MP Kevin Humphries “doesn’t fully understand it” but wants nuclear waste dump in far West New South Wales
“We’ve certainly got the space”: Far west MP pushing for uranium mining, waste storage, ABC News, Declan Gooch and Julie Clift , 1 Dec 15 The far west’s state MP says he wants to gauge community support for legalising uranium mining around Broken Hill as well as the storage of toxic waste in the region.
Kevin Humphries said uranium mining could be a significant employer in Broken Hill, especially as traditional mining activities wind down in the future.
Mr Humphries said the far west should also be considered as a potential site for the storage of waste material, which he said is proven to be safe……”I don’t fully understand it, but is it something that’s going to keep re-emerging?
There was community outrage in the state’s central west last month when the federal government proposed storing nuclear waste near the town of Hill End.
But Mr Humphries pointed to the long-term storage of toxic waste at Lucas Heights in Sydney as evidence that there were no dangers posed to the public……we need to consider all the options for places like Broken Hill and the far west, and I’m pretty keen to keep pushing that in 2016.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-01/22we27ve-certainly-got-the-space223a-far-west-mp-pushing-fo/6989660
Australia refuses to sign Paris communique on phasing out fossil fuel subsidies
Paris climate talks: Australia won’t sign fossil fuel missive due to Nationals concerns about diesel rebate, ABC News, By political reporter Dan Conifer Australia will not be signing a communique at the Paris climate summit about phasing out fossil fuel subsidies.
Nationals MPs and senators were concerned the pledge could affect the multi-billion-dollar diesel fuel rebate for farmers and miners.
The communique is due to be presented on Monday, but a Federal Government source has told the ABC Australia will not be signing it.
“Hooray,” Nationals deputy leader Barnaby Joyce said when told the news on Radio National…..
Industries such as agriculture, fishing and forestry can access a rebate on the diesel excise paid.
The fossil-fuel subsidy reform communique encourages countries to phase out subsidies to help limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius…….
Acting Prime Minister Warren Truss said nothing out of the Paris talks would have “any impact” on the scheme.
But after considering the matter, the Government has decided not to sign the document at all. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-30/australia-won’t-sign-fossil-fuel-deal-at-paris-talks/6988380
Greens expose the Australian govt’s ‘paltry’ contribution on climate change
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2015/s4363307.htmTANYA PLIBERSEK: This is pretty rich considering that we have actually cut funding to countries like Kiribati that are currently struggling with climate change and adaptation and mitigation.
In fact we’ve cut $2.5 million from Kiribati. It’s plain too that there is no new money here, we are talking about redirecting some of the existing aid budget, which, as I said, is already much depleted.
Richard Di Natale slams Govt’s climate contribution in Paris as ‘paltry’, ABC Radio The World Today Louise Yaxley reported this story on Tuesday, December 1, 2015ELEANOR HALL: The leader of the Australian Greens has accused the Federal Government of a paltry effort at the Paris climate conference. Richard di Natale says the $1 billion that the Government is promising to help Pacific nations should not be being diverted from the foreign aid budget.
In Canberra, political correspondent Louise Yaxley reports.
LOUISE YAXLEY: In Paris, Malcolm Turnbull has promised more money for innovation by signing up with other countries for a plan to double investment in clean energy over the next five years.
Many of the details of where that money will go will be spelled out in the innovation statement next week.
Labor’s deputy leader Tanya Plibersek says that does not match up with the Government’s recent actions.
TANYA PLIBERSEK: Now it seems that the Prime Minister is talking about innovation in the area of climate change. Well this is pretty ironic from a government that has halved the funding of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, sought to abolish ARENA, abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and abolish the Climate Change Authority.
LOUISE YAXLEY: Mr Turnbull has also promised to spend at least a billion over the next five years from the existing aid budget to help small Pacific nations adapt to climate change and to reduce emissions.
The Foreign Minister Julie Bishop defended the age budget being used that way when interviewed on AM.
JULIE BISHOP: Because this is what the aid budget is designed to do – to assist in natural disaster relief, to build resilience against natural disasters. Indeed this is what the small island developing nations of the Pacific are asking for.
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: It’s not new money though, is it?
JULIE BISHOP: No, it’s not new its money out of the aid budget…….
