Few Australians aware of the environmental disaster that will be Olympic Dam uranium mine
The project was vigorously opposed from the start by both the local Arabunna and Kokatha peoples …..
The mining operations are expected to produce 8 million litres of radioactive tailings every day – which will eventually leach into local aquifers – and will create 9 billion tons of radioactive waste that will need to be monitored for the next 10,000 years,
Virtually every adult Australian citizen was aware of the “carbon tax” …Very few, however, were aware that at much the same time, a project had been set into motion that made a complete mockery of any pretensions to act in a an environmentally responsible manner.
Learning To Shine Through The Ruins, By Vincent Di Stefano, 30 October, 2011,Countercurrents.org “…….Despite the fact that the Chernobyl melt-down 25 years ago has already cost nearly a million lives , and despite the fact that hot Strontium from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant has been detected on the rooftops of houses in Yokohama 250 kilometers away, the nuclear industry, together with its marketing arm, the International Atomic Energy Commission continues to aggressively pursue their deadly interests.
On October 10th 2011 , both the Australian Federal Government and the South Australian Government obligingly rubber-stamped a massive industrial development at the Olympic Dam mine complex at Roxby Downs in South Australia that will, over the next 10 years, see an additional 19,000 tons of uranium oxide (yellow cake) produced annually for export every year. Australia already exports over 10,000 tons of yellow cake every year.
This mammoth project will result in the creation of the world’s largest open-pit mining operation. Continue reading
Rupert Murdoch’s secret attack on Australia’s ABC
In hours, Murdoch could secure his stranglehold on the Australian media by acquiring our public international TV news network — and rob a struggling ABC of $223 million in funding. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is under pressure to give control over the network to Murdoch instead of the ABC — but together we can stop the deal.
we desperately need to come together again. Murdoch’s mouthpiece The Australian has been leaking details of insider support for Murdoch in a blatant attempt to force Labor into backing his bid. Conroy knows that giving the network to Murdoch would greatly increase the media mogul’s corrupting influence and hurt the ABC, and is looking for a way out.
Together, we can give Conroy the public mandate he needs to reject Murdoch’s power grab and award the contract to the ABC. Send a message to Conroy telling him that Australians don’t want this dodgy deal — click on the link below and then forward to everyone:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/murdochs_secret_abc_attack/?vl
Rupert Murdoch already owns 70 percent of Australia’s newspapers. Now he’s on the hunt for more media control, and he’s hoping we won’t notice. Through his stake in Australian News Channel, he’s been pushing hard to take over the crucial but low-key ‘Australia Network’: an Australian international public broadcaster that’s available in 44 countries. Murdoch has shown that his empire ruthlessly puts profits above all else — even hacking a murdered school girl’s phone to increase sales. With this extra network, Murdoch would vastly increase his power and take control of Australia’s public image abroad.
The move is also a key part of his strategy to destroy public broadcasting and silence independent voices. Murdoch knows that the loss of $223 million in funding would severely weaken an already stretched ABC. It would mean the loss of many ABC journalists, and potential closures of overseas news offices. If we let Murdoch win, Australia will become the first country in the world to privatise its international news service.
