Which Australian politician would support a nuclear reactor in their electorate?
We know how to de-commission wind turbines and solar panels at the end of their life, at little cost and with no risk to the community. So, why should taxpayers fund a slow and expensive energy option when alternatives are significantly cheaper and pose less risk? Finally, which elected politician would now support a reactor in their electorate?
A Fukushima end to the nuclear argument Taking responsibility for Australian uranium, Climate Spectator, Ian Lowe, 13 March, 12 We now know that Australian uranium fuelled the Fukushima reactors, so we have some responsibility for the accident and its consequences. It is a reminder that we should have a serious public debate about the mining and export of uranium, rather than simply seeing it as an export earner like gold or diamonds.
The bipartisan agreement in Canberra to allow export of uranium to India, suspending our traditional insistence that importing countries being signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, is a real worry. As Robert Milliken wrote 30 years ago in the National Times, whenever our safeguards get in the way of a commercial deal, the safeguards get
watered down.
Still a risky business Continue reading
Nuclear power’s dangers threaten Australia, too
Nuclear issues are not a foreign matter: Ludlam, SMH, Aleisha Orr, March 12, 2012 WA Senator Scott Ludlam has warned that Western Australia is not immune to the tragedies of nuclear power. The Greens senator made his statement yesterday as the first anniversary of the Fukushima power plant disaster in Japan was commemorated.
He said with uranium mines being set up in the state, WA could contribute to such a disaster as the one in Japan in the future. “Australian uranium was in all four of the reactors in Fukushima that melted down,” he said.
“There are proposals to send uranium to India, Russia and China, where the technical capabilities are not as high as they were in Japan and we have grave fears about this.” Senator Ludlam said mining was not the only West Australian connection
to nuclear power. “We still get regular visits by nuclear armed warships,” he said. Senator Ludlam said ships with nuclear weapons on board also visited Fremantle on a semi-regular basis….”They are routinely risking the people in WA, especially those in coastal suburbs to nuclear energy.”
The senator yesterday launched a booklet detailing what he called the tragic history of nuclear power.
The booklet that Senator Ludlam launched yesterday, Let The Facts Speak, is the fourth edition of the publication first produced in 1990 to raise awareness about the dangers of nuclear power. “After every disaster, the nuclear industry and its allies in
government rally their forces to defend the indefensible,” he said. “Shallow excuses are offered up to deny the undeniable: nuclear power is not clean, it is not cheap and it is not safe.” http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/nuclear-issues-are-not-a-foreign-matter-ludlam-20120311-1usei.html#ixzz1ow8SDpQi
Earth Hour March 31 – Canberra’s event
Flicking the Earth Hour light switch Canberra Times, Larissa Nicholson March 10, 2012 Earth Hour is fast approaching and the ACT government is urging Canberrans to switch off their lights on March 31. Earth Hour in Canberra will be held from 8.30 to 9.30pm, with some local restaurants holding special candlelit dinners. Last year 52 per cent of people in the ACT participated during Earth Hour, a greater proportion of the population than in any other Australian state. http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/flicking-the-earth-hour-light-switch-20120309-1uq6i.html#ixzz1okmvJ3Ss
“The disaster has not gone away”: Sydney to commemorate Fukushima anniversary
This Sunday March 11 marks one year since the earthquake and tsunami in Japan triggered a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant. The reactors are still not under control and over 100 000 people remain ‘radiation refugees’ displaced from the area.
Events are planned around Australia and the world to mark the anniversary of the tragedy and call for an end to uranium mining and nuclear power. In Sydney a commemoration event will be held on Sunday March 11, 3-6pm at the Tom Mann Theatre (136 Chalmers Street, Surry Hills), with speakers and high-profile music and performance (see full details below).
A keynote speaker will be Peter Watts, an Arabunna man from the Lake Eyre region in South Australia. Mr Watts is co-chair of the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance and has recently returned from addressing an 11 000 strong conference in Japan about the effects of the Olympic Dam uranium mine on Arabunna country. Continue reading
Children of the Tsunami to screen on ABC television on 11 March
Children tell their story of Fukushima New Scientist 29 February 2012 Film Tiffany O’Callaghan, CultureLab editor “….of the many voices to weigh in on the legacy of the disasters in coming weeks, it is unlikely many will belong to children.
