Darwin City Council worried about Muckaty nuclear waste dump plan
Darwin council concerned about nuke dump safety http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-12/darwin-council-seeks-safety-assurances-over-nuke-dump/4257828?section=nt Kristy O’Brien The Darwin City Council wants to know what safety systems would be in place for transporting waste from the proposed Muckaty Station nuclear dump near Tennant Creek.
The council has weighed into the debate about Australia’s first nuclear waste dump which is expected to be built at Muckaty Station. Councillors want the Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT) to seek advice about risk management systems for transporting nuclear waste.
Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim says the waste would be taken to Muckaty Station on Northern Territory roads, railways or through the Darwin Port. “It is actually about the risk management of how it could go,” she said.
The council also wants LGANT to press the Federal Government for an inquiry into whether Muckaty Station is an appropriate place to store nuclear waste.
In Arnhem Land, Aborigines show the way to save Australia’s threatened ecosystems
Aboriginal conservation in Arnhem Land http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/
journal/aboriginal-conservation-in-arnhem-land-ipa.htm THE INDIGENOUS PROTECTED AREA program has been remarkably successful at helping traditional owners contribute to Australia’s National Reserve System.
A network of 51 IPAs now covers an area similar in size to Japan (365,000sq.km) and makes up almost one-third of the NRS, which also includes national parks, state reserves and protected private land. Some individual IPAs, such as theSouthern Tanami in the NT, are larger than entire European countries.
An IPA is an area of land or sea that has been dedicated by its traditional owners to conservation and sustainable resource use in agreement with the Australian government. It’s different from other Aboriginal land, because traditional owners will manage it in line with World Conservation Union (IUCN) standards.
IPAs are also developed to maintain culture and bring traditional owners back to their land, as well as develop skills, provide employment and find income sources. Management remains with traditional owners, who are assisted by scientists and business managers to ensure conservation standards are met.
See David Hancock’s images of Djelk and Warddeken IPAs in the gallery attached to this story.
THE DJELK IPA includes coastal landscapes, estuaries, wetlands and tropical savannahs. Its 6732sq.km covers the land of 102 Aboriginal clans and 12 language groups marking it out as a place of remarkable cultural diversity. Read more about Djelk here.
Where: Northern Arnhem Land, NT
Established: 2009
Size: 6732sq.km
Threatened species: Arnhem Land rock-rat, black wallaroo, white-throated grasswren
THE WARDDEKEN IPA, bordering Kakadu National Park, covers an area just one-fifth the size of Tasmania and is rich in ancient art sites, rare plant and animal species, and pristine habitats. Read more about Warddeken here.
Where: Western Arnhem Land, NT
Established: 2009
Size: 13,704sq.km
Threatened species: bustard, northern quoll, black wallaroo, Arnhem Land rock-rat, Oenpelli python
Read the full story on IPAs across the nation in issue 110 (Sep/Oct) of the Australian Geographic journal.
Calls for Australia’s nuclear wastes to go to Maralinga – Aboriginal political leader
AUDIO http://www.abc.net.au/rural/nt/content/201208/s3574500.htm Indigenous party wants radioactive dump built on nuked land ABC Rural News, By Steven Schubert, 23 August 2012 The founder of the First Nations Political Party is calling for the nuclear waste dumped proposed fo Muckaty Station north of Tennant Creek to be built at Maralinga in South Australia instead.
That’s the site where the British Government tested several nuclear bombs during the 50s.
Maurie Japarta Ryan is running for the party in the seat of Stuart at the election, and says he believes Maralinga would be a better site for the dump.
“Why wreck a pristine place where there’s water at Muckaty, why not use scientific evidence, which they all talk about, and move it to a place where they’ve already nuked Australian people at Maralinga in South Australia?
“What I’m saying is scientifically nothing lives there, nobody goes there.”…. http://www.abc.net.au/rural/nt/content/201208/s3574500.htm
Environment and health groups call for end to Angela Pamela uranium uncertainty
Less than 2 weeks out from the election residents of Central Australia are left with the threat that either party could proceed with approval for a uranium mine at Angela Pamela, putting at risk the health of residents, our underground water supplies and the local environment.
The Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC) and the Public Health Association of Australia NT Branch (PHAA-NT) are calling on all parties and candidates to grant certainty to the Alice Springs community by committing to the enacting the Special Reserved Land status for Angela Pamela, thus protecting the site from any future mining activity.
In December 2011 the ALEC and PHAA-NT independently wrote to Minister Kon Vatskalis on behalf of Alice Springs residents concerned with the proposed development of a uranium mine within the Water Control District of Alice Springs. The letter requested the Minister to follow through on pre-election commitments to protect the deposit from mining.
Both groups specifically called upon the Minister to use powers granted under the Mineral Titles Act (2010) to act in the interest of the community and essential environmental services by granting the site a Special Reserved Land Order under Section 112 of the Act. The move would require the Minister to request a surrender of the current exploration license, giving certainty to the people of Alice Springs that any future government would be required to undertake a 30 day community consultation period before the Special Reserved status could be lifted.
ALEC Coordinator, Jimmy Cocking stated ‘The current uncertainty around the possibility of a uranium mine at Angela Pamela hinders our progress as a ‘world class’ solar city, a water smart town and reduces the desire for locally grown produce.’
On the eve of entering caretaker government status Minister Vatskalis responded by dodging the question of why in two years the government has taken no action to formally protect the Angela Pamela deposit, and instead reiterated NT Labor’s non-binding policy position to oppose a uranium mine at the site.
PHAA NT Branch Secretary Clive Rosewarne stated “This election we are looking for candidates to make a genuine and binding commitment to ensure the Angela Pamela deposit stays in the ground, and that means making the Minister genuinely respond to community pressure by invoking the Special Reserved Land provision of the Act”.
For further information/comment: Jimmy Cocking, Arid Lands Environment Centre (ALEC) 0423 511 931 Clive Rosewarne, Public Health Association Australia (NT Branch) 0487 282 303
Government calls for nuclear dump designs http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-08/nuclear-waste-dump-design-out-to-tender/4186010 August 08, 2012 The Federal Government has released a tender calling for concept designs for Australia’s first radioactive nuclear waste dump. The Government has previously announced its preferred site for the dump is on Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory, about 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek.
The tender says the concept design will be appropriate for a site in arid to semi-arid areas of Australia. It says the facility should be designed to accommodate waste for at least 100 years, and equipment at the site may be required to
repackage the radioactive waste.
Nat Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative is campaigning against the dump. Ms Wasley did not know the tender was being released. “It came as quite a surprise, but once again it’s an indication of the completely secretive and very un-transparent [sic] process that the Government’s been using,” she said. Submissions for the tender close in September.
Unions, Public Health Association, Environment Centre call on Alice Springs Council to oppose Muckaty nuclear waste dump plan
Council implored to oppose Muckaty nuclear dump, ABC News, By Ruby Jones, August 02, 2012 The Public Health Association, the Council of Trade Unions, and the Arid Lands Environment Centre are calling on the Alice Springs town council to oppose the planned nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station.
Muckaty Station, near Tennant Creek, has been put forward by the Federal Government as the best solution for the nation’s nuclear waste. The proposal has been strongly opposed by some traditional owners and environmentalists.
In a presentation to the council, Matthew Gardiner from the Council of Trade Unions said that the Northern Territory does not have the capacity to respond to a nuclear accident…… The groups want the Alice Springs Town Council to back calls for an independent inquiry into nuclear waste storage.
The Alice Springs Mayor Damien Ryan says he will not comment on the position the council might take….. Clive Rosewarne from the Public Health Association says the groups are happy to provide the council with further information.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-02/muckaty-station-protest/4172982
Northern Territory’s only uranium mine doubles last year’s crippling loss of money!
Ranger loses $51.5m http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2012/07/27/312091_nt-business.html NIGEL ADLAM | July 27th, 2012 Ranger uranium mine. THE Territory’s only 
uranium mine has lost more money. Energy Resources of Australia said yesterday that Ranger suffered a loss of $51.5 million in the first six months of this year.
