If uranium becomes profitable – likely that Queensland will ship it through Barrier Reef
Qld Mines Minister Andrew Cripps says no current plan to ship uranium through Barrier Reef ABC News, By James Kelly, Francis Tapim and Isobel Roe 13 Sep 2013, Queensland’s Mines Minister Andrew Cripps says uranium will not be exported through the Great Barrier Reef any time soon, but will not rule it out down the track. The State Government announced yesterday its action plan to reintroduce uranium mining in Queensland after lifting the ban in October last year…….
Mr Cripps says once mining starts, uranium would be shipped out of existing licensed ports in Adelaide or Darwin.
“Any situation where the commercial volumes of uranium developed in Queensland requiring the licensing of an additional port somewhere in Queensland is many years into the future,” he said.
Reef shipping ‘catastrophe waiting to happen’
Australian Marine Conservation Society (AMCS) spokeswoman Felicity Wishart says shipping uranium through the reef is a catastrophe waiting to happen…… Continue reading
Australia’s new Abbott government to axe or gut 12 renewable energy programs
The Harvester Of Australian Renewable Energy’s Sorrow http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3941 13 Sept 13, Now that the coal dust of the Coalition’s election win is starting to settle; the soon-to-be clean energy corpses are easier to see. It’s been a period of mourning for many with a stake in Australia’s renewable energy efforts; with Prime Minister-elect Abbott’s well-oiled scythe poised to ruthlessly slash its way through related programs.
Here’s a partial casualty list; victims of the war on a low-carbon future:
To be axed:
– Clean Technology Program
– Energy Efficiency Information Grants
– Clean Energy Skills package
– Clean Technology Focus for Supply Chain programs
– Connecting Renewables
– CEFC
– Climate Change Authority
– Climate Change Commission
– Geothermal and tidal elements of Direct Action.
To be gutted:
– “Million Solar Roofs” rebate to be halved and with a narrowed scope
– Money for the above to come out of ARENA’s budget
– Reports of a further $532M to be cut from ARENA
According to The Australian, 33 climate change related schemes run by seven departments and eight agencies will be collapsed into just three bodies run by two departments. Whether this will provide better efficiency or just more bottlenecks interfering with progress remains to be seen.
As is widely known, the Coalition Government has its sights set on bringing legislation to axe the carbon tax to the first sitting of new Parliament; but it also realises it may not get its wish until after the senate changes in July 2014 (and even then there is some doubt). Continue reading
AUDIO: Government’s axing of Clean Energy Finance Corporation brings investor uncertainty
AUDIO: Renewable energy company calls for new government to provide certainty http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2013/s3848082.htm Simon Lauder reported this story on Friday, September 13, 2013 12:18:00 SCOTT BEVAN: The Federal Government’s plan to axe the Clean Energy Finance Corporation is causing concerns for at least one major company in the sector.
The Coalition says the clean energy finance corporation is little more than a hedge fund investing taxpayers’ money in financially unviable projects.
But Pacific Hydro, which has just benefited from a $70 million loan from the Corporation, says if the Coalition Government goes ahead with its plan, it must provide more certainty in the market or investment will suffer.
Simon Lauder reports. SIMON LAUDER: Pacific Hydro has announced it now has the money to go ahead with the fourth and final stage of a 179 megawatt wind farm near Portland in Victoria.
The company’s general manager Lane Crockett says private banks threw in more than $150 million after the government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation invested $70 million in the project. Continue reading
Jobs to be lost as Australian COAL ition Government scraps green energy fund
Green fund scrapped The Standard, By SEAN McCOMISH Sept. 13, 2013, A WIND farm near Portland is likely to be one of the final projects financed by a $10 billion government green bank set to be scrapped by an incoming Coalition government.
Pacific Hydro has received a $70 million loan from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) towards the $110 million wind farm comprising 23 turbines. Environmentalists have slammed the decision to scrap the corporation they argue will help the country meet the 20 per cent renewable figure by 2020 known as the Renewable Energy Target (RET).
