Australia’s coming emigration – from the Labor Party to the Greens
Christina Macpherson 6 Dec 11 First off, I want to express a personal opinion on the big debate about gay marriage. I think it was a bloody great political red herring. Didn’t the media love it! Didn’t even the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA – front for fossil fuel industries) love it! The latter loves it, because they don’t care what we all do in our private lives, just as long as we don’t conserve energy and switch to renewables.
The Australian public ? I bet that its predominant attitude is – “I don’t really care: they can marry if they want : now – what’s
happening with the cricket? ”
My own attitude – very similar. Except, when it comes to permission to marry, that I think it’s a bit like when women weren’t really allowed to smoke, by social taboo. And then they were allowed. And now heaps of them have got lung cancer. Why did these poor women ever want to smoke?
Never mind. That’s personal, and not really political. But the uranium to India issue. That’s political. But wow – the public carry on, the media fuss – just didn’t happen – so busy were we all discussing gay marriage, in the media frenzy on that topic.
So the Labor Party just morphed into the Laboral Party, on uranium, and other matters – a political marriage – they will surely be wed soon.
And where can they go – the Labor Party members of intelligence and conscience? Well fortunately – there’s The Greens!
BHP Billiton trying to lock in huge new uranium mine by splurging money in advance of BHP Board’s decision?
$1.3 billion is a lot of money to spend on a project that might never come to fruition. It’s a common tactic, 
but one that could come unstuck. But then, I’ve always suspected that Marius Kloppers, Dean Dalla Valle, like many bigwigs might feel that they have plenty of BHP money to splash around – perhaps an old-fashioned case of more money than sense.
The international news is not encouraging for the uranium industry – though I note that Australia’s mainstream media just ignores facts like – the expensive mess of nuclear transport in France and Germany, – the anti nuclear political strength gathering in France, – the huge anti nuclear movement and other nuclear hindrances in India, -and the ever downward price of uranium. – Christina Macpherson
South Australia Parliament approves BHP Billiton Olympic Dam expansion, by:Sarah Martin, Adelaide Now, :The Advertiser, November 30, 2011, BHP Billiton will start spending $1.2 billion on equipment for the Olympic Dam expansion in coming weeks after winning final approvals from Parliament for the deal to proceed.
The head of the company’s uranium operations, Dean Dalla Valle, said the approval paved the way for the $30 billion mine to be SouthAustralia’s economic driver for the next 40 years, but gave no guarantees BHP Billiton’s board would approve the project in 2012. Continue reading
Australia’s controversies uranium, coal seam gas, wind – especially rife in Victoria
Victoria’s Premier Ted Baillieu has been conspicuously absent from hailing the visit of Crown Prince Fredrick and Princess Mary from Denmark. And no wonder. It’s an embarrassment.
WIND ENERGY As a leader in renewable energy, and with its thriving wind turbine industry, Danes must find it strange indeed, to be in Victoria – where wind energy is judged as unhealthy, and government seems determined to stall its development, and go all out for fossil fuels (and maybe, later, nuclear)
Over 40 per cent of Victoria is now under licence — , CoalWatch, allows users to see at a glance which areas of Victorian have been leased to mining companies for the mining of brown coal…….. massive 3,700 sq km lease EL4416 to Dr. John White’s Ignite Energy Resources. Cutting a swathe right across southern Gippsland’s prime coastal and tourism region, it runs the entire length of the spectacular 90 Mile Beach from the top of Wilsons Promontory to the Gippsland Lakes, half circling the towns of Bairnsdale, Sale and Traralgon… http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/environment/victoria-goes-dirty-brown/
NUCLEAR NON PROLIFERATION Denmark partners Australia in being a signatory of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).Denmark now sees Australia now abandoning its role in the Treaty
Uranium sales to India – looking a bit doubtful. What a pity if Julia Gillard has gone to all that trouble to sell out on Australia’s membership of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty – for a lousy few $billions to foreign owned companies like BHP , Rio Tnto, exstrata – and now – two hurdles to face:
1. The Labor Party conference will hold a divisive debate on the issue, and the anti uranium members just might win.
2. India’s nuclear power program appears to be coming unstuck. That great “cash cow” of Australia’s uranium boom just might not happen. – Christina Macpherson
A Yeah! Boo! day for Australia on carbon tax and Olympic Dam uranium mine
Carbon tax: it is a good day for Australia. At last Australia is to have some international credibility on climate change action. Australian business can now have certainty on carbon price plans. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) now gives renewable energy companies the opportunity to develop. Australia’s renewable energy can now attract investment, as prices for solar and wind technologies are becoming cheaper.
