Record temperatures forecast as unseasonable heatwave hits southern Australia, ABC News , 10 Apr 18, By Camron Slessor Record-breaking temperatures will continue in southern parts of Australia this week, with Adelaide set to cop the brunt of the heat today.
Temperatures have peaked in the mid-30s in Adelaide and an April heatwave record looks set to be broken in the state capital.
Extreme heat in early April is not abnormal, but with 34 degrees Celsius in Adelaide on Sunday, 35C forecast for today and 33C on Tuesday, a significant record is in danger………
Heatwave to move from SA to Victoria
Looking further across southern parts of the country, Mr Bass said the heatwave would continue to test records across the border, with temperatures to soar this week in Victoria and parts of New South Wales……..http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-09/record-temperatures-forecast-as-heatwave-hits-southern-australia/9625868
April 11, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming |
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Coalition told to rewrite foreign donations bill in unanimous report
Joint standing committee on electoral matters says Turnbull government should remove contentious elements of bill, Guardian, Paul Karp, 9 Apr 18,
The Turnbull government should rewrite its foreign donations bill to narrow the definition of political expenditure and make it less likely to harm advocacy by civil society groups, the electoral committee has recommended.
In a unanimous report released on Monday, the joint standing committee on electoral matters sought to preserve the consensus to ban foreign political donations by calling on the government to strip out more contentious elements of the electoral funding and disclosure bill . GetUp characterised the report as a major backdown and argued the bill is unworkable but the Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, the chairwoman of the committee, told Guardian Australia it could be passed with adoption of mostly minor changes.
Major parties close to deal on charities and foreign donations. In the majority report, the Coalition and Labor members recommended political expenditure should be defined as spending “to influence voters to take specific action as voters, so as not to capture non-political issue advocacy”.
The changes would allow higher reporting requirements to be imposed on campaigning groups such as GetUp while making it less likely they will capture charities and not-for-profits campaigning on issues such as increasing foreign aid or protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
It recommended dumping new proposed categories of third-party campaigners and political campaigners in favour of a new register for groups attempting to influence voters.
Joining the register could be done voluntarily but would be mandatory for organisations with significant political expenditure, which the report suggests would be the $13,500 threshold that triggers the requirement to submit a return to the Australian Electoral Commission.
The committee recommended the requirement for organisations to seek statutory declarations from political donors be reconsidered.
t also wants the government to reconsider changes to the definition of “associated entity”, which could see campaigning organisations classified as related to political parties merely if they agree on policy matters.
In a minority report, the Greens senator Lee Rhiannon took a harder line that the bill may infringe the freedom of political communication and recommended that issues-based advocacy should be explicitly exempted from the definition of political expenditure.
The GetUp national director, Paul Oosting, said the report was an acknowledgement the bill was unworkable and noted the report did not explicitly recommend passage of the bill…… https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/09/coalition-told-to-rewrite-foreign-donations-bill-in-unanimous-report
April 11, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics |
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Scott, Cameron Submission to Senate Inquiry: Selection process for a national radioactive waste management facility in South Australia This process started for my family over 2 years ago when our neighbours nominated their property directly alongside our farm to host a National Radioactive Waste Dump. As soon as we were aware we began researching to learn as much about the waste and the facility to educate ourselves and form an opinion. It was clear from the beginning that we were not given all the information and we would need to find it ourselves.
I have had many concerns about the lack of transparency throughout this process and it has caused a lot of stress and anxiety among many members of our community.
a) The financial compensation offered to applicants for the acquision of land under the Nominations of Land Guidelines;
This has been called a voluntary process, I don’t believe it can be called a voluntary process when the nominator stands to receive a payment of four times the value of their land. It is unclear what the value of their land actually is and information in relation to additional payments including access agreements has not been made available to the public.
c) How the need for ‘broad community support’ has played and will continue to play a part in the process,
Kimba was already removed from the process once after our first community Orima survey returned results of 51% not opposed to the facility. Minister Frydenberg declared there was strong opposition and not broad community support to go through to stage 2 of the process. Minister Matthew Canavan stated in the senate that he would need a figure in the vicinity of 65% to take Kimba through to the next stage. When I met with Minister Canavan at parliament house in October 2017 he confirmed that he had made this statement in the senate and it was touch and go for if he was going to take Kimba through to stage 2 with Kimba’s next vote returning results of 56% support for moving forward to stage 2. The Minister still hasn’t put a figure on what % he would require for the next community vote which I believe will be held this year. I believe broad community support should be 75 – 80%, this is a vote to host this facility permanently, it is not temporary it actually involves changing State Legislation which currently prohibits the development of such a facility anywhere in South Australia.