Pacific Hydro boss Lane Crockett said the CEFC had been “pivotal in enabling the project to move forward”. Around 400 jobs are expected to come out of the construction that will take two years to complete. It’s likely the wind farm would have faced long delays if the CEFC hadn’t stepped in to help fund the last stage of the project.
Developers are also giving commitments to use locally-made components and towers. The corporation signed off on the loan before the government entered caretaker mode — a move that ensures the cash will still flow into the project.
The 47-megawatt wind farm covers two sites at Cape Nelson north and Cape Sir William Grant near Portland and according to Pacific Hydro will generate enough power for more than 31,000 Victorian homes — offsetting 180,000 tonnes of carbon pollution each year.
The first two stages of the project saw turbines established at Cape Bridgewater and Cape Nelson south in 2009.
……Scrapping the CEFC will make it harder for smaller companies to put up turbines. … The corporation has made pleas to incoming climate change minister Greg Hunt, arguing the corporation has been making good returns from the green loans. But Mr Hunt is unconvinced. ….http://www.standard.net.au/story/1773466/green-fund-scrapped/?cs=73
Australia’s Liberal Government and Queensland State Government’s conflicting views on uranium mining
Abbott, Newman could clash on uranium http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/opinion/os-ed-front-burner-nuclear-loans-con-20130912,0,1513077.story 13 Sept 13 Queensland’s plan to control uranium mine approvals would bring it into conflict with the new federal government, conservationists say. The Liberal National Party state government released it’s uranium strategy on Thursday, and it wants the federal government to hand it power to approve uranium projects.
The federal coalition has campaigned to keep uranium approvals with the commonwealth.
Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) says the state plan would put it at odds with the federal government. “The Queensland government’s action plan is ill-considered and inadequate,” spokesman Dave Sweeney told AAP.
“The LNP position is in conflict with federal coalition uranium policy and commitments.” Mr Sweeney also said that Queensland’s plan completely ignored the world’s weak uranium market, where prices had plummeted since the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
Queensland govt says no exporting of uranium over great Barrier Reef
Government rules out uranium exports over Great Barrier Reef The Satellite, APN Newsdesk 12th Sep 2013 APN NEWSDESK EXPORTING Queensland’s uranium is a priority for the state government, but the radioactive material is unlikely to leave Australian shores via the Great Barrier Reef.
In an “action plan” released on Thursday, the State Government has ruled that any uranium pulled from Queensland provinces can only be exported from Adelaide or Darwin……… The government has again ruled out allowing nuclear power plants or the disposal of radioactive waste in Queensland.
And like all major resources projects, the state is pushing to gain control over approvals – but environmental activists are concerned.
Australian Conservation Foundation Dave Sweeney said such state powers conflicted with comments by the incoming Federal Government that it would retain its hold over uranium projects. “Uranium mining is an issue of national interest and importance and is rightly a matter for the active consideration of the national government,” Mr Sweeney said.
Mines Minister Andrew Cripps said the government would begin considering projects by mid-2014. From there, demand from industry would determine when mining began.http://www.thesatellite.com.au/news/exporting-queenslands-uranium-barrier-reef/2018482/
Queensland government pro uranium mining, but cautions on poor market for uranium
Qld Government moves closer to re-establish uranium mining ABC News, By Kim Lyell, 13 Sept 13 The Queensland Government has released a plan to re-establish uranium mining in the state as early as next year…….. Mines Minister Andrew Cripps says the Government has accepted the findings of an independent committee that, with some adaptations, uranium mining could resume under existing industry regulation and radiation safety systems.
“An action plan has been released and an oversight committee established,” he said. Mr Cripps says the action plan covers all aspects of the approvals process, environmental and health and safety standards, Indigenous opportunities and native title.
The Government says although it could assess applications from next year, the market for uranium will ultimately determine when mining begins……http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-12/qld-government-moves-to-re-establish-uranium-mining/4953742
Climate denialist Dennis Jensen might become Australia’s Science Minister!
Climate sceptic MP Dennis Jensen wants to be science minister The Age, September 12, 2013 Jonathan Swan National political reporter Coalition MP Dennis Jensen, who is a vocal climate science sceptic, has called on Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott to appoint him as science minister.
