Climate change protesters flood Melbourne’s CBD, block traffic in call to action, More than a thousand people have marched through Melbourne’s CBD and staged a mock “die-in” for climate change. ABC
Key points:
Activists marched through the city and staged a “die-in” at Bourke and Swanston streets
Organiser Extinction Rebellion called for a Citizens’ Assembly on “climate and ecological justice”
The protest disrupted tram schedules in the city during the march
The protest started with speeches at the Victorian Parliament, then marchers moved through the city to the corner of Bourke and Swanston streets where they staged a “die-in”.
A number of protesters dropped to the ground to lie down in the intersection before moving on to Carlton Gardens.
Protesters young and old chanted “this is our future, there is no plan B” and “what do we want — action, when do we want it — now”.
One of the protest organisers, Extinction Rebellion Victoria, called for governments to set up a “Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice” to lead environmental policy.
Gal Vanise, March 18, 2018 · PREPARE TO BE ABSOLUTELY SHOCKED ………………….Pilot Plant near Roxby 1996 . This was an elaborate Government and corporate cover up under the Lib Government of the day. If you think the mining companies are doing ALL THE RIGHT THINGS…They are not. You only need to ask anyone who works in a mine how things don’t get reported..Out of sight out of mind.
This site was later ‘repatriated’ but no one can say where the contaminated waste was taken to other than ALLEGEDLY by the truckloads carried on trucks from Roxby Downs to Port Adelaide ….through townships and urban residential areas.. I fully expect I will get in trouble for this even though I haven’t committed any free speech crimes. SHARE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.. NOW I ASK YOU THIS!.. WILL THIS NEW LIB GOV DO THE RIGHT THING IN REGARD TO THE PROPOSED RADIOACTIVE WASTE DUMP IRREGARDLESS OF WHERE IN SA THEY PLACE IT?.. NOT IF THESE VIDEOS ARE ANY INDICATION. THIS IS DYNAMITE… AND I WILL NEED A BLOODY GOOD LAWYER ONCE ITS OUT.
Peter JackI worked at Roxby Downs in 1986. I got to go underground. Back then there was about 60 kilometres of roads down there. As we drove around we were shown these massive caverns some were filled with water possibly direct access to the great artesian basin and others with floor to ceiling blue plastic barrels full of yellow cake.
I assume they were all transported through residential areas.
Brett Burnard StokesThese unsealed radioactive sources are highly dangerous and illegal. The dust is the big issue, along with radon gas which is heavy and collects in cellars etc, What are the longer term health impacts, you might ask. Radon and uranium dust can cause lung cancer and other issues.
These and other radioactive poisons cause genetic damage and more.
Trevor VivianOutta sight, outta mind is the MO of all mining the world over and in Australia the state & Federal govt’s refuse to support whistleblowers. At Mt Todd (NT) photo evidence of unbunded drill pads with waste polluting local creeks caused A Senate review(early 90’s) which shut down this disasterous destruction of Jaywon Sacred sites. The hostility from Mine managers toward bird survey whistleblowers meant never working in Australian mining ever. To me it is a badge of honour to reveal these lying thieving Global Corporate miners outta sight, outta mind operations.
Gal VaniseHERE IS A QUOTE FOR THE DISBELIEVERS.. I WONT REVEAL THE WHO’s OR IDENTIFY THE PARKERS IN THE SIN BIN. I GAVE MY WORD…………………………”I was XXXXXXXXXXXX I know where it is. 198X. I was told to never tell anyone. It’s worried me ever since We dumped the unprocessed concentrate into the main tailings dam. It’s was blowing all over the place as the nylon bags had broken. Took two nights. Myself xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxboss who oversaw the job.
A couple of days later one of those 7:30 type shows questioned the ……….. mining on tv. He denied any waste dumped.
xxxxxxxxxx only had about xxxxxxx working for xxxxxxxxx. But after we did that job he got all the contracts.
Really shonky. Ive never heard what happened toxxxxxxxxxxxxx but one of the older xxxxxxxxx mining blokes had to take samples from the bags.
Mr.xxxxxxxx went off at him because his radiation tag came back high.
He accused him of putting it in the concentrate. I never wore mine. xxxx was also a lazy buggar.
At the same time they had a ball mill break down.
It was going to take forever to screen the steel balls from the mill. xxxxxxxx got us to dump this as well.
We pushed the whole lot into the water and by day light it was covered.