The operation lost $22.3 million in the same period last year. ERA said lower sales, lower prices and a strong Australian dollar were behind the result despite production doubling in the period.
Uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia cutting jobs
Uranium mine foreshadows job cuts, ABC Rural News, By Carl Curtain , 26/07/2012 The CEO of the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory says jobs will be cut as mining is suspended and the company begins its exploration underground.
A $60 million loss was recorded last financial year by Energy Resources Australia, outlined in its half-yearly report released today..
Mining of ‘Pit 3’ will finish at the end of the year, and only stockpiles of ore will be processed until more uranium can be
discovered and mined in coming years…. http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/201207/s3554257.htm
Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) – big losses but hopeful that Japan will “embrace nuclear energy”!
ERA looks to Japan re-embracing nuclear THE AUSTRALIAN, BY: BY KIM CHRISTIAN From: AAP July 26, URANIUM miner Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) says Japan will re-embrace nuclear power and that China will become increasingly reliant on the same technology.
The comments by ERA chief executive Rob Atkinson come as the miner’s year of reckoning approaches with its flagship mine Ranger in the Northern Territory rapidly depleting.,,,,,, Mr Atkinson said the uranium market remained challenging,… Mr Atkinson was speaking after ERA said it net losses shrank by more than 50 per cent to $59.86 million in the first half compared to the previous corresponding period. Continue reading
Northern Territory Government joins Aborigines and unionists in protest rally against Muckaty nuclear waste dump
The Northern Territory Lands and Planning Minister, Gerry McCarthy, told the Herald the decision to use the NT for a national waste dump site had been based on political expediency, not science. ”The Commonwealth should go back and base its decision on science. It should also consult with Territorians and not exploit our weaker constitutional position for its political expediency,” he said.
Protesters step up campaign against nuclear waste dump Brisbane Times, July 13, 2012, Bianca Hall THE Northern Territory government has accused the Commonwealth of exploiting ”political expediency” by pushing ahead with plans for a nuclear waste dump in the top end.
After seven years in the planning, a nuclear dump at remote Muckaty cattle station, more than 120 kilometres from Tennant Creek, is still caught in red tape and subject to a Federal Court challenge by traditional owners.
The federal Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson, said the government would respect the outcome of the Federal Court’s decision and not act until the court case was resolved.
But local opposition to the plan has shown no sign of waning. Yesterday, the Maritime Union of Australia led a passionate protest at Darwin port against the plan, calling for a full and independent inquiry into the proposal. Continue reading
Support grows for Aboriginal traditional owners’ legal battle to stop Muckaty nuclear waste dump
Muckaty traditional owners fight Ferguson’s nuclear dump, July 3, 2012, Jim Green, Four Muckaty traditional owners — Penny Phillips, Jeannie Sambo, Kylie Sambo and Delvine Spiteri — visited Melbourne on June 25 to attend a federal court hearing concerning the nomination of Muckaty, 120 kilometres north of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, for a national nuclear waste dump.
Legal proceedings against the federal government and the Northern Land Council began in June 2010 and a trial is anticipated in the first half of 2013. A small group of traditional owners support the dump proposal, in return for a financial package. But most are opposed and are challenging the right of the government to establish the dump at Muckaty without their consent.
Legislation pushed through parliament by federal resources minister Martin Ferguson — the National Radioactive Waste Management Act — allows for the imposition of a dump without consultation with or consent from traditional owners. In a previous federal court hearing, lawyers for the Commonwealth argued that the Muckaty nomination was valid even if the wrong traditional owners were consulted.
The most pressing issue for the government is the return of spent nuclear fuel reprocessed waste from France and Scotland in coming years. The government is aware that its Muckaty plan is unravelling and has moved to firm up an alternative plan — interim storage of the reprocessing waste at the Lucas Heights nuclear research reactor site south of Sydney, from where the spent fuel originated. Plans are in train to increase storage capacity at Lucas Heights.
Trade unions & emergency services
Some of Australia’s most powerful unions have pledged support for the campaign. The Maritime Union of Australia’s Victorian Secretary, Kevin Bracken, attended a media event with traditional owners after the June 25 court hearing, and traditional owners briefed MUA members the following day.
