UK Conservative MP slams Tony Abbott’s Climate Policies
Leading Tory MP calls Tony Abbott’s climate change policies ‘incomprehensible’, The Age July 23, 2015 Deborah Snow Senior writer Tony Abbott is copping a fresh broadside on climate change inaction from an unusual quarter. A prominent British Tory MP has launched a stinging attack on Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s climate change policies, calling them “incomprehensible”, “illogical” and a distortion of “what it means to be a Conservative”.
Mr Abbott’s dismissal of climate science … speaks to a distorted vision of what it means to be a Conservative.
Richard Benyon, Tory MP
Richard Benyon, a former environment minister under British leader David Cameron, says Mr Abbott’s decision to become the first world leader to abolish a carbon price is “mystifying” and his attack on renewable energy targets “bewildering”, especially for a “supposedly pro-business government”. Continue reading
USA Climate Denialists applaud Tony Abbott
Bravo Australia! Abbott Government gets big tick from U.S. climate change deniers, Independent Australia
‘Bravo Australia!’
So came the cry earlier last week from one U.S.-based climate science denial group.
The Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow was reacting to the latest efforts by the Australian Government to stifle its renewable energy industry.
For a country that claims to be a “good global citizen” on climate change, the support from an organisation that claims human-caused climate change is largely a hoax should be seen as a major embarrassment. https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/abbott-government-gets-a-big-tick-from-us-climate-denialists,7961
‘Solar Shindig’ at Port Stephens kicks of a pro solar energy campaign
Port Stephens residents show support for solar http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-20/port-stephens-residents-show-support-for-solar/6632316 Port Stephens residents have gathered to throw their support for renewable energy, demanding more government support for the sector.
The ‘Solar Shindig’ at Tanilba Bay attracted about 30 people and follows similar events across the country.
The Abbott government has recently advised the Clean Energy Finance Corporation not to fund wind or household solar projects angering supporters of renewable energy.
Shindig organiser Les Pinney said there is a lot of support for green energy in the Hunter.
“About 13 per cent of households within the Port Stephens area actually have solar installed,” he said.
“Renewable are our future, sticking with coal is putting the whole future economy of the country at risk.”
Rundle: Abbott’s gutting of renewables is not just dumb, it’s treason
GUY RUNDLE | JUL 20, 2015 When the time comes for a truth and reconciliation commission into what the Abbott government did to the country, the gutting of the Renewable Energy Target and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation will surely be one of the most prominent issues. To placate and persuade a bunch of brown and old energy providers, the government is willing…. (subscribers only) http://www.crikey.com.au/2015/07/20/rundle-abbotts-gutting-of-renewables-is-not-just-dumb-its-treason/
Tony Abbott is two-faced on a nuclear-free Middle East
Abbott’s double standard on a nuclear-free Middle East BERNARD KEANE | JUL 16, 2015 TONY ABBOTT SAYS HE WANTS A NUCLEAR-FREE MIDDLE EAST. SO WHAT ABOUT ISRAEL?
Does Australia have a new Middle East policy?
Yesterday, in reluctantly welcoming the nuclear deal with Iran, the Prime Minister said “we certainly want a nuclear-free Middle East. The Middle East is the most unstable and dangerous part of the world. If any country in the Middle East were to get nuclear weapons that would be a horrifying…. (subscribers only) http://www.crikey.com.au/2015/07/16/abbotts-double-standard-on-a-nuclear-free-middle-east/
Paladin dives as grades decline
Shares in uranium miner Paladin Energy have fallen back towards their lowest level in a decade…… (subscribers only)
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/paladin-energy-shares-fall-as-uranium-mine-grades-decline/story-e6frg9df-1227444882713
Australian uranium: digging itself into a hole
Dave Sweeney & Mia Pepper 15 July 15 Against a backdrop of fading social license, failing operations and falling value, Australia’s troubled uranium industry gathers today in Perth for its annual conference. “While nuclear true believers will no doubt be seeking to talk up the sector the reality is very different,” said Dave Sweeney, Nuclear Free Campaigner with the Australian Conservation Foundation.
“Energy Resources of Australia has abandoned its plans to move to underground mining at Ranger in Kakadu due to high operating costs and the continued low uranium price.”
These same poor market conditions have caused the Honeymoon project in SA and Paladin Energy’s Kayelekera mine in Malawi, Africa, to remain in ‘extended care and maintenance’.
