ANSTO, Geoscience, Dept of Science to visit Kimba, South Australian site on shortlist for nuclear trash dump
Nuclear delegations to visit Kimba after release of toxic dump short list, ABC News 23 Nov 15 Two separate delegations are to visit Kimba on SA’s Eyre Peninsula, the tiny town shortlisted by the Federal Government to be the site of a nuclear waste dump.
Earlier this month the Government released a shortlist of six sites nominated to store low and intermediate level nuclear waste…….One delegation, including Geoscience Australia, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, and the Department of Science, will visit councillors and landowners who have nominated their properties.
Greens MP Mark Parnell will also tour the community which has been divided by the issue.
He said there was no need for a new dump because waste could be stored at existing sites.
“When it comes to nuclear waste we have a responsibility to manage it properly, and safely,” Mr Parnell said.
“The waste has been stored at Lucas Heights for many years and can be safely continue to be stored there. There’s waste that’s in hospital basements that’s got people worried, but they’re still going to have to operate.”
He said local residents had good reason to be alarmed, especially in light of an accident last year at a New Mexico waste facility.
“The operators put organic kitty litter into the drums of nuclear waste rather than inorganic kitty litter. As a result, the chemical reaction burst the drum open and radiation spread throughout the facility,” he said.
“There were 22 workers who were contaminated, and the facility is likely to be closed for four years.” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-23/nuclear-delegations-to-visit-kimba-after-dump-shortlisting/6962598
3 South Australian sites picked for nuclear trash toilet, but locals resist
The indigenous group Adnyamathanha Camp Law Mob says while the property is governed by a perpetual lease, meaning no native title claim can be lodged over the area, Aboriginal heritage legislation does apply.
“We demand that the Federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg publicly declare who he has consulted regarding these nominations, and who has the authority to nominate these sites,” spokeswoman Jillian Marsh said in a statement.
Cortlinye and Pinkawillinie KIMBA is known as “the Gateway to the Gawler Ranges”. But some residents fear the township would become known as “the Gateway to the National Nuclear Waste Facility” should it be selected as the future site to store radioactive waste. Local farmers Toni Scott, Sue Woolford, Helen Harris and their families have vowed to fight any move to build the facility in their district.
“They’re saying this is a voluntary process but how is this voluntary?,” Mrs Scott said.
“We’re not volunteering, we don’t want any money and we don’t want to live next to it.’’
The group vowed to be vocal during the Federal Government’s consultation in Kimba next week
Nuclear waste repository in SA: What do the locals think? The Advertiser, 22 Nov 2015 BRYAN LITTLELY, PAUL STARICK and MEAGAN DILLON PICKING a site for a nuclear dump is as contentious a decision as you will find. Whichever of the six Australia-wide candidates that is chosen to be the nation’s nuclear repository will acquire a degree of notoriety.
South Australia is home to three potential dump locations. Continue reading
Calare MP John Cobb blames local media for ‘sensationalism’ about nuclear waste dumping
Member for Calare John Cobb’s words to offer hope for Sallys Flat, Western Advocate, 22 Nov 15 Calare MP John Cobb has guaranteed no nuclear waste dump would be built in Sallys Flat if local residents remain “generally opposed” to it.
More than 100 residents turned out at a community meeting last Tuesday to voice their anger about Sallys Flat being shortlisted as one of six sites to potentially host the new permanent waste dump.
Mr Cobb also came under fire at that meeting for saying he was not concerned about the prospect of a nuclear waste dump being established at Sallys Flat and claiming the waste that would be dumped in the region was so benign “you could sleep on it”.