- Whether and/or how the Governments community benefit program payment affect broad community and Indigenous community sentiment; The $2 million dollar community benefit fund can only be seen as a bribe for people to vote to go through to the next stage. Throughout the process the Governments offered our community many bribes including better mobile phone and internet service, local television service, upgraded roads. As well we could have better Hospital and School Facilities. These are all things that all regional communities around Australia should be entitled to through the millions of dollars we pay in tax each and every year. We have also been told that if we were to host this facility we would become a ‘Federal Town’ whatever that means. I would have thought all towns across Australia should be treated equally with the same importance as a ‘Federal Town’
e) Whether wider (Eyre Peninsula or state-wide) community views should be taken into consideration and, if so how this is occurring or should be occurring; The Eyre Peninsula is a very unique farming area that is separated from the rest of the state. All grain from Eyre Peninsula is delivered, blended and exported out of Lower Eyre Peninsula. Therefor Kimba’s grain is mixed with every other town’s grain on EP, the affect that this could have on our exports hasn’t been taken into consideration at all. Other towns on EP have had no consultation and the Minister has disregarded submissions from industry reps and broader EP residents that were made to him throughout the consultation process. It was stated on the Department of Industry Innovation & Science website that Submissions would be made public however they later changed their mind and never made them available for public viewing
f) Any other related matters. The Department of Industry Innovation and Science have continually claimed to be open and transparent with the Community however I have found them to be inconsistent and often misleading with their information. Throughout this process they have given out different information on the jobs and money attached to hosting the facility. They have adjusted the boundaries several times. At first we were told in a public meeting by Member for Grey Rowan Ramsey that neighbours would have right to veto, he in fact told me on the phone that if I didn’t want it then it won’t happen. This then changed to a vote for neighbours living within 10kms. Since this second round of nominations it started by separating the neighbours into 10kms and 5kms groups, this then changed to immediate neighbours only and people living less than 5kms if they don’t share a fence line they are not considered neighbours. This is quite different to Hawker where neighbours can be 30km away. The Department website states that there were originally 28 sites nominated around Australia and they were to be published. However these sites have never been released to the public. Living in a small country town and alongside a nominated site I have been accused by local business owners that they believe the reason why I am opposed is because I actually nominated my farm and missed out. This has caused me a great deal of stress all of which could have been relieved if the Department released the sites as they said they would. I know that 2 Liberal party politicians were involved in land nominations both in Kimba and in Hawker and it would be interesting to see how many other Liberal associates have nominated around the country.
April 9, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump |
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Luke Pearson: The language of blame, responsibility and accountability
Luke Pearson
‘Aboriginal people are over-represented in most of the negative statistics
and under-represented in most of the positive ones.
‘This is the fundamental reality underpinning government programs like ‘Closing the Gap’.’
‘ … There is a clear interplay between the choices we make and the
policies and practices within the society we live.
‘Understanding this relationship is crucial to finding solutions for creating the kind of society we want to live in.
It is easy to say ‘do the crime, do the time’, but when people are ‘doing time’ for unpaid fines,
then there must also be some acknowledgement that we have effectively made poverty a crime.
‘Or when non-Aboriginal people are given less prison time (or none at all) for the death of Aboriginal people
than Aboriginal people are given for failure to pay fines, then we must
acknowledge that our system is fundamentally broken, and that
laying sole responsibility on the ‘choices’ of Aboriginal people
will do nothing to address these systemic problems. …
‘Why do we talk only of ‘Closing the Gap’ instead of Aboriginal empowerment or self-determination?’
