Australia this week- G20, Climate and Nuclear News
Last week I wrote about the IPCC latest report on Climate Change, and also about the coming G20 Summit in Brisbane. I thought at the time, that it was pretty crazy, letting a scientifically illiterate puppet of the fossil fuel and nuclear industries (I refer to Tony Abbott) dictate the agenda for this meeting of world leaders.
This week – the whole thing is turning into a farce. The G20 is no doubt costing Australia $squillions. Now who would pay all that tax-payer money to look like a fool? Alas, Abbott would.
Abbott has set agenda items like – no mention of Climate Change, – like cutting benefits to unemployed, especially those under 30 years – to get nothing for 6 months. And of course, Abbott has been spruiking coal – “good for humanity” But just as I write, comes the news that USA and China have made a deal for big cuts in carbon emissions. I charitably omit here discussion of “shirt-fronting” Putin.
The G20 looks like being, at best, a nice talkfest for the attendees. Meanwhile Indigenous people have set up their protest rally in Brisbane, and the Alternative Summit – the C20 is sounding much more sensible than the G20.
Now – to nuclear . Public comments are now closed, on the government’s plan for a national nomination process for a radioactive waste dump site. National civil society groups are urging the government to hold an independent scientific inquiry on the matter of radioactive waste management. In Western Australia citizens of Leonora joined in this call to Energy Minister Ian MacFarlane. after the Leonora Shire offered their area as a dump site.
A new project has begun, to document the the health effects from atomic bomb testing in South Australia
War – very much a media item these days. Not just the current ones in Iraq and Ukraine, but a veritable barrage of memorabilia, including militaristic propaganda about World War 1. It’s remarkable that one Melbourne woman, Geraldine Robertson, has achieved the feat of exhibiting the story of Australia’s First World War Women – Working For Peace.
Renewable energy. There’s an awful lot of media coverage of this – hard to keep up. Importantly, the Labor Party has stood fast, will not negotiate any weakening of the Renewable Energy Target. The Business Council of Australia (BCA) (a pro nuclear organisation) has offered a dodgy deal to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) – in whichARENA must include Carbon Capture and Storage as a “low carbon” technology. Hmmm – BCA also call nuclear power a “low carbon technology. The State of Victoria is soon to hold election – renewable energy is a bit of a worry for our anti-wind energy Liberal Premier Napthine – for example, in the Macedon electorate.
Share and submit your objection to a new uranium mine in Kakadu National Park
Lauren Mellor, 12 Nov 14, Energy Resources of Australia, the operators of the ageing and failing Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu, are currently seeking approval for a new underground mine, Ranger 3 Deeps. Public comment on the proposal is open until December 12.
The Ranger lease is due to expire in January 2021, at which time rehabilitation is mandated to start. The company is facing significant time pressures, has suffered a string of recent severe mine-site accidents and faces long-term profitability problems. Any extension of mining at Ranger would inevitably add cost, complexity and delay to final rehabilitation.
Recently, serious concerns have been raised over ERA’s financial capacity to undertake rehabilitation, with the rehabilitation liability of over $700 million now worth more than the company’s market value. Key economic detail on the project is missing from the Draft EIS and parent-company Rio Tinto have repeatedly refused to take responsibility for clean up.
This assessment process is the first opportunity the public have been given to have a say over the future of a mine that has been trashing and contaminating its lease within the boundaries of a World Heritage Listed national park in over three decades.
The Environment Centre NT and the Australian Conservation Foundation have launched some resources to help as many individuals and organisations as possible to lodge objections during the assessment phase. You can read a copy of the draft EIS here: http://www.ntepa.nt.gov.au/environmental-assessments/assessment/register/ranger-3-deeps-underground-mine/ranger-3-deeps-draft-eis
You can lodge a template submission on our website: http://www.ecnt.org/undermining or download the attached hard copy for distribution at upcoming events.
And if you’re keen to get some of these handy ‘Greetings from Kakadu’ postcards (attached) to send a direct message to Federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt please get in contact at lauren.mellor@ecnt.org to get them in the post.
C20 critical of G20 Agenda, and demands climate change as a stand alone item
C20 calls on G20 to act on inequality, tax avoidance and climate change ABC News By AM business editor Peter Ryan Mon 10 Nov 2014, The C20 (Civil Society 20) is calling on G20 leaders to take action this weekend to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in society.
C20 chair Tim Costello said the group was looking for an outcome on Sunday that clearly demonstrates G20 leaders’ commitment to fairness by taking concrete, measurable action to reduce inequality and address climate change.
“It will be a sad legacy of the Australian presidency if we go backwards in the fight against poverty by failing to tackle growing inequality,” Mr Costello said.