We then went back and covered the pilot plant with fresh crusher dust.
and finished just before the inspector arrived.” MY ONLY HINT TO THIS IS… WHO WAS A PROMINENT COMPANY THEN AND ISNT ANYMORE? THANK YOU ELEMENTARY FOR YOUR STORY… I HOPE YOU CAN BREATHE NOW YOU GOT IT https://www.facebook.com/danlee67/posts/587530574936680
While the Morrison government, including Resources Minister Matt Canavan, have been quick to seize on pro-Adani sentiment, especially in regional Queensland, after the election trouncing Labor too will likely review its stance on the mine.
By risks, he was meaning everything from reputational damage to the damages from bushfires and cyclones, events worsened by climate change. It’s for reasons such as this that major lenders QBE, Japanese trading companies and China’s State Development and Investment Corporation have all reduced their investment exposure to coal.
Are anti-mine activists about to give up?
The Stop Adani campaign says it’s not going to give up its national efforts.
“We’re not going to let that basin be mined,” a spokesperson for the movement said.
Stop Adani’s local organisations have increased to 190 across the country and these groups won’t be put off by the election outcome.
“These kinds of moments are when movements grow,” the spokesperson said. “Nothing has changed about the science nor what’s at stake.”
It’s been a byword for division but, post-election, moves are speeding up to approve Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Queensland. How did we get here and what’s next? By Peter Hannam Adani’s proposed mine in Queensland has long been a lightning rod for division over coal-mining and climate change in Australia. It is also being named as a big reason for Labor’s lost seats in Queensland amid the Morrison government’s upset re-election.Now Queensland’s Premier says everyone’s “had a gutful” of the issue – and she wants it sorted out.
“I am expecting a definite timeframe by Friday,” Premier Palaszczuk said on May 22.
So what’s next for this controversial project and what are the implications of it finally going ahead?
Any impact on the underground aquifers that feed into the Great Artesian Basin would not only be devastating for the environment, but also for all the communities that rely on its water resources.
The original groundwater model submitted by Adani was not “suitable to ensure the outcomes sought by the EPBC Act conditions are met”
With the LNP returned to power, is there anything left in Adani’s way? The Conversation, Samantha Hepburn Director of the Centre for Energy and Natural Resources Law, Deakin Law School, Deakin University, 22 May 19, After months of “start” and “stop” Adani campaigning, the coalmine is poised to go ahead following the surprise success of the Coalition government at the federal election.So is anything still stopping the coalmine from being built?Australia has a federal system of government, but states own coal. This means the Queensland Labor government is responsible for issuing the Adani mining licence……
what has “delayed” the state government so far is its legal duty to make sure the coalmine has an effective plan to manage matters of environmental significance.
Before the election, the federal government already approved two controversial environmental plans – the groundwater management planand the finch management plan. The only thing left now is for the Queensland Labor government to give its nod of approval.
Three weeks before the U.S. deadline to file its final extradition request for Assange, Ecuadorian officials are travelling to London to allow U.S. prosecutors to help themselves to Assange’s belongings.
Neither Julian Assange nor U.N. officials have been permitted to be present when Ecuadorian officials arrive to Ecuador’s embassy in London on Monday morning.
The chain of custody has already been broken. Assange’s lawyers will not be present at the illegal seizure of his property, which has been “requested by the authorities of the United States of America”.
The material includes two of his manuscripts, as well as his legal papers, medical records and electronic equipment. The seizure of his belongings violates laws that protect medical and legal confidentiality and press protections.
The seizure is formally listed as “International Assistance in Criminal matters 376-2018-WTT requested by the authorities of the United States of America”. The reference number of the legal papers indicates that Ecuador’s formal cooperation with the United States was initiated in 2018.
Since the day of his arrest on 11 April 2019, Mr. Assange’s lawyers and the Australian consul have made dozens of documented demands to the embassy of Ecuador for the release and return of his belongings, without response. Continue reading →
Australian courts will consider the risks of climate change to be foreseeable, thereby creating further responsibilities for companies and directors, according to one BigLaw firm.
Ashurst partner James Clarke said that several proceedings have already commenced in Australia with regard to climate change disclosures and company management. This trend, he said, is expected to continue.
“While there is an increasing understanding about associated obligations and liabilities, there remains a lack of detailed guidance for companies and directors in how to appropriately respond,” he said.