But in a written statement issued on Friday, Mr Cobb blamed the local media for “sensationalising” the issue and failing to tell the people of Sallys Flat there would be no nuclear waste dump in their backyard without their support……. http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/3509083/nuclear-reaction/
Aboriginal leaders meet Kiribati president in support of climate action, stopping coal mines
Wangan & Jagalingou leader in historic meeting with Kiribati president http://wanganjagalingou.com.au/category/latest-news/ November 19, 2015 Joins president’s call for no new coal mines; seeks support to defend W&J’s rights and country
Wangan and Jagalingou (W&J) Traditional Owner, and senior spokesperson Adrian Burragubba, will this morning meet with President Anote Tong of Kiribati and offer support to his call for a global moratorium on new coal mines. The meeting will bring together for the first time two leaders of traditional peoples in the region vulnerable to the devastating impacts of coal mining and burning. Continue reading
Climate change brings worse heat waves to New South Wales
Think this is hot? Warming climate points to heatwaves worsening in NSW, SMH, November 20, 2015 Peter Hannam Environment Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald NSW will experience more frequent and longer heatwaves in the future as the climate warms with the worsening extremes dependent on whether carbon emissions continue to climb, according to research from the government and the University of NSW.
The heatwave projections, released on Friday during what was expected to be Sydney’s hottest three-day spell in November in almost eight decades, cover the period to 2030 and then out to 2070.
The shift towards hotter weather is already evident, with south-eastern NSW experiencing about 18 more heatwave days a year compared with the start of the 20th century, the Office of Environment and Heritage says.
For most other parts of the state, the increase was about four-11 days.
The research, based on 12 climate models as part of the NSW and ACT Climate Modelling Project (NARCliM), estimates that most of the state will experience 1-1½ more heatwave events a year by 2030.
The number of heatwave days – defined to be excessive heat compared with historical records and the preceding 30 days – will increase by as much as 10 days a year by 2030 in the state’s north, with smaller increases near the coast. (See chart below showing the rising percentage of heatwave days each year.)
This provides a clear indication that, out to 2030, we can expect the heatwaves to happen more often, and for them to be longer,” Matthew Riley, director of OEH’s Climate and Atmospheric Science, said.
“[The models show] even more heatwaves out to 2070, that last longer still, and are becoming hotter,” Mr Riley said……http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/think-this-is-hot-warming-climate-points-to-heatwaves-worsening-in-nsw-20151120-gl3nwt.html
Greens spell out their policy for 90% renewable energy target
Greens unveil push for 90% target for renewable energy by 2030 Daniel Hurst http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/22/greens-unveil-push-for-90-target-for-renewable-energy-by-2030?CMP=share_btn_tw
Policy proposes new authority to oversee $5bn of construction in clean energy generation and a 15-year pipeline of projects through direct investment. The Greens will seek to build momentum for more ambitious action on climate change by calling for the creation of a new government authority to help Australia reach a 90% target for renewable energy by 2030.
The leader of the Greens, Richard Di Natale, said the policy to be released on Sunday showed the type of “real leadership” the country should display as world leaders prepared for climate negotiations in Paris next month.
The party has previously adopted a goal of ensuring Australia obtains 90% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, but the new policy document spells out how this could be achieved. Continue reading
Indonesia will close their waters to ship carrying radioactive trash to Australia
Indon to ‘block Aust-bound nuclear waste’ http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/breaking-news/indon-to-block-aust-bound-nuclear-waste/story-fnihsg6t-1227617732008 November 21, 2015 AAP“WE will block the ship because nuclear waste is very dangerous,” sea security coordinating agenda head Vice Admiral Desi Albert Mamahit told The Jakarta Post newspaper.
“Our ships are on standby, although the ship is still far from Indonesia. We have information about the ship.”On October 16, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) confirmed a project to repatriate radioactive waste from France, where it was sent for reprocessing in the 1990s and early 2000s, and which will now be retained at ANSTO’s Lucas Heights, Sydney, facility.”Consistent with security requirements and practice established during nine previous export operations, ANSTO will not confirm the destination port, land route, or timing,” it said on its website.The Indonesians are concerned about a ship called the MV Trader, which was close to the African coast and expected to pass through the Malacca Strait, according to reports.
