Folksy, narrow focus in Australia’s election campaign
The politicians, the big corporations and their lapdog media have successfully managed to con Australians into a narrow, navel-gazing view of politics.
Especially with the “town hall meetings” with the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Opposition leader, Tony Abbott – the campaign process has been transformed into a nice, folksy talkfest about each “real person” ‘s personal worries.
Oh for an “unreal person” – a good old-style political heckler – to bring reality into this.
I do not discount the genuine concerns of the community speakers. But each voter’s personal concern is not the whole story in this election.
The wider issues – climate change, pollution, nuclear power, nuclear weapons, nuclear waste dumping – these issues also concern each voter. The fact that they are global issues does not make them irrelevant to this election. – Christina Macpherson 19 August
Review of the nuclear and climate week
Australian Opposition leader Tony Abbott informs us that global warming, climate change, have “stopped’.
Australia’s pathetically irrelevant election campaign could make you laugh, – or cry.
The Northern hemisphere has a record heatwave, Russia having 769 wildfires, 500 of which are in radiation trouble spots. As of August 16 wildfires stillsurrounded Russia’s top secret nuclear centre at Sarov.
In China, floods and huge mudslides occur, in Sichuan province – where China locates nuclear facilities and nuclear waste dumps.
What a week! and Australia’s media still prattles on about our pathetic, insular political leaders, and their myopic policies.
Uranium and nuclear news under the radar in Australia
I do aim to post significant international news here. But – so much uranium and nuclear stuff is going on without media mention, here in Australia. Today we have two courageous Aboriginals – Michael Anderson, and Jeffrey Lee, standing up for their people and for Country, against the uranium industry.
The USA and Australia are soon to ratify a new nuclear agreement, – yet we Australians HAVE NOT HEARD A WORD ABOUT THIS.
Tony Abbott’s telling Catholic schoolkids how all we need to do is follow USA’s lead on selling uranium to India (never mind about the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty)
Anyway, I’ve had to confine myself today to mentioning the frightening events in Russia, where a very little amount of news is getting out about the wildfires around the nuclear facilities near Moscow, and the uncertain facts on radioactivity in smoke. Christina Macpherson 11 Aug 2010.
The coming battle for powering electric cars
I ponder that the nuclear and uranium lobbies are hyping their product in anticipation of fleets of electric cars – powered by their polluting products. They salivate as electric car charging stations are set up in USA.
It ain’t necessarily so!
Electric cars can be charged up by renewable energy.
Do have a listen to Bernie Hobbs’ amusing and enlightening radio interviews on The Science Show and Life Matters – both from ABC radio – see below.
Australia gambles on the dodgy uranium industry
You do wonder where Australian politics is heading. Clearly the big uranium miners BHP, Rio Tinto, ExStrata, are now dictating Labor policy on mining tax. (They have always dictated Liberal policy). Some ambitious union leaders are also hand in glove with those big miners, as are the South Australian and Western Australian governments.
Those States, and the Northern Territory are crawling with uranium explorers, and uranium mining is being hyped in the media. Yet uranium prices fall, and the nuclear industry stalls in USA, Europe, Britain.
Australia pitches its glowing uranium prospects on China. China is notorious for corruption, including in the nuclear industry, it has dubious safety and nuclear waste management, and a keen nuclear weapons program. But apart from all that – China might wake up to the financial and environmental negatives of nuclear power.
While China itself, and Europe, and soon, even USA, show the way on 21st Century renewable energy technologies, Australia is gambling on a very dodgy future of uranium sales.
AUSTRALIAN ELECTION and the NUCLEAR INDUSTRY – our theme for August 2010
Australia faces an election on August 21. The major political parties are united in one policy – that is –keeping quiet about nuclear power. And Julia Gillard – Labor, and Tony Abbott – Liberal-Coalition, have got plenty to shut up about.
Both Labor and Liberal are beholden to their corporate masters. In the case of Labor, this was shown in a dramatic way, as Prime Minister Julia Gillard kow towed over the planned Super Profit Resources tax. And, with the new, tamed, Resources Rent Tax – uranium mining is exempt even from that one.
The Liberal Coalition used to be blatantly in favour of a nuclear Australia. Now, with the election looming, only a few of their maverick MPs will state this out loud.
Under the radar, the powerful and well-funded nuclear lobby is working away at both parties – for uranium/nuclear policies to be revealed after the election is safely over.
Citizen’s Assembly on Climate Change could have a positive result
Just for once, can we drop all the negativity, and work with what opportunities do exist? The fossil fuel lobbies and mass media did a great job in rubbishing the science on Climate Change. Yet it’s becoming ever clearer that global warming is real, and Australia is already feeling the results.
In the cynical quagmire of Australian politics, Labor could not get any genuine action on carbon emissions through Parliament, anyway. OK – they let us down. That’s what politicians do, when they fear that their jobs are on the line.
The combination of the Citizens Assembly and of a scientists conference provides the opportunity to turn public opinion around, to counter the greedy spin of the fossil fuel industries. This could produce a political climate in which the government COULD get some effective Climate legislation through.