City of Melbourne leads new renewable energy project
New renewable energy play launches in Melbourne November 30, 2015 Tom Arup Environment editor, The Age Melbourne businesses, local councils and universities will pool resources to build new renewable energy plants under an innovative push to boost the supply of clean power to the city.
To be launched on Monday, just as the Paris climate summit gets under way, the project is a first for Australia. At least a dozen backers will pool their electricity purchasing power with the aim of encouraging new wind or solar energy.
It is being led by the City of Melbourne, which carried out a year-long test of the market to see whether there was enough interest for it to be viable.
On the way, the project has collected partners including the National Australia Bank, the University of Melbourne, RMIT and Federation Square.
The group is looking to purchase 120 gigawatt-hours of new renewable energy – enough to power 31,000 homes for a year.
Early next year the consortium will put out a tender calling for projects to come forward. If a viable project is found, those involved will look to buy power from it for 10 years…….
Other participants that have so far agreed to be named include RMIT, NEXTDC, the City of Port Phillip and Moreland City Council. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/new-renewable-energy-play-launches-in-melbourne-20151127-gl9urr.html#ixzz3t77su419
No new money for Pacific Islands climate help: Australian govt just taking it from foreign aid
Federal Government attacked for using aid budget to fund climate response, ABC Radio PM Peta Donald reported this story on Tuesday, December 1, 2015
TIM PALMER: With the Prime Minister heading back from Paris, Labor and the Greens have attacked Malcolm Turnbull for taking money from Australia’s already depleted foreign aid budget to pay for promises made in Paris on climate change. ….
Greens leader Richard Di Natale says unless new money is found, other aid projects will suffer.
RICHARD DI NATALE: So, we’re taking money out of immunisation programs, out of water and sanitation programs, out of family planning. This is shameful, it’s absolutely shameful.
And what we’re seeing in Paris is Malcolm Turnbull wanting to look good on the world stage when in fact what he’s doing is further gutting our foreign aid budget. A Prime Minister who is prepared to show some leadership would take on the dinosaurs in his own party room, would show a bit more ambition with our targets, would raise new money for climate financing, and would join the campaign to end fossil fuel subsidies……http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2015/s4363740.htm
Australian govt still will axe Australian Renewable Energy Agency despite its big new project
Australian Renewable Energy Agency announces next stage of Australia’s largest renewable mining project http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/aus-renewable-energy-agency-announces/6992978 Yesterday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull used his visit to Paris to announce that Australia would sign up to a global initiative called ‘Mission Innovation’.
It would see research and development investment in green, clean technologies double to $200 million a year.
But the Government still intends to axe the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
For the moment, ARENA is still making announcements. Yesterday, the agency announced the next stage of a project that will result in Australia’s largest renewable mining project in central Western Australia.
Australia should start a “post-disaster humanitarian visa” for Pacific islanders displaced by climate change
Australia needs US-style green card deal for climate-threatened Pacific islanders, Guardian, Ben Doherty, 2 Dec 15
And to boost historically low rates of migration from the Pacific, Australia should consider instituting a green card-style lottery for Pacific islanders to live and work in Australia, and boost seasonal worker numbers to industries such as horticulture.
Migration from Pacific countries to Australia has been consistently low for decades – representing less than 0.5% of all visas granted to Australia – but the Migration Council, an independent migration policy body, argues that the movement of people from the Pacific could benefit source countries and Australia.
Pacific countries, geographically disparate, sparsely populated and, in many cases, economically fragile, are forecast to be at the forefront of the impacts of climate change, with low-lying atoll nations particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and worsening natural disasters.
Research suggests that by 2050, between 665,000 and 1.7 million people will be displaced by climate change across the Pacific. Continue reading
Across Australia, rallies for climate change action
Australians join global rallies for climate change action ahead of Paris talks ABC News 29 Nov 15 Thousands of Australians have joined a worldwide wave of marches on the eve of United Nations climate change negotiations in Paris, calling for stronger measures to combat global warming.
Events were held today in Sydney, Canberra, Perth and Hobart, as well as regional and rural towns around Australia, joining about 600 other cities in more than 120 countries around the world. Continue reading
Australian govt’s contribution to UN Climate Summit – pro coal video “Coal is Amazing”!