Read more of Luke Pearson‘s insightful, relevant, important & comprehensive discussion:
indigenousx.com.au/the-language-of-blame-responsibility-and-accountability/
April 8, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
aboriginal issues, AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL |
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Prolonged SA heat could break records, Herald Sun Caitlin Guilfoyle, Australian Associated Press, April 7, 2018
A total fire ban has been issued for parts of South Australia amidst a wave of warm weather that could break records.
Above-average temperatures are expected through the weekend until Tuesday and that is “most unusual” at this time of year, Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Peter Webb says.
“I think three days over 33 in a row would be a new record, if it happens,” he told AAP on Saturday.
“Prolonged heat like this is pushing the boundaries.”
Temperatures are expected to reach up to 40 degrees in the far west, while the mercury will likely climb into the high 30s in northern parts of the state……http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/heat-wind-leads-to-total-fire-ban-in-sa/news-story/a7446a9b478d413f0c013deb78cf7bbd
April 8, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
climate change - global warming, South Australia |
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Both these documents show that the facility should not be located on agricultural land, and yet both nominated sites at Kimba are specifically located on farms. Directly next to farming country, and entirely neighboured by productive farms.
Submission to Senate Inquiry: Selection process for a national radioactive waste 
management facility in South Australia by Mrs Justine Major I am a fourth generation farmer in Kimba, South Australia. I have a strong understanding of the project being put forward for consideration, and whilst am not against the idea of the consolidation of radioactive waste into one facility, I do not believe it needs to be located in a food producing region. Personally, this process has been one of ongoing stress, additional workload and a steep learning curve into the political machinations of an Australian Government project.
Please find following my response to the Terms of Reference of this Inquiry.
B) How the need for ‘broad community support’ has played and will continue to play a part in the process, including; a. The definition of ‘broad community support’, and b. How ‘broad community support’ has been or will be determined for each process advancement stage;
The definition of ‘broad community support’ has been a moving target that has never been clearly defined in the Radioactive Waste Management Facility project. The hallmarks of a well developed project include the establishment of standardised measurable milestones that allow all stakeholders to have a clear understanding of the path being traversed as well as clear acknowledgement that these milestones have or have not been achieved. The constantly moving goal posts throughout this process has been an ongoing source of frustration to those of us trying to work within the Governments framework.
Despite numerous requests, the Government has continued to refuse to provide clarity around what factors would be included in their consideration when determining if broad community support had been achieved; what weighting each of the factors would contribute to this outcome, or what the required result in percentage terms was necessary to allow this process to proceed to the next stage
There has been an ongoing lack of clearly defined, factual, measurable targets that are defendable from both sides of the debate, accepted by both sides of the debate and not able to be influenced by the results put before it. The Minister advised that the vote would not be the only determining factor for progressing the Kimba site through to the second stage, however when looking at the statistics surrounding alternate factors it is hard to see where any other factor has been included. All media that I have seen surrounding Minister Canavans decision simply continued to reference the 57.4% in favour of progressing result of the vote. Based on the data included in the “National Radioactive Waste Management Facility (NRWMF) Phase 1 Summary Report, Kimba 2017” showing the results of the community consultation on which the decision to progress to Phase 2 was made, written submissions received throughout this phase were seen to be 86% opposed to the facility. Had both factors been taken into consideration equally, there would have been 35.7% approval rating to this project. Should we even provide a 20% weighting to the written submissions and 80% weighting to the vote, the outcome would achieve a 48.7% approval. None of this comes close to being “broad community consent”.
Another area included in “broad community support” is supposedly the opinions of neighbours. In the first round of community consultation the definition of neighbour, was any property or person within a 10km radius. When the second round of community consultation occurred in December 2016 it was reduced to neighbours within a 5km radius, and at the time of the vote the definition of neighbour was those who immediately bordered the nominated parcel of land. This continuous shift in parameters appears to me to have occurred in order to reduce those included in the sample of neighbours, resulting the Department able to make the statement included in the “National Radioactive Waste Management Facility (NRWMF) Phase 1 Summary Report, Kimba 2017” that “Neighbour support around the proposed sites is strongly supportive”. This ongoing lack of defined measureables and the Ministers ability to make a decision as to what the pass mark is after the results have been declared is disingenuous.
