Minister Macfarlane and Muckaty radioactive waste dump
Statement from Muckaty Traditional Owner Penny Phillips re: meeting Minister Ian Macfarlane. We have heard through Senate questions that Ian Macfarlane is making plans to come and meet with Muckaty Traditional Owners (1).Earlier this year I travelled a long way to Canberra by myself to talk to former Minister Gary Gray. At the same time the Northern Land Council was taking a group of people to Spain to look at the nuclear waste dump there. I invited Gary Gray to Tennant Creek to meet us, but the NLC mob didn’t ask me to come and meet him. They didn’t tell a lot of people about that meeting, just the ones they wanted to go along.
I went to the meeting in my own vehicle and told Gary Gray he could have stopped it then, but now we have to go around in circles again and tell the new Minister the same thing. I sent a letter to Minister Macfarlane, along with my mum Bunny Nabarula and my sister-in-law Dianne Stokes, to come here and meet with us. If he comes, we want the NLC to invite everyone to come along and meet him, not just pick one little group.
We all want to have our say. We aren’t going to let the dump go ahead because we are strong and want to protect the land from being destroyed. Contact Penny Phillips: 0459 715 223
For background on the Muckaty radioactive waste dump proposal: Natalie Wasley 0429 900 774
Ranger Uranium Mine safety record cause for concern…again
20 Nov 13 The Northern Territory (NT) Branch of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) is very concerned that four drums used for yellowcake transport have recently been found at a property in Darwin’s rural area, as reported in local media.
“We expect an immediate investigation into the radioactivity of these drums will follow and a further public and environmental health response will be taken accordingly. We understand these drums have since been claimed by ERA and taken to the Ranger mine,” said Dr Michael Fonda, PHAA’s NT Branch Secretary.
This current case follows a serious operational breach earlier this month where a Ranger mine vehicle left a controlled and contaminated area without authorisation.
“These latest incidents – in the context of more than one hundred reported safety failures over the last 30 years – continue to cast doubt on the effectiveness of the safety regulations at Ranger. They also come at a time when ERA is seeking approval for an expansion to uranium mining at the Ranger mine with the 3 Deepsunderground project,” explained Dr Fonda.
Of further concern are comments made by NT Mines Minister Willem Westra van Holthe yesterday, suggesting less Federal Government scrutiny in future NT uranium mining projects.
“These safety incidents, along with the inherent dangers associated with the uranium industry, reinforce the importance of strict government regulation at a federal level. The NT Branch of PHAA is calling for an urgent independent public inquiry into the safety operations at Ranger, including any proposed expansion of the industry in the region,” said Dr Fonda.
For further information/comment: Dr Michael Fonda, NT Branch Secretary, Public Health Association of Australia 0429 435 595
ERA’S GROWING LIST OF URANIUM FAILURES IS NO BARREL OF LAUGHS
The Environment Centre NT and the Australian Conservation Foundation have condemned the latest in a conga line of failures at Ranger uranium mine amid revelations that four uranium barrels were discovered abandoned in Darwin’s rural area today.
Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) is currently under investigation for a serious operational breach following the recent unauthorised removal of a mine vehicle used in the controlled and contaminated area of the Ranger mine. This latest incident is further evidence of systemic failure at Ranger and highlights the need for an urgent review into the mine’s operations.
“ERA has not only lost control of a vehicle and uranium barrels, they’ve also clearly lost the capacity for responsible management and effective operations”, said Lauren Mellor from the Environment Centre NT. “Uranium mining, with its risks to public health and safety and long-term environmental contamination must be subject of greater Federal government scrutiny – not less as Northern Territory Mines Minister Willem Westra Van Holthe suggested today”.
Environmentalists are calling for a full, public and independent review of the operations and impacts of Ranger. “These drums are literally warning drums about the serious regulatory problems at Ranger and their description matches ERA’s assurances – empty, weathered and fire damaged”, said ACF nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney. “ERA is currently undergoing an environmental assessment process for their proposed Ranger 3 Deeps underground mine and these systemic breaches should be a red light to Federal and Northern Territory Government assessors that ERA does not have either the capability or credibility to mine and export uranium safely and securely.”
