Western Australia and NSW govts strike down solar power
Western Australia FiT chopped in half, PV-Tech By Emma Hughes – 19 May 2011, Less than a week after the shock closure of the feed-in tariff scheme in New South Wales, the Government of Western Australia has cut the subsidy rate for new residential applications submitted after June 30. The state will also be subject to a cap on installations, putting a halt to progress just one year after the scheme was introduced.
The feed-in tariff rate for new installations will now be cut in half, with applicants receiving AUD$0.20/kWh instead of the AUD$0.40/kWh rate that was introduced in July last year. All existing customers will continue to receive the higher tariff rate for the originally-proposed 10 years.
Alongside the tariff cuts Western Australia will also be hit with a 150MW cap, which when reached, will mark the end of the program, when no further applications will be received….Western Australia FiT chopped in half | PV-Tech
Liberal Party attack on environmental education in school
Mr McKim said “But what [Mr Ferguson] has now revealed is that if there was a Liberal education minister, they would be sending out directives to schools saying we are banning you from making decisions about who you invite into your school and what they can say.
Libs lash ‘green’ schools push, The Mercury, SUE NEALES | May 20, 2011 THE State Opposition has warned parents their children are at risk of being brainwashed by extremist environmental groups now Greens leader Nick McKim is Education Minister. Continue reading
Australian Liberal Party Schism over Climate Change
Tony Abbott on his climate crusade | Herald Sun, May 21, 2011, TONY Abbott is behaving like the next election campaign has already started.He’s on a frantic crusade, visiting marginal seats and barnstorming the nation.And everywhere he goes he has one simple message: the carbon tax is toxic and will ruin your life……but he didn’t look happy when Malcolm Turnbull took fire at the Coalition’s “direct action” alternative, saying it would blow the Budget by 2050….Tony Abbott on his climate crusade | Herald Sun
Victorian ALP Conference motion to reaffirm Labor’s anti nuclear policy
The ALP Victoria Conference, noting that the Liberal Party in Victoria under Ted Baillieu and federally under Tony Abbott has continued to push for a domestic nuclear power industry in Australia.
And further, that
1. Nuclear energy is dangerous, dirty, expensive and slow;
2. As an energy source nuclear energy offers less power than renewables do, and in fact is a non-renewable resource; and
3. Nuclear energy programs are linked to nuclear weapons programs, and nuclear power plants are significant and serious potential targets for terrorists.
This Conference resolves to
1. Uphold and reaffirm Victorian Labor’s longstanding and principled opposition to nuclear energy and the construction of nuclear power stations; and
2. Oppose any construction of a nuclear power station in Victoria;
3. Raise awareness in the community of any Liberal Party attempts to introduce nuclear energy into Victoria by stealth.
Moved: Ali Vaughan (Melbourne FEA)
Seconded: Alex White (LHMU/ United Voice)
Lynas Corporation deceptive about is plans for radioactive waste in Malaysia
Leaving behind a toxic legacy for decades’ G Vinod|Free Malaysia Today May 19, 2011
Australian environment groups believe that the Lynas Corporation is hiding the facts from the public.
PETALING JAYA: Two Australian environmental groups believe that the Lynas rare earth mine in Kuantan would leave a toxic legacy for decades. The environmental groups – Friends of the Earth Australia and the Conservation Council of Western Australia – said that by not revealing the data before embarking on the project in Kuantan, company has something to hide.
The groups in a joint statement said they want the Kuantan project stopped until the company reveals its environmental assessment data of the site.
In its criticism against Lynas Corporation Limited, Friends of the Earth Australia spokesperson Natalie Lowrey said it was improper for Lynas to withhold details on how it plans to manage its radioactive components from public scrutiny.
“By not revealing the data before embarking on the project in Kuantan, it indicates they have something to hide. We believe the project would leave a toxic legacy for decades,” said Lowrey.
Conservation Council of Western Australia spokesperson Mia Pepper said Australians were also concerned as Lynas plans to ship its thorium to Malaysia via the Fremantle port in Western Australia.
“And the thorium will be transported through hessian bags, the same method used by Magellan to transport lead which caused lead contamination outside its shipping containers,” said Pepper……… Yesterday, Western Australia MP Lynn MacLaren had called on the State Transport Minister, Troy Buswell, to stop the shipment of Lynas’ Thorium deposits to Malaysia….. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/05/19/leaving-behind-a-toxic-legacy-for-decades/
Malaysian Protest Against Australian Company Lynas Dumping Radioactive Waste There
.……..lower environmental standards in Malaysia and double standards from Lynas.
SALLEH: I’m very concerned that Lynas is taking advantage of the loopholes in our laws, and does not implement, what it’s supposed to implement in Australia, but use a different standard here in Malaysia…..the authorities have issued a licence to Ashton rare earth, [in Australia] prior to Lynas acquiring it. And I had a copy of that approval and then, I saw, how stringent they are……
SINGH: If it’s reasonably that good, why don’t they do the processing within Australia, why send it to Malaysia? it is a classic example of a polluting industry being exported to a developing country………
Demonstrators are planning to rally outside the Australian Embassy in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpor on Friday. May 19, 2011, Radio Australia may 18 2011
They’ll be protesting against the Australian mining company Lynas and its plans to process rare earths in Pahang state. Local communities and environmental groups have raised concerns over the management of radioactive waste. They say the waste product thorium will affect fishing, tourism and public health .. while the Malaysian government has also asked for more information. Continue reading
Australia’s worthy nuclear disarmament hypocrites
There’s a problem with worthies like Bob Hawke,and Gareth Evans posturing about nuclear disarmament. At the same time, they are promoting the nuclear industry, and in particular, Australia supplying uranium to just about everybody.
