Historic day as Arkaroola finally gets permanent protection
The Upper House of State Parliament has just passed a Bill to permanently protect from mining the iconic mountains of Arkaroola in the State’s far North. The legal protection is the culmination of a long-running community and Greens campaign to ensure this magnificent part of our State is no longer threatened by damaging mining activity.
“This is a wonderful, historic day,” said Greens Parliamentary leader Mark Parnell. “It’s taken a long time, but finally a law has been passed that ensures the permanent protection of the world famous mountains of Arkaroola.
“If a future Government wants to let the miners back in they will have to over-turn this Act of Parliament. I am totally confident that this will never happen. “It is wonderful that all sides of politics have finally accepted what the Greens have been arguing all along: that some places are simply too precious to mine,” he said.
In passing the Bill, the Greens moved 2 successful amendments to ensure appropriate consultation with the traditional owners from the Adnyamathanha people over the management of the land. “As this is such an important piece of legislation, it is vital we get it right and ensure that all traditional owners have a say in how Arkaroola will be managed,” said Mr Parnell.
“The Greens have been very proud to stand alongside the Sprigg Family, Adnyamathanha Elders and the many passionate environmental and heritage campaigners from across the state and across the world who have fought to protect this precious place.“They can all be very proud of what they have achieved,” he said.
Government’s snap decision to close solar rebate scheme will damage this emerging export industry
Australia to Close Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme on June 30 Bloomberg By Jason Scott – Feb 27, 2012 Australia’s Renewable Energy Bonus Scheme, which has provided more than A$320 million in incentives for households to switch to more energy-efficient hot-water systems, will close June 30, the parliamentary secretary for Climate Change and
Energy Efficiency, Mark Dreyfus, said today in a statement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-28/australia-to-close-renewable-energy-bonus-scheme-on-june-30.html
Solar scheme axed to meet budget: Greens, THE AUSTRALIAN AAP February 29, 2012 THE Australian Greens have accused the Gillard government of closing a household solar rebate scheme to help it deliver a surplus in the May
budget.
The renewable energy bonus scheme, which provided a $1000 rebate for a solar hot water system and $600 for a heat pump, was closed abruptly late yesterday.
While the scheme closes at the end of June, only those who had paid a deposit by yesterday were now eligible for the rebate.
The industry had hoped the scheme would be extended, after the government allocated $24.5 million towards it in budget forward estimates for 2012/13.
Greens Senator Christine Milne accused the government of cutting costs so it could achieve its promised budget surplus. It was “a ridiculous idea” that in order to meet a political imperative, the government was jeopardising local manufacturers who were building export markets in the new low carbon economy.
Senator Milne said the decision would put enormous pressure on manufacturers such as Rheem, which employed about 1200 people around Australia. “They are already under pressure because of the high Australian
dollar,” she told reporters in Canberra. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/solar-scheme-axed-to-meet-budget-greens/story-fn3dxity-1226285021321
Medical specialists warn against overuse of whole body CT scanning
Study: ED CT protocol linked with excess rad exposure Cardioavascular Business 28 Feb 12, The introduction of a whole-body panscan CT protocol for blunt trauma in the emergency department (ED) raised the proportion of patients exposed to more than 20 mSv of radiation by 8 percent, according to a study published in the February issue of Emergency Medicine Australasia.
Given the increasing use of whole-body CT scans, coupled with heightened concerns about radiation exposure, Stephen Asha, MD, of the emergency department at St. George Hospital in Sydney, Australia, and colleagues sought to measure the proportion of patients exposed to radiation dose in excess of 20 mSv before and after the introduction of a panscan protocol for blunt trauma. The researchers also aimed to quantify missed injuries before and after the introduction of the
protocol…
..It is not clear that this increased risk of exposure to a higher radiation dose was offset by a clinical benefit,” Asha et al
wrote…. The researchers concluded by emphasizing that the increased risk of exposure to a radiation dose in excess of 20 mSv was similar regardless of age or injury severity. http://www.cardiovascularbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_articles&view=article&id=32290:study-ed-ct-protocol-linked-with-excess-rad-exposure
Olympic Dam uranium mine at risk from earthquakes
from our Seismology Watcher, 28 feb 12, Australian Yet another timely warning for Quarry Australia following seismologist, Edward Cranswick’s peer-reviewed paper on the 35-km-long, steeply dipping Mashers Fault which passes through the middle of the Olympic Dam ore body. The fault length implies an earthquake of maximum about 7.
An observation by Cranswick is that censoring of Australian lists of earthquakes and their corresponding source parameters, (i.e., time, location, depth, magnitude) has taken place.
