Australia covered up plight of Tasmania wilderness and Kakadu in UN Report
Australia covered up UN climate change fears for Tasmania forests and Kakadu
Fears about damage to the Great Barrier Reef were removed from UN report along with concern about a threat to the environment in two other heritage sites, Guardian, Michael Slezak, 29 May 16, A draft UN report on climate change, which was scrubbed of all reference to Australia over fears it could deter visitors to the Great Barrier Reef, also outlined possible threats to the Tasmania wilderness and Kakadu.
The draft report contained a chapter on the Great Barrier Reef, which described climate change as “the biggest long-term threat to the [reef] today, and to its ecosystems services, biodiversity, heritage values and tourism economy”.
It concluded that “without a comprehensive response more in keeping with the scale of the threat, the [reef]’s extraordinary biodiversity and natural beauty may lose its world heritage values”.
But before it was scrubbed, the report had two other key sections on Australian world heritage sites, and the threats they face from climate change.
One of those sections was on the Tasmanian wilderness…….the censored section of the Unesco report on Tasmania is clear about the “dire” nature of the threat.
It said: “A 2013 assessment of climate threats identified the same habitats as at high risk from greater fire frequency and drier conditions, with likely catastrophic implications for fauna. These dire predictions appeared to be playing out in January 2016, when tens of thousands of hectares of forest burned, sparked by lightning strikes that came in a month when temperatures were 2C above average and in the wake of the driest two-year period ever recorded for the region.”
The deleted section on Kakadu national park contained similarly dire warnings.
It described the important natural and cultural values of Kakadu, which has been inhabited by Aboriginal people for 50,000 years.
“The thousands of rock art sites in the park are at risk from damage by more extreme rainfall events, while sea level rise is happening at twice the global average along the northern Australian coast,” the draft report said.
It warned that fresh-water wetlands were at risk from sea level rise, as they are likely to be inundated with salt water. “Climate change threatens Aboriginal traditional use by altering the ecosystems of the vast wetlands of Kakadu and raising temperatures to a level likely to lead to more intense fire regimes,” the report said.
The final version of the report entitled “World heritage and tourism in a changing climate” was published last week by Unesco, United Nationsenvironment programme and the Union of Concerned Scientists, with all references to Australia removed.
The lead author of the report, Adam Markham, told Guardian Australia: “I was shocked when I read in the Guardian the reasons the Australian government gave for why they had pressured Unesco to drop the Australian sites.” http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/29/australia-covered-up-un-climate-change-fears-for-tasmania-forests-and-kakadu
Greens energy plan to generate $53 billion of investment in Queensland
Greens announce $53b clean energy plan http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2016/05/29/greens-announce-53b-clean-energy-plan The Greens have announced a clean energy plan for Queensland which it says will generate $53 billion of investment in projects over 15 years. “This would be delivered through a combination of direct government investment and ownership, and reverse auctions which provide bankable incentives for private sector investment.”Queensland Greens Senator Larissa Waters said delivering a clean-energy economy would also safeguard Great Barrier Reef tourism jobs and agricultural jobs that were threatened by coal mining and coal seam gas.
“The old parties are leaving Queensland at risk of missing out on the job-rich clean energy revolution,” she said.
Major political parties downplay environment as election approaches
Parties yet to turn on the green light http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/parties-yet-to-turn-on-the-green-light/news-story/33847ddc845b64eaffc5a62566d89188 May 28, 2016 One of the key issues missing from the election campaign so far is the environment.The economy, health and education have been the focus of the first three weeks of the campaign.
However, the environment has proven to be a well-trodden battleground in federal elections over the past two decades.
Tony Abbott’s crusade against Labor’s carbon tax helped propel him into office in 2013, despite Kevin Rudd’s best efforts to bring forward the start of the emissions trading scheme.
In 2010, both major parties made announcements on climate change, the health of the Murray-Darling system, marine parks, Queensland’s controversial wild rivers laws and forestry.
In 2007, Rudd’s promise to ratify the Kyoto protocol and take strong action on climate change helped convince thousands of voters to unseat the Howard coalition government.
John Howard himself kicked around the idea of an emissions trading scheme, having realised tackling issues such as water and climate were not only good for the environment but made economic and electoral sense.
Turnbull was rolled by his own party in 2009 over his support for Labor’s ETS and has been forced to embrace Abbott’s direct action plan, despite evidence of its ineffectiveness and voter confusion over what he really believes. Shorten says separate emissions trading schemes for the electricity sector and industry, coupled with a target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030, is the way to go.
For both major parties, there are votes to be won in talking up the benefits of jobs and economic growth from renewable energy, clean technology, greener farming practices and ensuring the long-term health of the Great Barrier Reef.