Tony Abbott’s pledge to repeal this legislation sounds pretty hollow. When and if Abbott has a go at repealing it – say in 3 -5 years – is he also going to take back all the compensation measures? There will be a lot of unhappy pensioners and low income earners, medium income earners and businesses, too, when Abbott tries to do this.
Olympic Dam uranium mine. It’s a sorry story of hypocrisy. South Australia’s Liberal party leader mouthed a few pious statement about the proposed new Roxby Downs Indenture Bill – Liberals seemed to have a few problems with it. That was then. This is now. The Liberals agreed to the Bill “without amendment or delay”.
Still, the Olympic Dam story is not over. BHP Billiton to decide on it in 2012. It is all a very expensive gamble on supposed profits to take place well over 20 years hence. Many a slip between even copper prices and future profitability. And as for uranium – well, as the Globe and Mail puts it (below) there’s “continuing upheaval in the nuclear industry” When nuclear lobbyists talk about the “glowing future” for uranium, it sounds more and more like some sort of desperate religious faith. – Christina Macpherson
Can Thorium reactors resuscitate the nuclear industry? – I don’t think so.
When even the International Energy Agency starts planning ahead for the decline in nuclear power – you know that all is not well with the nuclear industry. (a draft copy of the International Energy Agency’s 2011 World Energy Outlook. The draft, obtained by Reuters ahead of its release next week, sai the IEA had developed a “Low Nuclear Case” that assesses possible implications for global energy balances of a much smaller role for nuclear power. The draft was dated July 2011, and the IEA is scheduled to release the report in London next Wednesday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/us-energy-iea-nuclear-newspro-idUSTRE7A36OP20111104)
If you follow the course of efforts to develop the MOX plutonium reprocessing industry – you quickly come to a series of very expensive starts and shutdowns – Britain, USA, Japan.
Some nuclear lobbyists still tout the “pebble bed” nuclear reactor – a financial fiasco when tried in South Africa. And there are the small modular reactors – a huge security risk – among other drawbacks
Some hopefully spruik about nuclear fusion – if only it could be made to work and work without bankrupting a country
Now – lo and behold – the big tout is THORIUM- with Australian companies like Lynas and Iluka pushing to jump on the bandwagon. Later this month, mining industry people will gather in Canberra to attend a conference entirely devoted to thorium. The opening speaker will be federal Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson.
But on investigation – Thorium reactors are not all they’re cracked up to be. Check these out for their failures, security risks, and weapons potential – http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/letters/general/no-one-talks-about-safe-nuclear-power-because-it-doesnt-exist/2147024.aspx and The Greenroom » Nuclear Weapons for the Masses!
So – Australia’s nuclear lobby, including its Minister For The Nuclear Industry, Martin Ferguson are now desperately latching on to the Thorium push, as uranium prices plummet.
But THORIUM is just another diversion from the reality that the nuclear industry is not being successfully resuscitated. – Christina Macpherson
Critical nuclear issues in Australian States today
- South Australia. With BHP Billiton’s lackeys, (Mike Rann and Kevin Foley) gone, South Australian Labor and Liberal politicians are squirming around, trying to make themselves look different, more “open”. At the same time, new Premier Jay Weatherill and Liberal’s Isabel Redmond, are kow-towing to BHP Billiton, with a pretty farcical Committee study of the Roxby Downs Indenture Bill. Among other extraordinary gifts to BHP, The Bill will give away
Olympic Dam land freehold to BHP, thus exterminating any possible Native Title claim. The Committe has been pushed into agreeing to let the Conservation Council have a say. VIDEO: Conservationists to have say on mine (7pm TV News SA)
- Western Australia. While Julia Gillard stated that there will be no discussion at CHOGM about Australia selling uranium to India, behind the scenes at CHOGM, such discussions are going on, with Labor Party people involved, as well as, of course, Tony Abbot. India lobbies for Australian uranium, .http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2574653.ece
- Also in Western Australia – Walkers Against Uranium mining end their 1400 km marathon, and join in protest with other social justice activists
- Northern Territory. Let us not forget that the struggle continues, to prevent a radioactiev waste dump on Aboriginal land at Muckaty. The traditional owners’ legal action is continuing.