Insiders say Communications Minister Stephen Conroy doesn’t want this outcome. He’s looking for a way to keep the money with the ABC and stop Murdoch from further increasing his corrupting influence. If huge numbers of Australians send messages, Conroy will receive the public backing he needs to decide against Murdoch’s bid. Send your message now and forward this note to your friends and family:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/murdochs_secret_abc_attack/?vl
Earlier this year, Avaaz members in the UK forced Murdoch to drop his bid for a complete takeover of British broadcaster BSkyB, and last month we won the media inquiry here despite Murdoch’s fierce opposition. Now we have a chance to win again. With massive public support, we can rid the world of Murdoch’s corrupting influence for good. Something that would have been unthinkable even 12 months ago is now within our grasp, if we keep working together. Continue reading
Olympic Dam – A detailed submission to the Roxby Downs Indenture Bill committee
SUBMISSION TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE. NECTARIA CALAN, Friends of the Earth Adelaidc /- Conservation Council of SA
Level 1, 157 Franklin Street, Adelaide SA 5000 Contact: blackwallaby@gmail.com, 26 October 2011
Re: Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) (Amendment of Indenture) Amendment Bill 2011
I ask the Committee to revisit the issue of consultation, in regards to the approval of the Olympic Dam
expansion as set out in Clause 11(3) which ratifies and approves the amendments to the Indenture. Continue reading
New Zealand call for inquiry into Australian uranium shipments
Uranium passing through NZ ports, Sky News October 30, 2011 A Greens MP has called for an inquiry into Australian shipments of radioactive uranium passing through New Zealand waters and ports in breach of its anti-nuclear stance.
Fortnightly shipments of Australian yellowcake uranium, totalling five thousand tonnes annually, are being shipped through New Zealand ports, according to documents provided to the Sunday Star Times by Green MP Gareth Hughes.
The paperwork shows the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) was unaware of the shipments for 13 years, until late 2009.
That agency had since been replaced by the new Environmental Protection Authority, and an EPA spokeswoman told the newspaper that even though ERMA was unaware of the shipments, the regime that permitted them to pass through New Zealand’s ports had still followed international best practice…..
A spokesman for Prime Minister John Key told the Sunday Star Times yellowcake was ‘Australian dirt, which is essentially harmless’…..
Hughes is calling for an independent inquiry, saying the shipments had no place in a nuclear-free country.
‘Why did the authority fail to approve it for so long, do we have adequate safeguards and response strategies, and what role is New Zealand playing in the international nuclear cycle?’ he said. http://www.skynews.com.au/eco/article.aspx?id=679499&vId=
Obama to Darwin – to do military and nuclear waste deals?
Darwin readies for Obama visit, 9 News, Xavier La Canna, 29 Oct 11 The Northern Territory is getting ready to throw down the welcome mat, after confirmation US President Barak Obama will visit Darwin next month…. Although details of Mr Obama’s itinerary are scarce, it appears unlikely he will have time to visit world famous heritage areas like Kakadu National Park or Uluru while in the territory.
Mr Obama will be in Darwin on November 17, the only Australian city he will visit apart from Canberra during his stop in Australia while en route to the East Asia Summit in Bali. In Darwin Mr Obama will meet Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Mr Henderson.
There has been speculation Mr Obama will use the visit to make an announcement relating to increasing the US military
presence in the Northern Territory. Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith recently foreshadowed increasing the number of joint training exercises with America in Darwin……
Already the US and Australia jointly run the Pine Gap spy base near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory….
Donna Jackson, a senior member of the Larrakia people who are the traditional owners of the land Darwin is on, said the visit would probably be good for the city.
But Ms Jackson said she had concerns Mr Obama might use his visit as a chance to look over the city on behalf of big businesses in America who could ultimately spoil the local environment….. Following the Darwin visit the Prime Minister and President Obama will attend the East Asia Summit in Bali http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8366836/darwin-readies-for-obama-visit
Renewable energy future for Australia coming sooner than you think
Power providers energised for coming of a green age, The Age, October 29, 2011 Electricity companies are preparing to shift to a green future by investing in the industry of energy solutions, writes Paddy Manning. A SMARTER, greener future for energy use may be coming too slow for some, but it is coming nonetheless. Eventually our dirty old electricity grid may provide little more than back-up power, giving us plenty of scope to retire ageing coal-fired power stations.
Phil Craig, general manager of retail at Origin Energy, tells a pretty compelling story. ”We have a vision of the household of the future which has got our energy management in there, so [customers have] got complete visibility, it’s got solar panels on the roof, it’s got solar hot water, it’s got a fuel cell in the backyard – not that they’re viable yet, but in 10 years’ time they will be – and we’ve got an electric vehicle in the garage. You might become 80 per cent independent of the grid.