There are big electoral benefits for strong environmental policy.
Younger voters, especially, rate climate and the environment among their top concerns and if Labor or the coalition are to woo them away from the Greens they will need to come out early with some impressive policy.
A policy misstep by Labor could cost the party valuable Greens preferences.
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce all for the full nuclear fuel chain
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce warns South Australians face higher power prices because of renewable energy, Adelaide Now, PAUL STARICKCHIEF REPORTER March 16 The Advertiser DEPUTY Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is warning of rising household electricity prices triggered by South Australia’s world-leading renewable energy use and is urging nuclear power as a clean alternative.
In an interview with The Advertiser, Mr Joyce seized on the Port Augusta power stations’ looming closure in May and declared its impact of slashing baseload supply would likely result in higher prices for consumers……
Mr Joyce applauded SA’s Nuclear Royal Commission and backed public debate on its key interim recommendations, delivered last month, of an international waste repository for SA and further exploring nuclear power.
Declaring he would be unsurprised if both major parties eventually supported a waste repository, Mr Joyce said there was unprecedented bipartisan support for exploiting SA’s globally significant uranium resource across most aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle…..
“The ultimate renewable energy — zero emissions energy — is nuclear energy…” http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/deputy-prime-minister-barnaby-joyce-warns-south-australians-face-higher-power-prices-because-of-renewable-energy/news-story/89eb86ecfdc980fbb472a7617be0fdbb
Exposing Turnbull’s deceit on fossil fuels and climate change
Turnbull’s #Innovation and #IdeasBoom is to flog fossil fuels. KaBOOM! Independent Australia Tracey Anton 28 May 2016 Transitioning the economy away from fossil fuel dependency is now the global catchcry. So why is Turnbull funding DICE-y coal technology at the expense of renewables whilst claiming to mitigate climate change? Mining reformist, Tracey Anton reports.
CLIMATE CHANGE has quickly become an economic and energy policy nightmare for Government but what Turnbull is presenting to the public is based on deceit. The LNP’s mishmash of policy contradiction and current economic mismanagement of fossil fuel extraction is to defraud the public of billions of dollars.
Turnbull states:
“we transition from an economy that has been fired up by an unprecedented mining construction boom as we transition to the new economy of the 21st century.”
The great disparity between saying you will reduce emissions but then stealthily grow a new and bigger fossil fuel industry needs to be called out and exposed.
We already have LNP’s ongoing team assault on the environment now showing a jump in emissions since the removal of the carbon price in 2014 with increases in liquefied natural gas (LNG) greenhouse gases adding to the rise.
Worst still is the report by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. Due to the LNP’s continual backflip and integrity of Turnbull and Co to apply believable climate mitigation strategies, Australia is way down the list for credibility to implement policy commitments.
Under the LNP, the Department of Climate Change has never been valued with their aim to subvert its legitimacy. Now, Climate Change dwells as a subsection in the Department of Environment.
Currently, the taxpayers will be shelving out billions of dollars to facilitate and subsidise a burgeoning fossil fuel energy future and the pain will only get worse if the Turnbull government is returned………
As for new coal technologies, coal still has to be extracted so the pits get bigger, groundwater is still bleed, air pollution is increased, waste water still needs to be disposed of and land and coastal subsidence will worsen, and the cycle goes on.
We already know that the mining industry is dictating government policy but the infiltration of agencies and our main science and research organisation, CSIRO is concerning.
CSIRO is now one of “entrepreneurial” innovation to market technology to the world…….
The innovation that he [CSIRO’s CEO Dr Larry Marshall] wants to sell to the world is the DICE technology, a coal to fuel derivative that starts with turning prime agricultural land into an open cut brown coal mine. How is that to mitigate climate change? Worse, the technology is also water and energy intensive — so it can burn cleaner somewhere else. Meanwhile, Turnbull has to build more dams because he is giving all our precious water to mining……..https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/turnbulls-innovation-and-ideasboom-is-to-flog-fossil-fuels-kaboom,9038
Coober Pedy headed for 70% renewable energy
Local jobs out of Hydro Tasmania project in Coober Pedy http://www.examiner.com.au/story/3934449/local-jobs-out-of-hydro-project/ Toli Papadopoulos 29 May 16.
A new project will inject millions into the Tasmanian economy and create local jobs, according to Hydro Tasmania CEO Steve Davy.
Mr Davy said the new project will use local manufacturing suppliers, and aims to turn South Australia’s Coober Pedy into a renewable township.