- New South Wales. The rich suburb of Hunters Hill is, quite reaonably, fed up with hosting radioacive uranium wastes. But the working class Western suburb of Kemps Creek doesn’t want it dumped there. No thank you. The NSW government is in a dilemma – nobody wants their radioactive waste!
Western Australian government preparing for repression of peaceful anti-nuclear protestors?
An extraordinary week for Australia’s democracy, and Australia’s anri-nuclear movement.
In Melbourne and Sydney, police crack down on peaceful protestors – with violence, and some police not wearing badges, which is illegal. Meanwhile, police travel to Perth, to join in preparations for the repression of a planned peaceful protest – a social justice movement encompassing many causes.
The causes include opposition to Australian governments’ subservience to multinational corporations, and Australia’s movement towards becoming the uranium-nuclear-radioactive waste hub of the world.
The walkers from Wiluna, 1400km away, will arrive, to celebrate our movement to stop uranium mining.
Will they be met with violent repression?
Australia has a grand tradition of peaceful protest. Yet, as the Western Australian police round up and prevent good, peace-oriented organisers from attending the protest – one must ask? Is the Western Australian government trying to bring about violence? What is happening to Australia’s civil liberties, as the greed of multinational nuclear corporations prevails over our democratic values? – Christina Macpherson
Australia’s mainstream media – ignoring Olympic Dam uranium mine, while they cover Climate Denialism?
19 Oct 11, There might be some delay in updating this website, due to circumstances.
A pity, because it is an interesting, and rather scary time, in Australian politics. The mainstream media continues to focus on the ?wrongs and rights of Australia’s carbon tax legislation. Plenty of coverage to Australia’s anti carbon tax enthusiasts. Little or no coverage of the international approval as Australia joins the many countries now choosing to act on climate change.
Barely a mention of the hastily rushed approvals for BHP Billiton to create the world’s hugest uranium mine, biggest man made hole, and biggest area of radioactive waste. The South Australian Parliament must now go through the process of approving a new Indenture Act – I bet that Labor and Liberal would like to rush this through too, while Australia’s mainstream media looks away.
In Victoria, the Baillieu government has handed out approvals for coal seam exploration and mining. However, this government, with not a shred of scientific evidence, has decide to prevent wind energy from going forward.
And – to return to the BHP plan. As Mike Rann and Mariius Kloppers congratulate each other – one wonders whether the new big uranium mine might turn out to be an expensive folly. It won’t make a profit for at least 20 years. Who knows whether even the copper price will stay high, let alone the uranium price?
The uranium market is in a mess. And, as well as the continually down ward price trend, nuclear fuel providers compete with each other. Thorium might win – no need for uranium, then. Reprocessing might win. No need for uranium then. The USA and Russia might increase sales of old weapons grade uranium, seeing that they don’t know what else to do with it – no need for uranium then.
The new BHP Billiton $30 billion copper-uranium mine is an expensive gamble. – Christina Macpherson
Olympic Damn Uranium Mine – the battle against it continues
Goliath-like Corporation BHP Billiton is up against not just one little David, but many, in its drive to dig a giant uranium hole.
Australia’s Federal government, the South Australian government, and the Northern Territory government have all approved BHP Billiton’s plan for a huge open-cut copper and uranium mine. These approval were done with unseemly haste, so that that hypocrite, Mike Rann, Premier of south Australia, could step down, clothed in the glory of that decision. Mike Rann originally rose to prominence in the Australia Labor Party by being a leader of opposition to uranium mining.
However, this unimaginably vast enterprise to make the world’s biggest man-made hole , the biggest mountain of rocks and radioactive dust , the biggest radioactive tailings dam – this f is far from a done deal.
There are just a few enthusiastic mega rich executives like Marius Kloppers pushing this. They’re supported by their lackeys in politics, media and academia. Against this small crew of the corporate big boys, are the many thousands of Australians who care enough about our environment, health, and future prosperity, to oppose this uranium mega mine.
The opponents of Olympic Damn expansion are not its only hindrances.
Other factors come in to play against it, too. No.1 – the ever declining price of uranium. Even BHP Billiton might get sick of trying to sell it, at a loss. Even before the economic facts hit BHP, there are a few obstacles. For example, Australia’s Environment Minister, Tony Burke, virtously touts numerous regulations that must be met. Some of them might prove a nuisance to BHP.