Nuclear’s Brave New Confidence Trick to hijack Walk Against Warming
August 15 will be the day for “Walk Against Warming”. The nuclear lobby will try to use this occasion to promote nuclear power as a solution to global warming.
I like their slogan – “Brave New Climate”. It has echoes of “Brave New World” – a book in which the State exercised complete surveillance over people’s lives. And that would be the scenario, in a nuclear Australia. It’s an aspect not often discussed – but nuclear power is so dangerous, that it requires huge surveillance, and secrecy – indeed a Brave New World style influence on our lives.
Nuclear power far from being any solution to Climate Change, simply creates a new and potentially greater problem.
At the website below, a Double-sided A4 flyer can be downloaded, for printing off, and used to counter this attempt by the nuclear lobby to hikack the Walk Against Warming.
Nuclear Power & Climate Change — Friends of the Earth Australia
Greed and stupidity in uranium investment world
You would think that investors would wake up to the hype! The so-called “nuclear renaissance” is just not happening.
Even the market for nuclear weapons is now looking dodgy – these being no protection whatever from terrorists, (in fact a target for them)
China is looking to slow down its economy.- China’s supposed great uranium binge is a BHP executives’ fantasy
There is a glut of uranium supply, made worse by the weapons reduction program, which now supplies uranium (mining not needed)
From today’s CTV News: “Despite the low spot and term prices, uranium producers have shown almost no discipline by reducing current or planned output,”…Despite falling uranium prices, worldwide spending on exploration and mine development grew 133 per cent to $1.6-billion in 2008 from 2006″
In sunny Australia, passing up the chance to develop 21st Century renewables, we are mindlessly letting banks, super funds etc, put our money into this gaping hole of impending loss – the almost certainly doomed uranium industry.
Nuclear Lobby active in Australia pre election, and opposing renewables
While Climate Change is acknowledged as an issue for the coming Australian election, the nuclear issue still goes on, pretty much under the radar, because it is not popular with the public.
Despite Tony Abbott’s protestations, the Liberal Party still is a pro-nuclear party. Meanwhile the nuclear industry’s corporate lobby is working hard on Labor, too.
The Australian: 20 July 2010 quotes Business Council of Australia president Graham Bradley – “We would consider that white paper to be deficient if it does not canvass the merits of nuclear power as one of the longer-term options for Australia for the future economic generation of electricity and reduction of carbon emissions.” He also warned that the renewable energy target, coupled with other rising input costs, could lead to the need for higher power prices.
Young Australians want action on Climate Change
As both major political parties dilly around, mouthing comforting statements about Climate Change, young people are turning to the Greens and Independents for any kind of sensible approach on Climate Change.
It is their future. One wonders about the baby boomer mining executives who put Julia Gillard into the role of prime Minister. One wonders about the baby boomer journalists, toeing the fossil fuel lobby’s line on Climate Scepticism.
Do they actually give a damn about their children and grandchildren?
What Australia’s nuclear company Silex Systems doesn’t tell you
Silex Systems jumps on the Climate Change bandwagon – presumably to draw in investors. In fact, solar energy is but a small fraction of their basically nuclear business. But – as the nuclear power industry languishes – well – a bit of solar can make you look good, for the moment.
What they don’t tell you is that while their nuclear laser technology awaits licensing, there are serious safety concerns about this technology. It will make the uranium enrichment process a lot faster and easier, but also easier to convert, without detection into nuclear weapons material. hence the Silex Systems laser uranium enrichment process is seen a s a nuclear weapons proliferation danger.
Nuclear and fossil fuel lobby’s dilemma over carbon price
The big producers of fossil fuels and uranium, having safely disposed of Kevin Rudd and his resources profit tax, are now treading carefully on the Climate Change issue. They and the servile mass media did a good job on discrediting Climate Change – so we wouldn’t need to do anything about carbon emissions. The idea is to keep coal roaring on until it can be replaced by nuclear power.
The problem is that their pitch on nuclear power is that it’s the answer to 
global warming , (even though global warming isn’t supposed to be real or man-made). Therefore Australia would need a carbon price, shudder! a carbon tax!
No wonder Ziggy Spinowski’s being a bit quiet these pre-election days!
Nuclear power is no answer to Climate Change
Time is running out for the expensive, dangerous, dirty, nuclear power industry. The nuclear lobby’s desperate propaganda is that the industry is clean, and is a solution to global warming. That is a lie.
BHP and Olympic Dam uranium mining – beyond the laws
BHP Billiton’s power in Australia seems to grow daily.
BHP , Rio Tinto, Xstrata showed their power by intimidating Julia Gillard with the threat of renewing their $100 million advertising campaign. She had to act fast – hence the new, watered-down Resources Rent Tax.
Exempted from Australia’s planned new Resources Rent Tax, and with BHP people in its policy-making, along with their lackey, Martin Ferguson, BHP adds to its achievements in being beyond both Federal and State laws.
Water: In South Australia, BHP’s Olympic Dam uranium mining gets 37 million litres of water daily completely free of charge
SA Roxby Downs Indenture Act . This legislation allows the mine to operate with wide-ranging exemptions from:
Aboriginal Heritage Protection Act
Environment Protection Act
Natural Resources Act
Freedom of Information Act
1 This month
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
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AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
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