“The sector’s social license has been actively contested for more than 40 years,” Dave Sweeney said.
“Uranium projects face community opposition across Australia, including Cameco’s Kintyre and Yeelirrie proposals and Toro’s Wiluna and Lake Maitland proposals in WA.”
The uranium industry provides less than .02 per cent of Australian jobs and .029 per cent of export revenue. The uranium commodity price remains depressed with no credible prospects of any significant short to medium improvement in price.
“The vital signs of the industry are weak and losing political support, the Queensland Labor government has introduced a state wide prohibition on uranium mining and processing and we hope to see the same in WA in 2017,” Mia Pepper, Nuclear Free Campaigner with the Conservation Council of WA.
“Australian uranium miners continue to pin hopes on a nuclear renaissance, ignoring proliferation risks, global trends away from nuclear power, community opposition and the growth in the renewable energy sector. Our future is renewable not radioactive,” she said.
The Australian Uranium Conference takes place on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
For comment contact: Dave Sweeney 0408 317 812 or
Mia Pepper (attending the conference) 0415 380 808
Clean Energy Finance Corporation may be able to take legal action against Abbott government
“If there’s evidence that the Government’s just trying to frustrate the purpose of the Act, then the corporation would have the opportunity … to seek a legal remedy,”
Clean Energy Finance Corporation could have legal grounds to fight wind and solar ban, lawyer says By political reporters Anna Henderson and Eric Tlozek The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) could have an avenue to fight the Federal Government’s prohibition on investing in wind power and rooftop solar, according to a senior lawyer.
The Abbott Government has twice tried to abolish the taxpayer-funded $10 billion CEFC, known as the green bank, and has now issued a draft directive to stop the corporation investing in wind farms and small-scale solar.
The draft changes direct the authority to spend the money on large-scale solar projects and new and emerging technologies. Stephen Keim QC has previously provided advice to environmental groups about the Government’s ability to direct the CEFC. He said the Government had the power to put in place an investment mandate but it had to “tread a fairly thin line”.
“They can’t do anything or give a direction that’s inconsistent with the Act, including the purpose of the Act,” he told Radio National. “The purpose of the Act is spelled out. It is to get as much investment in clean energy technologies as you can, and that includes renewable technologies.”
What is the CEFC? Continue reading
More reactions by Australian States to Tony Abbott’s latest onslaught against wind and solar energy
Wind farm project chief disappointed by ‘constant vitriol’
PROPONENTS of a $200 million wind farm on the West Coast have hit out at Federal Government attacks on the industry.
http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/wind-farm-project-chief-disappointed-by-constant-vitriol/story-fnj4f7k1-1227440632695
Central west NSW renewable energy companies unfazed by CEFC changes
Renewable energy companies say they are unfazed by moves to change the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s investment mandate
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-14/central-west-nsw-renewable-energy-companies-unfazed-by-cefc-cha/6617730
Tasmania
Tasmania still supports wind energy, minister says
Energy Minister Matthew Groom insists the Tasmanian Government still supports renewable energy development, despite the Federal Government’s wind energy stance.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-14/tasmania-still-supporting-wind-energy-says-minister/6617436
Some more reactions to Tony Abbott’s latest attack on wind and solar industries
‘Wild and wacky’ – government changes tune on Clean Energy Finance Corporation
An Abbott government push for the nation’s green bank to fund only fledgling clean energy technology has been questioned after it emerged Trade Minister Andrew Robb once appeared to describe such projects as “wild and wacky”
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news#ixzz3ftutz8VL
The Battle For The CEFC – More Reactions
The Abbott Government’s directive for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to stop funding wind energy and some solar projects has captured attention around the world.
http://www.energymatters.com.au/renewable-news/cefc-abbott-battle-em4924/
Ben Eltham: Clean Energy Sacrificed To Keep Abbott’s Hardline Backers Happy
The clampdown on the Clean Energy Finance Corporation is about ideology and loyalty.
https://newmatilda.com/2015/07/14/clean-energy-sacrificed-keep-abbotts-hardline-backers-happy
Australia being dragged back into the past, with Tony Abbott’s attack on renewable energy
Tony Abbott accused of ‘dragging Australia back’ as renewables directive revealed, news.com.au JULY 13, 2015 PRIME Minister Tony Abbott is being accused of “dragging Australia back” when it comes to investment in renewables after a decision to exclude solar panels and wind farms from funding.
A new government directive is expected to stop Australia’s “green bank”, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, from investing in wind and rooftop solar because the federal government does not consider them emerging technologies.
