The protest was held on the 63rd anniversary of the first bomb going off Maralinga in the Woomera Prohibited Area, as part of a national day of action against nuclear dumps.
Geordan Graetz, pro nuclear spruiker is a ‘Community Engagement Advisor” to South Australians
Tim Bickmore, Nuclear Citizens Jury Watch South Australia, 20 Oct 16
A player in this scene currently flying under the radar is Geordan Graetz, DPC Community Engagement Advisor.In the past he has published opinions not only about Fukushima, but also regarding indigenous people & uranium mining: “Representatives of the Martu and Adnyamathanha communities in Western Australia and South Australia respectively have expressed confidence in the companies that have approached them with plans to develop deposits on their lands (Graetz and Manning 2011)” p3, IAIA, 2012.
As recently as 2014 he published material orientated toward removing indigenous people as an impediment to the expansion of uranium mining, albeit it thru application of inclusion under the auspices of international human rights conventions. [Journal of Cleaner production xxx 2014 1-9]
He appears to be an advocate of a ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ – or rather identifies indigenous peoples as a potential roadblock for such.
The NFCRC Final Report cites him & co-author Manning Ch6 Land Rights Section p130 notes ref 8 & again ref 11 (3 mentions).
His partner in a number of publications, Haydn Manning, is a well known pro-nuke spruiker.
There is a linkage between Graetz & the farcical Schools Nuclear Lockdown … probably instigated under his &/or Manning’s social engagement strategy…. more to come.
Hard for South Australia’s Nuclear Citizens’ Jury to reach a consensus about importing radioactive trash
Tim Bickmore Nuclear Citizens Jury Watch South Australia, 20 Oct 16 My gut feeling is that whilst there is a high apathy coefficient within the wider community, the Nuclear Citizens’ Jury (CJ) make-up does display the polarity that is also evident in the public sphere & which, at least in general expressions, appears to be mostly against the proposal.
At this stage of proceedings, I find it hard to see a consensus being reached.
I also think that South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill is aware of this: hence whilst previously he would have crowed about a ‘positive’ or even ‘maybe’ outcome, now the game plan diversifies. e.g. last night I had a South Australian Govt sponsored survey cold call regarding the Nuclear Fuel Chain Royal Commission (NFCRC) – but was excluded coz they had already reached my ‘age bracket quota’.
I wondered if that ‘quota’ was valid – are they now targeting younger folk under some misguided notion that this cohort would be more amenable to the idea? – and the quota, did that include the already received on-line & Nuclear Roadshow data? I also did not get to hear the questions – which are usually loaded in these types of things.
Also in the mix is the Senate Parliamentary Joint Committee, & my feeling there is that, too, is not a bed of roses for Jay Weatherill.
I am still crossing my fingers that the CJ will return RED coz AMBER allows Jay a small window to change legislation – tho methinks he would need a lot more oomph other than just a CJ-AMBER outcome to really justify doing that.
If no CJ consensus is reached, does that mean an open verdict? If no verdict is reached then “as you were” [=NO] seems the logical outcome. ra ra https://www.facebook.com/groups/1172938779440750/
Wording of question to the Nuclear Citizens’ Jury is becoming an issue
Tim Bickmore , Nuclear Citizens Jury Watch South Australia, 19 Oct 16 Apparently, the ‘traffic light’ question was not provided/created by the Weatherill Govt – but by NewDeMocracy XD Ian Walker – who has also now been inserted into the jury to witness their deliberations.
There are still rumblings about the question being loaded.
“I asked Ian Walker who was responsible for the question at lunch on the second day. I asked him if any other options had been proposed and he said others had been considered but it was his choice as to the final question and the wording of same. I asked him if the Premier had approved the question and he began to become vague (or so it seemed to me) I was unable to establish if the Premier had approved the final wording of the question. Ian claimed the final wording was his,
With Royal Commissions the wording of the question is critically important and is framed to achieve the outcome that the instigator of the Commission desires………” [from Basecamp Blog 18/10/16] ra ra https://www.facebook.com/groups/1172938779440750/
Australia’s sinister nuclear history. Premier Jay Weatherill launches a new sinister phase
Ultimately, this dump is about helping the global nuclear industry. The current build-up of site-by-site waste acts as a brake on investment. They want somewhere to dump it forever so they can go on producing more of it.