Nuclear lobby hosts 5 Kimba officials in tour of Lucas Heights nuclear recator
Kimba officials take nuclear fact-finding mission to Lucas Heights after toxic dump short listing, ABC Radio 20 Nov 15 The World Today By Tom Fedorowytsch Officials from Kimba, the tiny town home to two possible sites for a radioactive waste dump in South Australia, have visited Australia’s only nuclear reactor in Sydney.
Mayor Dean Johnson was among the small group of five people to be shown the reactor and waste facility at Lucas Heights, southwest of Sydney’s centre.
“We feel the tour has provided us now with a much more thorough overview and an understanding of what a repository would look like, and probably some of the keys to properly and safely handling and storing that waste,” the mayor said.
Two of the Federal Government’s six proposed sites — Pinkiwilinie and Cortlinye — fall within the Kimba council region. Other sites making up the Government’s shortlist include Barndioota in South Australia, Hale in the Northern Territory, Sallys Flat in New South Wales and Oman Ama in Queensland.
A $10 million sweetener for infrastructure and community development will be given to the local area that accepts the waste.
……..’Everyone has right to say no’: farmer While Cr Johnson and the council weigh up whether to support a nuclear waste dump, some residents of Kimba — especially farmers — are deeply opposed to the idea.
As a farmer, the perception and stigma attached to a nuclear waste dump, could have ramifications on this clean and green reputation we have in agriculture.
Farmer Peter Woolford
“To be quite frank I think it’s totally irresponsible to be putting one of these in a food producing area,” Peter Woolford, a farmer who works land next door to one of the sites, said. “We obviously have the safety issue, but you know, we have things like land values,” he said.
“Who’s going to buy a property alongside a nuclear waste dump? I think we have to be real about that.”
Mr Woolford said he would not consider taking a tour of Lucas Heights.
“Well I don’t think I need to, at the end of the day surely everyone has the right to say no, and that’s what we’re doing. This has been forced upon us,” he said. “As a farmer, the perception and stigma attached to a nuclear waste dump, could have ramifications on this clean and green reputation we have in agriculture.”
Formal consultation will ramp up in Kimba in the next few weeks, and a decision to proceed will be made next year.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-20/kimba-officials-take-nuclear-fact-finding-mission/6958734
South Australia bushfires: crazy to suggest nuclear waste dump there!
Bushfires threaten South Australia. After the hottest October on record, in what will be the hottest year on record, South Australia already faces an extraordinarily dangerous fire season.
Is it sane for the South Australian government and its Nuclear Fuel Chain Royal Commission to be contemplating setting up this State as the world’s radioactive trash dump?
Are they not aware of the agonies that went on in Ukraine over the forest fires threatening Chernobyl region. and radioactive waste sites in California?
It is simply crazy, in view of climate change and increasingly hot, dry , long bushfire seasons to suggest placing dangerous radioactive trash in South Australia
Catastrophic fire danger warning as SA faces extreme heat http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-18/hot-weather-forecast-sa-change-later/6952632 Another day of extreme heat has been forecast across South Australia for Thursday and total fire bans have been imposed for 10 districts, with catastrophic ratings in four of them.
Adelaide is expecting a high of 35 degrees Celsius, after the mercury peaked above 40C on Wednesday….. The Education Department said catastrophic fire danger ratings meant it would close some state schools and preschools in bushfire-prone areas of the Riverland, mid-north, Flinders and North-West Pastoral regions on Thursday.
Some national parks and reserves would remain closed on Thursday, the Environment Department said, on eastern Eyre Peninsula, in the far north, and through the mid-north, Flinders Ranges, Riverland and Murraylands.
Firefighters will be on high alert and crews are still at a blaze south of Adelaide, which first broke out on Tuesday.
The Country Fire Service said the scrub fire at Yundi on the Fleurieu Peninsula was yet to be controlled.
