Nuclear submissions: people are “doubling up”? Sending the same submissions to 2 different Inquiries
Well – I am not able to read any submissions to FEDERAL. Inquiry into the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia . But I have read all the 11 submissions so far published to New South Wales Inquiry into Uranium Mining and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Repeal Bill 2019. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/inquiries/Pages/inquiry-details.aspx?pk=2525&fbclid=IwAR2JjKI28uB4TZIJ38uZRlnQTmCQ3e7QyXk0 . They mostly pretty much read as if they were about setting up nuclear power in Austra ply using the same story to send to the Federal Inquiry. So there’s a hint – a way to save time?
Another hint – some writers are using some or all of their own previous submissions to the 2016 South Australian Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission.
In the next days and weeks Antinuclear. net will analyse submissions, as they appear on government websites.
About the CURRENT NUCLEAR SUBMISSIONS
It’s hard to grasp it all, with 4 nuclear Parliamentary submissions going on at the same time, and with short deadlines.
I am attempting to make sense of it all, starting with the Federal one FEDERAL. Inquiry into the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia (Submissions close 16 September 2019 https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Environment_and_Energy/Nuclearenergy?fbclid=IwAR0Sw4LB2qdcxSI6U6l67lI7Mwz9IEWw7_0RIq3mtN-nfpkfBn4z2VkQGog
A submission can be sent in hard copy by post, or online. It’s quite a performance to send a submission online, but well worth doing. One can refer to any or all of the Terms of Reference.
a. waste management, transport and storage,
b. health and safety,
c. environmental impacts,
d. energy affordability and reliability,
e. economic feasibility,
f. community engagement,
g. workforce capability,
h. security implications,
i. national consensus, and
j. any other relevant matter
Best to write your own submission, but there is also the option of using Friends of the Earth’s pro forma submission.
The Committee of Inquiry may publish submissions, but people (and nuclear companies) can ask for their submissions to be confidential.
Reaction against Robert Parker’s nuclear reactor plan for Ipswich, Queensland
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Nuclear for Ipswich to combat growing carbon emissions, Navarone Farrell, Queensland Times, August 21, 2019 SWANBANK is one of 10 sites in Queensland touted for a nuclear power station after talks at a lobby group summit.
Ipswich Residents Against Toxic Environments president Jim Dodrill said moving towards nuclear energy based on the premise of carbon footprint reduction “was nonsense”. “We’re absolutely opposed to (nuclear). It doesn’t make any sense economically, it doesn’t make any sense environmentally and it certainly doesn’t make any sense in the long term in regards to the waste from that form of power generation,” he said. “People do try to confuse the issue in relation to (nuclear’s) carbon footprint. The carbon footprint of nuclear is very, very high – not in the direct generation of power, but in the indirect. “You’re talking about moving the fuel over great distances, you’re talking about a lot of storage and the logistics of the fuel and the waste and the set up of that kind of generator. “It would be, in the long-term, no better than burning coal.” Mr Dodrill said moving towards another form of non-renewable energy would be a step backwards and that the rest of the world has moved on from nuclear. “It would make no sense for somewhere like Ipswich – or any city anywhere in Australia – to move into a type of power generation that’s (becoming defunct),” he said. “It’s nonsense altogether… (this agenda) is obviously being pushed by a particular sector of the far right in Australian politics.” Bundamba Labor MP Jo-Ann Miller, a fierce opponent of any more “stinks and smells” energy in Ipswich, ridiculed the idea. “Australia cannot even work out what it needs to do in relation to the nuclear plant in Sydney,” she said. “It’s certainly is at no stage of looking at nuclear-based power. Our city for many, many years has been a nuclear-free zone and that’s the way it should stay. “We do not want incinerators and we do not want nuclear power plants in our back yards, it’s a no-go.”… “How dare they consider Swanbank and my electorate without even having a conversation with the local people, and I can assure them that our locals would be very much against it,” she said. https://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/news/regional/nuclear-for-ipswich-to-combat-growing-carbon-emissions/news-story/61af3052d10672573bb761eed16af606 |
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South Australian law – no public money towards nuclear waste dumping facility
NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE FACILITY (PROHIBITION) ACT 2000 – SECT 13
13—No public money to be used to encourage or finance construction or operation of nuclear waste storage facility
(1) Despite any other Act or law to the contrary, no public money may be appropriated, expended or advanced to any person for the purpose of encouraging or financing any activity associated with the construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility in this State.
(2) Subsection (1) does not prohibit the appropriation, expenditure or advancement to a person of public money for the purpose of financing the maintenance or sharing of information or to enable the State to engage with other jurisdictions.