South Australia to become global nuclear waste capital https://redflag.org.au/node/5521 Sixty years ago, Maralinga went up in a mushroom cloud. The British government had been given permission to test atomic weaponry in South Australia.
That is to say, they had been given permission by the right wing Menzies government. The local Maralinga Tjarutja people had no say in it at all. Many of them were not even forewarned of the first blast. Thunderous black clouds condemned them to radiation exposure, illness and death, the survivors being driven from their homeland during the long years of British testing and fallout.
South Australia has a dark history with the nuclear industry. Maralinga remains contaminated, despite cheap clean-up efforts. Uranium tailings have leaked from BHP’s Olympic Dam mine at Roxby Downs. Fukushima’s reactors held South Australian uranium when catastrophe struck in 2011.
Today, Jay Weatherill’s state Labor government is trying to open a new radioactive chapter. He wants South Australia to construct the world’s first international high-level nuclear waste dump. This would mean no fewer than 138,000 tonnes of waste (one-third of the world’s total) being shipped from the world’s reactors into South Australian ports, to be permanently buried in Aboriginal land.
This would be history’s largest nuclear dumping operation, and make South Australia the hazardous waste capital of the world. Continue reading
Claire Catt on Your Say – the ultimate financial disaster of the Nuclear Fuel Chain Royal Commission’s plan
Surely this is when it is at it’s most dangerous levels.
Why then cannot it go straight into the presumably “safe” method of storage deep underground that is promoted as “best practice” for storage of nuclear waste?
Claire Catt > henry francis Your Say site 17 Oct 2016 We won’t have the money to built the facility until we have imported thousands of tonnes of waste for a price unknown and untested anywhere in the world.
We plan to built this repository without any idea how to actually do this since it has never been done before, not anywhere including Finland. There they have spent billions of dollars for a dump still unfinished, for waste produced by them requiring no transport to speak of. If it will work and for how long is unknown.
It is my guess this underground pipe dream will never be built and we will be left with mountains of toxic waste in the open, possibly covered with concrete, like in Chernobyl. We’ll have to keep it from all life, protect it from terror attacks, climate change threats and leakage into the environment.
But hey, we probably won’t have to worry about it just yet, more likely our children and grandchildren and a thousand generations after them.
Nuclear Royal Commission’s implausible arguments do not inspire trust
Peter Mahoney, Your Say site, 17 Oct 2016 It is very difficult to trust a Royal 
Commission conducted by a former military officer and a large commercial consultant to the nuclear industry. It seems to me a bit like getting Coles or Woolworths to run a Royal Commission into milk pricing. The military culture is one traditionally based on loyalty and obedience, and is not recognised for its objective and dispassionate consideration of all angles. Our former Governor may be a very upright and affable chap, but it is difficult to believe he would hold an opinion contrary to what he has been told is in the best interests of his beloved State. You can’t blame him for this, but it does not engender trust.
Royal Commission silent on dangers of nuclear transport and security required
Peter Mahoney, Your Say site 17 Oct 2016 The Royal Commission report appears to be silent on the details of how these radioactive materials would be transported to South Australia, and what sort of defence force support would be required to ensure that they are not the subject of terrorist attack. Who would be responsible for ensuring that they are correctly and securely sealed in their containers in the country of origin, say India or Pakistan? How would an SA facility ensure that proper standards are being followed at every step. The consequences of undetected, small or slow leaks would be enormous if they occur all the way from the country of origin, across the oceans and then across the land to SA.
Plan for nuclear above-ground waste facility, before contracts, and with no lndependent Nuclear Regulator
Malgo Schmidt, from Your Say site 16 Oct 2016 “……..There is no independent Nuclear Regulator in Australia and SA has a conflict of interest
The nuclear dump plan proposes sitting a Nuclear port and an above ground high level nuclear waste storage facility in Project Year 5 – before potential nuclear waste contracts in Year 6′ This depends on assessment and approval by an lndependent Nuclear Regulator- that does not exist in Australia’
The current Federal nuclear regulator would requiré legislative amendments before it could claim to ‘regulate’ lnternational nuclear wastes. SA is disqualified from doing so by clear conflict of interest’
This senate can block any nuclear dump legislation up to the next Federal Election ALP, Greens and the Xenophon team can together block any pro-dump legislation in the senate
Four key themes in community concern over international nuclear waste dumping:
It is quite clear that there are 4 key concerns that have to be dealt with collectively. Failure to pass any of these tests should stop further consideration of a Nuclear Dump. They are:
1. safety of workers and community throughout the nuclear waste supply chain.