Bob Hawk especially,as he is now touting a grandiose plan for Australia to become the world’s nuclear waste dump. That would make a lot of money for a few other Australian stuffed shirts.
Hawke, Fraser join anti-nuclear campaign group Herald Sun May 18, 2011 FORMER prime ministers Bob Hawke and Malcolm Fraser will be part of a new 30-member leadership group dedicated to campaign against nuclear weapons.The Asia Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation aims to encourage the public and policymakers to work towards ending the use of nuclear weapons.Former defence minister Robert Hill will also be a member of the group.The network will be administered by the Australian National University in Canberra.The university’s chancellor and former minister Gareth Evans said the group will do everything possible to achieve its goal.…..Hawke, Fraser join anti-nuclear campaign group | Herald Sun
Australian MP calls for ban on Lynas dumping radioactive wastes in Malaysia
“I also call upon the Transport Minister (Troy Buswell) to halt planned shipments of rare earth with radioactive Thorium 232 to Malaysia,”
Aussie MP: Don’t dump toxic by-products in Kuantan, Free Malaysia Today, G Vinod | May 18, 2011 An Australian MP has joined the chorus of calls to halt planned shipment of radioactive waste to Malaysia.
The enormity of Olympic Dam’s planned nuclear waste mountain, and its cost
“………Mineweb has been detailing the enormity of this project of transforming a large underground mine into a massive open cut – particularly with there being a sterile cover of between 300-400 metres. However, the price for the development has escalated in the past eight years from original projections of about US$S3 billion, in itself a daunting figure for many mining companies….It has been long known that removal of the overburden and rock will create “mountains” in a landscape that is virtually a pancake. Now, Gottliebsen said the rock storage facility covers 6,720 hectares and eventually will be 150 metres high. “By 2050, when the mine has not even completed half its life, the pit will be 4.1 kilometres long, 3.5 km wide and 1 km deep,” …”. Mineweb, 18 May 11
BHP Billiton does some creative spinning about Olympic Damn Uranium Mine
BHP and the new maths of nuclear reactors. by Bernard Keane, Crikey, 17 May 11, Olympic Damn: is BHP ignoring Fukushima and its effect around the world | Crikey Yesterday Robert Gottliebsen of Business Spectator spruiked the glories of BHP’s Olympic Dam uranium mine, Continue reading
Martin Ferguson’s Nuclear Waste Dump Bill Now in the Too Hard Basket?
Nuclear waste dump debate on back burner, ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 17 May 11, By Alison Middleton The Federal Government says it hopes the Senate will debate its proposed legislation for a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory at the next sittings of the Upper House in June.
The bill paves the way for a dump to be built at Muckaty Station near Tennant Creek. It also also allows for alternative sites if that nomination does not go ahead.The bill was due to be debated last week but was not.A spokeswoman for Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson says the Government hopes the bill will be debated at the next opportunity.Nuclear waste dump debate on back burner – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Unconvincing argument from Australian company on radioactive wastes
Where is the chosen site for the disposal of the waste? What would make this site suitable for waste disposal? How will the waste be managed? What would be the storage capacity for the radioactive waste? And how many years of waste would it have room for?
To appease the voracious public outcry, it was announced that the International Atomic Energy Agency has appointed a nine-member team to help the Government probe whether the rare earth refinery carries any threat of radioactive contamination.
Less rhetoric, more clarity please (about Lynas dumping radioactive wastes in Malaysia) The Star online by ANITA GABRIEL, 14 May, A victim of a campaign of misinformation.” That’s how Australia’s Lynas Corp executive chairman Nick Curtis characterised his company’s controversial RM1.3bil rare earths refinery being built in Malaysia in a recent interview with an Australian news network.
He’s correct in part. Seriously wrong on all else. Continue reading
Wind Energy Set to Boom inWestern Australia
The proposals are the latest in a number of wind-energy projects on the ground or in the pipeline
New bid to harvest Wheatbelt wind – The West Australian, 17 May 11, .In dusty back paddocks and weathered coastal landscapes across WA, a transformation is taking place.A wind-farm investment drive is to become a multi-billion-dollar boom and nowhere is that boom likely to be bigger than in the small Wheatbelt town of Williams, about 150km south-east of Perth. Continue reading
Solar energy in Australia – whacked by the power of polluter lobbyists
The situation in Australia is problematic because renewables, and climate policies in general, are clearly a political football.
A solar policy of ill repute | Climate Spectator, Giles Parkinson, 17 May 11, “…….The renewables industry has experienced multiple policy convulsions over the past decade that have stalled its development, but none may be so damaging as the decision last week by the NSW government to make retrospective changes to its feed-in tariffs. Continue reading
Good news on minimising medical radiation for Australian children
The government’s decision to allow GPs to order MRI scans could prove lifesaving for children with cancers who would otherwise lose time waiting for a specialist appointment
GPs get the go-ahead to order less risky scans, Sydney Morning Herald, Amy Corderoy, May 17, 2011 THE federal government will allow GPs to order magnetic resonance imaging scans to stop patients being sent for riskier and less sensitive imaging such as computed tomography scans.
New research shows the number of children undergoing CT scans has grown by 5.1 per cent a year over the past 20 years. Continue reading
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PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
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