Keeping it under wraps in South Australia’s nuclear (promotional) family
Media are definitely NOT welcome on Tuesday 9 – 10 The AusIMM International Uranium Conference in Adelaide. Speakers will be the nuclear lobby’s bigwigs –
Hon Jay Weatherill MP, Premier, South Australia
The Hon Ian Macfarlane Federal Minister for Industry and Science,
Professor Corey Bradshaw, The University of Adelaide
Dr Robert Ring, Manager, Business Development, ANSTO Minerals
Professor Pamela J Sykes, , Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer
Dr Ted Tyne, Executive Director Mineral Resources, Government of South Australia
Daniel Zavattiero, Executive Director, Minerals Council of Australia
They all presumably “Look towards the future of the reinvigorated uranium industry with excitement and optimism.”…….Technical Program Released
The full program for this conference has now been released.
Order of Australia to nuclear physicist who turned to renewable energy
She has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, for her long career and distinguished service to the renewable energy sector as a research scientist, through pioneering roles in solar photovoltaics and power generation, and to national and international organisations……
She spent 18 years focusing on renewable energy at utilities company ETSA.
Associate Professor Oliphant has spent more than 20 years on boards and energy associations, and counts her presidency of the International Solar Energy Society as among her career highlights….
- her current work —..included travelling to Beijing late last month to lead a team of scientists from Malaysia, Russia and China to undertake a feasibility study on renewable energy in China..
Maurice Newman – a dangerous and deluded adviser to Australia’s Prime Minister?
Maurice Newman: Sleepwalking into sovereignty loss
If the green zealots of the UN get their way, we will be governed from Geneva.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/cartoons/sleepwalking-into-a-loss-of-national-sovereignty/story-e6frg6zx-1227387305726
Australia’s economy will benefit from citting emissions – Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger tells Australia cutting emissions is good economics, Guardian 6 June 15 Actor and former governor of California describes claims that climate action hurts the economy as ‘a bunch of nonsense’ and urges all countries to cooperate Arnold Schwarzenegger is apparently on a mission to terminate the myth that protecting the environment hurts the economy.The actor and former politician is in Australia to promote his new film Terminator Genisys, the first a planned new trilogy for the popular movie franchise.
During his stint as governor of California between 2003 and 2011, Schwarzenegger passed the first emissions trading scheme in the United States.He has said all countries, including Australia, need to lift their game when it comes to tackling climate change.
“In order for us to be successful the whole world has to work together … Australia, Austria, the US – everybody has to work together,” Schwarzenegger told Channel Ten’s The Project on Friday night. “So I am on a mission, I’m on an environmental crusade to go and motivate everyone to go in that direction.”
Schwarzenegger said after California introduced tough new environmental laws the state’s economic growth well outpaced the national rate.
“The thing that you always hear when you do that is ‘this will hurt the economy’,” he said.“Going green and protecting the environment did not hurt the economy, it’s a bunch of nonsense.”……http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/06/arnold-schwarzenegger-tells-australia-cutting-emissions-is-good-economics
Australian environment groups under attack on World Environment Day
David Ritter: Under attack in Australia on World Environment Day “… In a coordinated campaign with the mining industry, the LNP has announced an inquiry into the tax status of environment groups.
This is an attempt to stifle dissent from the environment groups. It fails to acknowledge that the LNP take considerable donations from companies who benefit from their damaging and destructive policies.
Because we have taken a stand defending the rights of farmers to access healthy drinking water, the rights of the tourism industry to have a healthy Reef and the renewable energy industry to exist — we are being threatened.
The most hypocritical aspect of this debate is that the donations the LNP receive from mining companies are tax deductible. That’s right.
We even have the situation where the extreme members of the LNP who are running this inquiry, people like George Christensen, are the leading advocates for dredging and dumping in the Great Barrier Reef’s waters. We also have Andrew Nikolic, an advocate for delisting Tasmania’s native forests from the World Heritage Committee.
So this Environment Day, we have a simple message. The environment is under attack like never before. The people who fight for it are also under attack. If you want to protect the Reef, the forests or just the planet, help out an environment group while you still can http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2015/06/05/4248838.htm
Clean Energy Council sees opportunities ahead for Australia’s Renewable Energy Industries
Tough year, but opportunities ahead: CEC HERALD SUN, STAFF REPORTER JUNE 04, 2015 Last year was a tough one for renewable energy in Australia, with the amount of generation, investment and employment in the sector falling substantially, according to the Clean Energy Australia Report 2014 released by the Clean Energy Council last night.
Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton said 2014 was one of the toughest years for the renewable energy sector for more than a decade. But with a bipartisan deal on the Renewable Energy Target (RET) now agreed between the major parties and legislation being debated in Parliament, the future for the sector was looking much brighter. Continue reading
Graham Readfearn: Bjorn Lomborg’s ‘seven Nobel laureates’ not all what they seem — or even alive
The ‘seven Nobel laureates’ Bjorn Lomborg claims are waiting to collaborate with any other university willing to give his ‘Consensus Centre’ a home are not all what they seem — or even breathing. …
AS OFTEN turns out to be the case with matters of detail involving Bjorn Lomborg, not all is as it seems.
https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/bjorn-lomborgs-seven-nobel-laureates-not-all-what-they-seem–or-even-alive-,7763
Matthew Rose: Climate must be a factor in assessing coal mine ‘benefits’
Here in Australia, as well as elsewhere, polluters are being subsidised to pollute, giving them no incentive to clean up their acts.
The Government not only wants this situation to continue, it wants it to grow.
White man’s greed for uranium mining is behind closure of remote Aboriginal settlements
Closure Of Aboriginal Settlements In Australia To Spark More Protests, International BusinessTimes, By Reissa Su on May 26 2015 Australia is moving to close its remote Aboriginal communities since the government believes they are no longer sustainable. A new wave of protests is being planned for next week across the country.
Western Australia had previously said it can no longer afford to support basic services for communities in remote areas. The government said indigenous communities are hampered by social problems like drug and alcohol abuse. Reports of child sexual abuse and low school attendance rates were also cited as reasons for closure.
The government has already closed one remote community, Oombulgurri, with a population of 100. In November, its lone shop, school and hospital were shut down as the settlement was flattened by a bulldozer after all the residents have gone.
Aboriginal groups in Australia believe they have spiritual connection with the land of their ancestors. They said the government should pay to eliminate the social problems rather than shut down communities.
The indigenous communities argue that the government is planning to evict more Aboriginals to pave the way for coal and uranium mining. “This is white man’s greed,” said aboriginal community leader Jenny Monroe. She accused the government of creating “victims of trauma” and reiterated that the indigenous law is the law of the land.
Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett said more than 100 remote communities will be closed resulting in a resettlement of thousands of residents. Mr Abbott had backed the move and declared it was not the job of taxpayers to subsidize “lifestyle choices.”….http://www.ibtimes.com.au/closure-aboriginal-settlements-australia-spark-more-protests-1449761
South Australia’s Nuclear Royal Commission needs to learn about AREVA’s financial and safety gloom
A negative learning curve on steroids What to make of the EPR saga? Areva is backing the wrong horse − the outcome of current political debates will result in a declining role for nuclear power in France, coupled to the growth of renewables.
A new report by ADEME, a French government agency under the Ministries of Ecology and Research, concludes that a 100% renewable electricity supply scenario is feasible in France. The report estimates that the electricity production cost would be €119 per megawatt-hour in 2050 in the 100% renewables scenario, compared with a near-identical figure of €117/MWh with a mix of 50% nuclear, 40% renewables, and 10% fossil fuels.
Areva has also backed the wrong-sized wrong horse: a giant reactor with a giant price-tag. That said, the backers of ‘small modular reactors‘ are having no more success than Areva. And Areva isn’t having much luck with its mid-sized ATMEA pressurised water reactor………
The EPR saga shows that developing modified versions of conventional reactors (in this case pressurised water reactors) can be complicated and protracted and can end in failure. How much more difficult will it be to develop radically new types of reactors? The French government’s Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety has recently produced an important critique of Generation IV nuclear power concepts. It states that there “is still much R&D to be done to develop the Generation IV nuclear reactors” and it is sceptical about the safety claims made for Generation IV concepts.
Feeling the pressure: Bumbling nuclear’s negative learning curve Jim Green, 21 May 2015, Climate Spectator http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2015/5/21/energy-markets/feeling-pressure-bumbling-nuclears-negative-learning-curve
French state-owned nuclear giant Areva is offering to sell its ‘world leading’ nuclear technology to South Australia. The offer is being reported in the South Australian media without a hint of irony. A reality check is in order.