Cranswick, who investigated earthquakes for the US Geological Survey for 22 years, suggests that the connection between mining and sesmicity (earthquakes) is obscured in Australia particularly the seismic hazard of the OD project in SA. Seemingly, BHP’s proposed expansion and potential radioactive fall-out at the Olympic Dam project in the event of a “natural” catastrophe reveals scant regard for public health and safety. However, there is nothing like an outraged Momma Nature (whose **se is being chewed by the mining industry) to make an ecocidal event, a grim reality.
Cranswick also makes reference to the Barrick/Newmont super pit and its connection to the unprecedented 5.2 magnitude earthquake that occurred in the stable continental region of Kalgoorlie/Boulder in April 2010. And what a pitiful mess that made of the historic buildings in the main street of Boulder which is about a kilometre from the super pit.
En garde my fellow Australians, asleep at the wheel.
Malaysian responses to the temporary licence given to Australian company Lynas
I think all Malaysians should know by now that the only thing that we can do to stop the corruption and abuse of power is to kick BN out and put in place a government which will care about the people and their wishes. The government elected must take into consideration the people’s desires and needs, and not just bulldoze their way through everything.
If BN insists on approving the Lynas project, then they should approve it to be built in Putrajaya. Why don’t they do that, since they said it’s safe? We can see that all BN cares about is money. They do not care one bit about the rakyat. We have to kick BN out and then hold Pakatan Rakyat to their promise to send back Lynas to Australia.
Soo Jin Hou: Scientific evidence? Prof Chan Chee Khoon has this to say: Lynas, AELB (Atomic Energy Licensing Board), and IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) have insisted that the expected levels of radiation exposure (for plant employees and for the general public) are well within the existing international norms of ‘safe thresholds’.
They have conveniently ignored the recent debates over the adequacy of existing quantitative risk models which are calibrated against external sources of irradiation (e.g. Hiroshima/Nagasaki atomic bomb blasts), and over the micro-dosimetry of internal emitters.
In the last 10 years, there has been much debate as to whether the radiation hazards from internal emitters have been underestimated by the existing risk models. A UK expert panel (2004,www.cerrie.org) could not arrive at a consensus, re: health risks of low-level exposure to internal emitters. In asserting that Lamp (Lynas Advanced Materials Plant) is unquestionably safe, Lynas and AELB have recklessly abandoned the precautionary principle and turned the Kuantan community into lab rats.
Gerard Samuel Vijayan: If the Lynas plant is so safe, then Najib should explain what happened in Bukit Merah and the cover-up by the Mahathir regime. Why not form an RCI (royal commission of inquiry) on Bukit Merah and call experts from the IAEA to testify as to what happened?
If it is so safe, why isn’t Lynas building the plant in Australia or any other Western country? Or go to Africa or South America instead. I also suggest that Najib and Rosmah Mansor buy a house next to the plant and live there. Why hide in Pekan or Kuala Lumpur?
It is easy for the Umno-BN elites to talk because when they get cancer they run to the US, UK or Australia for treatment using taxpayers’ money but we the ordinary rakyat must seek treatment in sub-standard government hospitals or just die because we cannot afford the treatment or expensive medication.
Why the unholy haste to have this plant built and operational in Gebeng? Just because money is going to be paid into the coffers of Umno and some royalty in Pahang, the rakyat must put their lives on the line?
Changeagent: If it is really as harmless as Najib puts it, why did the government only issue a temporary operating licence? They might as well issue a permanent one since they are so adamant that the plant does not pose any potential health risk to the local community…. http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/190381
Australian Labor attempts to sneak nuclear waste dump under the radar
February 27th, 2012. Labor’s attempt to pass widely-opposed nuclear waste dump legislation under the cover of their leadership squabble is cynical and shameless, the Australian Greens said today.
Greens spokesperson for nuclear issues Senator Scott Ludlam said Labor wants to pass the National Radioactive Waste Management Bill behind the fog of the leadership dispute because the law is 
“completely rotten”.
“The Traditional Owners do not want this eternal radioactive waste dump on their country; the locals don’t want it; the Northern Territory government does not want it; and medical experts have criticised the Government’s scheme.
“There is a Federal Court case currently unresolved as to the status of this land, yet the Government pushes on – lead by Martin ferguson, a resources and energy minister obsessed with the nuclear industry. This legislation does not just represent a problem for Muckaty – it places enormous and virtually unchecked power in the hands of that solitary minister.
“Medical experts have argued correctly that we don’t need a reactor to make medical isotopes. This dump is not about ‘low level medical waste’ – but high level waste which is scheduled to land in Australia from the UK and France.
“Last month, in a report to the US Energy Secretary, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future strongly recommended a ‘consent-based approach to siting nuclear waste storage… noting that ‘trying to force such facilities on unwilling states, tribes and communities has not worked’. The Government ignores the lessons of history and blunders on at the behest of the nuclear industry.”
Thousands rally against Malaysian rare earths plant
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said his alliance would seek an emergency motion in Parliament to urge the government to cancel the project. He also pledged the opposition would scrap the plant if it wins national polls expected by June.