“The G20’s Brisbane Action Plan must build on the formal commitment made in St Petersburg last year for inclusive growth to be a central focus of G20 decision making.
“Otherwise meeting the 2 per cent growth target will be a hollow achievement and leaders will be judged as indifferent to those most in need.”………
The C20 also argues that climate change is a critical economic issue confronting the G20 and must be discussed as a standalone item on the G20 agenda.
Mr Costello condemned the decision by the Australian presidency to ignore the impact of climate change on the global economy as a retrograde and damaging step.
“This G20 will ultimately be judged by the fairness test,” he said.
“Whether that’s fairness to future generations by facing up to climate change; fairness to the bottom 20 per cent of poorest households; fairness to 75 million young people unemployed worldwide; or fairness to taxpayers by declaring tax havens immoral.”
The Australian C20 Steering Committee comprises representatives of international and domestic civil society organisations including World Vision Australia, ACOSS, WWF, Oxfam, Transparency International, the National Council of Churches, and the National Employment Services Association. A number of individuals are also involved in the C20.
The C20 has focused its engagement with the G20 around the four key areas of:
- Inclusive Growth and Employment;
- Infrastructure;
- Climate and Resource Sustainability; and
- Governance (including tax and financial transparency).http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-10/c20-calls-on-g20-to-act-on-inequality-tax-avoidance-and-climate/5879784
Residents of Leonora, Western Australia, oppose Shire Council’s offer to site radioactive wastes dump
Residents Of Leonora have written to Ian MacFarlane, Minister for Resourcs, opposing the Shire’s proposal for hosting radioactive wastes, and demanding that no site be selected until after an independent commission of inquiry has examined the question of Australia’s radioactive wastes, and of the best way to mange his matter.
Their letter can be read at
G20 – has it any credibility?
G20 faces crucial test of its credibility as Brisbane summit looms Ben Doherty theguardian.com, Monday 10 November 2014 Is the Group of 20 a genuine agent for change, or just another tired horse on the merry-go-round of international confabs? “…..The G20 was widely praised for stabilising the world economy during the global financial crisis of 2008, but the body has struggled for impact – critics say relevance – since those panicked days. The once-shiny crown of the “world’s premier economic body” has lost a little of its lustre.
In less critical times, its members have struggled to find consensus, descending instead into self-interested bickering, and reforms the G20 has promised have dwarfed those it has actually delivered.
This week’s Brisbane meeting of the Group of 20 will be a crucial test: can it be a genuine agent for change, or just another tired horse on the merry-go-round of international confabs?
The G20 is unquestionably powerful. Collectively, G20 economies account for two-thirds of the world’s people, 85% of its gross product, and three-quarters of global trade.
Unlike the too-exclusive G7, it includes the emerging giants of China, India and Indonesia, along with broader South American, African, and Asian representation. But with only 20 members, it’s nimble enough to make decisions, as it demonstrated during the global crisis……….
In the midst of the [2008 financial] crisis, the G20 co-ordinated the massive fiscal stimuli being pumped into the world’s economies to pull them back from the brink. It redesigned international regulatory rules (through the Basel III agreement), and reformed existing international public institutions such as the International Monetary Fund………
“….if leaders start to lose interest in it, it just becomes yet another meeting in an incredibly-crowded international program, it becomes international space junk, rolling around, sucking up resources and time,” he says. [says Mike Callaghan, program director of the Lowy Institute’s G20 Studies Centre,]………..http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/10/g20-faces-crucial-test-credibility-brisbane-summit-looms
Aboriginal protestors rally in Brisbane against priorities of G20 summit
G20: Indigenous protesters rally in Brisbane CBD ahead of leaders’ summit, ABC News 10 Nov 14 By Louisa Rebgetz About 100 people gathered in Brisbane ahead of the G20 leaders’ summit to protest against the treatment of Indigenous Australians. The group converged on Roma Street in the CBD this morning, with many draped in Aboriginal flags and holding placards.
The protesters said the world needed to know the Stolen Generations was continuing, with 14,000 Indigenous children living in out-of-home care in Australia.
Many had travelled from across Australia to take part in the protest.
About 20 unarmed, plain-clothed police officers wearing blue hats monitored the group from the streets, while a police helicopter hovered above.
The group marched through the city escorted by police, with the rally ending at Musgrave Park at South Brisbane.
………….”We’re also here in solidarity with other Indigenous groups around the world, particularly in North America, who are suffering from very, very high rates of child removal by welfare agencies, just as Aboriginal people here in Australia are suffering.