Australian Delegation To Present ‘Coal Is Amazing’ Video At Climate Conference http://www.theshovel.com.au/2015/11/30/australian-delegation-to-present-coal-is-amazing-video-at-climate-conference/ Australia’s contribution to the Paris climate change talks will be a short animated video explaining the benefits of coal.Environment Minister Greg Hunt said he was looking forward to sharing the ‘little gem of a video’ on the conference’s main stage. “The broader global community has a bit of catching up to do when it comes to understanding coal’s amazing qualities. This video will be the talk of the conference I feel,” he said before leaving for Paris.
A Rational Fear – This Little Black Rock is gonna F you Up!
[Oh dear, I think I might have put up the wrong video – what a shame!]
Mr Hunt said the little black rock provided endless possibilities. “It can provide light. And jobs,” he said, holding up a piece of coal for reporters to see.
Following Australia’s presentation, delegates will receive a take-home bag containing a genuine piece of Australian coal. “It’s a little memento to remember the Aussies by,” Mr Hunt said.
Minerals Council of Australia’s deceptive video promoting coal industry
The campaign claims that low-emission coal-fired power plants and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is “now a reality” and are slashing emissions.
However, there is only one CCS-enabled plant operational in the world, in Canada. In Australia, there is just one CCS project aimed at coal emissions in the pipeline, which may arrive at some point in the 2020s.
Coal is a dangerous little black rock. Every climate scientist and almost every politician in the world knows that coal is very polluting and very dangerous. The only people who don’t get that are the Minerals Council and our government.
Green groups criticise ‘ludicrous’ Minerals Council of Australia ad which claims coal creates ‘light and jobs’ and ‘can now reduce its emissions by up to 40%’
Australia’s mining industry has launched a new ode to coal in the form of a major advertising campaign that hails the mineral’s ability to “create light and jobs”, as well as claiming that new technology will drastically slash its emissions. The campaign, called Little Black Rock , has been launched by the Minerals Council of Australia. An eye-catching TV ad shows an extreme closeup of the contours of a lump of coal, as if it were the surface of a rugged, distant planet.
A voiceover explains the “endless possibilities” of coal, Continue reading
Sydney: huge climate rally shows support for Pacific islanders
Huge crowds march in Sydney climate rally, Herald Sun, November 29, 2015The giant costumed figures of Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott greeted scientists, activists, families, elderly and youth that gathered at the Domain on Sunday to urge leaders to shift more rapidly to renewable energy and cut carbon emissions worldwide.
People have waved placards to the sound of drums while others have broken into dance and worn costumes of marine life that would be affected by increasing global temperatures.
“Minds change or climate change” read one placard, while another said “there is no Planet B”.
Climate Council’s Professor Tim Flannery addressed the crowd before they marched, saying a successful outcome at the UN summit was vital. “Do your utmost to see success at Paris, we won’t accept anything less,” he said to the cheers of the crowd, which he described as “the biggest climate march” in Australia’s history.
The rally observed a minute’s silence to acknowledge those most affected by climate change, especially Australia’s neighbours in the Pacific.
Earlier, deputy federal Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek said the government had to take action now before the cost of reducing emissions increased.”The sooner we start making cuts to our carbon pollution, the cheaper it’ll be to get there,” she told reporters in Sydney just before the rally.
Sydney march organiser Reece Proudfoot said those taking part in the Australian marches walked in solidarity with millions of people across the world as part of a global campaign. Mr Proudfoot welcomed Labor’s pledge on Friday to cut carbon emissions by 45 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030, which is well above the coalition pledge of between 26 and 28 per cent.
More than 40,000 people marched in Melbourne’s central business district on Friday to kick off the weekend of climate marches, with dozens of events also taking place in regional towns across the country. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/huge-crowds-march-in-sydney-climate-rally/news-story/6317c3f8464c27b851c07fac5677cd3f
Canberra residents in their thousands march for climate action
Thousands gather in ACT for climate march http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/thousands-gather-in-act-for-climate-march/news-story/600de104ef2c1c83651cc582a56d75fe November 29, 2015 Thousands of Canberrans have joined a worldwide protest by marching to support action on climate change.
They gathered on the front lawn of parliament house, a broad cross-section of people from Labor and the Greens to the fireman’s union, bee keepers, the Grim Reaper and Tibetan cows – pantomime-style cows that is.
Federal Labor ACT MP Gai Brotmann said people were sending a strong message to the Turnbull government. “Action is required on climate, credible action and direction action is not that,” Ms Brotmann told AAP.
