Queensland Premier Newman will retain Queensland’s ban on uranium mining
Newman resists calls to lift uranium ban, Brisbane Times, June 13, 2012 Queensland will take note of calls to change its stance on uranium if the prime minister takes up the cause, Premier Campbell Newman says. Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson today urged Queensland to lift its mining ban..
…. But Mr Newman intends to keep his promise to the electorate not to mine uranium. “Our position hasn’t changed, we have no plans to mine uranium,” he told reporters in Brisbane. But the premier says he’d be interested in hearing the view of the wider federal government. “I’m interested particularly on what the prime minister’s position is, will she support it as well?” he said…..
Australian Conservation Foundation uranium campaigner Dave Sweeney says Mr Ferguson is out of touch with community opinion, and that of Mr Newman.
“During the campaign Mr Newman said, ‘the LNP has made it crystal clear that we have no plans to approve the development of uranium in Queensland’,” he said. Mr Sweeney called on Mr Ferguson to focus on reviewing and improving
the performance of the existing Australian uranium industry. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/newman-resists-calls-to-lift-uranium-ban-20120613-209ke.html#ixzz1xnJDcyHV
Martin Ferguson urges Queensland to go for uranium mining
Martin Ferguson calls on Newman to reverse uranium ban vow, BY: SID MAHER The Australian June 13, 2012 RESOURCES Minister Martin Ferguson will today call on Queensland’s new conservative government to lift its ban on uranium mining, arguing it already allows exploration and that Australia is on track to triple its exports by 2030.
In a speech to an international uranium conference in Adelaide this morning, Mr Ferguson will ask Premier Campbell Newman to overturn his pre-election promise to ban uranium mining, arguing the state already has an estimated resource base of at least 37,000 tonnes.
…. Mr Ferguson will argue that uranium exports present a major opportunity for the nation. His call to the Queensland government comes after former Labor premier Anna Bligh resisted calls for uranium mining to be allowed in her state……
Queensland’s government in the service of fossil fuel industries
Premier Newman can do climate denial, REneweconomy , By Graham Readfearn 6 June 2012
Just in case anyone was in any doubt, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman reminded Australia earlier this week that his state was most certainly “in the coal business” and that protecting the Great Barrier Reef wouldn’t come before fossil fuel exports.
But as well as being “in the coal business”, it appears that Premier Newman and his environment minister Andrew Powell are taking their first steps into the business of climate science denial.
Minister Powell repeated a statement he had made to ABC’s Radio National that he was not convinced that humans were having an impact on climate change, a position which immediately puts him at odds with every national scientific academy in the world, the advice from his own chief scientist and the position of the CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology and the United Nations.
While Minister Powell made a point of saying that the environment should be protected (what else could the environment minister say, after all) his boss, Premier Campbell Newman, decided his minister’s view on climate change was “refreshing“. I’d choose a different word……
Hinting that we should be waiting until we’re 100 per cent sure what will happen before we take firm action, is a bit like saying you’re happy to drive your car at double the speed limits because no-one can say for sure that you’ll definitely crash. And while everyone has heard the stories of a grandparent who smoked 50 cigarettes a day and lived until they were 90, most people acknowledge that smoking massively increases your chances of dying of cancer.
Perhaps the Premier’s statements are instead an attempt to offset his own cognitive dissonance – the sick feeling that you get inside when you try and hold two conflicting positions simultaneously……. The then Lord Mayor [ Campbell Newman in 2009] even launched the Green Heart City Smart scheme, with its ubiquitous “I [green heart] Brisbane” catchphrase and branding.
It seems now though, that Mr Newman’s heart is conflicted with coal and climate science denial. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/premier-newman-can-do-climate-denial-97405
Tony Abbott and Campbell Newman on behalf of the polluting industries
The move comes as a UNESCO report warned coastal developments in Queensland were posing a risk to the reef.
Tony Abbott’s push to cut green tape would benefit (?) Queensland first by: Steven Scott The Courier-Mail June 04, 2012 QUEENSLAND would become the first state to gain greater control over environmentally sensitive developments if Tony Abbott wins the next election.
The federal Opposition has struck a preliminary deal with the Newman Government to allow it to take control of all approvals under federal environment laws, with the exception of offshore developments. Continue reading
Queensland govt axes solar farm project
Queensland Government Bails On Solar Farm Project
http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3224 by Energy Matters, 25 May 12 The Queensland Government has withdrawn funding for Cloncurry Solar arm as part of a cost cutting campaign that may see other solar elated casualties. Continue reading
Australia’s clean, non nuclear, soil giving hope to Japanese farmers
Japan farmer harvests hope in our soil, BY: SUE NEALES The Australian May 23, 2012 JAPANESE farmer Takemi Shirado still sounds grief-stricken and shell-shocked when talking about last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster that so devastated his rural community.
Catastrophic radiation contamination of the soil means his family won’t be able to sow rice on their Iwaki rice paddies, about 60km from the crippled defunct power plant, for at least 300 years. Other local farmers are starting to grow leafy vegetables on less-contaminated fields, but are finding consumers too scared to buy their risky produce.