“At the moment to be honest I’m feeling under-utilised,” said Dr Jensen, the member for Tangney in Western Australia, who has a master’s degree in physics and a PhD in material science. “I think that I’ve got a lot to offer,” he added. “I’ve got some unique attributes.”……..
Dr Jensen suggests he would be better qualified than anyone to take charge of science. “I’m not aware of any other scientist [in the Parliament],” he said.
Dr Jensen has made headlines by questioning the scientific consensus that humans are contributing to global warming.Dr Jensen believes carbon dioxide is contributing somewhat to global temperatures, but not as much as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is suggesting.
Moreover, Dr Jensen does not think governments should be taking urgent action to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
“In the climate area there is appeal to authority and appeal to consensus, neither of which is scientific at all,” Dr Jensen told Fairfax Media on Thursday.”Scientific reality doesn’t give a damn who said it and it doesn’t give a damn how many say it.”
It was wrong to accept the view of the 97 per cent of climate scientists who agree that climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely caused by human activities, because “the argument of consensus . . . is a flawed argument,” Dr Jensen said.
The colourful Englishman, Lord Christopher Monckton, who toured Australia to debunk the “bogus science” of global warming, was closer to the mark, Dr Jensen suggested. “Most of the stuff [Lord Monckton] says is entirely reasonable,” Dr Jensen said…….. http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/climate-sceptic-mp-dennis-jensen-wants-to-be-science-minister-20130912-2tltt.html#ixzz2eopPyvSg
Book ‘Dealing in Doubt’ shows who’s behind climate denialism in Australia
Report offers field guide to the climate change denial industry, Guardian, Graham Readfearn, 13 Sept 13, “…. There is also a potted and seldom-told history of how key figures in the United States worked to connect with like-minded people in Australia to encourage efforts Down Under to counter calls to cut emissions.
One of the first efforts came courtesy of free market promotion unit The Institute of Public Affairs, which doesn’t reveal its funders, which in 1990 sponsored a tour by veteran sceptic Fred Singer around Australia. TheIPA’s magazine reported Singer’s visit: “The greenhouse theory of global warming is contradicted by the evidence, a prominent US scientist has told the IPA.”
Later, Dealing in Doubt recalls planning meetings in the mid-90s with conservative think tanks in the US and Australia where strategies were developed to counter calls for action.
One of those characters, Australian businessman and former mining executive Hugh Morgan, was announced by Liberal MP Greg Hunt in 2011 as a member of the Coalition’s business advisory council on climate change………
Internal Heartland Institute documents have shown that one of the authors of the report, Australian geologist Dr Bob Carter, was to be paid $1667 a month for his work on the report (for anyone interested, Skeptical Science has a good summary of the key differences between the genuine IPCC report and the NIPCC)……. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2013/sep/12/greenpeace-climate-change-denial-dealing-doubt-report
Abbott government unprepared on greenhouse emissions, also he’s cutting indigenous funding
Ten challenges for Tony Abbott SMH September 13, 2013 – Andrew Leigh “……given the length of time the Abbott government has had to prepare for office, the real surprise is the number of major policy questions that lie unanswered. Here are 10 for starters.
First, given that we know from independent experts such as the Grattan Institute that direct action will not meet the bipartisan target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent by 2020, how does the government intend to reduce our emissions? Given that Australia has just had the hottest summer on record, is it really acceptable for the developed nation with the highest emissions per person to back away from action on carbon emissions?
Second, we know that one of the leading causes of indigenous disadvantage stems from incarceration, which is why both parties are committed to adding it into the Closing the Gap targets. But given that he has committed to cutting funding to Aboriginal legal aid, how will Abbott ensure that this doesn’t lead to more indigenous people ending up in jail?…..