D) Whether and/or how the Governments ‘community benefits program’ payments affect broad community and Indigenous community sentiment;
The removal of incentive payments would absolutely change the support levels found within a community. The idea of the Radioactive Waste Management Facility being sited in Kimba was promoted along the lines of “think what this money could do for us”. All the way through this process has been a money grab. There is anecdotal evidence of people saying that they would vote “Yes” to going through to the second round of this process in order to receive the $2M Community Benefit Funds, with the plan to say “No” at the next vote. They have no intention of wanting the facility located at Kimba, but think they are playing a game whereby they can “get $2M for nothing”.
There is speculation of strategies in play to prolong the Phase 2 process to ensure it pushes into the second financial year in order to gain a further $2M. For those of us who are against the location of this facility in the Kimba region, regardless of the funds thrown around, this is a difficult process. We are defending our position against the facility being located in our region, with genuine concern regarding our business and livelihoods, whilst community members are playing a game to access funding. I also believe that the $10M one-off payment included in the Act will be paid to the State Government has not been clearly highlighted throughout this process. Most people within the community believe the money will be coming to the community directly, with complete access to, and management of, the funds. When people discover this money is to be paid to the State Government, their opinion on the matter changes very quickly.
F) Any other related matters
The Code for Disposal of Solid Radioactive Waste provided by ARPANSA clearly states that the siting of a Radioactive Waste Management Facility should not be on agricultural land: “Section 3.1.29 (a) the immediate vicinity of the facility has no known significant natural resources, including potentially valuable mineral deposits, and which has little or no potential for agriculture or outdoor recreational use.”
The National Radioactive Waste Management Facility, Nomination of Land Guidelines, November 2016 also clearly states in Attachment A, Section A8 under the Community Well Being Objective the criteria: “Is the site located within an area that is likely to be expanded upon for community or industrial use or for natural/agricultural use in the foreseeable future”. The weighting to this criteria when taking site selection into consideration according to the guidelines was stipulated as “High”. Both these documents show that the facility should not be located on agricultural land, and yet both nominated sites at Kimba are specifically located on farms. Directly next to farming country, and entirely neighboured by productive farms. That this part of the ruling is not being enforced is beyond me. It would be apparent to most people that under best practice the production of food should be separated from the production or storage of nuclear waste. That it is not the case in other countries does not provide adequate reason as to why Australia should lower their standards with regards to this. It is imperative that this part of the legislation is upheld and made mandatory, rather than being optional.
April 7, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
Federal nuclear waste dump, South Australia |
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Nationals rule out nuclear power ‘madness’ Echo Daily April 6, 2018 | by The Echo
The NSW Nationals have ruled out plans for building a nuclear power station on the north coast in the face of mounting pressure to do so ‘once and for all’.
Labor candidate for the seat of Ballina, Asren Pugh, made the call in the wake of the recent attendance at a US nuclear industry conference by NSW Nationals leader and Deputy Premier, John Barilaro.
But Mr Barilaro’s spokesman told Echonetdaily there were ‘absolutely’ no plans for such plants on the north coast nor nuclear energy ‘anywhere in NSW’.
However, the spokesman said Mr Barilaro’s views ‘are not representative of the party’s position or the NSW governments’.
‘Nuclear energy is banned under federal law,’ the spokesman said.
On Tuesday during a radio interview, Mr Barilaro said that premier Berejiklian was “open minded” to nuclear power in NSW.
But the deputy premier’s spokesman said the Nationals did not support the idea of nuclear power in NSW, and that Mr Barilaro was ‘expressing his personal views, in the interests of sparking a conversation about the prospects and environmental benefits of nuclear energy’.
Mr Pugh said Mr Barilaro not only participated in the US conference but was a key speaker, billed as one of the ‘Biggest Names in Nuclear’.
He said that since returning to Australia from the International SMR and Advanced Reactor Summi, in Atlanta, Mr Barilaro ‘has been spruiking nuclear power right across NSW, claiming that it could be a reality within 10 years’.
‘When the Nationals leader started this madness, most people thought it was just an April Fools joke, but this is now getting serious,’ Mr Pugh said. ‘There are no circumstances in which our community on the North Coast want nuclear power here. ‘Nuclear power is unsafe, dangerous and leaves a legacy of toxic waste to our children and our children’s children.