Brisbane to get electric buses
Electric buses bound for Brisbane streets, Brisbane Times, Tony Moore, October 28, 2011, Brisbane is set to have its first fully electric bus, which can be fully charged in 10 minutes, within two years. brisbanetimes.com.au understands an official announcement will be made late next month and a prototype being built for Brisbane City Council is expected to be on the road within two years.
Brisbane-based firm Varley Electric Vehicles, based at Virginia, is in the design phase for the Brisbane electric bus project. Varley’s divisional manager for electric vehicles, John Bettini, and said both the council and the state government were involved in the project…. Mr Bettini said Varley was working with several multinational and Australian firms and believed a prototype would be ready early in 2012.
“We are developing a fast-charge electric bus which is capable of being charged within 10 minutes,” he said.
“We are in the design stage and the prototype will be built early next year.” Varley Electric Vehicles won a $250,000 state government grant in June to convert carbon-fuelled buses to electric…
South Australia’s Olympic Dam Indenture scrutiny – a token effort, just for show?
Weatherill happy to widen Olympic Dam mine bill scrutiny, ABC News October 28, 2011 South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says he would be happy for groups opposed to the planned Olympic Dam mining expansion to put evidence to a special parliamentary committee.
It sat on Thursday to examine legislation which will enact the Olympic Dam indenture. The Greens say they managed to get the proceedings opened to the public, but said the committee was a farce because the three witnesses who appeared were all in favour of the mining expansion near outback Roxby Downs in South Australia.
Mr Weatherill said he would not be opposed to other groups having a say.”That’s a matter for the committee but I think we want to make this an open process as we can,” he said….
Greens leader Mark Parnell was upset the only parties invited before the parliamentary inquiry were proponents of the expansion; BHP Billiton, the Chamber of Mines and the Olympic Dam task force. He accused the SA Government and Opposition of colluding to make sure the committee only heard from those who favoured the mining project.
After the hearing, the Greens said BHP Billiton had been given an easy ride. Mr Parnell says it was a one-sided affair with little real scrutiny.
“The questions asked of BHP Billiton were about as soft as they get,” he said. “This is a multi-billion-dollar project that will go for 100 years or more and a lot of the committee’s time was wasted talking about boggy roads and grey nomads.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-27/conservationists-to-testify-over-olympic-mine/3604936
CHOGM: police target peaceful protestors (Are they hoping for violent ones?)
Barred CHOGM protestor ‘not a threat’, STEVE PENNELLS and JANE HAMMOND, The West Australian, October 25, 2011 The blitz started early – around 7am – when 56-year-old physically-impaired activist Seamus Doherty answered his front door to find four policeman holding a map of the CBD with much of it blacked out.
These were the places he couldn’t go, the police told him. If he walked into any of those areas during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting he faced 12 months in jail…..
Mr Gransch, a member of Forest Rescue, said he had no idea why he was targeted. “I don’t really understand why they have given this to me. Everything I do and everything we do in the Forest Rescue is non-violent,” he said.
At least 12 people have so far been identified as being on the excluded persons list, a police hit list which identifies them as potential threats and bans them for 14 days from much of the Perth CBD, including the foreshore and the river until five days after CHOGM has ended.
All said yesterday they had no idea why they were being seen as a threat and had no records – or intention – of violence.
“These people are activists who care about the environment and want to see a better world. Why should their democratic rights to walk around the city for days after CHOGM is over be impeded,” CHOGM Action Network spokesman Alex Bainbridge said. “From the people I know of, there is no record of violence or anything that would give cause for this”….http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/10834048/barred-chogm-protestor-not-a-threat/
CHOGM: It’s going to be harder for Australian uranium companies to rip off African people
We have long needed greater assurances that Australian mining companies are adequately meeting their responsibilities in the developing countries in which many of them operate….
a focus on revenue transparency is long overdue…..Relying on companies to do the right thing is not enough. These initiatives will send a positive international signal,
Timely move to make miners more responsible for damage they cause, The Age Andrew Hewett October 28, 2011 Poor countries can expect greater control of mining companies. With two-thirds of the world’s poorest people living in resource-rich countries, too often the extraction of those resources contributes to poverty, corruption and conflict. Australian mining companies have become embroiled in damaging behaviour far from our shores and attention.