Malaysia’s last rare earth refinery by Japan’s Mitsubishi group, in northern Perak state, was closed in 1992 following protests and claims that it caused birth defects and leukemia among residents. It is one of Asia’s largest radioactive waste cleanup sites.
3,000 Malaysians rally against Australian-built rare earth plant amid radiation fears Washington Post, By Associated Press, February 25 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Some 3,000 Malaysians staged a protest Sunday against a rare earth refinery being built by Australian miner Lynas over fears of radioactive contamination.
It marked the largest rally against the $230 million plant in eastern Malaysia, and could pose a headache to the government ahead of national elections widely expected this year. Authorities recently granted Lynas a license to operate the first rare earths plant outside China in years. The plant in Pahang state has been the subject of heated protests over health and environmental risks posed by potential leaks of radioactive waste….. Continue reading
Ted Baillieu is costing Victoria’s economy, with wind energy losses
Another wind farm falls to Vic laws, Yes! to Renewables February 27, 2012 by Ben Courtice, Synergy Wind’s wind farm that was proposed for Devon North, near Yarram in South Gippsland, has had an extension of its planning approval rejected by the Wellington Shire Council. This is the first wind farm to fall due to the requirement to renew or extend planning approvals under the new laws, and unfortunately there may be more to come quite soon.
We will track these setbacks as they occur, and will soon update our assessment of just how much the 2011 anti-wind policy is costing Victoria in jobs and investment dollars….. http://yes2renewables.org/2012/02/27/another-wind-farm-falls-to-vic-laws/
Nuclear subs for Australia – a multi-billion dollar dead-end
Senator Scott Ludlam, 22 Feb 12, The Greens today vowed to oppose any future move to purchase nuclear submarines for the Australian navy. Senator Scott Ludlam said the Greens welcomed Labor’s opposition to purchasing nuclear submarines but were alarmed by the Coalition’s reported plan to ‘consider the nuclear option’.
“Coalition figures have reportedly said Tony Abbott will consider purchasing nuclear submarines if in government. This idea is defective on every point. “We do not have a nuclear industry to support a nuclear submarine fleet, and nor should we. As such the subs would have to be maintained at aUSbase in the Pacific or aUSnuclear submarine base would need to be established in Australia.
“The giant Virginia Class nuclear submarine costs roughly $2.5 billion. We’ve just had the Gonski report recommend an additional five billion dollars for the nation’s schools. The Coalition has rejected the Gonski recommendations, but apparently would be content to blow that amount of money on two nuclear submarines.”
Senator Ludlam said the purchase of nuclear submarines would likely exacerbate any tensions in the Asia-Pacific region and do more damage than good to Australia’s security.
Dick Smith shows up a likely nuclear power scam
“I predict that Mr Rossi will delay and delay in producing machines or in getting a proper scientific test done, while behind the scenes more and more people will be investing. “
Dick Smith: “Rossi E-CAT … too fantastic to be true” Forbes, Mark Gibbs, 24 Feb 12, Recently Australian entrepreneur Dick Smith offerred Andrea Rossi $1,000,000 if he could prove that Rossi’s Energy Catalyzer (E-Cat) cold fusion (or Low Energy Nuclear Reaction) system actually works as claimed. Rossi immediately turned down the challenge. Continue reading
Australia’s phony grassroots group or ‘astroturfers’
The list includes several Australian organisations:
the Institute of Public Affairs (the driving force behind Australia’s skeptic movement – surprise, surprise) and
Australian Climate Science Coalition established by the
Australian Environment Foundation, itself a front group for the
Handles like “Citizen”, “Coalition”, “National” and eco-friendly sounding names like “Earthwatch” or“Environment” abound.
In Australia, the word “Foundation” or “Landscape” is popular with climate skeptics and their paymasters (dominated by the mining lobby), to convey authority or a veneer of enviro-cred. Examples include:
- Australian Environment Foundation Note: the look-alike name and logo resulted in the Australian Conservation Foundation suing for trademark infringement.
- Landscape Guardians (also called Coastal, Spa Country and other forms of Guardians, modeled on the UK’s nuclear-funded Country Guardians)
How to spot an astroturfer or an online fake Independent Australia 15 Feb 12, How do you spot an astroturfer, or an online fake? Australia’s finest investigative journalist, environment editor Sandi Keane, provides perhaps the most comprehensive ever guide. A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO TRICKERY & FAKERY IN THE DIGITAL AGE. DECEPTION IS OUR PRODUCT – Part 2 Phony grassroots group or astroturfer
The following are a list of questions this writer employs when on the trail of an astroturfer. They are by no means finite, but proved successful in exposing the Landscape Guardians and the Waubra Foundation in July last year. The third part of this trilogy on “deception” will be the actual Case Studies. Continue reading
Australian Greens call for uranium to be included in the Mineral Resources Rent Tax (MRRT)
Renewed calls for MRRT to include gold, uranium Mining Weekly, By: Esmarie Swanepoel 23rd February 2012 PERTH – The Australian Green Party has renewed calls to the federal government to include gold and uranium in the mineral resources rent tax (MRRT), in an effort to garner more revenue.