Up until now, small-scale solar reportedly made up about 30 per cent of the projects the CEFC was investing in.
Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie said the changes could impact on those households wanting to buy solar panels.“Unfortunately for households, solar has been enormously popular, so this could have a big impact on that,” Ms McKenzie told news.com.au.
Opposition environment spokesman Mark Butler said the CEFC was being set up to fail.
“The government is effectively bloodletting the CEFC since its attempts to abolish it have been fruitless,” Mr Butler said in a statement today.
The Coalition has already tried twice to axe the $10 billion fund, which actually makes a profit for the government, but failed to get the legislation passed.
“When will he (Mr Abbott) understand the global momentum is outpacing him and he is dragging Australia back?” Mr Butler said.
The latest report follows comments from Mr Abbott earlier this year that wind farms were “visually awful”.
It also seems at odds with sentiment around the world, with many countries stepping up action on climate change including the United States, European Union and China, which have all revealed ambitious greenhouse gas emissions ahead of the Paris climate change talks to be held later this year. Even oil-rich Saudi Arabia, which offers some of the world’s cheapest electricity, is investing in renewables.
Australia has yet to reveal its own carbon reduction targets and last month was described as going from “leadership to free-rider status” on climate action by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan………….http://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/tony-abbott-accused-of-dragging-australia-back-as-renewables-directive-revealed/story-fnjwvztl-1227440370513
AS coal industry winds down, we need to respond with renewable energy
The transition from fossil to renewable energy The Fifth Estate, Graham Davies, Engineers Australia | 13 July 2015 The announcement of the closure of two Alinta coal power stations at Port Augusta in South Australia is an indicator of just how fast the energy industry can move, and how quickly we need to respond to change.
No one could have predicted these power stations closing for economic reasons (sans carbon price) when the National Electricity Market was established some 16 years ago. These closures are somewhat of a surprise given the removal of the carbon price and Alinta’s recent statements about extending the life of the power station and coal mine at Leigh Creek in South Australia to 2030.
While many view the closure of the coal fired power plants as yet another economic blow to South Australia – and indeed our thoughts go out to those individuals who depend on the power stations for their livelihoods – others will see this as an opportunity to further develop the renewable energy industry. South Australia already leads the way on renewable energy generation and the closure of a polluting “base load” power station reinforces the inevitable move towards a distributed energy system based on a range of renewable technologies.
The increasing costs associated with energy that pollutes, produces waste and degrades the environment means the costs of non-renewables will continually rise. It is only a matter of time before a price is reintroduced on CO2, followed by other externalities including health costs, land rehabilitation, waterway clean-up and biodiversity loss. Other states will soon have their share of turmoil with the value of coal declining while the costs associated with coal increase. The question is, will the other states learn from this closure and start planning for transitions of their own?
Australia needs to acknowledge the challenges ahead for our energy industry in order to successfully manage this transformation without sudden surprises such as those at Port Augusta, and the associated social consequences………... http://www.thefifthestate.com.au/spinifex/the-transition-from-fossil-to-renewable-energy/75484
The Rainbow Warrior protest still inspires peaceful activism to save our planet
Almost without fail governments and corporations have underestimated ordinary people and the power they wield. No one believed that people taking to the street, to boats, to pen and paper and even the payphone on the corner back in 1985, could change the global policy on nuclear testing. But they did.
So, what will we say thirty years from now? Will the idea of cooking our planet be as insane as it was to nuke it? Will the voices of the millions of people worldwide have got through? I believe it will. Not because the politicians acted, but because the people will decide.
30 years on from Rainbow Warrior bombing environment voices are still needed http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2015/07/10/4270685.htm DAVID RITTER ABC Environment 10 JUL 2015 Today marks the 30th anniversary of the bombing of protest vessel, the Rainbow Warrior. As much as ever, small voices need to join a chorus to show our leaders what is right. IF A POLITICIAN were to suggest testing nuclear weapons in the Pacific today, they would rightly be thought to have lost their minds; be out of step with reality and the common good, and certainly at odds with the global mindset.
Thirty years ago, it was a different time and the exploding of nuclear bombs beneath the Pacific Ocean was routine. But it was even then not acceptable, and it did not go unchallenged.
On this day three decades ago, a dozen courageous people were preparing to sail from Auckland in the Greenpeace ship, Rainbow Warrior. They planned to put themselves in the test zone at Mororoa Atoll, in opposition to the planned detonation. They carried with them the hopes and voices of many more people from around the world.