‘Our community doesn’t want a discussion about nuclear power on the North Coast, or anywhere in NSW. I am calling on the Nationals MPs from across the North Coast to stand up for our community and say no.
‘I am asking for a clear commitment to a nuclear free North Coast,’ Mr Pugh said.
Mr Barilaro’s spokesman said the deputy premier’s position on nuclear energy ‘is his own. It is not the position of the Nationals or the NSW Government’……….https://www.echo.net.au/2018/04/nationals-push-nuclear-power-north-coast-madness/
April 6, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
New South Wales, politics |
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South Coast nuclear option ‘makes no sense’: Mike Kelly http://www.begadistrictnews.com.au/story/5325720/nuclear-not-a-real-option-says-mp-kelly/ 5 Apr 18,
The stretch of coastline between Merimbula and Bermagui has been earmarked as having the potential to host a nuclear power station.
In a study by the Nuclear for Climate Australia group published on its website, the Far South Coast is among 18 proposed sites or “areas of interest” in NSW.
Eden-Monaro MP Mike Kelly, a vocal supporter of renewable energy investment in the electorate, said while he understood potential benefits, the study “makes no sense whatsoever”.
“The way I look at it, we haven’t solved issues around disposing of the waste, and risk issues,” Dr Kelly said.
“The results can be catastrophic.”
Dr Kelly said Jervis Bay has long been looked at as a nuclear site, even as recently as by prime minister John Howard.
“If we were going to move down that road, we would’ve had to in the 1960s,” he said.
“Why do it if you have the opportunity to avoid it?”
Nuclear for Climate Australia states the reactor would “have potential if included with other power plants built at East Gippsland, the Snowy or Jervis Bay”, would be cooled in sea water, and would require an “extensive grid upgrade” and a port upgrade at Twofold Bay.
“The big issue is they [nuclear power plants] require water, and our rivers don’t have enough, which means you need the coastline, and where on our coast would you want one?” Dr Kelly said.
“Development would take 20 years, and in that time we have every available renewable energy resource here in Australia, which will transfer to cheaper power, especially with the Snowy Hydro announcement.
“For our region there’s real benefit in becoming a hub for research and development, and even manufacturing components.”
April 5, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
New South Wales, politics |
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We are locked into an arms race that no one wants to happen, global researchers warn
A CHILLING letter claims the world is on the cusp of opening a dangerous Pandora’s box — and there is no going back. http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/we-are-locked-into-an-arms-race-that-no-one-wants-to-happen-global-researchers-warn/news-story/fc6dfa060c66ed876beb79d1b7530cc6 Nick Whigham@NWWHIGHAM 5 Apr 18
The boycott comes in advance of a meeting next Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, of 123 member nations of the United Nations discussing the challenges posed by lethal autonomous weapons. Twenty-two of those nations have already called for an outright and pre-emptive ban on such weapons.
The open letter announcing the boycott against the South Korean university said autonomous weapons are the “third revolution in warfare” and warned about letting the genie out of the bottle.
“At a time when the United Nations is discussing how to contain the threat posed to international security by autonomous weapons, it is regrettable that a prestigious institution like KAIST looks to accelerate the arms race to develop such weapons,” the letter said.
“We therefore publicly declare that we will boycott all collaborations with any part of KAIST until such time as the President of KAIST provides assurances, which we have sought but not received, that the Center will not develop autonomous weapons lacking meaningful human control,” the researchers said.
“If developed, autonomous weapons will be the third revolution in warfare. They will permit war to be fought faster and at a scale greater than ever before. They have the potential to be weapons of terror. Despots and terrorists could use them against innocent populations, removing any ethical restraints. This Pandora’s box will be hard to close if it is opened.”
Professor Walsh organised the boycott which involves researchers from 30 countries and includes three of the world’s top deep learning experts, Professor Stuart Russell from the University of California, Berkeley, who authored the leading textbook on AI and roboticist Prof Wolfram Burgard, winner of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize, the most prestigious research prize in Germany.