Areva has posted losses in each of the past four years including a €4.83 billion loss in 2014. Continue reading
Nuclear Royal Commission makes it hard for remote area people to make submissions
Nuclear submissions tough for some http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/nuclear-submissions-tough-for-some/story-e6frfku9-1227364708325 MAY 22, 2015 SOUTH Australia’s royal commission into the nuclear fuel cycle is putting barriers in the way of community participation, particularly for Aboriginal people, people from remote areas and those with language difficulties, the Conservation Council says.
IT says the commission requires all submissions to be typed and not hand written and says they must be sworn in front of a justice of the peace.
The council says the requirement to find a JP will make it difficult for many in remote areas and especially for Aboriginal people to present their views.
Mark Diesendorf shows why nuclear power is just not worth the risks
Accidents, waste and weapons: nuclear power isn’t worth the risks , https://theconversation.com/accidents-waste-and-weapons-nuclear-power-isnt-worth-the-risks-41522 The Conversation, Mark Diesendorf “……
The case for expanding nuclear energy is based on myths about its status, greenhouse gas emissions, proliferation, accidents, wastes and economics. Let’s take each in turn.
Status
Nuclear is not, and has never been, a major energy force. Global annual nuclear energy generation peaked in 2006. Meanwhile its percentage contribution to global electricity generation has declined from its historic peak in 1993 of 17% to about 10% today. The only countries with significant growth are China, India, Russia and South Korea. In the rest of the world, retirements of ageing reactors are likely to outweigh new builds.
Greenhouse emissions
Christine Milne will continue her fight for action on climate change
I’m off to save planet, says Christine Milne
Christine Milne has shed more light on her resignation as leader of the Greens, revealing she believes there is no chance of immediate Australian action on climate change – her driving ambition – and that she must take the fight elsewhere….. (registered readers only)
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/im-off-to-save-planet-says-christine-milne/story-e6frg6xf-1227347599830
Dr Helen Caldicott’s dedicated campaign against the nuclear industry
The hashtag crusaders, The Saturday Paper MIKE SECCOMBE 9 May 15 How does ‘clicktivism’ stand up against the old-fashioned footslog of offline campaigning? Since she first set out on a course of social activism well over four decades ago, Helen Caldicott’s dedication to the anti-nuclear cause has taken her to some unusual places.
40 year fight for land claim- win for Yanyuwa people, in Gulf of Carpentaria
Aboriginal land claim success in Gulf of Carpentaria after 40-year battle, Guardian, Helen Davidson in Darwin, 6 May 15 Deed of grant handed to the Yanyuwa people, covering four islands and Batten Point, at Jawuma near Borroloola, correcting omission in first land grant After a near 40-year fight, the final 200 hectares of a contentious Aboriginal land claim has been handed back to traditional owners in the Gulf of Carpentaria.
On Tuesday the Indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, delivered a deed of grant to the Yanyuwa people, covering four small islands and Batten Point, at Jawuma near Borroloola.
The land rights claim – Australia’s first – was initially lodged in 1977, rejected and then reclaimed in 1992. However, when the title was finally handed over in 2006 a portion was “inadvertently omitted”.
“The land around Jawuma is of great cultural and historical significance for the Yanyuwa people of the area and I am pleased the title is now back with its rightful owners,” Scullion said.
“The handover of the land title will mean that local Yanyuwa families will once again be in a position to choose how the land is used. I applaud the Yanyuwa people for the journey they have undertaken to have their land and their culture recognised.”
A Yanyuwa woman and SBS journalist, Malarndirri McCarthy, told Guardian Australia that Wednesday’s ceremony was “incredibly significant for the conclusion of a very, very long journey for the Yanyuwa people and the surrounding clan groups”.
The 38-year battle had “really paralysed the progress of the region in terms of empowering the traditional owners”.
McCarthy, also a former Northern Territory minister, was among those who gave evidence to the land commissioner in 1992 at the second attempt to reclaim the land. The 1977 hearing had been held in the old Borroloola police station, which caused anxiety for those giving evidence……………http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/06/aboriginal-land-claim-success-in-gulf-of-carpentaria-after-40-year-battle
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/235274195556
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 