In Darwin, the MUA is organising a protest at Stokes Hill Wharf on July 12, marking seven years since the NT was first targeted for a nuclear waste dump. The MUA is sending delegates from around the country to attend this event.
In May, the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress passed a resolution expressing disappointment that the Muckaty site will continue to be pursued under the National Radioactive Waste Management Act. It affirmed that the ACTU “stands in solidarity with traditional owners and communities resisting federal government plans for a radioactive waste dump and commits to supporting trade unions refusing to cooperate with implementation of the policy.”
The ACTU Congress resolution further states that “the recent application by ANSTO for reprocessed spent fuel waste to return to the Lucas Heights facility in Sydney and acknowledges this as an opportunity to review radioactive waste management in Australia by conducting an independent and comprehensive public commission into all aspects radioactive waste transport, storage and management in Australia”…… www.greenleft.org.au/node/51545
Australian govt really getting Aborigines off their homelands – it’s all about assimilation
Q&A: Aboriginal rights then and now SBS World News Q&A between Michael and SBS Online Producer Chiara Pazzano 28 JUN 2012“……..What’s happening now with the Northern Territory Homelands policy after the Federal Government injected money to keep these communities living on their lands?
Michael Anderson Well, it’s nice in words but in practice it’s not possible because the government is screaming about the fact that we can’t put the infrastructure into those places, into those isolated communities, which is a lot of bunkem.
You don’t have to put telegraph poles and electricity poles out to community, they can put up solar farms and
these solar farms will generate all the power they need for those communities. You know they can get out there and all they need is to connect water tanks to their homes, they can drill down to bores that are on a lot of those homelands and they will supply water. They can also set up horticultural programs in those communities where they can become self-sufficient.
This relocating is all about assimilation, nothing more…..
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1663862/Q&A:-Aboriginal-rights-then-and-now
No sign of a future for Jabiluka uranium mining
No start on horizon for Jabiluka development, SMH, Peter Ker, June 21, 2012 Development of Australia’s most prospective and controversial uranium deposit, Jabiluka, is unlikely to happen in the next decade despite its leaseholder improving relations with local indigenous groups.
That’s the view of analysts visiting the Northern Territory operations of uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia this week.
ERA is currently hosting major investors on a tour of its mines and leases near Kakadu National Park, in a bid to promote its recent decision to spend $57 million on a ‘pre-feasibility’ study into turning its Ranger open cut mine into an underground operation.
But discussion of ERA’s future inevitably turns to Jabiluka, which has remained untapped for years out of respect for the wishes of the local indigenous Mirrar people…… ERA, which is majority owned by Rio Tinto, has been targeted by environmental groups who believe its proximity to Kakadu is inappropriate. http://www.smh.com.au/business/no-start-on-horizon-for-jabiluka-development-20120621-20pju.html#ixzz1yYEL25eI
ERA’s Ranger uranium mine continues to be a money pit
Ranger uranium miner ERA predicts loss of up to $60m, BY: BARRY FITZGERALD The Australian June 20, 2012 RANGER uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia has flagged a $50 million to $60m loss for the first half.
The forecast loss by the listed Rio Tinto subsidiary was made by the company in presentation notes filed with the ASX ahead of a two-day tour by analysts of the Northern Territory mine….
.. Earlier this month, ERA approved $57m for expenditure on a study into the potential of the Ranger 3 Deeps mine. A decision on its viability is due in late
2014.
Another Northern Territory train derailment highlights danger of radioactive materials transport
Of greater concern was the transport of nuclear waste from Lucas Heights in NSW to the proposed nuclear dump at
Muckaty Station…. “we have extreme weather conditions,”
Crash sparks calls for Adelaide to Darwin rail line probe, BY:REBECCA PUDDY AND DAN BOX The Australian June 11, 2012 THE third derailment on the Adelaide to Darwin railway in just 19 months has reignited demands for an inquiry into the integrity of the track amid plans to increase the amount of uranium the line carries through central Australia. Continue reading
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