Country Fire Service crews continue to tackle fires as South Australia goes on full alert for 2015 bushfire season, Advertiser, 18 Nov 15 POLICE are patrolling bushfire-prone areas and aerial bombers remain on standby as extreme fire conditions are forecast across the state just days into the fire-danger season.
Operation Nomad patrols and other police will target known firebugs and ask that anyone who notices suspicious activity or people in fire danger areas to contact the police assistance line on 131 444.
“Landowners are also asked to adhere to local harvest codes of practice which are available from your local council,’’ a police spokeswoman said.
Total fire bans are in place across most of the state as the temperature is tipped to soar into the 40s in the north and west of the state……. Continue reading
Queensland govt joins community in ‘major concerns’ over nuclear waste facility at Oman-ama
Queensland Government says it has ‘major concerns’ over nuclear waste facility at Oman-ama RENEE VIELLARIS FEDERAL POLITICS THE COURIER-MAIL NOVEMBER 20, 2015
THE State Government could team up with a local community to stop a proposed nuclear dump. A landholder at Oman Ama, 250km southwest of Brisbane, is competing against five other locations across Australia to become the nation’s first nuclear dump site.
The news shocked local residents throughout the Darling Downs, with some fearing terrorists attacks and worried for their long-term health.
The Commonwealth Department of Industry, Innovation and Science sent representatives to meet with residents at Inglewood this week.
Energy Minister Mark Bailey said the State Government was given limited information about the Turnbull Government’s recent announcement about its preferred sites.“Queensland currently prohibits the construction of a facility to hold nuclear waste, under the Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Act. The Government has no plans to alter the legislation,” Mr Bailey told The Courier-Mail yesterday.
“The Queensland Government has major concerns that a nuclear waste dump could be located so close to a community.”…….http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queensland-government-says-it-has-major-concerns-over-nuclear-waste-facility-at-oman-ama/story-fnihsrf2-1227616109317
Paladin called on to close and rehabilitate Malawi uranium mine
Conservation Council of Western Australia, 20 Nov 15 Shareholders at Perth based company Paladin’s AGM will call for the non-operational Kayelekera uranium mine in Malawi to be closed and rehabilitated. Calls for rehabilitation follow years of community opposition to the mine and failure to prevent the release of radioactive material into the environment.
The mine has been under ‘care and maintenance’ for several years due to the falling demand for uranium globally.
Charles Roche from the Mineral Policy Institute who will be attending the meeting said “With predicted operating costs almost double the long-term uranium price, there is a real danger that Kaylekera will be abandoned or sold off to reduce company debt. Instead of endless optimism Paladin should be honest about the possibility of re-commencing of mining in the next few years and begin rehabilitation works to protect communities, secure the site and end the cycle of financial losses”.
Mia Pepper, CCWA nuclear free campaigner who is in Africa at the Nuclearization of Africa conference this week said “We’ve been asking, along with French group CRIIRAD, for Paladin to release monitoring data from testing downstream from the mine. CRIIRAD have completed intermittent tests which indicate there is some radiological impact from the Kayelekera mine on the environment.”
“As the mine is about to go into a third year of being in Care and Maintenance we are concerned about the ongoing management of water on site and the structural integrity of the site. We would like to see this mine going into early rehabilitation, given the failures of Paladin to address community concerns, the clear local opposition to the project and the failure to contain radiological material onsite and an uncertain future. Rehabilitation should be done to the same standards expected in West Australia.”
Paladin has two uranium exploration projects in WA, also on hold given the stagnant uranium price and no mid term prospects of improvement. Paladin’s project in Qld is on hold indefinitely given that the Queensland Government reinstated the ban on uranium in Qld. Their JV proposal in the NT is also indefinitely on hold given strong opposition from the NT Government and Alice Springs residents.
