Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items

Tony Abbott’s successful influence on Coalition energy policy

Abbott 1, Consumer 0. Turnbull’s energy fudge locks in high prices http://reneweconomy.com.au/abbott-1-consumer-0-turnbulls-energy-fudge-locks-in-high-prices-11158/By Giles Parkinson on 17 October 2017 Whatever else you can say about Malcolm Turnbull’s new energy policy one thing is clear: Tony Abbott has won, and consumers have lost. Even in the most optimistic scenario presented by the government, energy consumers will see little reduction in their energy bills over the next decade.

That’s outrageous. Australians are paying absurd prices for their electricity – upwards of 40c/kWh and not just in South Australia – and this new scheme can envisage only a slight reduction over the next 12 years.

In an era where renewable energy costs are plunging, where the costs of rooftop solar are about one-sixth the cost of grid power, that spells an abrogation of the government’s duty, and it spells trouble for the future.

To please Abbott and the vast rump of climate deniers and renewable energy nay-sayers in the Coalition and the conservative commentariat, Turnbull has effectively abandoned the Paris climate target and closed the door on new renewable energy projects.

 Paris is abandoned because Turnbull is committing only to the Abbott downpayment of a 26-28 per cent cut by 2030, and has co-opted the Energy Security Board to devise a plan that commits the electricity industry to account for just one-third of that target. It should, and could, do a lot more.

Renewable energy is abandoned because there is no obvious incentive to develop new generation. And consumers can rest assured they will be screwed because the power, quite literally, is conferred upon the big retailers and generators and their complicated series of price caps and hedges.

The government would like us to believe that this new plan is the work, solely and uniquely, of the newly established Energy Security Board. Given that this board only met for the first time a month ago, that seems unlikely, despite the fact that the directors were co-opted to attend the Turnbull policy launch.

More likely, this is the work of the vested interests who have controlled debate and policy making in Australia for all but the Gillard years of carbon pricing. The fact the current high levels of wholesale prices are, by the government’s own admissions, locked in for another decade at least, is confirmation of this.

Turnbull says it is about reliability, emissions and affordability. But it appears an own goal on all three counts: Australia simply cannot afford to dump climate targets, wind and solar are clearly cheaper than fossil fuels, and relying on ageing coal generators seems a recipe for disaster

The policy unveiled on Tuesday means he is effectively tearing up Australia’s commitment to the Paris treaty, because there is no path to 2°C.

It throws a wall of protection around the fossil fuel industry – as if it hasn’t benefited from enough political favours – and raises the drawbridge on new large-scale renewable energy investments

The details of how this scheme will operate are far from clear. There are reliability and emissions standards to meet, but no decision on what these might be. We only know that they vary from state to state, and will be at the discretion of the AEMO and the AEMC.

Turnbull hailed the initiative as a significant breakthrough and a game-changer for the industry. Minutes later he was back in the parliament sprouting complete nonsense about the cost of the renewable energy target, quoting a discredited series of stories in The Australian that claim the cost is $66 billion.

And that’s the point. Renewable don’t need subsidies, and many new projects aren’t getting them. But they do need a target, and an incentive to encourage utilities to move beyond their current coal and gas interests.

For Turnbull, the politics haven’t changed at all – and that’s why the renewable energy industry and the consumer should remain suspicious. There is no path to the decarbonised electricity grid that the CSIRO, the networks and any number of energy analysts have said is not just doable, but eminently affordable.

There is no path for falling energy costs, because the system will rely on the very institutions that have been gaming the market for the last decade. Reliability may be maintained, but at the cost of gold plating the coal and gas industry in the same way that regulators encourage and allowed the networks to do.

Most of all, it’s killed the chance of a bipartisan agreement. It’s a sorry tale. And unless something mighty surprising emerges in the next few months, when the policy details are finalised, it will have got us nowhere.