But Mr Shirado is clearly not a man to moan and mope. Instead he has come to Australia as head of a consortium of Fukushima farmers to see if north Queensland’s fertile Burdekin valley might hold the solution to his prefecture’s long-term fallout-affected food problems.
Mr Shirado’s dream now is to turn the sugarcane fields around Ayr into fertile flooded rice paddies growing Japanese rice varieties in traditional organic ways, to supply the people of his ruined home prefecture once again with their staple food…… “So far this looks like being a very good area for growing rice; I think we can grow four crops a year here and the water is very pure too.”……http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/japan-farmer-harvests-hope-in-our-soil/story-e6frg6nf-1226363955828
Who is lying about uranium ? New South Wales Resources Minister, or Queensland Premier
Who is telling the truth? New South Wales Minister for Resources, Mr Hartcher? or the Queensland government?
In fact, both States prohibit uranium mining. New South Wales has recently allowed uranium exploration only.
THE HINDU 4 May 2012, reports that New South Wales Minister for Resources and Energy and Central Coast Christopher Peter Hartcher announced on Friday that both New South Wales and Queensland State governments in Australia had changed their laws which prohibited mining and sale of uranium.
Also Mr Hartcher is quoted “We also respect India’s decision on not signing the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT)” http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3384772.ece
See this article – No plans for uranium mining ban rethink http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-02/no-plans-for-uranium-mining-ban-rethink/3984350?section=business By Stephen Smiley ABC News May 02, 2012 “The State Government says it has no plans to revisit Queensland’s ban on uranium mining.”
Queensland Premier Newman has recently reiterated the position that uranium mining is banned in Queensland.
And as for Mr Hartcher “respecting” India’s decision on the NPT, he is in the minority. Most Australians are appalled at the idea of selling uranium to a country that won’t sign the NPT.
Queensland govt – no plans for uranium mining, despite uranium lobbyist Tony McGrady
No plans for uranium mining ban rethink http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-02/no-plans-for-uranium-mining-ban-rethink/3984350?section=business By Stephen Smiley ABC News May 02, 2012 The State Government says it has no plans to revisit Queensland’s ban on uranium mining.
New Mount Isa Mayor Tony McGrady is advising two uranium companies and also lobbied for the former Bligh government to overturn Labor’s ban on uranium mining. Mr McGrady says he will be talking to the State Government “at every opportunity” about developing a uranium industry in the state’s north-west.
However in a statement, Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps says uranium is not among the new Government’s mining priorities.
Australia’s State governments fervently slashing renewable energy
Not so fast to the green scheme graveyard Crikey, by Fergus Green, climate change lawyer and policy analyst, 2 May 12, Federalism of the co-operative and unco-operative variety is back in the news. As the July 1 start date for the federal government’s carbon pricing scheme looms, the uppity conservative state premiers’ league is out in force, crying foul about the “tax” and fervently slashing “redundant” and “costly” state-based climate change schemes. Meanwhile, federal programs such as the Renewable Energy Target are under the microscope, with the Coalition and big business calling for an end to this kind of “green tape”
Victoria’s Baillieu government recently accepted the recommendation 
of a review of the Victorian Climate Change Act to scrap the state’s 20% emissions reduction target by 2020 — the latest in a long line of anti-environment, pro-fossil fuels policy developments during its first 16 months in office. Queensland’s newly elected Newman government has opted for a more expeditious approach, axing just about every Queensland government program with a tinge of green — from the $430 million Queensland Climate Change Fund (which provides $30 million a year for climate change initiatives) to the $50 million Smart Energy Savings Program (which helps businesses improve energy efficiency).
Amid this carnage, it is worth considering just what is the appropriate role of complementary state and federal policies in tackling climate change in the context of the new carbon price……
The federal cap only covers a limited number of emissions-producing sectors – notably energy generation, industrial processes, landfill waste and fugitive emissions (for example, methane released from coalmines). Sectors not covered by the scheme include agriculture, forestry and (via changes to the fuel tax and rebate regimes) parts of transport.* Any state or federal government policies that reduce emissions in these sectors will result in abatement beyond that brought about by the federal cap. As the PC points out in its Garnaut Review submission, policies to target these sectors make sense to the extent that they would reduce the costs of achieving an overall national emissions reduction target.
Emissions embodied in the fossil fuels we export, which far exceed our domestic emissions, are not subject to the carbon price either. This gives states (which largely control mining policy) a critical role in influencing global greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/05/01/not-so-fast-to-the-green-scheme-graveyard/
Moount Isa Mayor McGrady, on the board of 2 uranium companies – wants Mt Isa to be a “uranium hub”
New Mount Isa Mayor on uranium push,ABC News By Chrissy Arthur May 01, 2012 Mount Isa Mayor Tony McGrady has says he will be talking to the Queensland Government “at every opportunity” about developing a uranium industry in the state’s north-west..