Ipswich, Queensland, at risk from nuclear waste,
Ipswich at risk from nuclear waste, Queensland Times Joel Gould | 20th Nov 
2015 THE FIGHT is well and truly on to stop hundreds of trucks a year loaded with radioactive nuclear waste from moving through Ipswich towards a national repository near Inglewood.
A site at Oman Ama is one of six slated by the Federal Government to store nuclear waste which has been slammed as “an environmental disaster waiting to happen” by Cr Paul Tully, who is also the national secretary of the Australian Nuclear Free Zones Secretariat.
Cr Tully said the federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg was “putting major cities across southeast Queensland under threat with hundreds of trucks a year carrying dangerous radioactive waste across the region”.
Cr Tully, who called the plan “total lunacy”, said Ipswich did not want such dangerous material transiting through the city.
“It will be a national repository which means that radioactive waste from North Queensland as well as southern states of Australia will come into south Queensland,” he said.
“Anything coming up the Pacific Highway will go through Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba and anything coming from North Queensland would as well.
“So it does hold concerns that hundreds of trucks a year could be coming through our area.”A lot of it would come up through central NSW of course if they do select this site, which is one of six in Australia that has been nominated for further investigation.
“But if a truck, semi-trailer or B-double laden with this material had an accident and caught fire or rolled into a creek or river bed, then that is an issue. Brisbane, Ipswich and Toowoomba residents will be concerned at this act of madness by the federal government.” Continue reading
National Party MP John Cobb happy to host radioactive trash – Merino farmers ARE NOT!
On Friday, Member for Calare John Cobb said he was very relaxed about the 
proposal to consider Sallys Flat for the dump.
He said he felt the waste was so non-threatening that a person could put it in a bag and sleep on it without feeling any ill-effects.
Merino farmers at Sallys Flat fear nuclear dump next door, Western Advocate, 17 Nov 15 PRIME wool producers around Sallys Flat fear the potential establishment of a nuclear waste dump on a neighbouring property could put their livelihoods at risk.
Geoff and Robyn Rayner produce some of the best superfine fleece in the world at their Pomanara Merino Stud, close to a neighbouring property which has been shortlisted for a permanent radioactive waste dump.
The Rayners’ home is the closest residence to the site ……The Sallys Flat site has been offered to the Federal Government for use by the landowner.
The Rayners have just signed up to become a sustainable operation and said they had to meet stringent criteria. Now, with the prospect of nuclear waste on their doorstep, all that has been put at risk. “The stigma sticks,” Mr Rayner said. Three generations of the family have made their living from the land. Now they wonder if they will have a future. Continue reading
Inglewood residents tell govt – “No nuclear waste dump here”
Residents tell officials they don’t want nuclear waste, ABC Radio PM Annie Guest reported this story on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 DAVID MARK: Residents of the southern Queensland town of Inglewood have told Government officials they don’t want Australia’s first permanent nuclear waste facility in their community.Most residents say they were worried about safety risks and property values declining, but one woman said the waste from the nuclear medicine that saved her husband’s life must be stored somewhere.
Annie Guest reports from Inglewood…….http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2015/s4354831.htm
Malcolm Turnbull “browns down” OECD deal to limit coal subsidies
According to the Australian Greens, the Turnbull government’s deal could allow the development of up to 16,000MW of extra coal plants – already in the planning pipeline – to be financed.
Greens Senator and climate spokesperson, Larissa Waters, said the Turnbull government’s “grubby gambit” had tipped the scales against clean energy in these developing countries, and towards coal – a situation that would benefit Australia’s resources sector.
Turnbull accused of “browning down” OECD coal subsidy 
cuts, http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/turnbull-accused-of-browning-down-oecd-coal-subsidy-cuts-44371 By Sophie Vorrath on 18 November 2015 The Turnbull government has been accused of “browning down” the deal to limit global coal plant subsidies, struck this week by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, after the compromise it proposed alongside South Korea was worked into the agreement. Continue reading
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