Award-winning film-maker Dan Reed isn’t content with that. Eager to tell the story of the tsunami and subsequent nuclear fallout from a fresh perspective, he decided to lower his camera a little. His new documentary, Children of the Tsunami, lets the little ones whose lives were forever altered by last year’s events tell their own stories. Gesturing with a downturned palm, Reed explains, “I hope you feel it’s a film that’s down here with the kids, rather than up here with the adults.”…. The film also looks at the fear of radiation exposure among former residents of what is now the exclusion zone – a 20-kilometre-radius zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant. We meet 10-year-old Ayaka, whose gap-toothed grin belies last year’s troubles. Her grandfather was lost in the tsunami, and now she attends a school on the periphery of the exclusion zone, donning a hat and protective mask to go outside. At home, her dad uses a handheld Geiger counter to measure radiation levels, telling his daughter levels are too high wherever there is grass and limiting her play to a square of asphalt by their temporary home. No one knows when, or if, people from the exclusion zone will be allowed to go back to their homes……
Queensland helping Japanese farmers whose land is radioactive
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/onairhighlights/japanese-farmers-use-australian-land-to-grow-riceJapanese farmers use Australian land to grow rice, AUDIO Radio Australia l 28 February 2012 Japanese farmers affected by last year’s nuclear disaster are using farming land in Australia’s north-eastern state of Queensland to grow produce. Rice crops are being trialed in areas better known for cane just south of Townsville, with funding from the Queensland Government.
The Fukushima Farm project aims to produce a small amount of rice this year with the initial harvest in three months. Roger Kaus from the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation, says the trial will help farmers in Japan and there’ll be a benefit for growers in the Burdekin too….
Senator Scott Ludlam speaks on the Nuclear Terrorism Bill
Excerpts from a lengthy speech in the Senate, 27 Feb 12, Senator LUDLAM (Western Australia) I rise to add the comments of the Australian Greens to debate on the Nuclear Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 and to add my support to that of the coalition for this bill….. The Greens support the intention of this legislation and treaty but we remind the Senate this is really only a Band-Aid measure—it is a valuable one but that is all it is when it comes to identifying the root cause of nuclear terrorism, which is of course the existence of nuclear materials, fissile materials and nuclear weapons…….
Explanations by the nuclear haves that the weapons are indispensable to defend their sovereignty are not the best way to convince other sovereign states to renounce the option. This is a debate that is occurring in the Australian defence community at the moment with the reconsideration of the Defence White Paper. Where do US nuclear weapons fit within Australia’s security doctrine? …..We need to get out from under the US nuclear umbrella as a way of encouraging our nuclear ally….
eliminating nuclear materials would seriously impede terrorist networks’ ability to acquire such materials. Immediately securing all nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material is also obvious. Locking down and eliminating existing fissile material and nuclear weapons and facilities is really the only way to address the danger of nuclear terrorism…..This debate must go further. We pass this bill today but we must proceed further to the debate about how to eliminate these weapons from the arsenals of all nations, including our ally the United States.
Australian Conservation Foundation urges Senate to reject Radioactive Waste Bill
Labor’s other federal spill: radioactive waste, Australian Conservation Foundation,Dave Sweeney 27 Feb 12, Against the backdrop of a leadership challenge federal Labor has today pushed ahead in the Senate with legislation designed to impose a national radioactive waste dump on contested Aboriginal land in the Northern Territory.
“This flawed legislation, which could pave the way for a radioactive waste dump to be imposed on the Indigenous community at Muckaty in the Northern Territory, is deeply unpopular,” said ACF nuclear free campaigner Dave Sweeney.“Indigenous, public health, environment and faith groups, key unions and the NT Government all oppose Resource Minister Martin Ferguson’s waste dump plan.
“Radioactive waste lasts a lot longer than a politician’s tenure in parliament and we need to get its management right. “This legislation attempts to manage Australia’s highest level radioactive waste by dumping it on some of the country’s most disadvantaged people. “Martin Ferguson’s Muckaty dump plan is the wrong way to deal with long-lived nuclear waste, lacking transparency, procedural fairness, scientific rigour and community consent.
“Minister Ferguson has been pushing this heavy-handed legislation around the Parliament for more than two years now. “ACF urges all Senators to oppose this legislation because dumping nuclear waste on contested Aboriginal land is not responsible, credible or acceptable in the 21st Century.”
Australian Capital Territory plans Canberra as nation’s SOLAR capital, too
Solar industry gives strong vote of confidence in ACT solar plans Invest in Australia, 28 Feb 12, The ACT Government’s plans to make Canberra Australia’s solar capital are being well received by the renewable energy industry, with almost 150 representatives attending a recent ACT Government briefing on plans for a large scale solar auction, Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development, Simon Corbell, said.
“I am excited to see that solar industry representatives from right around Australia are showing strong interest in the ACT Labor Government’s plans to create Canberra as a leader in the use of renewable energy technologies,” Mr Corbell said.