Hydro Tasmania’s manager off-grid solutions Simon Gamble said a number of Tasmanian companies would be involved in the project, including Doric engineering and Southern Prospect out in Wynyard.
He said the containerised systems and electrical equipment would be designed and tested in Tasmania.
Hydro said it was engaged by project developer Energy Developments Limited to develop technologies previously used in King Island.
They said Energy Developments Limited received a grant of $18.4 million by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency for the project.
“This is second project using this containerised modular system, the first was Flinders Island, but this one is by far the largest project we’ve done,” Mr Gamble said.
Mr Gamble said Hydro had already invested in projects in South-East Asia and the Pacific, and this was really just the beginning.
Hydro said 70 per cent of the town’s energy will be drawn from renewable sources once the technology is in place, with a goal of eventually making Coober Pedy completely renewable.
Doubts about the integrity of South Australia’s “Citizens’ Jury” nuclear waste plan
I am in fact, in favour of the Citizens’ Jury Idea. Instead of us being ‘talked down to’ by experts, (who are likely to have a vested interest in the nuclear waste import plan), ordinary non experts hear all the evidence and opposing opinions, discuss these, and come up with a sensible verdict.
After all, that is what we expect in a criminal trial. We do not trust the verdict to “experts” although we do expect their opinions to be heard.
My problem with the South Australia’s Citizens’ Jury on nuclear waste importing is that it doesn’t seem to be given a truly jury role.
The letter sent to potential jury participants says that their task will be to produce an independent guide to help every South Australian understand the recommendations raised by the Royal Commission’s report.
No mention of a verdict on whether or not the jury thinks that the nuclear waste import plan should go ahead.
The organisation running the process, newDemocracy, is using a trademarked definition of ‘Citizens’ Jury’ That trademark belongs to the Jefferson Center. They define the term;
The Citizens Jury convenes diverse groups of citizens to study an issue deeply, discuss different perspectives on the issue, and recommend a course of action or craft their own solutions to address the issue at hand.
I would like to give newDemocracy the benefit of the doubt. Their all too brief notes on this plan do end with this statement:
The first stage of the project will run from May through November 2016, and results in a gateway decision as to whether or not there is broad social consent to continue to pursue opportunities related to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle.
Greens push for Inquiry and assistance to Maralinga nuclear veterans and civilians affected
$130m vow for Maralinga veterans JARED OWENS, The Weekend Australian, May 28-29, p.29 Survivors of British nuclear testing in outback South Australia would receive a special “atomic survivors’ healthcare card” under a $130 million redress scheme being pushed by the Greens.
The policy, timed to coincide with Barack Obama’s historic visit to Hiroshima, includes an inquiry into the health effects of the nuclear testing and compensation for those who abandoned or were removed from their homes to escape the radiation.
Between 1952 and 1963 the Menzies government permitted nuclear testing at the Monte Bello Islands, off the West Australian coast, and at Emu Field and Maralinga in South Australia.
“Successive Australian governments ignored the humanitarian consequences of the British atomic weapons tests. It is now time for Australia to acknowledge the devastating health impacts suffered by ADF veterans and provide immediate health support from radiation fallout,” Greens co-deputy leader Scott Ludlam said, noting many Aboriginal people were driven from their traditional lands.
The civilian healthcare card would give “priority treatment” for medical conditions caused by radiation exposure and would be available to descendants who display “intergenerational health impacts”. Affected military personnel would receive a veterans’ gold card providing support for all conditions.
The Greens also want Australia to support UN efforts to abolish nuclear weapons.
Australian content removed from UNESCO climate change report
UNESCO climate change report lead author disappointed Australian content removed, ABC Radio, The World Today By Sarah Sedghi 27 May 16 The lead author of a United Nations report about climate change threats to World Heritage sites says he is disappointed content about Australia was removed and does not understand why it was done.
Key points:
- Lead author says what was removed was important to understanding risks
- Environment Department requested references to Australian World Heritage properties be removed
- Author knew of material removal but did not know the reason or of any other case studies being removed
The report initially included information about the Great Barrier Reef, as well as Kakadu and the Tasmanian Wilderness.
Adam Markham, the deputy director of climate and energy with the Union of Concerned Scientists and the lead author of report, said the report and what was removed was important work in understanding the risks to world heritage sites like the Great Barrier Reef, and how to protect them.
But the Environment Department expressed concerns about Australian World Heritage properties being included, and at its request, those references disappeared from the final document.
The report, authored by UNESCO, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the Union of Concerned Scientists, was designed to give a snapshot of how climate change was affecting World Heritage sites across the globe.
Mr Markham said he knew they had taken out the Great Barrier Reef case study and material on the Tasmanian wilderness and Kakadu National Park, but he did not know why.
