Australian nuclear news from 26 August to 1st September
Australian nuclear news from 26 August to 1st September
Headlines as they come in:
- A quick update on Submissions to Parliament about the new AUKUS agreement.
- Anthony Albanese uses visit to Collie to slam Peter Dutton’s nuclear plans.
- Dutton’s nuclear vision is distorted by ignorance (or worse)
- WA town Collie’s efforts to save its future distracted by nuclear talk.
- That time when Canada cancelled its nuclear submarine order
- Barnaby’s Bush Summit bombshell: Why ScoMo wouldn’t back nuclear.
- ‘Heavily male dominated’: Nuclear workforce has to be ‘more balanced’
- Defence Minister Richard Marles opened $600k second office in Geelong, a short walk from his existing space
- Opposing a USA-led international nuclear agreement that is bizarrely unfair to Australia.
- The AUKUS submarine deal has been exposed as a monumental folly – is it time to abandon ship?
- Coalition Proposal Undercuts Australians to Fund Expensive Nuclear Fantasy
- Coalition pledges to ditch nuclear sites if earthquake zones are declared unsafe
Coalition pledges to ditch nuclear sites if earthquake zones are declared unsafe
The Age, By Mike Foley, August 26, 2024
Proposed nuclear sites would be abandoned if studies reveal unacceptable risks, the Coalition has declared following an earthquake near its planned Hunter Valley site, raising questions about other selected locations close to geological fault lines.
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck near Muswellbrook in NSW’s Upper Hunter region on Friday, several kilometres from the Liddell coal plant where the opposition has pledged to build a nuclear reactor if elected. The quake damaged buildings in the town while tremors were felt as far away as Sydney.
Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien pledged that if the Coalition formed government, it would establish an independent nuclear authority that would conduct detailed studies of the proposed sites.
“If [the studies] come back with advice that says any power plant should not proceed, then a power plant would not proceed, full stop,” he told ABC radio on Friday. “That is absolutely key.”………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Four of the opposition’s seven proposed nuclear sites are located near active fault lines: Port Augusta in South Australia, Lithgow in NSW, Collie in Western Australia and the Latrobe Valley in Victoria – an area that has had seven seismic events this year ranging from magnitudes of 2 to 4.3.
Latrobe Valley resident Wendy Farmer, president of the Voices of the Valley group, is helping to establish an alliance of anti-nuclear groups from the communities selected for plants.
Farmer said the opposition should have studied its selected sites before nominating them for reactors.
“Had they taken time to either speak to companies or communities, they would have already known this,” she said.
Hunter Community Environment Centre co-ordinator Jo Lynch said she was concerned about nuclear waste, considering the millions of tonnes of fly ash stored in dams across her region.
“I am concerned about waste management from a nuclear facility. Just looking at the track record with coal, that was a result of outdated environmental laws,” Lynch said………………………….. https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/coalition-pledges-to-ditch-nuclear-sites-if-earthquake-zones-are-declared-unsafe-20240826-p5k5d5.html
Countering the nuclear lobby spin this week
Some bits of good news. How Copenhagen cleaned up its harbour. Renewable energy consumption hit a record high. The US finally supported a global plastics treaty
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TOP STORIES.
How US Big Tech monopolies colonized the world: Welcome to neo-feudalism. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf1wQ9QeaKM
The heroes who saved the world from Chernobyl Two.
‘Very serious’ nuclear situation could happen ‘at any moment’ in Ukraine, says IAEA chief.
Donald Trump and Nuclear Weapons.
Molten salt reactors were trouble in the 1960s—and they remain trouble today.
From the archives. A new French fairy tale: “Cheap” nuclear electricity in France is not what it appears.
Biodiversity. Capitalism is killing the planet – but curtailing it is the discussion nobody wants to have. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/20/2-b1-capitalism-is-killing-the-planet-but-curtailing-it-is-the-discussion-nobody-wants-to-have/
Climate. Climate scientist says 2/3rds of the world is under an effective ‘death sentence’ because of global warming. Think we don’t have a choice when it comes to saving the planet? Think again– ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/20/2-b1-think-we-dont-have-a-choice-when-it-comes-to-saving-the-planet-think-again/ Project 2025: The right-wing conspiracy to torpedo global climate action. Meeting 1.5C warming limit hinges on governments more than technology, study says.
Plastic pollution. Human brain tissue made up of 0.5 per cent microplastics, study reveals.
Noel’s notes. A whole new way of thinking about nuclear weapons – THEY’RE SILLY! “Churnalism” – that is a timely word that we all need to consider.
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AUSTRALIA. Is the USA now considering withdrawal from AUKUS? Australia offers U.S. a vast new military launchpad in China conflict. AUKUS 2.0: Albanese Drives It Like He Stole It, and Then Gives It Away to the US. Civil Society faces imposition of an AUKUS military High Level nuclear waste dump. The anti-renewables groups pushing the nuclear option to rural Australia – ALSO AT https://antinuclear.net/2024/08/26/the-anti-renewables-groups-pushing-the-nuclear-option-to-rural-australia/ Too big to fail? Who cares if there’s no accountability – the Nuclear Lie. More news items at https://antinuclear.net/2024/08/19/australian-nuclear-news-headlines-19-26-august/
NUCLEAR ITEMS.