Like George W. Bush before him, Abbott appears to like using corporate analogies for government, stating on election night that “Australia is under new management”. But, like Bush, he may find that heading a government requires a little more nuance and sophistication than running a campaign. He could start by answering these simple questions. : http://www.smh.com.au/comment/ten-challenges-for-tony-abbott-20130912-2tnuo.html#ixzz2eniKF2qv
Solar Energy Companies continue to flock to Australia to take advantage of exposure to the sun
Solar energy reaches new milestone in Australia, hydrogen Fuel News 13 Sept 13“…………Report highlights contribution of solar power
The Australian Energy Market Operator has released a new report that aims to shed light on the contribution of solar energy systems to the National Electricity Market. According to the report, 1.6% of the National Electricity Market is comprised of solar power. The highest contributing state in the country is South Australia, where 3.7% of electricity production comes from rooftop solar systems installed at homes throughout the region.
Solar energy is expected to continue making strong progress in the country as more companies flock to Australia to take advantage of its constant exposure to solar radiation. Some of these companies have been working with the government to make solar energy more available to homeowners throughout the country. SunPower, a solar energy firm based in the U.S., recently came to the country to bring solar technology to homeowners. The company has partnered with Community First Credit Union to offset some of the financial aspects of solar energy adoption.
Wind energy also shows strong growth in the country While solar energy is making major progress in Australia, the country has shown strong support for other forms of clean power as well. Wind energy has also been experiencing some growth in recent years. The Australian Energy Market Operator recently released a report that wind energy accounts for approximately 27% of all electricity generated in South Australia. http://www.hydrogenfuelnews.com/solar-energy-reaches-new-milestone-australia/8513913/
Abbott govt likely to speed up uranium sales deal with India
Australian Election Seen Likely to Speed Talks with India on Uranium Deal National Journal, By Rachel Oswald, Global Security Newswire September 11, 2013 WASHINGTON — Newly elected leaders in Australia likely will push to conclude a trade agreement aimed at allowing uranium exports to India, issue experts told Global Security Newswire.
While it was earlier predicted to take two years to conclude the export negotiations, a new Liberal-National government led by conservative leader Tony Abbott likely will push to have trade discussions finished “within the year,” according to Amitabh Mattoo, director of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne. Continue reading
Australian War Memorial should include the war between settlers and Aborigines
Why does the Australian War Memorial ignore the frontier war? Paul Daley theguardian.com, Thursday 12 September 2013The battle between Aboriginal people and settlers is at the heart of nationhood but absent from war dead commemorations “……With the approaching centenary next August of the outbreak of the first world war, Australia is spending $32m to upgrade the memorial’s first world war galleries – part of meeting its mandate to help Australians “remember, interpret and understand” the country’s war experiences.
It is a broad and generous brief.
This mandate, however, has been narrowly interpreted by successive generations of memorial officials whose Anzac-centric focus continues to stubbornly exclude the fierce battles for sovereignty between Aboriginal Australians and pastoral settlers across the frontier, which are at the dark heart of Australia’s nationhood. Continue reading
Adelaide to Darwin rail line to be a military transport every fifth day?
Defence bid to control section of the Adelaide to Darwin rail line on one in every five days of the year MILES KEMP THE ADVERTISER SEPTEMBER 11, 2013 http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/defence-bid-to-control-section-of-the-adelaide-to-darwin-rail-line-on-one-in-every-five-days-of-the-year/story-fnii5yv5-1226717271710 SOUTH Australia’s iconic Ghan rail journey is under threat by a Defence Department bid to control a section of the Adelaide to Darwin rail line on one in every five days of the year. Continue reading
Tony Abbott about to make the mistake of signing Australia up to the Trans Pacific Partnership
PM-elect Tony Abbott speaks with US president Barack Obama about Syria conflict ABC News By political correspondent ABC News, Simon Cullen, 12 Sept 13 US president Barack Obama has phoned Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott to congratulate him on the Coalition’s election win.A spokesman for Mr Abbott says the pair reaffirmed the strong relationship between the two countries, …..
The two leaders also discussed the need to improve trade and investment links in the region, and agreed to work cooperatively towards the Trans-Pacific Partnership…. 
.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-12/tony-abbott-barack-obama-syria-diplomacy/4953584
1 This month.
20 September –National Day of Action in Melbourne on the International Day of Peace
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
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PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
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