“Australian courts will most likely consider that climate change risks are foreseeable, and that directors who fail to consider those risks may be liable for breaching their duties of care and diligence. At the same time, key regulators have increasingly strengthened their statements in relation to climate change risks.”
One wave of climate change litigation focuses on corporate decision making and disclosures, and the role of directors in those contexts, Mr Clarke continued.
“A separate wave presents a different risk and that is the litigation directed at challenging, on climate change-related grounds, government approvals associated with development of a project, typically relating to fossil fuel projects or projects with high carbon emissions.”
His fellow partners, John Briggs and Jeff Lynn, added that even though the re-election of the Morrison Government means that “significant new legal transitional risks” may not yet emerge at a federal level, it is still expected that individual states and territories may play an increased role in renewable energy and emissions reduction requirements.
“Companies and their directors must monitor these developments and ensure that their practices meet the increasingly well understood obligations,” the pair said.
Climate change can have significant implications for the obligations of companies and their directors, they added, “even when it does not pose any direct physical risk to business activities”.
“Companies and their directors are expected to consider and understand climate change risks, and ensure they are disclosed and, where appropriate, mitigated.”
“Australian regulators including ASIC and APRA are increasingly attuned to these obligations, and have been vocal in their focus and awareness of climate change and associated liability. However, regulators are not the only ones seeking to ensure that companies and their directors consider and respond to climate risks – climate change litigation is a growing global trend,” they concluded.
How Trump has accidentally helped Australian miner Lynas, SMH, By Elizabeth Knight, May 22, 2019 Wesfarmers’ attempt to buy Lynas Corp on the cheap appears to be dead after a combination of US President Donald Trump’s trade wars and the announcement of expansion plans by the rare earths group sent its share price soaring above the Perth-based conglomermate’s indicative offer price on Tuesday.
Lynas said it will spend $500 million by 2025 on value added processing in the US and Malaysia as well as setting up a processing plant in Western Australia, near its Mt Weld mine, to extract radioactive waste from its rare earths before it is shipped to Malaysia.
“Our plan is to invest in upstream processing close to our source (Mt Weld), with downstream processing close to our customers,” Lynas chief executive Amanda Lacaze said with reference to the Malaysian plant and expansion plans in the US announced on Monday.
Lynas offered little clarity on whether this will ensure its Malaysian operations will be able to continue operating when its current licence expires in September, but it did not matter.
News emerged early Tuesday of China’s President Xi Jinping visiting a rare earths factory in China on Monday, in what could signal his intent to use China’s dominance of this market as a weapon in the trade wars. Lynas is the only significant rare earths producer outside of China.
Lynas also indicated it can fund the expansion without raising money from investors…… News emerged early Tuesday of China’s President Xi Jinping visiting a rare earths factory in China on Monday, in what could signal his intent to use China’s dominance of this market as a weapon in the trade wars. Lynas is the only significant rare earths producer outside of China.
Lynas expansion plans Trump Wesfarmers’ bid SMH, By Colin Kruger, May 21, 2019 Wesfarmers’ attempt to buy Lynas Corp on the cheap appears to be dead after a combination of US President Donald Trump’s trade wars and the announcement of expansion plans by the rare earths group sent its share price soaring above the Perth-based conglomermate’s indicative offer price on Tuesday.Lynas said it will spend $500 million by 2025 on value added processing in the US and Malaysia as well as setting up a processing plant in Western Australia, near its Mt Weld mine, to extract radioactive waste from its rare earths before it is shipped to Malaysia.
“Our plan is to invest in upstream processing close to our source (Mt Weld), with downstream processing close to our customers,” Lynas chief executive Amanda Lacaze said with reference to the Malaysian plant and expansion plans in the US announced on Monday.
Lynas offered little clarity on whether this will ensure its Malaysian operations will be able to continue operating when its current licence expires in September, but it did not matter.
News emerged early Tuesday of China’s President Xi Jinping visiting a rare earths factory in China on Monday, in what could signal his intent to use China’s dominance of this market as a weapon in the trade wars. Lynas is the only significant rare earths producer outside of China. Continue reading →
Lynas’ US plans no threat to Wesfarmers interest, Malaysian problems, https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/lynas-us-plans-no-threat-to-wesfarmers-interest-malaysian-problems-20190507-p51kx2.html. By Colin Kruger – May 20, 2019 Lynas Corp’s plans to establish processing operations in the US are not expected to pose a threat to Wesfarmers’ interest in the rare earths group, but it won’t offer a Plan B for its Malaysian problems either.Lynas told the ASX on Monday it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with one of its US customers, Blue Line Corp, for a joint venture to separate medium and heavy rare earths elements in Texas. Lynas said it would be the majority owner of the venture…….
