Australian govt policy grabs Aboriginal homelands, (suits uranium miners)
In its report to be released today, Amnesty International slams the federal and NT Government’s Closing the Gap policy ….More than one-third of the NT’s Aboriginal population lives in 500 remote homeland communities….
the federal government’s NT Intervention had been a “traumatising” land grab.
During the 2007 NT Intervention the federal government took over homelands under a five-year lease which is due to expire next year.
NT Aborigines driven out of homelands, Herald Sun, AAP , August 09, 2011 NORTHERN Territory Aborigines are being driven off their traditional homelands and herded into “hub towns” Continue reading
Uranium industry benefits billionaires, damages Aboriginals
to the direct benefit of billionaire mine-owners, including the uranium mine-owners Angwin represents. These measures include attempts to shut down smaller Indigenous communities and herd Aboriginal people into “hub towns”.
Leave uranium in the ground, Green Left, 8 Aug 11, @…….. Angwin slammed the eastern states’ uranium bans as “authoritarian”. He said: “The Northern Territory and South Australia have encouraged the uranium industry for a long time. So it is not surprising that uranium development there proceeds without much fuss, despite the occasional hiccup.”
The “occasion hiccup” includes contaminating underground aquifers with radioactive tailings and the spread of radioactive dust. Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory and South Australia suffer some of the worst effects of this radioactive contamination. Continue reading
Sydney-siders go solar
Solar use in Sydney soars, SYDNEY, Aug. 8 (UPI) –– Beset by rising consumer energy prices, consumers in Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, are looking to solar energy. In 2010 the city introduced a solar bonus scheme, which was very popular in Sydney’s more prosperous suburbs, with more than 14 percent of homes installing rooftop solar panels, compared with a New South Wales statewide average of about 3 percent…..
the number of private dwellings with solar panels had increased from 2,000 18 months ago to 46,000 after the former New South Wales Labor government introduced a solar bonus rebate scheme.
That plan allowed for a 60-cents-per-kilowatt-hour feed-in tariff for consumers utilizing solar panels, The Sydney Morning Herald reported….
Bowing to increasing public interest in the issue, Ausgrid has begun publishing details of solar panel installations and other data on its Web site to allow councils, consumers and other interested parties to evaluate patterns of electricity usage…http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Energy-Resources/2011/08/08/Solar-use-in-Sydney-soars/UPI-88871312819223/?spt=hs&or=er
Rum Jungle’s uranium mining gives cancer to a whole family
I was very interested to read your article ( http://uranium-news.com/2010/09/04/deplorable-history-of-australias-uranium-mining-impact-on-aboriginals/
regarding the devastation caused by uranium mining. I have a father, uncle and two aunts who all worked at Rum Jungle in the 1960′s. My father and uncle passed away in their 60′s due to lung cancer. My aunt in her 60′s due to breast cancer and my other aunt who is still with us today has also had breast cancer. Surely this cannot be a coincidence and I would like to know if you have any more information with regards to the health impact that the Rum Jungle uranium mine has had on past workers. – Kirsten Johnson kirstjohn@aapt.net.au
Hey Kirsten,
Am starting my quest for information to make a claim on behalf of Judy, Peter, Kevin and my father in law. Cec Dickinson who died of lung cancer 1979 aged 70, and of course myself. will keep you posted,
Love Aunt Janet Janet Dickinson nee Litchfield dickinsonjanet@hotmail.com
Janet Dickinson nee Litchfield,
I am Kirsten Johnson’s aunt, and sister to Judy, Peter and Kevin Litchfield who passed away with cancer. all having worked at Rum Jungle in the 50′s. My father in law also passed away in 1979, aged 70 from lung cancder, he worked at Rum Jungle for 20 years from 1958. I have just recently been diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer which is not connected to my breast cancer. I am starting a program of radium and chemo on Aug 15. I have been told my chances are good. We shall see.
Any other people who have been affected by cancer from Rum Jungle. Janet Dickinson nee Litchfield dickinsonjanet@hotmail.com
Australia’s Liberal Party would shut down Climate Change Department
Climate change department for chop: Hockey, THE AUSTRALIAN, Sid Maher ,August 04, 2011 OPPOSITION Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said last night he would consider disbanding the Department of Climate Change if the Coalition were to win the next election.
Mr Hockey, appearing on the ABC’s Lateline program, had been asked about the Coalition’s plan to cut 12,000 public servants’ jobs in a bid to rein in budget spending and went on to single out the department.