October 18, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics | Leave a comment

18 October REneweconomy news

 RenewEconomy
  • Abbott 1, Consumer 0. Turnbull’s energy fudge locks in high prices
    If one thing is clear from the Coalition’s new energy policy announcement today, it is that Tony Abbott has won, and consumers have lost. Even in the most optimistic scenario presented by the government, energy consumers will see little reduction in their energy bills over the next decade. And that’s outrageous.
  • Origin teams with UK start-up in SA demand-response trial
    Origin Energy rolls out flexible energy trial in South Australia, allowing commercial and industrial customers to align demand with renewables output.
    • Live: Turnbull unveils new energy plan – national energy guarantee
      The Turnbull Coalition government unveils its new energy policy.
    • Know your NEM: Laws of physics grind slowly, but surely
      With energy policy set to remain a political battleground in Australia, physics, in the form of global warming, will continue to gradually push decarbonization to the top of the policy agenda.
    • Can solar on the roof really power your EV?
      With China, India, Norway, UK, France and California planning to ban manufacture and sales of new internal combustion engine cars, and EVs on the rise, will a solar roof become popular add-on option for plug in EV’s?
    • Innovation: UNSW “microfactories” transform waste into green gold
      A team of Australian researchers is turning the notion of recycling on its head, while also building a new green manufacturing sector.
    • Battery storage? Australia’s rooftop solar boom has only just begun
      The buzz might be about batteries, but the mass adoption of solar PV by Australian homes – and the efficient use of this asset – has only just begun, as prices reach levels that appeal to the late majority, and as early adopters look to upsize their systems.

October 18, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy | Leave a comment

Australian govt changing electoral boundaries, in effort to get support for radioactive waste dump in South Australia?

Fight To Stop Nuclear Waste Dump In Flinders Ranges SA https://www.facebook.com/groups/344452605899556/  
 Gayle Macey No! This has to be a State Referendum with no exclusion. This business of governments chanting boundaries etc, to hopefully give themselves a better chance of getting their own way, has to stop. Good luck with all of this.
 Sandra Hill Disgusting. Why don’t they find somewhere near Canbera. S.A is not their dumping ground!!

October 16, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump, politics, South Australia | Leave a comment

New South Wales Senate debated the idea of a nuclear power station for Jervis Bay

NSW senate debates Jervis Bay nuclear plant, South Coast Register, Rebecca Fist@fistjourno

NSW deputy premier John Barilaro called for a debate in the senate, and the contentious issue was discussed on Thursday.

“The technology they use today is a lot safer than what they used in Chernobyl, but Jervis Bay is not the place,” Christian Democratic Party member Paul Green said. “Not in Jervis Bay’s clean, green, pristine environment.“Over my dead body Jervis Bay will end up with one there.”

Meanwhile, his colleague Fred Nile, was open to the idea….. http://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/4984329/nsw-senate-debates-jervis-bay-nuclear-plant/

October 16, 2017 Posted by | New South Wales, politics | Leave a comment

A futuristic family car at the World Solar Challenge

Guardian 15th Oct 2017, A futuristic family car that not only uses the sun as power but supplies
energy back to the grid has been hailed as “the future” as the annual
World Solar Challenge wrapped up in Australia. The innovative bi-annual
contest, first run in 1987, began in Darwin a week ago with 41 vehicles
setting off on a 3,000km (1,860-mile) trip through the heart of Australia
to Adelaide. A Dutch car, Nuna 9, won the race for the third-straight time,
crossing the finish line on Thursday after travelling at an average speed
of 81.2kmh (55.5 mph).
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/15/this-is-the-future-solar-powered-family-car-hailed-by-experts

October 16, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, solar | Leave a comment

Adani needs $2bn of loans for Abbot Point coal terminal: Westpac Bank may not refinance Adani

Abbot Point coal terminal: Westpac may not refinance Adani loan, Guardian, Michael Slezak, 12 Oct 17   Report reveals Adani needs to refinance $2bn of loans for Abbot Point coal terminal, which is more than it paid for it in 2011. Adani’s financing for its proposed Carmichael coalmine could face a further hurdle, with Westpac appearing to indicate it will not refinance its existing loan to Adani’s coal terminal at Abbot Point.

recent report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (Ieefa) revealed Adani needed to refinance more than $2bn worth of loans for its Abbot Point coal terminal in the coming year – an amount that is more than it paid for the port in 2011. That means the company has negative equity on the facility – owing banks more than it is worth.

The refinancing of its port comes as the company must find $5bn of loans for its Carmichael coalmine, which every Australian bank – and many international banks – have said they will not support.