“While there is still uncertainty as to the outcome of the investigation into ERA’s security breach, some things are crystal clear. It is clear that ERA has failed to control its operations on or off the Ranger mine, clear that the regulatory regime is deficient and clear that there is an urgent need for an open and independent review of Ranger.”
In 2011 it was confirmed that Australian uranium was inside the failed Fukushima nuclear reactor and the UN Secretary-General called on Australia to conduct an in-depth assessment of the net cost impact of the impacts of uranium mining on local communities and ecosystems. Environmentalists are calling for this assessment to now be urgently implemented.
“ERA is losing vehicles, barrels and credibility and the Northern Territory community is losing confidence and patience. It is time for the regulators and those who are meant to protect the community and country of Kakadu to get serious and get to work on closing the door to this toxic industry for good,” concluded Ms Mellor.
Lost uranium drums show regulatory failure at Rio’s Ranger mine
20 Nov 13, The Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation (GAC) is outraged by revelations that four uranium barrels from Ranger uranium mine have been located at Noonamah south of Darwin. It is understood that the NT Department of Health yesterday notified Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) of the drums and asked that they be removed. The drums have been returned to the Ranger mine within the bounds of Kakadu National Park for safe storage. This incident comes within weeks of another serious breach of radiation management at Ranger when a potentially contaminated vehicle left the Ranger site without authorisation
GAC’s Chief Executive Officer Justin O’Brien said: “It is clear that the radiation control measures at the Ranger mine site have failed on multiple occasions. While we welcome the timely reporting of this issue by the company, ERA’s management of radiation is plainly inadequate.
“The Commonwealth Government must step in and ensure that this matter is taken seriously. To date the response by the Office of the Supervising Scientist (OSS) has been dismissive and woefully inadequate. Both the NT and Federal Governments must broaden their current investigations into the vehicle incident and examine the entire management of radiation at the Ranger mine.
“This is not a only a matter between the Mirarr and the mining company, there are significant questions of public health to be considered here. We expect these issues to be considered in a comprehensive investigation of these incidents.
“This revelation raises very serious concerns for the Mirarr Traditional Owners regarding the suggestion of further mining at Ranger,” Mr O’Brien concluded.
Northern Territory joining Queensland in wanting State, NOT FEDERAL, control of uranium environmental approvals
Mines minister pushes Top End uranium projects ABC News, By Marty McCarthy 19 Nov 2013, Northern Territory Mines Minister Willem Westra Van Holthe says he will meet his federal counterpart to discuss ways to streamline environmental approvals for uranium exploration.
The Federal Government has already drafted a bilateral agreement with the Queensland Government for more localised assessment of environmentally sensitive projects.
Mr Westra van Holthe says he will discuss ways in talks this week for the Territory to cut red and green tape, to encourage uranium projects in the Top End. “I will be pushing for the NT to have more say and more control over the process of uranium mining,” he said……
Greens Senator Larissa Waters has already raised concerns about the impact of changes to uranium approval processes. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-19/westra-van-holthe-on-uranium-project-approval-process-talks-can/5102786
New Senator, Nova Peris, speaks out against Muckaty nuclear waste dump plan
Senator Nova Peris OAM. Maiden speech, 13 November 2013 CRIKEY, BOB GOSFORD | NOV 13, 2013 “……….. Aboriginal Australians are symbolic of triumph over adversity. We represent knowledge and wisdom held in land and country.
Because in our hearts we know that we do not own Mother Earth, the Earth owns us……..
I acknowledge I am a Senator elected to represent all Territorians— and I fully intend to discharge this duty to the best of my ability and I will always put our concerns – the concerns of Territorians first and foremost.
I believe it is my duty and the duty of all members elected to the Parliament to answer questions and deal with issues honestly and openly.
One such matter that is a very contentious issue is the location of Australia’s proposed nuclear waste facility. Recently my Larrakia uncle Eric Fejo who is also here today spoke about the previous Government’s decision to locate the proposed nuclear waste facility on Muckaty Station in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory.