…. The Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) says there is nothing legally wrong with Mr McGrady keeping his role with two uranium companies.
Australia’s generous compensation to citizens, as it brings in the carbon tax
One million Queenslanders to receive extra welfare payments to offset rising costs fuelled by carbon tax by: Steven Scott The Courier-Mail April 14, 2012 “…..New data from the tax office and welfare agencies reveals just under one million Queenslanders will receive some form of extra welfare payments to help offset rising costs fuelled by the carbon tax.
Almost 1.6 million Queenslanders who are likely to earn less than $80,000 next year will get a tax cut. About 1.3 million of those will receive a cut of more than $300 a year. About 121,000 more Queenslanders are likely to pay no income tax next year when the tax-free threshold is tripled as part of the carbon tax compensation package.
As Labor braces for a backlash to the carbon tax, which will take effect on July 1, the Government will roll out increases to pensions with initial lump sums in May and June…. About 675,000 Queensland pensioners will get an extra $338 a year if they are single and up to $510 a year if they are a couple, while 45,000 of the state’s self-funded retirees will get an extra $380 a year.
More than 350,000 families will enjoy boosts to payments, including up to $110 extra a year for each child for families on Family Tax Benefit A and up to $60 a year for those on Family Tax Benefit B…
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/one-million-queenslanders-to-receive-extra-welfare-payments-to-offset-rising-costs-fuelled-by-carbon-tax/story-e6freoof-
Residents near Windy Hill, Queensland, speak about wind energy
(includes video) Winds of change generating a powerful debate over Mt Emerald The Cairns Post Tony Stickley, April 14, 2012 The proposal of a wind farm at Mt Emerald has created a strong debate over noise issues for residential properties nearby. The Cairns Post explored how residents at Windy Hill feel about the wind farm noise. CLEAN, green renewable energy powering 60 per cent of Cairns and the whole of the Tableland shines like the holy grail of electricity generation. Could you live next door to a windfarm? Listen to Windy Hill residents and make up your own mind. Continue reading
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman wants his State to have open slather on environmental assessments
Premier Campbell Newman says Julia Gillard’s move to remove duplication on environmental approvals with the states falls short Courier Mail, by: Steven Scott From: The Courier-Mail April 13, 2012 CAMPBELL Newman has demanded the Federal Government hand over complete control of environmental assessments to the state in a move designedto cut business costs.
But Julia Gillard has vowed to retain the final say over high-risk and World Heritage area developments, warning Mr Newman’s plan could allow Queensland to build a nuclear reactor without any input from the rest of the country……
Liberal premiers including Mr Newman say they want the carbon tax on the table as part of the talks, which will continue at the Council of Australian Governments summit in Canberra today.
But Mr Newman has gone further than other Premiers and called for complete control over environmental assessments in the Sunshine State….. Ms Gillard said her plan to streamline environmental rules with states
would mean developers “don’t go through double assessments”. But she said the Federal Government still had to oversee developments in World Heritage areas in Commonwealth waters and nuclear power.
Ms Gillard said Mr Newman’s proposal would stop the Federal Government having a say if there was a plan for another nuclear reactor like the Lucas Heights plant in Sydney…..
the Greens said the plan to streamline assessments could cut environmental protection….
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/deal-will-cut-green-tape/story-e6freoof-1226325279269
Queensland solar energy plan will go ahead, despite no help from government
the nature of solar – there’s no waste, there’s no ongoing costs, there’s no emissions,
Funding cuts won’t cast shadow over Gulf solar plans ABC News, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-04/funding-cuts-wont-cast-shadow-over-gulf-solar-plans/3931956?section=qld April 04, 2012 A plan to power properties in north-west Queensland’s eastern Gulf Country with solar electricity is likely to go ahead, despite cuts to State Government clean energy funds. Continue reading
Premier Campbell Newman to stop Queensland’s solar thermal energy program
Huge solar project in limbo as Newman pulls funding SMH, March 29, 2012 The first chance to test whether solar thermal energy can provide large-scale alternative power in Australia may be in doubt under the new LNP state government. The incoming Queensland government wants to pull out of an agreement formed by its predecessor to provide $75 million towards the $1.2 billion Solar Dawn solar research and power plant at Chinchilla, west
of Toowoomba, Premier Campbell Newman said yesterday.
The Solar Dawn project is set to be one of the largest of its kind in the world….. Solar Dawn is a 250 megawatt solar thermal project using sun-heated water in tubes to produce steam-driven energy, and is backed by the federal government and was supported by former Premier Anna Bligh. It is part of the federal government’s Solar Flagship Program. A similar project at Moree, in New South Wales, has received federal funding under the same program.
The University of Queensland has developed a $60 million research project to link to Solar Dawn.
UQ’s Professor Paul Meredith, the head of the university’s renewable energy research, said he was worried the LNP’s decision would damage what he thought was a worthwhile project and one that provided almost
400 jobs. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/huge-solar-project-in-limbo-as-newman-pulls-funding-20120328-1vynx.html#ixzz1qXtf3XFT
1 This month
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