“Back in 2015, we warned of an arms race in autonomous weapons,” Professor Walsh said in a statement alongside the letter. “We can see prototypes of autonomous weapons under development today by many nations including the US, China, Russia and the UK. We are locked into an arms race that no one wants to happen.
“KAIST’s actions will only accelerate this arms race. We cannot tolerate this.”
Professor Walsh has long campaigned against the development of autonomous weapons.
He has previously travelled to speak in front of the United Nations in an effort to have the international body prevent the proliferation of so-called killer robots with the ability to think for themselves.
Speaking to news.com.au last year he said “the arms race is already starting.”
He believes it’s no longer a question of whether military weapons are imbued with some level of autonomy, it’s just a matter of how much autonomy — which poses a number of worrying scenarios, particularly if they fall into the wrong hands.
“They get in the hands of the wrong people and they can be turned against us. They can be used by terrorist organisations,” he warned.
“It would be a terrifying future if we allow ourselves to go down this road.
April 5, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, weapons and war |
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Three local sites identified as possible nuclear power stations https://www.lakesmail.com.au/story/5318455/munmorah-eraring-vales-point-identified-as-possible-nuclear-reactor-sites/ 3 April 18 Eraring has been identified as a possible future site for nuclear power by the Australian Nuclear Association.
YASMIN Catley is calling for Premier Gladys Berejiklian to rule out nuclear power in NSW.
The Member for Swansea’s comments came after it was revealed the Deputy Premier John Barilaro was on a taxpayer-funded trip to the US where he attended the International SMR and Reactor Summit, in Atlanta, on March 27.
The NSW Nationals leader has on previous occasions called for nuclear power to be “part of the debate” about the state’s future energy mix.
Mr Barilaro was an invited speaker at the summit and billed on its website as one of the “biggest names in nuclear”.
While in the US he also met with representatives from NuScale and U-Battery, his office said.
These companies are “developing Gen IV reactors which will possibly be available mid 2020s, as well as the US Department of Energy to get an insight in relation to the Government’s approach to new nuclear technology,” a spokesperson for his office said.
“This was an opportunity to learn and gain knowledge about the sector.”
Ms Catley pointed to a 2016 map produced by the Australian Nuclear Association which identified two sites in Lake Macquarie and one site at the Central Coast – Eraring, Vales Point and Munmorah – which could be potential nuclear power plants.
However, Mr Barilaro’s office said he had not considered locations for any future nuclear power sites.
The Australian Nuclear Association’s Robert Parker said the Lake Macquarie and Central Coast sites were among many his organisation had identified across Australia.
The local sites’ suitability was due to existing power generation infrastructure, population density, access to cooling water, road and transport infrastructure, and an existing skilled workforce, Mr Parker said.
He stressed his organisation were proponents of small modular reactors, not large reactors.
The organisation would like to see 18 reactors operating in NSW by 2040.
“It’s impossible for them to have meltdown issues like at Fukushima,” Mr Parker said.
Ms Catley has called on the Premier to rule out nuclear power in NSW. “The Central Coast has a long history of being the powerhouse for NSW, but nuclear is not the way forward,” Ms Catley said.
The Member for Lake Macquarie Greg Piper said while he did not support nuclear power in Lake Macquarie, “Mr Barilaro should not be shut down if he believes it’s something that should be looked at.”
“But the people of Lake Macquarie would have a meltdown.”
April 4, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
New South Wales, politics |
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Premier Berejiklian ‘openminded’ to nuclear energy, deputy premier says 2GB, BEN FORDHAM, 3 April 18 Premier Gladys Berejiklian is “openminded” to nuclear power in Australia according to Deputy Premier John Barilaro.
Mr Barilaro has touched back down in Australia this week after visiting the US to push new nuclear technology in our state.
After meeting with American companies who are building the world’s first small modular reactors, he says this is the way of the future.