Royal Commission hears that nuclear is a poor solution to Climate Change
SA NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE ROYAL COMMISSION PROFESSOR 
HENRY SOKOLSKI, The Nonproliferation Policy Education Centre TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS ADELAIDE, 25 NOVEMBER 2015 DAY 27
excerpt:
COMMISSIONER: We had it put to us that nuclear power generation might be the saviour in terms of climate change. Would you add that to your economic analysis of light-water reactors in terms of accepting their development?
PROFESSOR SOKOLSKI: I think I would not, and I’ll tell you why. This is a topic which has been debated very extensively here in the States and as a result, the folks promoting nuclear power and the folks who are against nuclear power have gotten focused on very, very detailed analytical models. The best, or I should say the one used the most, is put out by an auditing firm called McKenzie. This model has been used by Greenpeace analysts and the largest 25 merchant utility utilising nuclear power, Epsilon, and they both use this model and they both agree that it’s a good model, and this model tells you that you should do about ten other things first if you’re serious about reducing carbon before you buy a new power reactor. That strikes me as very, very interesting and as positive.
More recently, I think you can read an article that was put out by Chris Buckley in the New York Times, and he makes the case that others do, that China must go with nuclear to reduce its carbon footprint. But he repeats the claim by the government of China that at most by 2030 if every one of the 35 reactors they built was built on time, which will be a remarkable achievement, they will only have 10 per cent of their electricity generation supplied by nuclear. The rest will likely be fossil fuels. I think this tells you how far you can go with nuclear. First, not very and second, there are quicker ways to reduce carbon that are cheaper.
Mostly it has to do with management of consumption which is a fancy word or phrase for turning the lights off more regularly and the second thing is doing natural gas substitutions for coal. Those are your quickest, cheapest ways to most dramatically reduce carbon and that is the project probably of the next 45 three decades. That is where you will make your advances. Also grid……to me http://nuclearrc.sa.gov.au/app/uploads/mp/files/videos/files/151125-topic-16-day-3-transcript.v1.pdf
Yet another delay in radioactive cleanup of Sydney’s Hunter’s Hill
Residents appalled as radioactive clean-up of Sydney street delayed another four years http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/residents-appalled-as-radioactive-cleanup-of-sydney-street-delayed-another-four-years-20151128-glaf1b.html Kirsty Needham State Politics Editor, The Sun-Herald
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The clean-up of radioactive waste from a residential street in Hunters Hill has been delayed for another four years, as the cost has almost doubled. |
The Baird government was ordered by the Environment Protection Authority last November to submit a plan to remove toxic waste from six properties on Nelson Parade after a decade of delay and political paralysis.
The clean-up was to begin within 90 days of the plan being approved.
But Government Property NSW’s annual report has revealed the remediation work won’t be undertaken until 2016-17, and won’t be complete until 2018-19.
Remediation costs have blown out from $12.4 million to $22.5 million “mainly as a result of changes in the final waste disposal location”.
Philippa Clarke, of the Nelson Parade Action Group, said a delay until 2018 was “appalling”. Continue reading
Bathurst – oldest inland city – No to ‘newest nuclear waste dump’ !
Bathurst business group concerned about nuclear dump proposal http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-27/bathurst-business-group-concerned-about-nuclear-dump-proposal/6978472 By Gavin Coote A Bathurst business group says it is unconvinced of the economic benefits being touted for a shortlisted nuclear waste site in the district.
Dozens of people packed a hall in Hill End yesterday to hear about the Federal Government’s proposal to store the material at nearby Sallys Flat.
The Bathurst Business Chamber says the $10 million sweetener on offer to the selected community would not offset the potential economic losses.
The president Stacey Whittaker said there could be ramifications for the local tourism and agriculture sectors if the proposal went ahead. “I don’t think it’s bringing anything positive to the region,” Ms Whittaker said. “We’ve got a lot of small businesses by way of farming out in the that area which I think are certainly more important and have put more back into the community and the area than a nuclear waste dump will ever do.”
Sallys Flat is one of six sites shortlisted for the facility, and government officials have told the forum it would not pose a safety threat.
Ms Whittaker said the stigma surrounding nuclear waste could draw unnecessary negativity to the area. “Certainly from the local business side of things in town itself of Bathurst, people are a bit concerned.
“You know Bathurst, oldest inland city in Australia and first nuclear waste dump. “That’s not a real good title, is it?”
1 This month.
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Australians deserve the truth
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PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
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