Mr Hockey attacked the accuracy of modelling carried out by the department in relation to the government’s carbon tax…………..This came after Climate Change Minister Greg Combet was challenged by advocates to put nuclear electricity generation on the table as Australia debates the best ways to produce low-emissions power and cut carbon pollution by 80 per cent by 2050….http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/climate-change-department-for-chop-hockey/story-e6frg6xf-1226108027421
Alexander Downer’s plan for a radioactive South Australia
You’ve got to hand it to former Liberal MP Alexander Downer. In a week when everyone else is respectfully remembering the Japanese victims of Hiroshima and Fukushima, – or at least tactfully shutting up about Australia’s involvement in the nuclear industry there – Downer comes out with blatant marketing of the nuclear industry. – C.M.
Downer: Nuclear power makes cents – Alexander Downer, The Advertiser, August 01, 2011“…..we could build a nuclear power station. Just imagine replacing the Northern power station at Port Augusta with a nuclear power station which would be pollution free. The uranium would come from just up the road at Olympic Dam, it could be enriched at a new enrichment plant at, say, Whyalla, the waste could be stored at the world’s safest location for long-term storage, near Woomera…..
To me, it all makes perfect sense.
If we were really ambitious, we would use these facilities to make the world a safer place….”
New South Wales Premier confirms ban on uranium mining
Uranium mining ban to stay, says O’Farrell, SMH, Sean Nicholls August 5, 2011The Premier, Barry O’Farrell, has said the state government is no longer considering a proposal to repeal legislation banning uranium exploration and mining in NSW, only days after the government said it was ”under consideration”.In response to a question by the Opposition Leader, John Robertson, about whether the government was considering overturning the ban, Mr O’Farrell, pictured, responded: ”No.’….’Having consulted … we made a deliberate announcement which the Premier has already made here today,” he said. ”We are not proposing to change the law on uranium mining in NSW”…Uranium mining ban to stay, says O’Farrell
ERA scraps acid leach uranium project, but reluctant to close unprofitable Ranger mine
“ERA should be planning a comprehensive clean up of the mine site and beginning an ordered and managed exit from Ranger.”
Kakadu uranium miner scraps acid extraction project, but wants to go underground, Dave Sweeney, 4 August 11, Energy Resources of Australia’s decision to scrap its plan to use a controversial acid leach mining technique at the troubled Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu is an instance of belated commonsense, the Australian Conservation Foundation said today.
ERA has confirmed it will not proceed with a planned mine expansion based around acid leaching, in which sulphuric acid is injected into low grade and waste rock. Continue reading
Energy Resources of Australia makes a loss due to Ranger uranium mine
ERA reports H1 loss because of rain. SMH, August 4, 2011 Shares in Energy Resources of Australia slumped almost six per cent as the uranium miner posted a first half loss after suspending operations at its Ranger Mine on above average rainfall.
The company posted a net loss of $121.75 million for the six months to June 30 compared with a profit of $22.68 million a year earlier, Darwin-based ERA said in a statement on Thursday…..
Volatility in the spot price of uranium oxide was likely to continue until the nuclear situation in Japan became clearer and the outcomes of the safety reviews of nuclear power facilities in China were released….
The company plans to conduct an expanded exploration program on the Ranger Project area between 2012 and 2014 at an estimated cost of $40 million.
Earnings per share were negative 63.8 cents, compared with positive 11.9 cents a year earlier.
ERA directors decided not to declare an interim dividend for the 2011 financial year, after an interim dividend of eight cents per share the year before. No final dividend was paid for 2010…http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-business/era-reports-h1-loss-because-of-rain-20110804-1icgg.html
Australian govt says NO to nuclear power
Greg Combet rejects Ziggy Switkowski call to nuclear power , Sid Maher The Australian, August 04, 2011 “…. Asked about nuclear power on ABC radio in Sydney yesterday, Mr Combet said nuclear energy was “still a lot more expensive than any of the energy options we’ve got available to us”……
“And in particular in our country we’ve got tremendous resources available that will deliver us cheaper energy whether it be from more efficient generation from coal or conversion to natural gas-fired electricity,” he said.
“But also renewable energy sources will provide a much greater part of our electricity generation and they’ll all be much cheaper than nuclear.”
In Western Australia, the system and the media benefit miners, not Aboriginals
the reality is that once an Aboriginal community commits to the Native Title process they are locked into a process which guarantees that mining will take place on their land whether they want the mining or not..
..In WA the mining interests are also assisted in an almost blanket (corporate) media message that mining is good for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people alike. This is nowhere more evident than in the sole WA daily newspaper, The West Australian which fawns over local magnates Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart in weekly articles and opinion pieces,
Yindjibarndi Aboriginal people take on WA FMG mining magnate, CPA The Guardian, 4 Aug 11 On one side are the proud Yindjibarndi people, who wish to preserve their culture, customs, language, way of life and country which embodies their spirit. On the other side is Australia’s second richest person, Andrew Forrest (another Western Australian mining magnate, Gina Rinehart being the richest) with a net worth of $6.9 billion who is chairman of the corporation he founded, Fortescue Metals Group (and currently appealing a ruling by the Federal Court that bars him from running FMG), which mines and exports iron ore. Continue reading
Victorian solar cell initiative
AUSTRALIA TO MANUFACTURE SOLAR CELLS WITH NEW PRINTING MACHINE, FEN, By Annie Dang on 1 August 2011 Producing solar cells with zero-emissions electricity will provide new manufacturing opportunities for local industries.