“It very much seems to go along with the neo-liberal form of government that’s been pushed by G20 – they won’t fund the social services people need to look after their families and communities, but they will fund the punitive agencies that will go in and rip children away.” – Paddy Gibson, a senior researcher with the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-10/indigenous-protesters-rally-in-brisbanes-cbd-for-g20/5879308
Australia could choose to help India with clean energy- not dirty coal and uranium
Australia, India’s dirty energy friend Instead of being India’s dirty fuel friend, Australia can build a sustainable energy relationship with India by helping boost India’s growing renewables industry. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/11/10/comment-australia-indias-dirty-energy-friend By Ruchira Talukdar 10 NOV 2014 As heads of state prepare to arrive in Brisbane next week for the G20 summit where climate change will be conspicuous by its serious absence on the agenda, the Australian government is finalising paperwork to start exporting uranium – a highly risky fuel – and approving giant mines like Carmichael in central Queensland to ship coal – a climate change culprit – to India.
As an Indian activist now working in Australian for a healthy environment, I have a personal interest in seeing a firm cooperation between both countries I call home based on clean technologies which combat climate change. Which is why I was very disappointed to hear Prime Minister Tony Abbott blithely say that “coal is good for humanity”. Continue reading
Public comments closed on nuclear waste plans: need for a national inquiry
Unproven and unfinished: Time for a new approach to managing Australia’s radioactive waste November 10, 2014 National civil society groups have urged federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane to display an open mind and an open door with a new approach to radioactive waste management. http://www.acfonline.org.au/news-media/media-release/unproven-and-unfinished-time-new-approach-managing-australia%E2%80%99s-radioactive
The call comes as public comment closes today on a planned federal government move to start a national nomination process for potential waste dump sites. This move follows the failure of a long federal push for a waste facility in the Northern Territory.
National environment groups, the ACTU, public health and Aboriginal representatives have urged the Minister to stop searching for a postcode for a remote dump and instead initiate an inquiry into the best way to manage this waste.
Australia has never had an independent, expert review of responsible management options. Continue reading
Solarpunk – a new way of looking at the future
Solarpunk: a new movement sees the future in a positive light BIANCA NOGRADY ABC Environment 10 NOV 2014 A new theme is emerging in science fiction literature and art: solarpunk. It imagines the future as bright, green and sustainable. “IMAGINE A SUSTAINABLE world, driven by clean and renewable energy. Now imagine large space sailboats driven by solar radiation, production of biofuels via nanotechnology, the advent of photosynthetic humans, and, as there is no perfect society, even terrorism against corrupt businesses and governments. Welcome to the bright green world of solarpunk.”
Denmark taking up the challenge with ambitious 100% renewable energy target
Denmark Aims for 100 Percent Renewable Energy, Justin Gillis, NYT, NOV. 10, 2014 COPENHAGEN — Denmark, a tiny country on the northern fringe of Europe, is pursuing the world’s most ambitious policy against climate change. It aims to end the burning of fossil fuels in any form by 2050 — not just in electricity production, as some other countries hope to do, but in transportation as well.
Now a question is coming into focus: Can Denmark keep the lights on as it chases that lofty goal?
Lest anyone consider such a sweeping transition to be impossible in principle, the Danes beg to differ. They essentially invented the modern wind-power industry, and have pursued it more avidly than any country. They are above 40 percent renewable power on their electric grid, aiming toward 50 percent by 2020. The political consensus here to keep pushing is all but unanimous……….
The trouble, if it can be called that, is that renewable power sources like wind and solar cost nothing to run, once installed. That is potentially a huge benefit in the long run………
Throughout Europe, governments have come to the realization that electricity markets are going to have to be redesigned for the new age, but they are not pursuing this task with urgency. ……..http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/science/earth/denmark-aims-for-100-percent-renewable-energy.html?_r=0
Labor Party refuses t o weaken Renewable Energy Target
Labor Walks Away From Renewable Energy Target Negotiations http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/alp-ret-negotiations-em4587/ November 12, 2014It’s been reported the ALP has broken off negotiations with the Federal Government that would have resulted in the dilution of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET).
Had the Abbott Government gotten its way, a gutted RET would have caused the loss of thousands of jobs and also higher electricity prices. Among the few parties to have benefited from a cut to the RET were coal fired power generators and the coal industry generally.
“The ALP rightly concluded there was no prospect of a reasonable outcome that could offer the industry the certainty it needs,” said Australian Solar Council CEO John Grimes.
“Because supporters of the existing RET are in the majority in the Senate, any attempt by the government to change the law will be defeated. So, Tony Abbott will not be able to deliver the big win to the fossil fuel industry and big power companies that he dearly wanted.”
The Australian Solar Council is now gearing up to turn its very successful Save Solar initiative that focused on the current RET crisis into a campaign it will take into the next federal election.