This week at CHOGM, the federal government announced initiatives aimed at ensuring the mining sector is better able to contribute to community and social development, and the responsible management of taxes and royalties paid by mining companies to governments, in Australia and overseas. Continue reading
India does not need Australia’s uranium, says Kevin Rudd
Oz ban on uranium sale not holding up India’s N-programme:Rudd, IBN Live, From Natasha Chaku Melbourne, Oct 27 (PTI) Australia’s ban on uranium sale to India was not holding back its civil nuclear programme as the country was not exclusively dependent on supplies from here, Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said today. The ruling Australian Labor Party (ALP) refuses to permit sale of uranium to India on the ground that the country is not a signatory to the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty. The issue is expected to be a topic of discussion on the sidelines of this week’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth.
Rudd said India and Australia shared a strong relationship despite their differences on uranium, AAP reported. “Each of you go back home and work out where India currently sources its uranium from around the world,” he told reporters when asked about the issue. “There is no problem in global supply. Let’s just be very, very blunt about this. If you hear an argument from an Indian business person that the future of the civil nuclear industry in India depends exclusively on access to Australian uranium – that is simply not sustainable as a proposition.” ….. http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/oz-ban-on-uranium-sale-not-holding-up-indias-nprogrammerudd/877593.html
Pressure on Kevin Rudd to join Australia’s nuclear marketing men
Rudd targeted in push to sell uranium to India, The Age, Michelle Grattan, October 28, 2011 PRESSURE is
mounting on Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd to join the strong push to change ALP policy to allow uranium sales to India. The uranium debate is shaping up as a major issue for the December ALP national conference, with Resources Minister Martin Ferguson urging a change of policy……
Last night, Australian Workers Union chief Paul Howes backed change, saying if there was a debate at the national conference, he would argue for sales to India… Mr Ferguson and Mr Rudd yesterday appeared together at a mining breakfast in Perth….
Mr Rudd is in a difficult position on the issue because of his strong support for the nuclear non-proliferation treaty…..
Mr Howes said … the non-proliferation treaty was a ”rubbish treaty’
‘…….Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/rudd-targeted-in-push-to-sell-uranium-to-india-20111027-1mm30.html#ixzz1c79oexS4
Sydney’s Western suburbs don’t want Hunter’s Hill radioactive uranium waste
Uranium plant waste unwelcome in western suburbs, SMH, Ben Cubby, October 26, 2011 THE state government will face tough local opposition if it intends to take contaminated waste from a radioactive site in Hunters Hill and bury it at Kemps Creek in the city’s west.
It conceded at a budget estimates hearing this week that Kemps Creek was the only viable option if 5800 tonnes of mildly radioactive dirt and rock were to be removed from the site of a former uranium-processing plant.
The waste cannot be taken overseas or interstate, but Penrith City Council remains firmly opposed to the plan, which was first floated under the previous state government. Documents produced last year showed waste was to be placed in sealed trucks and driven to Kemps Creek, and warned that protests against the operation were likely to take place in western Sydney……
Hunters Hill Council wants the site cleaned up and the earth removed but does not want to simply transfer the problem to another part of Sydney. The land, on Nelson Parade, was the site of a radium smelter between 1911 and 1916. About 500 tonnes of uranium ore were processed at the plant and radioactive tailings are still mixed in with soil.