Australian solar researchers and industry have partnered to develop innovative ways of generating zero-emissions electricity using a printing machine to produce solar cells.
The $7.2 million project will see the development of a possible alternative solar cell technology compared with more conventional photovoltaic systems. It is expected that the products will provide Australia industries the opportunity to commercialise and produce the cells competitively. The Federal Government will contribute a $1.7 million grant through the Australian Solar Institute with the Victorian Government providing funding of equal amount.
Launched in Melbourne yesterday, Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson AM MP said the project was aimed at developing efficient solar cells using organic materials and conventional printing methods.
The project will see researchers at the University of Melbourne, the CSIRO Future Manufacturing Flagship, and Monash University collaborate with industry partners BlueScope Steel, Innovia Films and Robert Bosch to take commercialese their printing machine innovation…. http://www.myfen.com.au/news/australia-to-manufacture-solar-cells-with-new-prin
Olympic Damn Uranium Mine – Premier Rann’s Toxic ECONOMIC Legacy?
BHP Billiton’s expanded Olympic Dam uranium mine – if it does eventuate – will leave a toxic radioactive legacy. But that’s not all. What about its economic legacy?
It’s going to cost a heap to get it started. They are going to need to move a million tonnes of rock per day for four years, that is, a billion tonnes of rock, just because of the overburden, because the ore body is far underground. So they are moving a million tonnes a day for four years before they even get to the ore body. This is going to cost $billions.
The energy cost, in drawing huge amounts of water from the proposed desalination plant in Spencer Gulf, will be massive.
All this – at a time when the market for uranium continues to slump, when nuclear power is becoming prohibitively expensive – seems like an economic folly.
South Australian Premier Rann initially rose to fame within the Labor party with a strong anti-uranium and anti-Roxby
Downs push. But, once in power as Premier, he did a complete about face. Now Rann is poised to let BHP Billiton dictate the terms for the expansion of the mine.
This means renegotiating the Indenture Act 1982, which makes BHP Billiton exempt from the laws of the country. This legislation allows the mine to operate with wide-ranging exemptions from the Aboriginal Heritage Protection Act, the Environment Protection Act, the Natural Resources Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
Mike Rann’s goal is to make Mike Rann look big in history – to be the one that gave BHP Billiton free rein with its big misguided adventure. He has to do this in a hurry, before his Labor colleagues give him the boot. Here’s hoping that more thoughtful minds in South Australian politics will see that he doesn’t get away with this.
Anti uranium, pro uranium – South Australian Premier ‘s personal ambitions
Premier Rann agrees to step down – but only after mine expansion, SMH, Phillip Coorey, August 1, 2011THE South Australian Labor Premier, Mike Rann, has agreed to quit but will not cut short a trade trip to India or stand down immediately as his party had demanded.
In a statement from Delhi, Mr Rann offered a compromise of a bloodless transition to his Education Minister, Jay Weatherill, but only after he had concluded some items of business, especially the expansion of the massive Olympic Dam uranium mine. Mr Rann made a name for himself decades ago as a political aide when he drove Labor’s opposition to uranium mining.…http://www.smh.com.au/national/premier-rann-agrees-to-step-down–but-only-after-mine-expansion-20110731-1i6il.html
Australian uranium companies exploit workers in Africa
Anglo-Australian group Rio Tinto is the majority shareholder in Rossing Uranium, the world’s oldest and largest open-pit uranium mine operation, which is in Namibia. Australia’s Paladin Energy wholly owns Langer Heinrich uranium mine and French nuclear utility Areva is developing the Trekkopje uranium mine, both in Namibia.
Extract Uranium is developing Husab uranium deposit, which could become one of the world’s largest and Canadian Forsys Metals Corp, Australian firm Bannermann resources are developing Valencia and Etango uranium projects in Namibia.
Uranium mining – the grim realities The Southern Times, South Africa, By Felix Njini 01-08-2011“……Windhoek – Namibia and South Africa are amongst African countries that lack regulatory capacity and technical knowledge to monitor environmental impact and radiation poisoning on workers and communities due to uranium mining. A study that delved into the environmental impact of uranium mining in Central African Republic (CAR), Namibia and South Africa concluded that mining operations’ health consequences on workers and the environment are severe. Continue reading
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