The company declined to comment further but Ms Lacaze will front investors on Tuesday and is expected to clarify plans to invest in processing infrastructure in Western Australia where it mines the rare earths at Mt Weld.
This will offset the sovereign risk of its billion-dollar Malaysian operations, which could be forced to close in September if Lynas does not remove more than 450,000 tonnes of low level radioactive waste.
The company had been in talks with Wesfarmers about a processing joint venture in WA last year which led to a controversial $1.5 billion bid by the conglomerate in March. Continue reading →
The nuclear lobby was quietly gleeful when their puppet was chosen as candidate for Gilmore. What a blow when this turned out to be a resounding defeat!
Federal election 2019: Labor bucks trend in NSW to scoop marginal seat of GilmoreABC News ABC Illawarra By Ainslie Drewitt-Smith 20 May 19, Voters in Gilmore bucked the trend this federal election becoming the only seat in the country to turn its back on the Coalition and install a Labor MP.
Key points:
The seat of Gilmore in NSW has been held by the Liberal Party for 23 years but was won by the ALP after a 3.6 per cent swing
LNP candidate Warren Mundine conceded defeat on Sunday night
The National party candidate Katrina Hodgkinson says she’d love to stand for the electorate again
The seat on the New South Wales south coast has been held by the Liberal Party for 23 years but the ALP gained the marginal electorate following Saturday’s vote, with a swing of 3.6 per cent.
Fiona Phillips declared victory on the night.
It was her second tilt at federal politics after she previously lost her battle for Gilmore to former Liberal MP, Ann Sudmalis.
This time, Ms Phillips said she felt confident she had the support of the local community throughout the campaign.
“I think I’ve been campaigning since about 2014, I’m an absolute fighter for the community and that’s what I’ll continue to do,” Ms Phillips said…….
The Coalition put forward two candidates for the seat which was also contested by the Greens, an independent, the Christian Democratic Party and a United Australia Party candidate.
Environment Minister Price under pressure to front the public, https://www.smh.com.au/federal-election-2019/environment-minister-price-under-pressure-to-front-public-after-campaign-20190520-p51pak.html ,By Nicole Hasham, May 20, 2019 Australia has failed to deliver a major report to the United Nations on its progress in halting the extinction crisis as pressure mounts on Environment Minister Melissa Price to front the public over highly controversial election-eve decisions.Ms Price’s absence from the federal election campaign became a national curiosity. She refused scores of media interview requests, ignored challenges from her political rivals for public debates and did not appear at government announcements relating to her portfolio.
This prompted suggestions she was avoiding scrutiny of controversial approvals she granted just before the election, such as groundwater plans for the divisive Adani coal project and a contentious uranium mine in her home state of Western Australia.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated Ms Price will be re-appointed to the portfolio in his next cabinet.
The Department of the Environment and Energy, which Ms Price oversees, was due last December to present Australia’s sixth national report to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
The report would outline the government’s progress on conservation measures and in meeting the objectives of the convention, to which Australia is a party. However, it has not been delivered.
Australia has one of the world’s worst extinction records. The global crisis was highlighted in a shocking United Nations report this month that warned 1 million species on Earth were headed for extinction within decades.
The Morrison government has also failed to deliver an official plan to protect the nation’s animals and plants. A draft version of the plan, Australia‘s Strategy for Nature 2018-2030, was panned last year as a “global embarrassment” for its brevity and lack of specific targets.
Ms Price’s office did not respond to this publication’s questions or interview request.
Mr Morrison was grilled over the United Nations extinction report and appeared to stumble in his response, referring to government measures that do not exist.
Two days out from the election, Ms Price and Resources Minister Matt Canavan announced an independent audit of energy giant Equinor’s plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight, in response to deep concerns in South Australian coastal electorates.
Should Ms Price continue in the environment portfolio, she faces a number of persistent questions, including how Australia will meet its Paris climate targets if the government’s plans to use carryover carbon credits from the Kyoto period are deemed outside the rules.
In a statement, the department said it was working on the report to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and that this involved “an extensive co-ordination and consolidation process”. The department hopes to finalise the report this year.