2. Flawed Economic assumptions
3. Aboriginal veto
4. Environmental and inter-generational concerns, risks and impacts
The current Federal nuclear regulator would requiré legislative amendments before it could claim to ‘regulate’ lnternational nuclear wastes. SA is disqualified from doing so by clear conflict of interest’
This senate can block any nuclear dump legislation up to the next Federal Election ALP, Greens and the Xenophon team can together block any pro-dump legislation in the senate
Four key themes in community concern over international nuclear waste dumping:
It is quite clear that there are 4 key concerns that have to be dealt with collectively. Failure to pass any of these tests should stop further consideration of a Nuclear Dump. They are:
1. safety of workers and community throughout the nuclear waste supply chain.
2. Flawed Economic assumptions
3. Aboriginal veto
4. Environmental and inter-generational concerns, risks and impacts
Safety is compromised by import of nuclear waste long before any disposal capacity
The Nuclear Commission proposed import of nuclear waste in Project Year 11′ four years ahead of an agreed licensed disposal site and some 16 years ahead of any potential waste disposal capacity
SA faces the threat of a Nuclear port receiving nuclear waste ships every month for decades
Reality check analysis shows there is No Profit in Nuclear waste
South Australians are being misled by inflated revenue claims, untenable assumptions including globally unprecedented scale of dump plans and under reported nuclear waste costs & liabilities’
Nuclear dump plans are prone to fail- like Yucca Mountain in the USA, and end in debt not profit.
Future generations – importing international nuclear waste is an irrevocable decision
The nuclear waste would be here forever and remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years’ our children will have no say in this decision hgt be left with this liability into the future ‘
The Campaign needs to mobilise mainstream community to oppose nuclear waste dumps
Countering the Premier’s nuclear waste agenda requires mobilising SA community’ working through the steps in who? when? where? and How? to engage groups across society on these issues’
We can all contribute to protect SA from nuclear dumping and build strength in our community’ For further info see: www.foe.org.au/import-waste & http://www.nodumpalliance.org.au/
South Australia’s Sundrop Farms – desert solar powered agriculture
Desert farm grows 180,000 tomato plants using only sun and seawater http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/desert-farm-grows-180000-tomato-plants-using-only-sun-and-seawater
Farms that grow food in arid deserts, without groundwater or fossil fuels, could be the future of agriculture. BRYAN NELSON October 10, 2016, No soil, no pesticides, no fossil fuels, and no groundwater. And yet, a thriving farm in the heart of the arid Australian desert. How is this possible?
An international team of scientists has spent the last six years fine-tuning a system that pipes seawater in from the ocean and desalinates it using a state-of-the-art concentrated solar energy plant. The water is then used to irrigate 180,000 tomato plants grown in coconut husks instead of soil, kept in a network of greenhouses.
The result is Sundrop Farms, a commercial-scale facility located just off the Spencer Gulf in South Australia that began construction in 2014. Today it’s producing an estimated 17,000 tons of tomatoes per year to be sold in Australian supermarkets.
Given the increasing demand for fresh water around the world — a problem that’s particularly apparent in the sunburned landscape of South Australia — this might just represent future of large-scale farming, especially in coastal desert regions that have previously been non-arable.
The heart of the farm is the 23,000 mirrors that reflect sunlight towards a 115-meter high receiver tower. All of that concentrated sunlight produces an immense amount of power, up to 39 megawatts. That’s more than enough to cover the desalination needs of the farm and supply all the electricity needs of the greenhouses.
The seawater, too, has other purposes besides just irrigation. During scorching hot summers, seawater-soaked cardboard lines the greenhouses to help keep the plants at optimal temperature. Seawater also has the remarkable effect of sterilizing the air, meaning that chemical pesticides are unnecessary.
All in all, the facility cost around 200 million dollars to get up and running. That might sound excessive, but in the long run the facility should save money compared to the costs of conventional greenhouses that require fossil fuels for power. It’s a self-sustaining, cost-efficient design so long as the initial investment can be provided. Facilities similar to the Australian one are already being planned for Portugal and the U.S., as well as another in Australia. Desert areas like those seen in Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates could be next in line.