ARTS and CULTURE. The lost world of Chornobyl: inside a nuclear disaster zone – in pictures. The UK nuclear lobby’s festival of joyous propaganda.
CLIMATE. Why Nuclear Energy Is Not the Solution to the Climate Crisis. Why the big push for nuclear power as “green”?
ECONOMICS. Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear power station is offline, again.
Final investment decision on new nuclear plant Sizewell C is delayed. “Final Investment Decision (FID) ” in Sizewell C nuclear station might never happen. Nuclear unicorn Newcleo to move holding company from UK to France to tap EU funds.
China keeps door firmly closed to Japanese seafood imports.
SMRs and nuclear renaissance: Learning from past to avoid over promising on low costs.
ENERGY. AI’s insatiable energy demand is going nuclear.
Global disappointment with the most promising energy: ‘The dream is dead’, and we are in ‘big trouble’
ENVIRONMENT. Sizewell C seeks permit for ‘water vole displacement activities’ ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/24/1-b1-sizewell-c-seeks-permit-for-water-vole-displacement-activities/
EVENTS. 1 September, Ontario WALK AGAINST NUCLEAR WASTE https://www.facebook.com/nonukesontreatylands
| MEDIA. Defence Correspondents: The Journalistic Wing of the Military? |
| POLITICS. Harris’s concluding speech at DNC embraces agenda of global war. Democrats Release Insanely Hawkish Middle East Policy Platform. ‘Strong record of supporting the U.S.-Israel relationship’: a look at Tim Walz’s votes on Palestine as a member of Congress.Biden’s Convention Speech Made Absurd Claims About His Gaza Policy. | POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. Blinken ‘Sentenced Ceasefire Talks to Death’ With Comments on Netanyahu.Hungary again breaks with West: Ukrainian attack on Kursk is ‘wrong‘ .The U.S. and China Can Lead the Way on Nuclear Threat Reduction. White House downplays Chinese concerns over possible US nuclear strategy change, |
| SAFETY. Rafael Grossi to visit Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia , following reports that remains of a drone were found there Nuclear power risks rising in Russia-Ukraine war. Fire at Zaporizhzhia elevates meltdown risk. IAEA chief to visit Kursk nuclear plant due to Ukraine incursion. UK’s nuclear facilities ‘at high risk of atomic blackmail’ from Putin. Flight attendant turned author reveals terrible security vulnerability she fears could trigger nuclear apocalypse. How EDF almost plunged France into darkness .Incident: Fluid leak forces rail shipment to return to the San Onofre nuclear power plant | SECRETS and LIES. Report on nuclear power in Wales is so secret the UK Government won’t even disclose its name .Labour MP under fire for accepting £2,000 donation from Sizewell C developer. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/22/1-b1-labour-mp-under-fire-for-accepting-2000-donation-from-sizewell-c-developer/ Inside the ‘suitably opaque’ response to a toxic sewage spill at Chalk River nuclear lab. |
| SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Rocket Test on Remote Scottish Island Ends in Flames. | SPINBUSTER. Nuclear power on the prairies is a green smokescreen. ALSO AT https://nuclear-news.net/2024/08/21/2-b1-nuclear-power-on-the-prairies-is-a-green-smokescreen/ Why fans of nuclear are a problem today. |
| TECHNOLOGY. Small modular reactors: Not all that glows is gold. The Risk of Bringing AI Discussions Into High-Level Nuclear Dialogues. A robot’s attempt to get a sample of the melted nuclear fuel at Japan’s damaged reactor is suspended | WASTES. Britain’s Dirtiest Beaches – Don’t Mention the Pu! Japan: Removal of nuclear fuel remains in Fukushima will begin on August 22.The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)NDA’s £30 million investment into nuclear research & innovation.We don’t want your garbage‘: Northern township in shock after hearing Ontario is sending it radioactive waste. |
| WAR and CONFLICT. Blinken Heads to Israel for Gaza Cease-Fire Push as IDF Slaughter Continues. Moscow Says Ukraine Destroyed Russian Bridge With Western-Provided Missiles. Ukraine could trigger ‘another Chernobyl’ – ex-US Army officer. Zelensky’s Misadventures in Kursk. Kazakhstan Takes Lead in Global Push for Nuclear Disarmament Amid Heightened Tensions. | WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. From the NPT to the UN Summit of the Future: Cut nuclear weapons budgets and investments. ‘US the primary source of nuclear threat in world’. Biden approved nuclear strategy focusing on China: Report. US crying wolf over China’s ‘nuclear threat’ while expanding nuclear arsenal. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt says the Ukraine War turned him into an arms dealer. |
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 