He reminded a public forum that during the Apology to the Stolen Generations it was stated that Governments were wrong to make laws and policies that inflict profound grief, suffering and loss on Aboriginal people.
That is what the Muckaty decision is currently doing. It is dividing a community of traditional owners. This policy is inflicting grief.
I strongly urge my fellow parliamentary colleagues to reconsider their support for the current location of this facility.
Of course Australia needs a nuclear waste management facility. But its location must be based on science not politics……..
I acknowledge I am a Senator elected to represent all Territorians— and I fully intend to discharge this duty to the best of my ability and I will always put our concerns – the concerns of Territorians first and foremost.
I believe it is my duty and the duty of all members elected to the Parliament to answer questions and deal with issues honestly and openly.
One such matter that is a very contentious issue is the location of Australia’s proposed nuclear waste facility. Recently my Larrakia uncle Eric Fejo who is also here today spoke about the previous Government’s decision to locate the proposed nuclear waste facility on Muckaty Station in the Barkly region of the Northern Territory.
He reminded a public forum that during the Apology to the Stolen Generations it was stated that Governments were wrong to make laws and policies that inflict profound grief, suffering and loss on Aboriginal people.
That is what the Muckaty decision is currently doing. It is dividing a community of traditional owners. This policy is inflicting grief.
I strongly urge my fellow parliamentary colleagues to reconsider their support for the current location of this facility.
Of course Australia needs a nuclear waste management facility. But its location must be based on science not politics….
I also particularly thank former Prime Minister Julia Gillard from the bottom of my heart for her faith in me and for giving me the chance to become involved – my duty now is to work hard and make a real difference….http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2013/11/13/senator-nova-peris-oam-maiden-speech-13-november-2013/
Exploration company Thundelarra reduces costs, sell uranium assets
Thundelarra sells non-core Hayes Creek uranium asset November 11, 2013 byProactive Investors Thundelarra (ASX:THX) will sell its Hayes Creek uranium assets for a total value of $1.5 million, while neatly retaining an exposure to any future exploration success from the Northern Territory project…….The sale is part of a new “look” Thundelarra that has rationalised non core projects, taken costs from the system and is focusing on core copper, base metal and gold exploration..
…the deal removes the rent, rates and exploration commitment overheads that accompany the Hayes Creek interests…..Today’s deal further illustrates the new broom through Thundelarra, disposing of non-core assets, while focusing on core projects. http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/50073/thundelarra-sells-non-core-hayes-creek-uranium-asset-50073.html
Doubts raised on the safety of Ranger uranium mine
ACF questions Ranger uranium mine safety http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2013/11/08/16/49/acf-questions-ranger-uranium-mine-safety 8 Nov 13 It would be a case of good luck rather than good management, if it turns out there is no radiation contamination due to an an unauthorised vehicle leaving the Ranger uranium site in Kakadu, an environment group says. At about midnight on Sunday, a controlled vehicle used in the most contaminated parts of the Rio Tinto-owned Ranger mine left the site without permission. Continue reading
Safety slip up at ERA’s Ranger uranium mine disturbs Aboriginal landowners
Uranium contamination fears: police investigate Rio Tinto Ranger mine SMH, November 8, 2013 Peter Ker Resources reporter Rio Tinto’s relationship with an indigenous group in Kakadu National Park has taken ”two steps backward” after a safety breach at the Ranger uranium mine.
The Rio subsidiary that operates Ranger, Energy Resources of Australia, has confirmed that a vehicle used within the mine was taken out of controlled areas, sparking contamination fears among the nearby Mirrar people. Police are investigating the incident, which took place without the consent of ERA management in the early hours of Sunday morning, and which some believe may be a breach of the company’s authorisation to mine.
Like all uranium mines, Ranger operates under strict conditions to ensure dangerous levels of uranium do not contaminate the nearby area. ERA said the car – which was supposed to remain inside the mine at all times – had been checked and was ”free of contamination”.
But Justin O’Brien, who represents the Mirrar people, said it had caused great concern among the local community.