“These closed production systems are very clever,” said Robert Park of the University of Sydney, Australia, to New Scientist. “I believe that systems using renewable energy sources will become better and better and increase in the future, contributing even more of some of our foods.”
South Australia’s home solar batteries- electricity provided throughout recent blackout
Market for solar storage batteries growing and competitive
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/market-for-solar-storage-batteries-growing-and-competitive/news-story/cae6fc767743e6b38c5165145a9bb893 Craig Cook, The Advertiser October 16, 2016
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/market-for-solar-storage-batteries-growing-and-competitive/news-story/cae6fc767743e6b38c5165145a9bb893 Craig Cook, The Advertiser October 16, 2016 THE hi-tech home energy storage battery revolution, allowing households to better manage solar rooftop power, has been promised for more than a decade and now it could finally arrive in South Australia.
Battery installers in Australia have reported more than 100,000 customer inquires this year, although sales of the systems – which are adaptable, stylish, and small compared to the ugly lead acid batteries of the past – number less than 5000 units.
World leaders in battery production include Elon Musk’s Tesla company that produces the popular bar fridge sized ‘Powerwall’ unit, and German firms Sonnen and BMZ.
Leading players offering home battery solutions include ZEN Energy, based at Clovelly Park in Adelaide, with Professor Ross Garnaut as chairman, and Redflow, based in Brisbane, led by SA-based innovator Simon Hackett, as chairman, chief executive and majority shareholder.”
But the biggest indicator that this is a growing, competitive and lucrative market is that major energy providers, AGL and Origin, now offer their own storage battery solutions.
ZEN Founder and Director of Innovation, Richard Turner, said while South Australia was plunged into darkness last week, its customers were completely uninterrupted.
“They were using their electric ovens, watching television, and going about their night like nothing had happened,” Mr Turner said.
“These systems are designed to generate and store ample solar energy during the day to meet their home’s power needs at night and provide backup power during blackouts.”
Mr Turner said while luxury homeowners were among the first adopters of solar energy storage, solutions were now affordable and within everyone’s reach. Continue reading
Aboriginal landowners joined by thousands in South Australian protest against nuclear waste dumping
Nuclear waste dump protesters bring the fight from outback South Australia to the city, By Lauren Waldhuter http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-15/nuclear-waste-dump-protesters-bring-the-fight-to-adelaide/7935954
Traditional landowners from South Australia’s outback have brought their fight against proposed nuclear storage facilities to the steps of Parliament House.
About 3,000 people rallied against proposed nuclear waste dumps, with Aboriginal families affected by nuclear testing at Maralinga among the crowd.
The State Government is considering whether it should store the world’s high-grade nuclear waste at a site somewhere in South Australia.
At the same time, the Federal Government is considering building its first storage facility for Australia’s low-grade radioactive waste, having short-listed Wallerberdina station, near Hawker in the Flinders Ranges, as a preferred site.
Traditional landowner Karina Lester said many people did not want to see either proposal go ahead.
“We are starting to unite and we are starting to really think about how we’re going to fight this, because it concerns us and we have a cultural responsibility,” she said.
“People travelled from the Mid North [and] from Ceduna as well to be part of this event and it was so important that they gathered here today to say ‘enough is enough’.
“Having Yalata crew, having Ceduna crew, the Yappala crew being involved is so strong for us as Aboriginal people.”
Renowned film director Scott Hicks lent his voice to the cause, with particular concern about the high-grade dump.
“To me it’s an idea that doesn’t make sense on any level I can look at it,” he said.
“It doesn’t make economic sense. We can’t even predict the price of coal a month from now. How can we predict the price of nuclear waste 100 years from now?
“Why would we want to leave a legacy for our children’s, children’s children and beyond 100,000 years, that can never be taken away?”
What is being proposed?
Federal
- Low-to-intermediate level radioactive waste generated in Australia stored in a purpose-built facility
- It would include materials such as nuclear medicine by-products
- This waste is currently stored in more than 100 sites across Australia, in metropolitan areas, regional towns and cities
- The project promises at least 15 ongoing jobs and $10 million in funding for the host community once the facility is operational
South Australia
- The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission found SA could store the world’s high-grade nuclear waste
- Sealed waste would be stored 500 metres underground in a purpose-built facility
- The facility could create up to 5,000 jobs during construction and 600 ongoing jobs
- It is tipped to generate $5.6 billion of annual revenue for SA once established
The Advertiser (Under)Reports huge anti nuclear waste rally in Adelaide
I have received several reports from those who attended the rally in Adelaide – estimates of attendance numbers range from 100o to 3000.
