations to make submissions by Friday, 28 November 2014.
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Treaties/28_October_2014
(Links for the Treaty Text, the National Interest Analysis with Attachment on Consultation, and requirements for submission preparation are provided here: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Treaties/28_October_2014/Terms_of_Reference – PDF format)
Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s success – making money, cutting greenhouse emissions
Green bank makes money, cuts emissions http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/green-bank-makes-money-cuts-emissions/story-fni0xqi4-1227108689612?nk=0c29fda6cefe7b7916e293378f3d795c PAUL OSBORNE, AAP SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER OCTOBER 31, 2014
IT may be able to cut carbon emissions for $2.40 a tonne, but the Clean Energy Finance Corporation still faces the government axe.
THE CEFC, set up by Labor to leverage investment in a wide range of clean energy projects, has built a $931 million portfolio in its first full year of operation.
- Chairwoman Jillian Broadbent said in the corporation’s annual report it had leveraged $2.20 for every $1 to produce projects valued at over $3.2 billion.Once the projects are running they will abate 4.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, achieving an effective “carbon price” of $2.40 a tonne.However, the CEFC has been asked by Treasury to prepare its accounts for the mid-year economic and fiscal outlook due in December on the basis that it will stop making investments on December 31 and cease operating on June 30, 2015.The one thing standing in the way of this is the Senate, with the Palmer United Party, Greens and Labor opposed to the corporation’s abolition.The annual report is expected to give further ammunition to their argument to keep it running for the long-term.
The CEFC reported its portfolio would return an average seven per cent, or 3.5 per cent above the government rate.Across its portfolio are wind, solar and bioenergy projects, innovative energy efficiency programs and low emissions technology in manufacturing, building and local government.Despite uncertainty about its future, the CEFC is in talks with more than 30 project backers seeking $1.2 billion in finance for total project costs of over $3 billion.It is understood there are discussions within the government on how the CEFC could co-operate with the government’s $2.55 billion emissions reduction fund passed by the Senate on Thursday.
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 