Then there’s the South Australian Parliament, which must consider the Indenture Act – a piece of legislation that already overrides about 6 important State Laws. It might not be all that easy to pass a new Indenture Act and still show some semblance of democracy to the electorate.
It would n’t be too good if the (statistically inevitable) next nuclear catastrophe happened sooner, rather than later.
BHP Billiton’s planned monstrosity is still going to be environmentally disastrous, even without the uranium. But, a lesser disaster would be a decision by BHP to not extract the uranium – to leave it in the ground. And this would be advisable, as a prevention from creating another Maralinga-style irradiated region in South Australia.
There are so many news items on this topic, that many have been left out of this site. More Olympic Damn news items can be read at http://nuclearnewsaustralia.wordpress.com/
A sad day for Australia – government approvals for world’s worst practice uranium mine
76% foreign owned, BHP Billiton made such huge profits that it’s almost an embarassment. How to spend all that money? Why let’s dig the world’s most gigantic toxic status symbol!
Let’s spend $20 billion of BHP’s huge profits, and untold billions of Australia’s tax-payers money – over the long life of a dirty great mountain range of radioactive dust. Australians will learn to pay for the carcinogenic dust that perennial dust storms will spread widely from Olympic waste mountain. They will learn to pay for the water schemes needed, as BHP Billion plunders our artesian water – at no charge. All Australians, not just the Aborigines, who have always been the first to be ripped off by Australian governments cowardly nuclear ventures. The Menzies government started it off in the 1950s, secretly agreeing to let the British test their atomic bombs in South Australia. Now we have a Labor government again kow-towing to a foreign multinational uranium miner, allowing it exemption from state and national laws.
Exposing the crookedness of the nuclear industry
This week, revelations of Japan’s rigged public opinion forums highlight the labyrinth of deceit that is the nuclear industry’s pitch to the world’s public.
As Senator Scott Ludlam says it would be “extreme optimism” to think that this nuclear crookedness occurs only in Japan.
No, the deceit is world-wide. Three examples pop up in today’s news items:
1 The nuclear hype that there is safe disposal for nuclear waste. In fact, the world has only one long term nuclear waste disposal project – in Finland – and that one is inadequate and unsafe. The nuclear lobby touts that the waste problem is solved.
2. Also Finland – Olkiluoto nuclear power plants. The new “Generation IV” plant – still unfinished, way over budget, and the operating plants considered not safe. Yet then nuclear lobby continues to tout “new nuclear” as safe and affordable.
3. For Australia – the most interesting lie of all – that uranium has a great future. You will see this on any web search about uranium investing – “the fundamentals” are there the “long term prospects ” are sound. the industry’s future is “robust”.
Nonsense! The uranium industry is collapsing. BHP Billiton probably knows this. But keeps up the pretense, because they think it would be too much trouble for them to export only the copper from their monster mine at Olympic Dam. The others, Paladin, Cameco, – the rest of them – desperately trying to get money invested so they can keep going.
The most serious deception by the nuclear industry is in the way that it manages the issue of “low level radiation” – by omission, by half-truths and lies about low level radiation being “harmless” even “benign”
Glencore now HAS to reveal data, let Australians keep an eye on it
Secretive Glencore, Swiss- based international company, has a very bad record – connected with fraud, corruption, environmental degradation (- check it out at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glencore )
Glencore is now more or less forced to reveal some information, seeing that it recently changed from a private company to public. The change was connected to it increasing its share in uranium miner Xstrata . Pretty inportant, as Xstrata is defending an environmental court case run by Friends of the Earth – a win here could be an unwelcome precedent for Glencore’s world-wide activities.
By the way, Glencore’s CEO, South African Ivan Glasenberg, formely of Switzerland, now resident in Australia, and now an Australian citizen, – is Australia’s second richest person, (after mining multi-billionaire Gina Rinehart.) – Christina Macpherson
Glencore’s 1st Sustainability Report Shows 18 Deaths, Planet Ark, s 08-Sep-11 Eric Onstad Commodities group Glencore released its first sustainability report on Wednesday showing it paid $780,000 in major environmental fines last year and had 18 fatalities.
Glencore, one of the world’s largest commodities trader, promised to launch sustainability reporting during the run-up to its listing earlier this year after spending decades as a private company, revealing minimal information about its business to the general public.