A smaller rally was held in Melbourne, and in Alice Springs. At this stage, I have no reports on the rally held in Sydney.
Hundreds march against nuclear dumping in South Australia http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/10/15/12/51/hundreds-march-against-nuclear-dumping-in-south-australia Hundreds of land owners have converged in Adelaide’s city centre to resist the South Australian government’s plans for two nuclear waste dumps in the state’s north.
Groups opposing the government’s plans to store high-level waste from other countries have flooded the steps of Parliament House in Adelaide’s CBD.
Many have come bearing flags and signs protesting the dumps, which were proposed in July. Traffic in the local area has been restricted to one lane as a steady stream of protesters continue to arrive. Motorists are advised to avoid the area.
Karina Lester, from the No Dump Alliance, said people need to send a strong message of opposition to the state and federal governments.
“All traditional owner groups need to unite and fight this as we all know the international waste storage facility is not going to be Norwood or Unley (in Adelaide), it will be in the far north of the state,” Ms Lester said.
Aboriginal Congress SA chairman Tauto Sansbury said people need to understand what building nuclear waste dumps means for future generations.
“We are talking about the importance of country and the preservation of culture and safety of our peoples,” Mr Sansbury said.
Conservation SA chief executive Craig Wilkins believes today’s rally is “another opportunity for all South Australian to express their concerns over the dump proposals”.
The rally also marks the 63rd anniversary of the first British atomic bomb test at Emu Field, in SA’s far northwest, in 1953.
Could the nuclear waste issue be the finish for South Australia’s Premier Jay Weatherill?
Power to the people may mean pulling plug on Jay Premier Jay Weatherill must pull off complex balancing act on SA’s energy infrastructure Daniel Wills, The Advertiser,October 14, 2016 PREMIER Jay Weatherill is strangely now both a hero and villain of the environmental movement.
Jobs have long been the biggest issue in SA politics, and will undeniably dominate the campaign in 18 months’ time. It’s a sign of how desperate the situation in SA has become that beating Tasmania back into last place on the unemployment ladder is now a cause for muted celebration.
We also wait to see what future, if any, Whyalla has and the full impact of Holden’s closure.
But leaping up into the top strata of vote-changing issues, which includes the State Government’s overhaul of the health system, are two divisive topics that evoke powerful emotions……….
An Advertiser-Galaxy poll on the blackout published on Monday showed only 16 per cent of people supported dialling back renewables in favour of coal and gas generation……..Voters seem to want something existing technologies don’t offer – carbon-free renewable energy that is cheap and reliable……..
In two Saturdays’ time, Mr Weatherill will head to a Labor Party state convention where the prospect of the state taking high-level nuclear waste for cash will be a flashpoint.
Already, Labor MP Steph Key is speaking out against any change to the party platform. Stakeholders such as SA Unions are expressing grave doubts about the business model…….
The numerical dominance of Labor’s Right faction, plus hesitant support in elements of Mr Weatherill’s Left, makes it likely his nuclear position will survive………
The same people cheering speech lines about wind farms may roll their eyes at nuclear. And vice-versa. This is the core and complex balancing act Mr Weatherill must pull off in the bid for a fifth term – holding a coalition of diverse and often opposed interests to win the day.
It’s not about being all things to all people. It’s about being just enough to just enough.http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/daniel-wills-premier-jay-weatherill-must-pull-off-complex-balancing-act-on-sas-energy-infrastructure/news-story/69403007930c182f4d0f679491a3eee9
1 This month
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 
Citizens are also more likely to respond favourably to the government’s proposals when they are given special treatment in this way. I doubt that the citizens jury have heard presentations from the Australia Institute, Mark Parnell (Greens MLC) or Ian Lowe, or images and stories of accidents happenning monthly around the world.
The cooperation of the Murdoch press in this one-newspaper town makes it also very difficult for citizens to remain untouched by a sense of momentum and support that doesn’t actually exist. Governments are becoming masters of “consultation”, which are basically exercises to keep the masses busy while they get on with the planning and the deals in the background.