“The industry briefing was an important opportunity for the ACT Government to share information and answer questions about the large scale reverse auction process which is now underway.” …. http://www.investinaustralia.com/news/solar-industry-gives-strong-vote-confidence-act-solar-plans-12c3
Under cover of Prime Minister crisis, Australian Senate votes today on Muckaty nuclear waste dump
The National Radioactive Waste Management Bill is scheduled for debate in the Senate this Monday morning at 10am. This will definitely be lost to the media amidst the ALP leadership debacle, but we want to make sure it does not go completely unnoticed.
Please take a minute to sign this petition to Senators (link below) . We were initially aiming for 2000 signatures but the legislation has come up very quickly, so we need to get as many as we can before it is tabled. We are at 669 now so our original goal is possible if you can all help send this out through your networks
http://www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/no-nuclear-waste-dump-at-muckaty.html
Western Australian uranium companies investing in the economic black hole of Namibia
February 27, 2012, Today’s AUSTRALIAN newspaper carries one of their glowing pro uranium articles, entitled Namibia is the new uranium hot spot. It all sounds as if Australia’s uranium companies are onto a fine thing, snapping up bargains, out to make a mint! But then – if you read the lines between the lines, well – no. It looks more as if Western Australians might be a bit stupid . Are they really putting their money into these financial black holes?
“….Aust ralian companies have been disproportionately drawn to Namibia, in the southwestern corner of Africa, due to the large amounts of uranium sitting under those sands…..
recently, Perth’s Paladin Energy commissioned the Langer Heinrich uranium mine, while exploration plays such as Extract Resources, Deep Yellow and Bannerman Resources have all found their way from Western Australia to Namibia…..
The Fukushima nuclear meltdown prompted a fall in the uranium price and a massive sell-off of uranium equities, leaving most stocks in the sector trading at a fraction of their previous levels….many of the new uranium mines slated for development in the near term have been shelved as a result of the post-Fukushima uranium price fall….. Not only are new mines not being built, but existing mines are struggling to keep their heads above water.
“If you look across the world, I don’t see any uranium mines — other than maybe one or two — that have the significant profitability you’re seeing in other commodities,” Jubber says.
“The current uranium price is just not sustainable.”….. Not only are new mines not being built, but existing mines are struggling to keep their heads above water.
Rallying opposition to Lynas rare earths plant in Malaysia
the cost of decommissioning the plant 60 years later would be five times the cost of building it.
Lynas ‘devil’ waiting at every doorstep, Free Malaysia Today, Stephanie Sta Maria, February 22, 2012 “…..At a press conference organised ahead of Himpunan Hijau 2.0, the nationwide anti-Lynas rally this Sunday, the groups said that the severe repercussions of the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant (LAMP) has made it a national issue. Continue reading
Uranium industry – 0.3% of Australia’s export revenue, 0.02% of jobs – we don’t need it!
Natalie Wasley, who was the rally MC, said the industry is in no way an economic benefit to the country. She said the uranium industry accounts for a slim 0.3% of Australia’s export revenue and a super-slim 0.02% of Australian jobs.
Snap rally condemns O’Farrell’s nuclear backflip, Green Left, February 25, 2012 By Josie Evans, Sydney A snap rally was held outside NSW parliament house on February 22 to protest a bill proposed by Premier Barry O’Farrell to lift the 26-year moratorium on uranium exploration in NSW. The Nature Conservation Council and Beyond Nuclear Initiative organised the rally. Continue reading
New South Wales – protest against uranium exploration and mining
Protest MC Nat Wasley, from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative, said uranium exports made up just one-third of one per cent of Australia’s export revenue, and were a danger to the environment.
“Long after Barry O’Farrell is dead and gone from this earth, radioactive waste from uranium mining operations will live on for future generations to look after and that’s why we’re standing here today,” she said.
Anti-uranium protesters rally outside NSW parliament http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/anti-uranium-protesters-rally-on-parliament/story-fn3dxity-1226278337387 THE AUSTRALIAN, AAP February 22, 2012
DEMONSTRATORS in white coats and masks have gathered outside NSW Parliament House to protest against state government plans to allow uranium exploration. Continue reading
Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia appealing to EPA about Lynas rare earths and radiation
ANAWA is currently working with the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) to lodge a referral to the EPA regarding the Lynas operations at Mt Weld and their mining of rare earths. Lynas has made a number of changes to their procedures, which have not gone through the appropriate approvals and they are currently operating under approvals given to them 14 years ago.
There are major concerns about the amounts of this radioactive substance being transported from Mt Weld to the ports of Fremantle and health & safety issues for those involved in handling the material that will be exported to their controversial processing plant in Malaysia. ANAWA will be going to the EPA with the EDO lawyer Josie Walker on Tuesday the 28th of February at 10.30 am.
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 