Our last government led by Julia Gillard was publicly against nuclear power for Australia, now Tony Abbott is in favour of it.
Who says one Government wouldn’t authorize nuclear power for another one to pull the plug just like Angela Merkel?
Considering Australia’s lack of action on this front since 1969, it’s time to look elsewhere and quickly at that.
We should not start using nuclear power in Australia by James Jesson, Collision Australia , 30 Jan 14 Debate surrounding the implementation of nuclear power is a well- trodden path in Australia. In 1969, a nuclear facility was proposed for Jervis Bay territory. Now there are no operating nuclear power sites in Australia and the concept shouldn’t be considered as the way forward for our energy needs.
The argument against nuclear power hasn’t changed since the debate started and it boils down to two key elements -danger and waste. History has shown us that humanity cannot run nuclear power plants with 100% efficiency.
The same could be said for existing fossil fuel power sources but the magnitude of a nuclear mistake has the potential to be far more catastrophic. Continue reading
Right wing columnist Andrew Bolt’s claim to be “indigenous”
Bolt also plays mischief-maker, claiming to be an Indigenous Australian.
Andrew Bolt, Indigenous Australian? Come off it Michael Mansell theguardian.com, Friday 31 January 2014 I support Bolt’s right to participate in the constitutional recognition debate, but he should avoid inflaming prejudice against Aboriginal people while doing so Continue reading
Australia will be damaged by this scientifically illiterate Government
Australia cannot afford the luxury of a scientifically illiterate body politic for very long.
Reviving Wind Turbine Syndrome is just what you’d expect from a PM without a Science Minister The Conversation, Michael Vagg, 28 Jan 14 So it appears we are to be treated to another pointless examination of a manufactured controversy in the name of health science. One can only guess at the motivations for the Federal Government announcing a NHMRC-led review of the science around the purported health effects of wind farms, but you can be sure it’s not being driven by scientific curiosity.
In fact this review is probably the most futile bit of spending yet announced in the term of the Abbott administration and is exactly the sort of tomfoolery you might expect of a cabinet which has no room for science. Why? Because there is no controversy about the so-called Wind Turbine Syndrome. It doesn’t exist as a thing. It has not, as the philosophers might say, been reified.
Wind turbines have no health effects on the surrounding populations. That’s not just my personal opinion. It’s the overwhelming scientific consensus. Continue reading
German Energy Company brings more expertise to wind, solar energy
Juwi Group acquires majority stake in Australian energy company, Renewable Energy Magazine, 27 Jan 14 The German energy company Juwi AG has announced it has acquired a controlling stake in Brisbane-based Qi Power Ltd. he deal will greatly improve the company’s ability to provide Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services for solar PV and wind projects in the Australia, New Zealand, PNG and South Pacific regions. Qi Power has been a pioneer in the provision of solar energy for remote power supply focused on some of the world’s largest renewable energy hybrid systems. Juwi AG was founded in 1996 and is one of the world’s largest EPC contractors and developers of solar PV projects.
Qi Power’s founding Directors, Bertus de Graaf (Chairman) and Andrew Drager (Managing Director) will remain Directors of the company which will now have an improved capacity to provide cost-effective solar PV and wind projects to the Australia-Pacific region……
Roth-Deblon is enthusiastic about the new company’s prospects for costs reduction in the region while offering first class solar and wind technologies to industries and consumers in remote areas as well as EPC services to utility scale grid connected projects. The Australia-Pacific region currently has some of the world’s highest power costs but also offers one of the world’s best sources for renewable energy.
For additional information: Juwi AG http://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/article/juwi-group-acquires-majority-stake-in-australian-20140128
Repost: Peter Cosgrove spruiks “clean” nuclear for BHP Billiton
Lack of Australian nuclear plant almost immoral: Peter Cosgrove Amanda O’Brien : The Australian * February 04, 2010 “…………….The former Australian of the Year said he anticipated there would be an outcry but there was no cleaner energy source than nuclear power.(!!)..………General Cosgrove pulled no punches in his speech to the breakfast at the University of Western Australia, which was hosted by major coal producer BHP Billiton.
Lack of Australian nuclear plant almost immoral: Peter Cosgrove | The Australian
For indigenous people, Australia Day 26 Jan – day of mourning
Australia Day: Indigenous people are told to ‘get over it’. It’s impossible, AmyMcGuire, Guardian, 27 Jan 14 When Aboriginal people boycott celebrations, we are told to move on. It’s like the breathtaking legacy of disadvantage we have to endure did not exist,
, Every year, Australia tries to wash away its hidden history with displays of overt nationalism. On 26 January, Australians plant their union jacks in parks and beaches across the country, or on the faces of small children who are taught nothing about what the symbol means to those people this nation believed it conquered. For the majority of them, there has only been one name for the date: Australia day.
But for the First Peoples, there have been several. Survival day, invasion day, sovereignty day – each word loaded with the pain of 200 years of dispossession that has left Aboriginal people impoverished but, against the odds, remarkably strong.