April 4, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
New South Wales, politics |
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Above: Finniss River polluted by Rum Jungle mine’s toxic metallic and radioactive debris
Rum Jungle uranium mine rehabilitation jeopardised by NT Resources Department, traditional owners warn http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-03/uranium-mine-rehabilitation-jeopardised-nt-resources-department/9612056 By Sara Everingham
The long-awaited $300 million rehabilitation of the abandoned Rum Jungle uranium mine in the Top End is being jeopardised by the Northern Territory Department of Resources and the Government should find another agency to run the project, Aboriginal traditional owners have warned. Continue reading →
April 4, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
environment, Northern Territory |
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Guardian 2nd April 2018, One of Australia’s proudest land rights struggles is passing an important
anniversary: it is 20 years since the establishment of the blockade camp at
Jabiluka in Kakadu national park.
This was the moment at which push would
come to shove at one of the world’s largest high-grade uranium deposits.
The industry would push, and people power would shove right back.
The blockade set up a confrontation between two very different kinds of power:
on the one side, the campaign was grounded in the desire for
self-determination by the Mirarr traditional Aboriginal owners,
particularly the formidable senior traditional owner Yvonne Margarula. They
were supported by a tiny handful of experienced paid staff and backed by an
international network of environment advocates, volunteer activists and
researchers. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/03/20-years-on-from-the-jabiluka-mine-protest-we-can-find-hope-in-its-success
April 4, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
aboriginal issues, AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, history, Opposition to nuclear |
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Antarctica retreating across the sea floor, EurekAlert , UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS , 3 April 18 Antarctica’s great ice sheet is losing ground as it is eroded by warm ocean water circulating beneath its floating edge, a new study has found.
Research by the UK Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM) at the University of Leeds has produced the first complete map of how the ice sheet’s submarine edge, or “grounding line”, is shifting. Most Antarctic glaciers flow straight into the ocean in deep submarine troughs, the grounding line is the place where their base leaves the sea floor and begins to float.
Their study, published today in Nature Geoscience, shows that the Southern Ocean melted 1,463 km2 of Antarctica’s underwater ice between 2010 and 2016 – an area the size of Greater London.
The team, led by Dr Hannes Konrad from the University of Leeds, found that grounding line retreat has been extreme at eight of the ice sheet’s 65 biggest glaciers. The pace of deglaciation since the last ice age is roughly 25 metres per year. The retreat of the grounding line at these glaciers is more than five times that rate.
The biggest changes were seen in West Antarctica, where more than a fifth of the ice sheet has retreated across the sea floor faster than the pace of deglaciation……….https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-04/uol-ara032918.php
April 4, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming |
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Daniel Ellsberg’s decision to release the Pentagon Papers was an act of valor—his actions saved countless lives. He was a whistleblower who changed the course of history and curtailed an ongoing genocide which ended up preventing the needless dissolution of American soldiers and Vietnamese civilians alike. The publishing of the Pentagon Papers is a prime example of the critical part a free press plays in keeping governments in check and exposing the corrosive nature of consolidated power. This is why the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights enshrines the rights to free speech and of a free press in the United States Constitution.
Tyrants throughout history have targeted journalists and reporters for a reason.
On Wednesday afternoon, Julian Assange, who has been forced into self-imprisonment at the Ecuadorian embassy since 2012 to ward off prosecution from the United Kingdom and the United States, had his internet access cut off. Assange is our generation’s Daniel Ellsberg; WikiLeaks—the online publication he started—has been invaluable in letting the public know about the malfeasance of their elected officials and highlighting the duplicity of governments throughout the world. In an era where mainstream journalists have been turned into a corporate-state propagandists, WikiLeaks stands out in their dogged pursuit of truth and exposing deep-seated corruption and graft.
Where Is the Outrage About Julian Assange’s Silencing? https://www.truthdig.com/articles/where-is-the-outrage-about-julian-assanges-silencing/ 3 April 18, Teodrose Fikre / The Ghion Journal
On October 12, 1969, Daniel Ellsberg copied a secret dossier with the intention of disclosing the truth about the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers were a chronicle of events that recorded the scope of operations in Vietnam and beyond—details which were being withheld from the American public. The Vietnam War was built on the foundation of lies; we were rushed into the war using the Gulf of Tonkin as a false flag and defending freedom as a pretext to further the interests of the defense-financial complex. The truth eventually caught up to the lies of politicians and bureaucrats; Defense Secretary Robert McNamara later admitted the Gulf of Tonkin attack never took place. Continue reading →
April 4, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, civil liberties |
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Antinuclear 