At least six people who have lived on or next door to the site have died of cancer, but there is no proven link between elevated levels of radiation on the site and health problems. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/uranium-plant-waste-unwelcome-in-western-suburbs-20111025-1mi4y.html#ixzz1bx7aVolq
Renewable energy in Australia is up against anti science Tea Party style thinking
As in the U.S., Australian conservative parties have been the target of a take over by self-styled Tea Party radicals in recent years…
Conservatives are increasingly led by a more shrill, less educated set, who are more likely to be small business owners or from the resource sector. To these climate denialists, renewable energy is part of a global conspiracy to destroy prosperity and Western values. ..
Unsurprisingly, some think tanks on the conservative side of politics are now linked with the notorious climate denial and astroturf efforts of the Koch brothers.
In Australia, Can Renewable Energy Get Over the Tea Party Blues?, Renewable Energy World, By Dan Cass , October 27, 2011 Australia’s government is trying to initiate a new era of clean energy and facing such powerful opposition that some renewables companies that will benefit from the policy are scared to proactively campaign for it.
The debate around Australia’s new Clean Energy Future legislation has seen conservative parties here — as in the USA — take a stance that is not just oppositional, but dangerously radical. They now oppose traditional conservative measures such as carbon trading and corrections to market failure and a substantial minority are vocally anti-science. Continue reading
South Australia’s rushed discussion of draconian new legislation for BHP’s Olympic Dam uranium mine
Nectaria Calan, 27 Oct 11, The most concerning and indeed contentious parts that I am familiar with at this stage relate to the water and freehold clauses, and continued exemptions from the Environmental Protection Act and the Aboriginal Heritage Act.
Re: water – the much publicised water levy for Great Artesian Basin Water (and perhaps water from other sources) does not address the increased volume of water to be taken from the GAB (increasing from 37 million litres per day to 42 million), nor the impact that even the current volume is having on the mound springs in the region. …
Clause 24 provides for the Minister to grant the entire 49, 700 ha of the proposed expanded mining lease (as estimated in the EIS) to BHP as freehold title free of charge. This is a huge area to be simply given away by the State Government to one mining company, and amounts to a huge subsidy for the company. The most contentious aspect of this clause is that it absolutely dispossesses the Aboriginal custodians of the area by simply giving the land away. One may ask, if the government is so keen to give it away, why they don’t return it to the Aboriginal communities of the region?
This is a new addition to the Indenture – it is not in the current Act.
In particular, the subclauses state that for the minister to grant freehold title he must first be satisfied that either Native Title has been extinguished or that the act of granting freehold will extinguish it. So the intention is clearly to extinguish Native Title if possible. Additionally, I believe (although I am not certain) that once Native Title is extinguished it is extinguished permanently – however this fades in significance when you consider that the land will be returned to the Crown (at the mines closure) contaminated with almost 9 billion tonnes of tailings and after the company has destroyed sacred sites by virtue of digging the biggest hole in the world.
The exemptions from the Aboriginal Heritage Act carry through to the amended Bill (from the current indenture). Both the Indenture Act and amended Bill exempt BHP from key parts of the main piece of legislation in the state providing protection for Aboriginal heritage sites – there is a conflict of interest here as a company with a commercial interest in the land is left to adjudicate the validity of competing non-commercial interests.
Despite the state government claiming last week in a press release that the expansion will be subject to the Environmental Protection Act (by removing the exemption from the Indenture), the amended indenture still lists the Act as one over which the indenture prevails. BHP’s environmental Management Plans are to be over-seen and approved by the Minister rather than the Environmental Protectkion Agency (which would be the norm). This is essentially the same as the current Indenture Act. There is arguable a conflict of interest here also, as the Minister (for Mineral resources and Energy) is a proponent for mining.
The Select Parliamentary Committee established to further inquire into the Indenture Bill is having its first hearing tomorrow. It will be hearing from BHP, the Olympic Dam taskforce (which is a department within the state government, and the Chamber of Mines (an industry body). Clearly all witnesses are uncritical of the Indenture, and at this stage it looks like it will be held behind closed doors. it is also unclear whether they will call for more witnesses on another day.
1 This month
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
.
Australians deserve the truth
about
AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 