Glencore’s total revenues were $145 billion, the bulk from trading activities, and total core profit was $6.2 billion, but the group has historically paid very low taxes on its trading operation, according to analysts.
Liberum Capital has said Glencore, based in the low-tax canton of Zug in Switzerland, has paid a corporate tax rate close to zero on its trading business up until last year due to its partner ownership structure…. http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/63196
Uranium marketing frenzy, and Australia’s secret deals with China
The uranium lobby is in a bit of a frenzy to try to convince the public that uranium is a good investment. Even as Uranium miner Paladin Energy CEO John Borshoff practically begs people to invest, and forecasts a great future for uranium mining companies – the facts indicate otherwise. Uranium Prices and share continue their inexorable slide downwards.
More interesting this week, however, are the latest revelations from Wikileaks, about China’s nuclear industry.
From Wikileaks we learn that Australia’s uranium sales to China could well be tied to Australia importing nuclear reactors from China. Now Ziggy Switkowski recently lauded China’s the state of the art nuclear technology, and predicted that Australia would be just picking up the phone, and ordering a fleet of China’s new super-safe nuclear reactors.
But Wikileaks now reveals the facts on China’s cheap, out-of-date technology is ‘vastly increasing’ risk of nuclear accident, – ….http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/aug/25/wikileaks-fears-china-nuclear-
Oh dear oh dear – what is Australia getting into – about to authorise the world’s biggest open cut uranium mine, Olympic dam, with the plan to export huge amounts of uranium to China? – Christina Macpherson
Fossil fuel and nuclear industries rev up their influence in Australia
It’s been a bit of a Yey ! Boo! week for Australia’s polluting industries.
Yey! – They’ve had a big political win in Victoria, where Ted Baillieu’s Liberal government has sided with the fossil fuel front groups the Waubra Foundation and the Landscape Guardians (see http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/environment/the-ugly-landscape-of-the-guardians/) Their aim is to destroy Australia’s wind industry.
Boo! – They’ve had a political setback in Western Australia, where both Liberal government and Labor opposition reject Rio Tinto’s call for nuclear power.
South Australia is the nuclear lobby’s safest propaganda State. This is the State that hosts Professor Barry Brook , and Professor Pam Sykes at Flinders University. Brook manages to be a top promoter of the nuclear industry, while being Director of Climate Science at Adelaide University. Sykes manages to promote low level radiation as OK, even healthy, while being funded from money originally intended to help the USA victims of low level radiation from atomic bomb tests.
Now South Australia is getting a new university project. It’s to study the full life-cycle costs of nuclear power compared to other energy sources. The Adelaide campus chief for University College London, David Travers, assures us that the research will be impartial.
Trouble is, BHP Billiton gave University College London the money to set up this research project. It will be done under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Association. Do you smell a rat? I do. – Christina Macpherson
A little healthy nuclear paranoia in Australia
I am quite conservative at heart, and I dislike conspiratorial thinking.
BUT – it’s a worry to me that in Australia negotiations and decisions on matters nuclear are so secret. It is appropriate to have a little healthy paranoia about this.
NUCLEAR WASTES: This week, we learn that the USA administration is negotiating with several countries, for the leasing of uranium, with the radioactive wastes to be returned to the country that sold the uranium. This is under the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Co-operation, (IFNEC), of which Australia is a member Today, we learn that President Obama is to visit Australia, following a November 12-13 APEC leaders’ meeting in Hawaii. In January, Obama’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the solution to nuclear waste is to announce its decision.
BHP BILLTION’S PLANNED EXPANSION OF OLYMPIC DAM URANIUM MINE. In the The State of South Australia, uranium policy is run by loyal BHP Billiton vassals – Mike Rann, Tom Koutsantonis, Kevin Foley . They are about to push through changes to the Roxby Downs Indenture Act – meaning that BHP will have even more open slather for the uranium mine than they already have.
One might hope that the Australian Government would have some say in this, under The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act or under Water legislation. But now, we learn today that the Australian government is moving to allow some projects to require approval only from the State government. Is this going to make it still easier for those narrow-visioned South Australian politicians to just effectively rubber-stamp the largest environmentally destructive project ever undertaken in Australia – the Olympic Dam open cut uranium mine? – Christina Macpherson
1 This month
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
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