”We think it is very serious that you could take potentially contaminated material from an operational mine site, avoid all scrutiny, leave the mine site with it and then be found down the highway,” he said. ”There needs to be a broader inquiry into how on earth this could happen in the first place.”
ERA’s relationship with the Mirrar people is crucial to its survival, given the company has agreed not to restart mining at Ranger without approval from the group. Ranger ceased operating as an open-cut mine last year, and its only future lies in winning approval to become an underground mine in coming years.
The nearby Jabiluka uranium deposit will also not be mined until the Mirrar people give their full support, something that appears unlikely any time soon………Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman Dave Sweeney said it was not the first breach at Ranger, and it was time for Rio Tinto to ”reconsider the project”. http://www.smh.com.au/business/uranium-contamination-fears-police-investigate-rio-tinto-ranger-mine-20131107-2x46w.html#ixzz2k5tWwFN7
Poor results from uranium producer ERA
Expected slump in ERA results, THE AUSTRALIAN 13 Oct 13
RIO Tinto’s listed uranium subsidiary Energy Resources of Australia has kicked off the September quarter reporting period for the group on the sour note widely expected by investors.
Output from ERA’s Ranger operation in the Northern Territory fell sharply in the quarter because of the exhaustion of open-cut reserves, restricting operations to the processing of lower-grade stockpiles.
Uranium production plunged 51 per cent to 610 tonnes (1.34 million pounds) from the previous corresponding period…..
Former Northern Territory Chief Minister speaks out on nuclear waste dump plan
The Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005 was a draconian piece of legislation that took overriding the territory to a new level. It gave the Commonwealth all the powers it needed to build a nuclear waste facility anywhere in the territory. Environment and heritage laws could be set aside, so could the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. This time Howard was determined to remove all possible resistance.
I argued that this was constitutional thuggery but my protests fell on deaf ears. My state colleagues developed temporary deafness as well. I could understand their logic; their state backyards were safe.
Trucking nuclear waste through Sydney a disaster waiting to happen October 11, 2013 Clare Martin (former chief minister of the Northern Territory.) http://www.smh.com.au/comment/trucking-nuclear-waste-through-sydney-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-20131010-2vb0a.html
As I drove down Mona Vale Road this week on a visit to Sydney, I began to wonder what would have happened if the tanker involved in last week’s fatalities had been transporting nuclear waste. It is not a fanciful thought because that is the present federal proposal: trucking nuclear waste through Sydney streets to a new national storage facility thousands of kilometres away in central Australia.
The accident made me question yet again the sense of that proposal. Is one site for low- and medium-level nuclear waste preferable to many local? Does storing the waste in remote Australia make it safer, more secure? What are the known dangers inherent in nuclear waste storage? We need to discuss these issues. Continue reading
Australian government planning to commercialise planned Northern Territory nuclear waste dump?
The Greens say that treating a nuclear waste dump as a growth business is unwise and unwanted. ‘It seems that behind the scenes, (the Abbott government) are developing a business case for the dump with private operators,’ Senator Scott Ludlam said in a statement.
‘As soon as you commercialise a nuclear waste dump, it is in the operators’ interest to look at taking other waste, including other countries’.’
He supports calls for an independent public commission to determine how to safely and responsibly handle Australia’s nuclear waste. This ‘would enable a more sophisticated management regime than the current plan to dump the waste containers in a shed on a cattle station’, he said.
Nuclear tenders snub traditional owners http://www.skynews.com.au/national/article.aspx?id=913283 , Tuesday October 8, 2013 The federal government’s plan to manage Australia’s long-term nuclear waste has excluded the stakeholder voices of traditional Aboriginal land owners, an anti-nuclear activist says.
A Federal Court case is set for June to hear the objections of traditional owners at Muckaty Station, who do not want their lands to become a repository for nuclear waste.
But on September 23 the Abbott government called for applications for an initial business case to identify and analyse capability options for the long-term management of Australia’s radioactive waste to ensure it is safely and securely managed.
