Australian Radioactive Waste Agency a “zombie measure”- no funding left by Morrison government
Why a staggering $5BILLION will need to be found to keep the vital MyGov app running, store Australia’s radioactive waste and even monitor high-risk terrorists: ‘Australians were tricked’
By BRITTANY CHAIN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA, 8 May 2023
…………….. According to Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, these funding shortfalls or ‘booby traps’ were left by ex-PM Scott Morrison in the hope they would blow up on the incoming Albanese Government……….
‘For example, there was no money in the budget for the agency responsible for safely storing and disposing of Australia’s radioactive waste,………………………..
Australian Radioactive Waste Agency
The agency is one of the ‘zombie measures’ in which funding was not taken into account beyond this year, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.
Senator Gallagher said there was actually no money at all in the budget for the agency, despite its responsibility to safely store and dispose of Australia’s radioactive waste……………………………. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12032345/Budget-2023-Underfunding-MyGov-app-public-dental-mental-health-revealed-Federal-Budget.html?fbclid=IwAR2I1-FswPxwSyqGUbBetcBPCOtUHyuAqAv_TNk-oBlhGy7b0KW0z7vdZv8
Queensland sets new wind output record as it plays catch up to rest of country —
Queensland sets a new wind output record as the state plays catch up with the rest of the country. The post Queensland sets new wind output record as it plays catch up to rest of country appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Queensland sets new wind output record as it plays catch up to rest of country — RenewEconomy
Big batteries charge on to centre stage with new tricks for the grid — RenewEconomy
As Australia’s big battery fleet continues to grow, developers and owners are starting to unlock more of the big stack of services they can bring to the grid. The post Big batteries charge on to centre stage with new tricks for the grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Big batteries charge on to centre stage with new tricks for the grid — RenewEconomy
Wind, solar and storage: Three ideas to accelerate Australia’s green energy transition — RenewEconomy
The rollout of wind, solar and storage is too slow. We need more transmission, and more action from state governments, and NSW in particular. The post Wind, solar and storage: Three ideas to accelerate Australia’s green energy transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Wind, solar and storage: Three ideas to accelerate Australia’s green energy transition — RenewEconomy
Grid forming inverters find their place on big grids: Can they do what they say? — RenewEconomy
Grid-forming inverters were once limited to micro and isolated grids, but are now rolling out in mega scale applications where their role is not well understood. The post Grid forming inverters find their place on big grids: Can they do what they say? appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Grid forming inverters find their place on big grids: Can they do what they say? — RenewEconomy
Bluefloat checks pulse on community support for 1.7GW offshore wind plans — RenewEconomy
BlueFloat Energy calls for community feedback on Eastern Rise offshore wind farm, as it prepares to seek environmental approvals for the NSW project. The post Bluefloat checks pulse on community support for 1.7GW offshore wind plans appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Bluefloat checks pulse on community support for 1.7GW offshore wind plans — RenewEconomy
Fukushima. Only 1% of people return home despite lifting of evacuation order.
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, May 2, 2023
Despite a massive outlay in decontamination and infrastructure funds, only 1 percent of residents have returned to special reconstruction zones in Fukushima Prefecture.
Evacuation orders for those special zones were gradually lifted from last year and the Nagadoro district of Iitate became the final area where the order was lifted on May 1.
A total of about 320 billion yen ($2.3 billion) was spent on decontamination and social infrastructure in the special zones.
However, so far only 158 residents of those special zones in six municipalities have returned to their communities, or 1.2 percent of the total number of registered residents in those areas.
Those zones were designated in areas of municipalities that until then were classified as difficult-to-return zones because of the high levels of radiation that lingered after the 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Government officials initially thought that residents in those difficult-to-return zones would likely never be able to return to their homes.
But as the years passed, radiation levels were found to be dropping so from around 2017 and 2018, the government designated certain sections of the six municipalities that had difficult-to-return zones as special zones for reconstruction and revitalization.
The government undertook decontamination of radiation in those special zones as well as constructed social infrastructure.
The special reconstruction zones were chosen because they covered communities where a large number of people once lived.
Although the special reconstruction zones only made up about 8 percent of the total area designated as difficult-to-return zones, the registered residents in those zones made up about 60 percent of the total population of the difficult-to-return zones.
Many residents in those areas were uncertain for many years about whether they could ever return to their homes. In the interim, close to 4,000 homes in the difficult-to-return zones were demolished.
But some residents who have evacuated to other parts of Fukushima Prefecture have continued to commute to their homes on weekends to prevent them from being overrun by weeds and vegetation…………………………………………………………….
, 92 percent of the difficult-to-return zones lie outside the special reconstruction zones, meaning no one will be allowed to enter those areas, which total about 31,000 hectares, or about half the size of Tokyo’s 23 wards.
But the government is considering a new designation that would allow for the lifting of evacuation orders in specific residential lots for households that indicated a willingness to return to their former homes.
Decontamination work would be concentrated on those lots and neighboring areas.
(This article was written by Noriyoshi Ohtsuki, a senior staff writer, Tetsuya Kasai and Susumu Imaizumi.) https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14899178
Russia orders evacuation of civilians around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant amid warnings of ‘severe nuclear accident’
Anxiety about the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is growing after the Moscow-installed governor of the Ukrainian region where it is located ordered civilian evacuations.
Key points:
- Russian forces are ordering civilians to leave towns around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
- The evacuation zone includes Enerhodar, which is home to most of the plant’s staff
- IAEA head Rafael Mariano Grossi says the situation is “increasingly unpredictable”
Russian soldiers are evacuating people from Zaporizhzhia and 18 nearby towns, ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi has called on both Russia and Ukraine to ensure that there will be no fighting near the Zaporizhzhia plant to prevent what he calls “the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences”.
The towns and villages being evacuated include Enerhodar, which is home to most of the plant’s staff.
The Russia-backed governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia province, Yevgeny Balitsky, said more than 1,600 people, including more than 600 children had been evacuated as of Sunday.
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed the evacuation of Enerhodar was underway.
…………………………… Although none of the plant’s six reactors are operating because of the war, the station needs a reliable power supply for essential cooling systems. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-08/russia-orders-evacuations-around-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant/102316184
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 