Greens leader Bob Brown said on Thursday that the Treasury needed to reconsider extending the mining tax across gold and uranium, as well as other minerals, while the nexus with royalties should be dropped.
“Australia has the means to adequately fund education, health, transport. It should not have a watered-down mining tax pass into law that fails to collect potential funding sourced from resources that
belong to the nation,” Brown said….
Malaysians asking questions about Lynas’ rare earths and radioactive wastes
The Lynas Advanced Material project will produce 20,000 tones of radioactive waste, which is 10 times more than the Asian Rare Earth factory in Bukit Merah.
1. Why didn’t Lynas set-up the rare earth plant near its source of extraction in Western Australia as it would have saved a huge amount of money in shipping costs?
2. Why didn’t Lynas obtain an approval from the authorities in Western Australia to set-up the plant?
3. Could the authorities in Western Australia be concerned about the possible radiation leaks, health hazards, birth defects, lead poisoning and other complications?
4. Shouldn’t this in itself raise a red flag with the Malaysian authorities?
Gov’t fails to learn from Bkt Merah tragedy http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2012/02/22/govt-fails-to-learn-from-bkt-merah-tragedy/ Free Malaysia Today February 22, 2012 Is the RM700 million in Lynas investment more important to the government than the lives of its citizens? By Charles Santiago Severe birth defects, eight leukemia cases over five years in a community of 11,000, tears and anguish of the poor people from a largely shoe-making community – these are not news headlines. Neither is it the plot of a movie.
These are the consequences of carelessly allowing the Asian Rare Earth factory to be built in Bukit Merah, Perak in 1982. When Mitsubishi Chemical started operating its rare earth factory, the villagers complained of choking sensation, pungent smell, coughs and colds. The community also saw a sharp rise in the cases of infant deaths, congenital disease, leukemia and lead poisoning. While US$100 million is estimated to be the clean-up cost of the factory and dump site, the
largest in the rare earth industry, it has not wiped out the memories and heartache of the villagers who lost their children and loved ones.
But 30 years later, the government has again allowed a rare earth factory to be set-up by Lynas Corporation Ltd in Gebeng, Kuantan. This means the government has waved the green flag with full knowledge of
the possible consequences and deadly effects. Continue reading
Melting permafrost leads Australian uranium company to exploit Greenland
Asian, European Firms Circle Greenland Mining Project, WSJ, By Robb M. Stewart, FEBRUARY 22, 2012, In one of the world’s coldest climates, competition to develop a future source of uranium and rare earths is heating up…. The impact of climate change has made mining in Greenland easier by melting permafrost, while the island’s growing autonomy from Denmark has enabled officials to award more exploration licenses….
The government of Greenland late last year amended the Perth-based Greenland Minerals & Energy company’s exploration license to include uranium, the first such permit for the nuclear fuel on the island. According to John Mair, the company’s executive director of business development, an attractive option as a strategic partner would be a consortium interested in rare earths as well as uranium…. http://blogs.wsj.com/dealjournalaustralia/2012/02/21/asian-european-firms-circle-greenland-mining-project/
Aboriginal elder takes legal action against new Olympic Dam uranium mine
‘Tiny voice’ of elder takes on Olympic Dam BY: SARAH MARTIN, SA POLITICAL REPORTER The Australian February 22, 2012 BHP Billiton’s proposed $20 billion Olympic Dam mine expansion, to create the world’s largest open-cut mine, will be challenged in the Federal Court after an application was lodged by Aboriginal elder Kevin Buzzacott.
Mr Buzzacott, who is known as Uncle Kevin, is being represented by the Adelaide-based Environmental Defenders Office. The office claims the mine expansion has been approved unlawfully under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act by federal Environment Minister Tony 
Burke.
Among the claims are that much of the environmental assessment and decision-making was based on plans and studies that have not yet been prepared and that the minister did not properly consider impacts from the above-ground storage of radioactive tailings waste, the export of uranium and on groundwater resources, including the Great Artesian Basin.
Mr Buzzacott, an elder from Arabunna land in South Australia’s remote north, is known for his anti-uranium campaigning, and in 2007 was awarded an Australian Conservation Foundation award recognising his protest work. The EDO filed an application on his behalf in the Federal Court yesterday, saying his “tiny voice” was prepared to take on the giant……
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/tiny-voice-of-elder-takes-on-olympic-dam/story-e6frgczx-1226277611443
1 This month
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