The Kimba nuclear waste dump ballot – breaching South Australian law?
ENuFF[SA], 21 Aug 19, Today Kimba Council announced a date for a community ballot on the radioactive suppository ~ October 3rd.
http://www.kimba.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=408&c=10102
The legality of conducting such a ballot needs to be tested in the courts, since s.13 of the Radioactive Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act SA 2000 prohibits public monies being spent “…. encouraging or financing any activity associated with the construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility in this State.”
http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/sa/consol_act/nwsfa2000430/s13.html
This concerns & will affect ALL South Australians, not just Kimba. We should start a fund for a court injunction based upon s.13 “… any activity …” of the Radioactive Waste Facility [Prohibition] Act ~ & then engage Maurice Blackburn Lawyers [eg] to mount a case against the ballot.
Council announces dates for Kimba radioactive waste ballot
Council announces dates for Kimba radioactive waste ballot, Kimba District Council, 21 Aug 19, The Kimba community will have its say on the of the Commonwealth Government’s proposed National Radioactive Waste Management Facility at one of two nominated sites in the district from October 3.
The District Council of Kimba today announced the dates for the long-awaited ballot, which has been delayed for more than 12 months due to litigation.
While the favourable judgment received by Council in the Federal Court of Australia on 12 July has been appealed, Mayor Dean Johnson said that there was no legal impediment to the ballot proceeding to determine the level of community support as part of the overall site selection process.
“Council’s position has always been to facilitate the ballot on behalf of the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia so our community could have its voice heard, and we reaffirmed that position at our ordinary meeting last week,” he explained.
“We were advised this morning that the Minister no longer requests that the Kimba and Hawker ballots to be run concurrently, so Council has commenced planning with a view to ballot papers being posted out on 3 October.”
The ballot will be run in a manner identical to that scheduled to be held in 2018, and applications from eligible ratepayers and residents for inclusion on the voters roll will be open for a period of three weeks from 23 August 2019 until midday on 13 September 2019…..http://www.kimba.sa.gov.au/page.aspx?u=408&c=10102&fbclid=IwAR1y2ZfiGYV6gFpnvtTkWYWNs1_LcelO3cQ1iLG3RaC22tVRoHy0NHQ2igg
Lynas’ radioactive waste – still a toxic issue in Malaysia
Australian mining company Lynas gets permission to dispose of radioactive waste in Malaysia, dividing locals ABC
Key points:
- Malaysia has renewed the rare earth plant licence of Australian company Lynas
- Green groups say Lynas’ activities pose a threat to the local environment
- Lynas says it will meet the licence obligations set by Malaysia’s Government
Outside of China, the Australian firm, Lynas, is the world’s only major producer of rare earth minerals, which are crucial in the production of high-tech gear including smartphones, laser-guided missiles and electric car batteries.
The ore is dug up at Mount Weld in Western Australia and then shipped to Malaysia, where the cost of processing is significantly lower.
The low-level radioactive waste is a by-product of the enrichment process and Malaysian activists are convinced it poses a threat to local communities.
At a recent protest in Kuantan, several hundred people rallied against the Australian firm and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s decision to extend its licence to operate.
“[The radioactivity] will be passed through our children and our children’s children,” said Moses Lim, a chemical engineer turned activist.
“We may be gone, but our grandchildren will curse us.”
Mr Lim claimed the issue had the potential to “tarnish the good name of Australia” in the minds of millions of Malaysians. But the Prime Minister, 94-year-old Dr Mahathir, dismissed criticism of Lynas’ operations in Malaysia.
“It’s not Chernobyl. This isn’t going to be dangerous,” he said.
‘We just have to accept this fate’
The issue has split the local community, which relies on the hundreds of high-paying jobs that the processing facility provides.
At a local fish market in Kuantan, a mother who declined to offer her name told the ABC she feared radioactive contamination from the facility would make its way into her food.
“I am scared, but I have no choice but to buy the fresh fish from here. We just have to accept this fate,” she said.
“I think Lynas should be shut down for the sake of the surrounding environment.”
But other locals said there was nothing to worry about, blaming politicians for trying to capitalise on the issue by whipping up fear in the community.
Raja Harris bin Raja Salleh, the chief fisher in Balok village, said the residents are “not at all scared”.
“Lynas is the same as other agencies and factories that produce chemicals. The accusations against Lynas are political,” he said.
Toxic waste becomes a toxic issue
The issue of Lynas’ radioactive waste has become politically toxic for the Mahathir-led coalition, which promised in opposition to close the Australian plant.