“I read in the paper like you did today the reason that the Australian Government gave, that they had put pressure on UNESCO to remove the case study,” he said.
He said he was disappointed those parts were removed. “Firstly we put a lot of work into writing them, and secondly we weren’t able to put anything about Australia in the report and it’s a huge continent, it’s got some amazing World Heritage sites,” he said.
“The Great Barrier Reef in particular is one that everyone knows is under severe threat, not just from human development and coal mining and such, but also from coral bleaching and warming.”
Mr Markham said he does not think any other case studies were removed from the report before its publication, despite about 50 revisions……..
Questions over why Hunt not informed
Senator Waters questioned why Mr Hunt had not been kept in the loop, and called on him to explain why he was not informed.
“The Minister is not doing his job properly if he is not involved in something as serious as a UN report about climate change affecting the Great Barrier Reef,” she said.
“And secondly if it’s true that he didn’t know, then for a start why didn’t he know, and secondly why would the Department do that?
“He would expect them to hide the inconvenient truth, because that’s what this Minister has been trying to do for years and the Department can predict that that’s what its minister wanted.”
Labor’s environment spokesperson Mark Butler said Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull needed to come clean on whether actions were taken by them or their offices to seek to censor the work of UNESCO………http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-27/fair-and-balanced-work-removed-from-un-climate-change-report/7452338
Indigenous advocate recommends both Treaty and constitutional recognition
Let’s have treaty and constitutional recognition, Indigenous referendum chief says, SMH May 27, 2016 Fergus Hunter
The chief advocate for constitutional recognition of Indigenous people has elevated the possibility of a treaty between Aboriginal people and Australian governments, rejecting the “false” idea the country must choose between the two options.
Tanya Hosch, joint campaign director of Recognise, also expressed optimism that a referendum on constitutional recognition could still happen in 2017 as new polling reaffirms overwhelming support for change.
“We should not be asked to choose … Treaty and constitutional recognition can co-exist. We can work for both. Repeated legal advice makes that clear,” she said.
Polling conducted for Recognise finds 77 per cent of non-Indigenous people and 87 per cent of Indigenous people would vote “yes” for constitutional change if a referendum were held today.
……….Support for a formal treaty or treaties between First Australians and Australian governments has been consistently strong, especially among Indigenous people, and momentum is growing.The Victorian government is in talks with Indigenous communities over the possibility and the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples says there is a strong preference among its membership for a treaty over constitutional recognition………http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016/lets-have-treaty-and-constitutional-recognition-indigenous-referendum-chief-says-20160526-gp50g9.html
Queensland wind farm creating jobs, powering a city
Wind farm at Mount Emerald, near Cairns, set to create 150 jobs http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/wind-farm-at-mount-emerald-near-cairns-set-to-create-150-jobs/news-story/6ddd2419660c8f1666822dfde3024a8f May 27, 2016 A WIND farm to be built in far north Queensland will generate enough renewable energy to power a regional city. Ergon Energy and proponents Ratch Australia and Port Bajool on Friday signed a power purchase agreement to build the 170 megawatt Mount Emerald Wind Farm, near Cairns.
About $400 million in total expenditure is projected during the project’s two-year construction phase and 25-year operational period.
The project is also expected to boost the region’s economy by $900 million through direct and indirect flow-on impacts.
Energy Minister Mark Bailey said the project would mean the state’s wind energy production, which sat at 12 megawatts, would be increased by 15 times.
Will the Citizens’ jury be able to say NO to nuclear waste importing for South Australia?
Just how strictly controlled the process is becomes obvious when it emerges that the task of those 50, during two weekend meetings in June and July, will be to produce ‘a short independent guide to help every South Australian understand the recommendations raised’ by the report.
ABC news dubbed this whole process the Premier’s ‘public relations exercise’, and surely they’re not wrong.
The Premier is urging all South Australians to remain ‘open’ about the proposal. But are they, including the Citizens’ Jury, allowed to be open to refusal?
SA Premier coopts democracy for nuclear nefariousness http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=48345#.V0eKYTV97Gg Michele Madigan | 25 May 2016
I was trying to think what the invitation reminded me of. It took me a moment, but then I had it: the Project for the New American Century, the neo-conservative think tank and ‘educational’ organisation that went on to play a key role in shaping the foreign policy of the George W. Bush administration.
It’s a different time and different circumstances, but there was something about this invitation — a joint missive from the Premier of South Australia and the newDemocracy Foundation — that seemed to resonate with that ominous American institution; a sense that democratic ideas such as consultation and partnership were being co-opted for nefarious ends. In the address section of the envelope, in beautiful script, the partnership was emphasised: ‘An Invitation from the Premier and the newDemocracy Foundation’.