The separate national biodiversity strategy was being revised and required agreement from state and federal environment ministers, it said.
Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Mr Morrison “must dump Melissa Price from the ministry … The climate and our environment can’t afford another term with Melissa Price as environment minister”.
MAY 20, 2019 Swedish authorities issued a request Monday for the detention in absentia of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is facing rape charges in Sweden and is currently serving jail time in Britain for skipping bail in 2012. Last week, Swedish prosecutors reopened a sexual assault investigation into Assange which was dropped in 2017 because they said the case could not proceed while Assange was holed up at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he lived for seven years before being forcefully removed by British police last month.
Assange has denied the accusation, and his lawyer representing him in Sweden said he has not been able to get hold of his client to discuss the detention order.
WikiLeaks’ Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson has previously said of Sweden’s case, “Since Julian Assange was arrested on 11 April 2019 there has been considerable political pressure on Sweden to reopen their investigation, but there has always been political pressure surrounding this case. Its reopening will give Julian a chance to clear his name. This case has been mishandled throughout.” Assange must reportedly serve 25 weeks of his British prison sentence before he can be released. Assange now faces possible extradition to both Sweden and the United States, where he is wanted for the publication of leaked documents by Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning which showed evidence of U.S. war crimes in Iraq.
In related news, WikiLeaks is reporting that Ecuador will allow U.S. prosecutors to go through and take possession of Assange’s belongings left in their London embassy. Assange reportedly has two manuscripts at his former living quarters; his lawyers have called it an illegal seizure of property.
Coal industry urges re-elected Morrison government to build new coal plants, Guardian, Ben Smee @BenSmee 20 May 2019
The Coal Council calls on Labor to reverse many of its climate policies after strong election swings against it, The coal industry has begun lobbying the re-elected Morrison government to support hardline positions, including building new coal-fired power stations and weakening approvals processes for new mines.
The Coal Council of Australia released a statement on Sunday welcoming the election result, praising the Coalition for supporting coal, and calling on Labor to reverse many of its climate-focused policies towards the fossil fuel…….
Despite the election result, coal will likely remain a vexing issue where policies designed to win regional votes could also cost support in inner-city electorates. Research by the Queensland Resources Council, leaked to the Australia Institute in the days before the election, shows the sector is “nearing crisis” and that coal has created a negative perception.
Mr Morrison today told Alan Jones there is “absolutely no reason why, when it’s economic, we shouldn’t have nuclear power generation in Australia.”
According to a report from the Australian Institute about where nuclear power would be located, Botany Bay, neighbouring Morrison’s own electorate, could be a likely candidate for a nuclear reactor. Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast and Bribie Island were also named as possible locations.
Scott Morrison would rather put nuclear reactors up and down the east coast of Australia, instead of investing in solar and admitting that renewables are cheaper and cleaner.
This in spite of all the evidence nuclear power is actually much more expensive than renewable energy and would lead to higher prices.
Mr Morrison also seems blind to the well documented safety risks of nuclear power, highlighted by events like the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Mr Morrison’s bizarre thought bubble confirms the Liberals will support any form of power generation as long as it is not the proven and sensible forms of renewable energy like wind and solar power.
Rather than floating nuclear power balloons, the Prime Minister should end his government’s war on renewable energy — the cheapest and cleanest power available.
Our plan is very clear’: No climate revamp for re-elected Coalition, Australians should not expect any change to the Liberal-National government’s climate change policies after their federal election win. SBS, 20 May19
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has hosed down any suggestion that the Coalition will be going back to the drawing board on climate change after the government’s come-from-behind election win.
“Our plan is very clear and it’s the plan that we took to the Australian people,” he told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has hosed down any suggestion that the Coalition will be going back to the drawing board on climate change after the government’s come-from-behind election win.
“Our plan is very clear and it’s the plan that we took to the Australian people,” he told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday.
Mr Frydenberg was among Coalition members who faced a swing against them on Saturday, in the face of challenges from independent or Green candidates campaigning largely on climate change.
As the results rolled in, outgoing MP Julie Bishop said the Coalition must reassess its position on climate change and possibly revisit former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s signature energy policy.
“It will have to end the uncertainty and the National Energy Guarantee was the closest thing we had to a bipartisan position.” …..
Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek hopes the government finally grapples with climate and energy with a policy aimed at bringing down pollution, reducing power prices and boosting investment in renewables.
Antinuclear 