Applications close on Friday. Continue reading
ERA flounders with uranium losses, cost-cutting and the prospect of financial collapse
ERA’s cost-cutting continues while uranium prices flounder The Motley Fool By Darryl Daté-Shappard – September 23, 2013 “…..The company, which is 68% owned by Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), just recently reported a $53.55 million loss for its half-year result, with its expenses approximately the same as its $144.3 million revenue. A larger than average $129 million depreciation charge added to the net loss, its third in three years since 2010.
Its Ranger 3 Deeps mine project was discussed, and the company said that the pre-feasibility study was on schedule and on budget. Assuming all necessary approvals are granted, the commencement of production should take place in late 2015. This underground project is adjacent to its open pit mine site, located in the Kakadu National Park. The open pit mine is nearing its end, and so are mining approvals for it, so the underground project is of great importance to continue the company’s activities in this area.
This month the newly installed Brine Concentrator began operation to clean up water used in production. It will be able to process up to 1.8 billion litres per year, rehabilitating the site’s water to be safe near the heritage-listed national park. The water facilities cost $20 million annually to operate.
A total cumulative $102 million out of $150 million in projected savings has been achieved since 2011. However, will this lead to a profit in the near-term if the company in the end is producing less than before, and uranium prices are still around $30-$40/lb?
The overseas uranium market still has not recovered since the Japanese nuclear disaster in Fukushima, and downward price pressure is coming from the development of cheap natural gas within the US, seen as an alternative power generation fuel with less pollutants than coal, and no need for specialised containment and storage that nuclear energy requires……..http://www.fool.com.au/2013/09/23/eras-cost-cutting-continues-while-uranium-prices-flounder/
Traditional owners’ court case against plan for Muckaty radioactive trash dump
Spurious excuses The rationale for the dump is spurious. There is no compelling scientific or public safety necessity for one to be built.It has been repeatedly claimed that a specialised waste dump is required to safely store low level waste (LLW) and long lived intermediate level waste (LLIW).
Most of the LLW is derived from medical isotopes used in hospitals and clinics, while the LLIW comes almost exclusively from the nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights in Sydney. It is this latter type of waste that is of most concern because it is highly toxic and radioactive for a lengthy period
No Northern Territory nuclear waste dump!, En Passant Posted by John, September 19th, 2013 Despite clear opposition 
from the Aboriginal traditional owners, the push for a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station, 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, continues, write Jon Lamb and Cathy Lawless in Red Flag.
The campaign led by traditional owners to stop the waste dump is gearing up for the next stage in the fight.
On 26 August, the Federal Court set June 2014 for a case to be heard on whether the nomination of the site for the waste dump followed due process. The nuclear free campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation, Dave Sweeney, told Red Flag: Continue reading
The motivation behind the push for a radioactive trash dump in the Northern Territory
No Northern Territory nuclear waste dump!, En Passant Posted by John, September 19th, 2013 “………Dave Sweeney explains further: “In the 1990s there was a departmental decision made that the best way to manage Australia’s radioactive waste was through developing a centralised remote dump or store. This decision was made by unelected bureaucrats and has since been uncritically adopted and advanced by successive federal governments. A remote dump is one way to manage waste; it is not the only way and has never been proven to be the best way.”
The push for a nuclear waste facility also ties in with a desire by the Australian ruling class to maintain a stake in the global nuclear industry. Aboriginal rights, the safety of workers and environmental concerns are being quashed or ignored in order to pursue profit.
The justification for storage of medical waste is also a complete furphy. Sweeney told Red Flag, “The medical myth is a deeply disturbing aspect of the Muckaty story. Both major parties have consistently misrepresented the situation by claiming that the Muckaty dump is needed to ensure Australians have access to nuclear medicine for therapeutic and diagnostic reasons.
“This is not the case – and medical waste is not the driver for the planned dump. Medical and public health bodies including the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and the Public Health Association of Australia have repeatedly condemned the conflation of these issues”, he said.
The promotion of the waste dump on an economic basis, including for local Aboriginal communities, also deeply concerns Shaw. “It is disgusting to talk about a nuclear waste dump as being part of economic development because there is no economic development in nuclear waste dumping”, she said……http://enpassant.com.au/2013/09/19/no-northern-territory-nuclear-waste-dump/
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 