The ship had already been working in the Pacific before arriving in New Zealand. The crew had been evacuating the entire community of 350 people from the island of Rongelap to a less contaminated island — effectively making them nuclear refugees from the US nuclear test program that had gone on there during the 1950s. The Greenpeace photographer Fernando Pereira’s powerful images of the horrific impact of previous tests on their bodies and homes had been seen around the world.
The Rainbow Warrior never left Auckland. French secret service agents detonated two bombs below the water line, close to midnight, sinking the ship at the dock and killing Fernando. He was 35 years old and had two small children.
State-sponsored terrorism stopped that voyage, but it did not stop the protests. Continue reading
Stop Tony Abbott pulling the plug on Australia’s renewable energy industries
Senator Larissa Waters, 13 July 15 It’s absolute madness.
We must stop this attack on our climate, renewable energy and our future.
Yesterday morning we found out that the Abbott government had ordered the Clean Energy Finance Corporation not to make any more investments in wind power projects. By yesterday evening, it was revealed that PM Abbott had also pulled the plug on investment in rooftop solar.
Tell Environment Minister Greg Hunt and PM Abbott to stop their war on renewables!
Farmers have been betrayed twice this week by the Liberal-National Coalition: first with the approval of the massive Shenhua Watermark coal mine in the middle of some of most fertile, food-producing land; and now making the future less certain for farmers who choose to make a stable income from hosting wind turbines.
It has to stop.
This government tore down our carbon price, gutted our renewable energy target and now has waged an absurd war on renewable energy — make sure the Abbott Government knows just how many Australians oppose their anti-renewable, anti-science agenda.
PM Abbott is handcuffing us to the coal age, and condemning Australians, our Pacific Island neighbours and people right across the world to worse health, a loss of species, damage to our natural environment and to our agricultural land and water.
Please, tell the government to stop this reckless war on wind and solar.
Radioactive Exposure Tour highlights the declineof the uranium /nuclear industry
The only logical reason why you want to go down the nuclear path is that you want to have the nuclear industry here as a stepping stone to developing nuclear weapons at some stage in the future. But not even the nuclear fuel lobby or the right-wing military types are proposing that.
Renewables now! Nuclear not an option, Green Left, July 4, 2015 The radioactive exposure tour — the RadTour — organised by Friends of the Earth and the Anti-uranium and Clean Energy collective (ACE), was on again this year from June 27 till July 8. Twenty-five people travelled from Melbourne through south and western NSW then onto South Australia.
Green Left Weekly‘s Rachel Evans caught up with the RadTour at Lucas Heights and spoke to Dr Jim Green from Friends of the Earth. How has the campaign to make Australia nuclear free been going?
Well, we have lost ground in the last decade unfortunately, with the ALP repealing the ban on uranium mining and several state governments overturning bans on uranium mining. In NSW they have started uranium exploration mining so that’s been a disaster.
Meanwhile, the economics of nuclear power are getting worse and worse, with fewer countries building nuclear reactors. The Fukushima disaster has given the industry a massive hit. So there is less demand for Australian uranium and mines keep closing.
Uranium mining has come to an end in Kakadu National Park after 40-odd years of massive controversy, so all they are doing at the Ranger mine at the moment is processing what has already been mined. In the past couple of weeks ERA has given up on the proposed expansion of the mine on the back of the famous campaign that stopped the Jabiluka mine.
So all of that is really extraordinary.
The other uranium mine is Roxby Downs. BHP Billiton cancelled the planned mega-expansion of Roxby and a bunch of others have been stopped as well.
Last year’s uranium production was the lowest in 16 years. Globally we have been hearing about this so-called nuclear renaissance, but there are actually fewer reactors now than there were a decade ago. So if that is a nuclear renaissance then I say bring it on.
The recent victory in the anti-nuclear campaign was the Muckaty win. Can you explain the ramifications of that win? Continue reading
1 This month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
15 April – Zoom –Nuclear Power is Not the Solution
Apr 15, 2026 01:00 AM in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Join the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) on Tuesday, April 14th for a timely webinar exploring the risks associated with nuclear power and challenging the myth that it offers a simple, safe, carbon-free solution to the climate crisis
21 April Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-04-21 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-04-21 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
Event Type: Virtual
A virtual link will be communicated before the event.
Host Contact Info: australia@icanw.org
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 