My preferred name for 26 January, however, was one of its earliest – the day of mourning. On this day, First Nations peoples mourn the loss of land, of their children, of their wages, of their remains. They mourn the loss of control over their own future. Australians may want us to “get over it”, to stop being so “sensitive”. But then, why do we still set aside a day of remembrance on ANZAC day to commemorate those who risked their lives at war? And why don’t we acknowledge the brave Aboriginal fighters who sacrificed everything in the frontier wars? …….http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jan/27/australia-day-indigenous-people-are-told-to-get-over-it-its-impossible
January 26: Not Australia Day, but Invasion Day
The Native Title Act, 1993, finally acknowledged that some Indigenous Australians ‘have rights and interests to their land that come from their traditional laws and customs.’ But, as mining boomed on resource rich indigenous lands, corporate colonialism reared its greedy head undermining this landmark act with the Northern Territory Intervention
It’s Invasion Day, not Australia Day, Intfada, Vacy Vlazna“26 Jan 14 Imperialism after all is an act of geographical violence” Edward Said Is it just me, or do you also see a thread of colonial superiority and racism binding US, Australia, Canada to Israel?
Think about it. All are ex-British colonies and like Israel, have a shameful history of genocide committed against their respective Indigenous Peoples and all continue to treat their First Peoples as third class citizens. Continue reading
In respect for Aboriginals, we should change the date for Australia Day
Should we shift our Australia Day?, Queensland Times, Vonnie’s View – Yvonne Gardiner’s take on the world
24th Jan 2014 UNFORTUNATELY Australia Day seems to be as much a time of discord as it is a cause for celebration.
Many of us understand the seething resentment surrounding a day which commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove in 1788.Not only were the first inhabitants of our island colonised, they were also overrun by criminals – hardly an auspicious start to the forming of a great nation.
Despicable deeds were done by the “invaders”. Land was stolen, traditional owners were massacred, Aboriginal children were removed from their families, while adults were made to work in menial positions for little pay.
That kind of behaviour was a modus operandi for the colonisers, who had been invaded in their own land countless times. Through these hostilities, they had developed a warlike, domineering way of thinking that had no respect for any indigenous culture they encountered.
We probably should look at shifting Australia Day to another date, so every one of us can feel pride in inhabiting a great country without being reminded of the shackles of our past.http://www.qt.com.au/news/should-we-shift-our-australia-day/2147638/
In heat wave electricity supply strained, but solar sources reduce strain
Heatwave Strains SA And VIC Electricity Networks http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4127 16 Jan A The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) says extreme temperatures in Victoria and South Australia and associated high electricity demand is placing significant strain on the national power system.
The organisation says the situation is such that it has triggered the potential for load shedding to occur in parts of both states.
Both South Australia and Victoria have recorded the highest levels of electricity consumption since January 2009, with a maximum demand of 10,151 MW recorded in Victoria and 3,046 MW recorded in South Australia on Wednesday.
In recent days, demand has pushed the wholesale price of electricity to the maximum allowed $13,000 per megawatt-hour – or $13 per kilowatt hour – in South Australia and above $12,000 per megawatt hour in Victoria. (View 24-hour National Electricity Market Demand And Price Graphs).
While price spikes to such a level have been brief during the heatwave event so far, the situation could have been more sustained if not for the many thousands of rooftop solar panel systems installed in both states that are assisting in offsetting the electricity consumed by increased air-conditioner usage.
According to solar provider Energy Matters, 750,000 domestic air-conditioners units were installed in 2013 in Australia, bringing the total number of household units nationally to over 9.2 million.
In other news from the AEMO, its latest report on South Australia shows the price of renewables rapidly dropping. In terms of economic efficiency, the AEMO says gas, wind, and biomass remain the most viable investment options over the next few years in South Australia, based on projected costs over a 30-year plant life.
The report notes embedded rooftop PV installation in South Australia generated 497 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity during 2012-13; 18.5% of Australia’s total PV output.
The South Australian Fuel And Technology Report can be viewed in full here (PDF).
Ian Dunlop on the reality of climate change
No mandate for ignoring climate realities http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/no-mandate-for-ignoring-climate-realities-20140114-30rug.html January 14, 2014 Tom Switzer’s article demonstrates why conventional politics, whether right or left, has rendered itself irrelevant to solving the major issues which confront us (“Game finally up for the carboncrats“, January 14).
Climate change presents our greatest challenge and is driving a wide range of other changes which are already steamrolling the 20th century political thinking which Switzer and his ilk represent.
Looking objectively worldwide, from excessive heat here, to excessive cold in the northern US, disappearing sea ice in the Artic, these changes are moving far faster than previously predicted. As Voltaire put it: “Men Argue, Nature Acts.”
Contrary to Switzer’s view, Europe is not in a “coal frenzy”. It, China, and Germany are rapidly moving down a low-carbon path. If we had any sense we would be doing the same, for that is where our real competitive advantage, so beloved of political rhetoric, really lies.