Now in government after last year’s shock election result, there has been a major backing down.
Lynas is allowed to keep operating its plant and has been given six months to find a suitable site within Malaysia to permanently dispose of 580,000 tonnes of low-level radioactive waste currently stockpiled at the Kuantan facility.
The company has also been given four years to relocate its cracking and leaching processing operation — which creates the radioactive waste — to Western Australia.
Wong Tak, a Malaysian Government MP who attended the Kuantan protest, said the cabinet decision to extend the licence was a “great disappointment”.
The long time anti-Lynas campaigner claimed the issue was serious enough to fracture the Mahathir-led Pakatan Harapan, or Alliance of Hope, Coalition.
“I know the majority of backbenchers are with us, and I will even say the majority of the cabinet are with the people.”
Dr Mahathir has taken a pragmatic approach to the issue, saying the decision to extend the licence was based on expert advice, not the “popular view”.
“Either we get rid of the industry and lose credibility in terms of foreign direct investment, or we can take care of the problem,” he said……
The fate of Lynas in Malaysia is being keenly watched around the world amid concerns rare earth materials could become a bargaining chip in the ongoing US-China trade war.
In 2010, the Chinese supply of rare earths to Japan suddenly stopped for two months following a territorial dispute over Japan’s claim to the Senkaku Islands, which angered China.
The construction of the Lynas plant in Malaysia was largely funded in 2011 by Japan, which needed a reliable supply of rare earths.
China currently holds a near-monopoly on the production of rare earth minerals, with Lynas producing about 13 per cent of global supply.https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-22/malaysians-divided-on-radioactive-waste-from-aussie-miner-lynas/11434122
August 21 Energy News — geoharvey
Opinion: ¶ “Big Oil Is Scared” • Here is a simple truth: The world cannot build more fossil fuel infrastructure and have a habitable climate. Science bears this out, and a growing number of people around the world are putting their bodies on the line in the service of said science and habitable climate as […]
Prices hit zero again across the grid as renewables output tops 10GW — RenewEconomy
Prices hit zero in all mainland NEM states on Wednesday for second day in a row, and for fourth day in a row in sunny Queensland. The post Prices hit zero again across the grid as renewables output tops 10GW appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Prices hit zero again across the grid as renewables output tops 10GW — RenewEconomy
Crazy gang: Coalition MP wants Queensland to leave main grid — RenewEconomy
Just when you thought Australia had hit the ceiling on absurd energy politics, federal Nationals MP Keith Pitt has unveiled a “bold” new plan for Queensland to quit the national grid. The post Crazy gang: Coalition MP wants Queensland to leave main grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Crazy gang: Coalition MP wants Queensland to leave main grid — RenewEconomy
Holtec Refused to Provide Info Re Its Spent Nuclear Fuel Casks to the US Govt Despite Subpoena; What is Holtec Hiding? — Mining Awareness +
Even after being subpoenaed by the US government, Holtec belligerently refused to help the US government understand the costs of spent nuclear fuel dry cask storage, costing the US taxpayer unknown amounts. As Holtec has moved into nuclear power station decommissioning, Holtec is belligerently refusing to work with state and local governments and citizens, as […]
Prices fall to zero across mainland states in Australian’s main grid — RenewEconomy
Prices fall to zero across mainland states in Australia’s National Electricity Market on Tuesday. The post Prices fall to zero across mainland states in Australian’s main grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Prices fall to zero across mainland states in Australian’s main grid — RenewEconomy
Turbines spinning for first time at Kennedy solar-wind-battery project — RenewEconomy
Kennedy wind-solar-battery hub says it has generated for the first time. The post Turbines spinning for first time at Kennedy solar-wind-battery project appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Turbines spinning for first time at Kennedy solar-wind-battery project — RenewEconomy
Climate policy vacuum boosting investor focus on low-carbon assets — RenewEconomy
A new survey shows the lack of climate policy guidance from Canberra has given rise to a new breed of utlra-engaged, low-carbon focused investors. The post Climate policy vacuum boosting investor focus on low-carbon assets appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Climate policy vacuum boosting investor focus on low-carbon assets — RenewEconomy
Schwarzenegger-backed start-up helps Australia wind farms duck negative prices — RenewEconomy
Start-up backed by Arnold Schwarzenegger launches AI trading that help wind and solar farms duck negative prices, and can more than triple battery revenues. The post Schwarzenegger-backed start-up helps Australia wind farms duck negative prices appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Schwarzenegger-backed start-up helps Australia wind farms duck negative prices — RenewEconomy
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