Moreover, the two projects are entirely linked, meaning any bank that decides to support one project is supporting the other and taking a bet on its success: the Port’s financial viability depends on coal coming from the mine, and the mine will not be able to be built without the port operating.

The news that one of Adani’s major existing lenders is likely to withdraw support for Abbott Point therefore adds to ongoing doubts about the ability of the company to find financing for the controversial coalmine, and could jeopardise any potential loan it might get from the government’s $5bn Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

 Westpac’s revelation came under questioning by Greens climate and energy spokesman Adam Bandt at a House of Representatives standing committee on economics.

In April Westpac released its new climate policy, in which it revealed it would only lend money to projects supporting existing coal basins – not ones that opened up new coal basins. It also said it would only lend to projects that supported mining of coal that had energy content “in at least the top 15% globally”.

Both rules would rule out Westpac lending to the Carmichael mine. But Westpac already lent hundreds of millions of dollars to Adani for its Abbot point terminal, and questions remained whether it would refinance that loan at the end of its term…….

Julien Vincent from financial activist group Market Forces said all eyes will now be on the refinancing arrangements with Commonwealth Bank, with whom Adani has borrowed more money for Abbot Point.

The Commonwealth Bank, has not said it will not continue to invest in Abbot Point, but in August it did explicitly say that it would not be lending to the Carmichael coalmine….https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/12/abbot-point-coal-terminal-westpac-may-not-refinance-adani-loan

October 16, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming | Leave a comment

Tony Abbott warns Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull against supporting renewable energy

Tony Abbott launches warning shot on climate policy, SMH, Mark Kenny, 16 Oct 17 Tony Abbott has fired a telling shot across Malcolm Turnbull’s bow, warning that any energy package agreed to in cabinet must also pass a party room wary of anything approaching a clean energy target or other subsidy scheme for renewables.

It came as the Turnbull government received more bad news in the fortnightly Newspoll series, prompting Mr Abbott to declare a future return to the leadership was possible but would occur only if he was drafted by colleagues, which he described as “almost impossible to imagine”.

Signalling that Coalition MPs will be no rubber stamp on energy, the dumped former prime minister said the backbench deserved “plenty of chance to digest” the formula.

Mr Abbott’s blunt message sets the stage for another showdown over a policy area that has divided moderates and conservatives within the Coalition for a decade, and become a constant cipher for simmering leadership rivalries…….http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-launches-warning-shot-on-climate-policy-20171016-gz1m6z.html

October 16, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics | Leave a comment

Deceptive trickery of Native Title processes

Ghillar Michael Anderson, 16 Oct 17, First Nations inherent sovereign rights are being grossly and repeatedly violated.

‘It is shameful that the parliamentary lawmakers and the lawyers who call themselves ‘specialist Native Title lawyers’ have complete disregard for the fundamental Human Rights of First Nations Peoples.
The time has come for people to make a stand against these criminals who are making a complete mockery of the judicial process, while at the same time writing deceptive agreements that deny Aboriginal people the future right to challenge and appeal these major injustices.

‘Our Peoples have no protection against these wonton Human Rights abusers and violators,
who can get away with this because our people are kept in poverty by the Crown and
are without sufficient financial support that will allow us to make legal challenges
to right these wrong doings.

‘On the other hand, there are some of our people who choose to take the easy road
and do not want to create any form of confrontation over the breaching of our inherent sovereign rights.
In other words, the two-bob mob are prepared to take what’s on offer and shut up.
This stems from the problem of losing pride, identity and dignity and/or
being educated exclusively white-way and losing touch with core values of our Law and culture.

Independent action to free ourselves

‘I now make a call to all those protagonists, white and black, to lessen the damage that has been created by the likes of those who run ‘reconciliation’, ‘recognise campaign’, referendum council campaign’, ‘constitutional reform campaigns’ and those who are prepared to be agents of the coloniser and be on their payroll.

‘One of our main antidotes to the scourge of colonialism is to take our own independent actions to free ourselves from the tyranny of oppression and injustice by:

Mapping our respective Nation’s territorial boundaries;
declaring independent Sovereignty by way of Unilateral Declarations of Independence (UDIs);
designing and flying your own Nation’s flag;
writing the code of laws, traditional constitutional rules and laws;
presenting them to the Crown and governments saying: “This is what applies to our Country/our Nation.”