Ian Dunlop is a former oil, gas and coal executive who has recently attempted to gain a seat on the BHP board on a climate change platform.
Christopher Pyne’s confusing attitudes to Australia’s indigenous history
By conservative estimates 20,000 Indigenous Australians were killed by British troops, colonial militias, police and vigilante settlers as the colonial frontier expanded across the continent. At least 2,000 new Australians also died in such battles, often in ugly reprisal attacks.
Where exactly does Christopher Pyne stand on teaching Indigenous history? The minister says students should learn about Aboriginal history, but adds that the current curriculum has not sold the ‘benefits of western civilisations’. Tell that to Indigenous Australians Paul Daley Guardian, 14 Jan 14 Sometimes it’s difficult to tell if education minister Christopher Pyne is genuinely torn about Australia’s bleak and violent colonial history, trying to be politically pragmatic or just confused.
Last week when he announced a supposedly independent review of the national curriculum by experts clearly hostile towards the status quo, it was framed in terms of competing aspects of Australia’s past – Indigenous history and “western civilisation”. Continue reading
Skin cancer danger even for office workers
Give your skin a break, In My Community http://www.inmycommunity.com.au/shopping-and-lifestyle/health-and-wellbeing/Give-your-skin-a-break/7655085/ 14/Jan/2014 OFFICE workers are risking damage to their skin by not protecting themselves from UV radiation during outdoor lunch breaks, a WA Cancer Council spokesman says.
SunSmart manager Mark Strickland said people might think only half an hour of sun while having lunch would not harm them, especially on cooler days, but in reality the risk of sunburn was extreme.
“If people are outside at lunch time, they’re outside at the highest strength of UV radiation,” Mr Strickland said.
“At this time of year the UV radiation in Perth will be 13 to 14 at lunch time.
“Under those circumstances even 15 minutes is enough to do damage to our skin.”
Mr Strickland said people should be more concerned about the real risk of skin cancer that came with overexposure to UV radiation than the risk of vitamin D deficiency.
“For the vast majority of the population who dress in the mainstream way and move between buildings during the day, those people will be getting enough incidental sunshine to meet their vitamin D requirements… even if they’re being sun smart,” he said.
Mr Strickland said seeking shade as well as wearing a hat, sunglasses and protective clothing were the best options to be sun smart because some people found it too much of a bother to put on sunscreen for their lunch breaks.
“If you’ve got bare skin then that means sun screen is the next option but it isn’t a perfect choice because no sunscreen blocks 100 per cent of UV radiation and often we don’t put it on properly.”
Australia Day has become jingositic, nationalistic, racist
Australia Day nationalism walks in the footsteps of ugly precedents, The Conversation, Robin Tennant-Wood, 14 Jan Assistant Professor, Faculty of Business and Government at University of Canberra “……Australia Day has always been problematic as a national day of celebration. The “Est 1788” line only serves to emphasise this point. Apart from being offensive to indigenous Australians, it is, quite simply, historically incorrect…….
Tony Abbott praises coal energy, talks down renewables
Australia should be the affordable energy capital of the world. We have a superabundance of coal – Tony Abbott
RET – Will Greg Hunt Be The Last Man Standing? http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=4122 14 Jan 14 As Prime Minister Abbott continues to talk down renewables, it seems Environment Minister Greg Hunt and one other are the only remaining Ministers supporting the Renewable Energy Target.
According to The Australian, a senior government figure says Greg Hunt and Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane are the only cabinet members left supporting the RET.
The news comes just days after Prime Minister Abbot again gave ominous signs with regard to the future of the Renewable Energy Target after this year’s review.
Health dangers in the heat wave
Warning of health risks in the heat http://www.sunraysiadaily.com.au/story/2018053/warning-of-health-risks-in-the-heat/?cs=1259 Tony Masterson, Jan. 13, 2014, The first heat wave of 2014 is upon us, and while the scorching sun is a regular feature of the Mallee summer, we must not become complacent about its dangers – especially for those of us who work outdoors.
According to SunSmart, outdoor workers in Australia receive five to 10 times more sun exposure than indoor workers, placing them at an increased risk of skin damage and skin cancer
Construction workers have a higher risk of skin cancer than many other workers because of their exposure to ultraviolent radiation, through direct sunlight and reflected sun. Similarly, agricultural workers have a higher rate of contracting skin cancer.
Between 1999 and 2002, death rates of skin cancer for male farmers and farm managers aged were almost 60 per cent higher than the general population. At least one in every two Australians will require treatment some time in their life for various forms of skin cancer.
Workplace health and safety laws require employers to provide a safe working environment, which includes protection against risks associated with working in heat. This is the first really hot working week of the summer for many people in Mildura, so everyone needs to take extra care to make sure they look after themselves, their employees and their workmates.
Simple things like rescheduling work to cooler parts of the day, making sure there is drinking water available, and providing outdoor workers with sunscreen and protective clothing can help to keep workers safe during this scorching heat.
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
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 