The gold and black lettered document was an invitation ‘to take part in the Citizens’ Jury of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission’s report’. This Citizens’ Jury will take place now that Royal Commissioner Kevin Scarce has handed down his final report, with the primary extraordinary recommendation that South Australia invite high-level radioactive waste from overseas. Continue reading
Xenophon wants nuclear waste referendum, but only AFTER a dump site is selected
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon might vote against company tax cuts, seeks referendum on nuclear waste dump, The Advertiser May 26, 2016 Political Reporter Peter Jean INDEPENDENT Senator Nick Xenophon wants a referendum to decide whether South Australia should be home to a nuclear waste dump……
After a South Australian Press Club election debate on Thursday, he told The Advertiser that a waste dump referendum should happen once a location was decided.
“The people of SA should have a direct say on it,” he said. If the state referendum passed, it is likely the federal Parliament would pass the legislation needed at that level…..http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/independent-senator-nick-xenophon-might-vote-against-company-tax-cuts-in-senate/news-story/0207bb0fe9c9fd5761d2ab8b474942
Federal Liberal and Labor support nuclear waste import: Xenophon suggests referendum
Xenophon calls for SA nuclear referendum http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/05/26/15/09/sa-needs-nuclear-referendum-xenophon South Australia should hold a referendum on whether to host a high-level nuclear waste dump, independent senator Nick Xenophon says.The decision to host the dump would have far-reaching consequences, Senator Xenophon told an SA Press Club debate on Thursday.
“If we had a high-level dump it will be around for tens of thousands of years,” he said.
Premier Jay Weatherill has consistently rejected the idea of a referendum, saying the government will instead pursue “qualitative” consultation.
The government will receive feedback from two citizen juries and a bipartisan parliamentary committee.
A decision to host a high-level dump appears likely to be supported at a federal level regardless of who wins the July election.
Education Minister Simon Birmingham said the Turnbull government would change laws to facilitate a dump if the state government wanted to host one.
Labor Senator Penny Wong expressed misgivings about a nuclear dump but praised the state government’s public consultation.
“I share some of the concerns which have been raised in the community about this,” she told the debate.
“I think the process Jay and the government are going through and the way in which they’re approaching it is the right one. That process itself will yield the outcome. It will have community support or it won’t.”
The Greens remained strongly opposed to a nuclear dump, South Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young said. http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/05/26/15/09/sa-needs-nuclear-referendum-xenophon#lR58JolbQ0ZlvYfC.996/15/09/sa-needs-nuclear-referendum-xenophon#lR58JolbQ0ZlvYfC.99
Indigenous owners put Minister Frydenberg on the spot about nuclear waste dump
Indigenous owners appeal to Minister’s ‘human side’ to shelve proposed nuclear waste site, ABC News By Alex Mann, 27 May 16
Wallerberdina Station part-owner Grant Chapman did not consult the neighbouring Adnyamathahna community before nominating his land as a nuclear waste site. Opposition to the Federal Government’s proposed nuclear waste facility in the Flinders Ranges is heating up, with traditional owners travelling to meet with Federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg to demand the Government shelve its plans.
Traditional owner Regina McKenzie said she hoped travelling the more than 1,000 kilometres to Melbourne would appeal to the Minister’s “human side” and get him to change his mind.
“It’s always, every waste dump is near an Aboriginal community,” she told 7.30.
“Don’t you think that’s a bit confronting for us? When it happens to us all the time?”
Ms McKenzie is also a member of Viliwarina Yura, the corporation that was granted the land neighbouring the proposed waste site in 2000. Now she has teamed up with veteran anti-nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney to take her message across the country.
Mr Sweeney told 7.30 that as the national anti-nuclear campaigner for the Australian Conservation Foundation, and with more than 20 years experience in nuclear issues, he would use his connections, contacts and ability to amplify the story.
“It just feels disturbingly familiar, and disturbingly like we’re replicating past mistakes,” he said.
Mr Frydenberg declined 7.30’s request for an interview but acknowledged in a statement that “legitimate issues have been raised about the Indigenous heritage in the broader area”. As a result, he said the Government would undertake a “comprehensive and independent heritage assessment and further consult with key stakeholders before any final decisions are made”.
But the traditional owners maintain that nowhere would be acceptable.
Local Indigenous owners not consulted
This is just the latest front in a battle around nuclear waste that has raged for decades…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-26/local-indigenous-owners-protest-hawker-nuclear-dump/7449124
1 This month.
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556
19 May – Webinar- Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-05-19 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-05-19 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 