“The Abbott Government started this fight against Australian electricity consumers. The people of Australia love renewable energy. They love solar. They want more renewable energy not less. They will win this fight,” said Mr. Grimes.
The Australian Wind Alliance also welcomed the news of the ALP abandoning negotiations.
“The ALP should be applauded for walking away. These negotiations were completely unnecessary and the government has been completely unreasonable,” said spokesman Andrew Bray.
“Before the election, all parties promised to keep Australia’s renewable energy industry intact. The ALP have kept their promise. The Coalition have broken theirs.”
The uncertainty caused by the RET argy-bargy has already had a major negative effect; effectively bringing the large scale renewables sector to its knees. Yesterday we reported investment in renewable energy during 2014 in Australia has dropped by 70 percent compared with 2013.
Warren Mundine not trusted by Aboriginal Land Council
Aboriginal land council shuns Mundine over Wallarah 2 negotiations, Australian Mining10 November, 2014 Ben Hageman Warren Mundine has proven a poor choice to negotiate with local aboriginal groups, who have voiced their distrust in him for dealing with the Wallarah 2 coal mine.
After compensation negotiations with the Darkinjung Aboriginal Land Council broke down this year, Korean government-owned miner Kores hired the chair of the Indigenous Advisory Council to represent the company, SMH reported.
A spokesman for Kores said Mundine had been engaged by the company “to facilitate the resumption of discussions between Darkinjung ALC and Wallarah 2 on a land access agreement.”
However, land council CEO Sean Gordon said the ALC did not want to negotiate through Mundine. “From our end there is distrust in his position as chair of the Indigenous Advisory Council and his general support for the mining industry,” Gordon said……..http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/aboriginal-land-council-shuns-mundine-over-wallara
In Victoria’s State Election, Renewable energy a key issue in Macedon
State election: Renewable energy a key Macedon issue, say environmentalists http://www.macedonranges.starweekly.com.au/story/1827216/state-election-renewable-energy-a-key-macedon-issue-say-environmentalists/ Matt Crossman 11/11/2014 A blanket ban on wind farms is out of step with community views, according to environmentalists who believe renewable energy will be among the issues to decide the marginal seat of Macedon in this month’s state election.
The Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group (MRSG) and Friends of the Earth released a report on voters’ views at the site of a community-owned wind farm near Daylesford last Thursday.
The report included results of a community survey, which found that 86 per cent of Macedon respondents supported community wind farms similar to those at Hepburn Wind.
Almost 90 per cent of the 700 people surveyed believed communities should be able to develop their own wind facilities.
A total of 97 per cent of respondents preferred renewable energy sources over fossil fuels.
And 80 per cent of those aware of the state government’s anti-wind farm laws supported their repeal. The laws, introduced in 2011, banned wind farm projects in the Macedon Ranges, Otways and Dandenongs. Continue reading
New South Wales govt backs community renewable energy projects
NSW Government throws its support behind renewable energy projects for regions like the Mid North Coast ABC News 10 Nov 2014, State government grants totalling $700,000 are now available for new renewable energy projects in areas like the Mid North Coast.
Community-based renewable projects can apply for grants of up to $70,000, to help with set-up costs.
So that may mean providing financial help with feasibility studies, to engage with the community about the project and do some planning
Parliamentary Secretary for Renewable Energy and Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams, said the projects will not be industrial-scale in size, and will be entirely owned by community members…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-11/nsw-government-throws-its-support-behind-renewable-energy-proje/5881366
Carbon pricing will return – says Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard predicts return of carbon pricing and mining tax, saying ‘good reforms take more than one go’, ABC News By political reporter Andrew Greene 11 Nov 2014, Former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard has predicted Australia’s carbon pricing and mining tax will eventually return.
Ms Gillard, who was deposed as prime minister last year, said she believes many of her government’s policies, which have now been abolished by the Coalition, will one day be reintroduced.
In a wide-ranging interview with ABC Radio in Canberra, Ms Gillard compared her government’s mining and carbon taxes with Gough Whitlam’s introduction of Medibank (now Medicare) in the 1970s.
“Medibank completely contested by the conservative side of politics (with) the Liberal Party saying it’ll destroy Australia as we know it and no one will ever go and be a doctor again and Bob Hawke needing to bring it back,” she said.
“The Government is finding it very, very hard to try and sweep away our education reforms which are enduring in many respects.
“Yes, they’ve swept away carbon pricing and the Minerals Resource Rent Tax, but good reforms often take more than one go around and they’ll be back.”…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-11/julia-gillard-predicts-return-carbon-pricing-mining-tax/5883120
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 