‘If Nations seek to incorporate both law-ways then it is time to negotiate Peace Accords or Treaties with each respective Nation.

‘We must now put paid to racially discriminatory legislation in all its forms and thereby end the scourge of colonialism in all its manifestations. … ‘
To continue reading Ghillar’s excellent and inciteful MR go to this link: www.sovereignunion.mobi/content/deceptive-trickery-native-title-processes

October 16, 2017 Posted by | aboriginal issues, AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL | Leave a comment

Richard Di Natale – Adani’s Carmichael coalmine won’t go ahead

Adani’s Carmichael coalmine won’t go ahead, Greens leader says
Richard Di Natale ‘confident’ if project can’t be stopped in parliament or for financial reasons, Australians will stand in front of bulldozers, Guardian, 
Amy Remeikis, 15 Oct 17, Adani’s Carmichael coalmine won’t go ahead, the Greens leader Richard Di Natale said, predicting “many, many thousands” of Australians would come together to protest any moves to stop the project.

Di Natale said he believed Australians largely stood against the Carmichael coalmine, choosing the Great Barrier Reef and the environment over the construction of what has been billed as the largest coal project in the southern hemisphere…….

Di Natale said he would “absolutely 100%” join in any on-the-ground protest against the mine, if it went ahead, predicting it would be as big as the protest movement which stopped the Franklin Dam from going ahead in Tasmania three decades ago.

“I’ll be more than happy to join those activists right across the country, many of whom I know are preparing, should we fail in the parliament, to ensure that we win it by standing in front of the bulldozers.”

Di Natale said it was about saving both the environment and jobs of the future, instead of a “short-term hit” he said the Carmichael mine would provide……. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/15/adanis-carmichael-coalmine-wont-go-ahead-greens-leader-says

October 15, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics | 1 Comment

Climate change, sea level rise, and the plight of Australia’s island neighbours – Kiribati

Former president Anote Tong compares Kiribati’s future to the sinking of the Titanic, ABC News By Sarah Hancock , 13 Oct 17 Anote Tong is the former president of the Republic of Kiribati and his island home, in the central Pacific Ocean, is already suffering from the effects of climate change.

Rising sea levels are causing land to be engulfed by tidal waters, driving people away from their homes and leaving them displaced.

Anote Tong is the former president of the Republic of Kiribati and his island home, in the central Pacific Ocean, is already suffering from the effects of climate change.

Rising sea levels are causing land to be engulfed by tidal waters, driving people away from their homes and leaving them displaced.

“What I have seen in my lifetime over the years has been villages, communities, who have had to leave … because it is no longer viable,” he said. “The sea is there and there is nothing. Everything has been taken away so they have had to relocate.”……..

“As a grandfather I have got to think beyond that, as a leader I have to think beyond what will happen today, and knowing what we know today, what will happen to the next generation,” he said.

Mr Tong compared Kiribati’s future to the sinking of the Titanic.

“We are the people who will be swimming,” he said.

“The question will be — will those people on the lifeboats bother to pull us in or push us away because we would be too problematic?”  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-13/anote-tong-delivers-strong-message-on-climate-change/9048088

October 14, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, climate change - global warming, politics international | 1 Comment

Small-scale solar cutting $billions from electricity bills 

http://www.theage.com.au/business/energy/smallscale-solar-cutting-billions-from-electricity-bills-20171012-gyzf2c.html, Cole Latimer, 14 Oct 17,

Small-scale solar systems have cut wholesale electricity costs by up to half in the past 12 months, a study has shown.

The report by consulting firm Energy Synapse, commissioned by a community-based organisation Solar Citizens Australia, found solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in NSW had saved consumers up to $2.2 billion from May 2016 to April 2017

During this period, small solar PV systems are estimated to have generated 1540 gigawatt hours of power within the state.

The report says the volume-weighted average price of wholesale electricity would have been between $29 and $44 per megawatt hour higher than the actual average price for the period of $88 per megawatt hour.

The study found that small-scale solar had the largest impact during February, when record heatwaves were experienced, reducing the volume-weighted average price of wholesale electricity by between $119 and $258 per megawatt hour.

There has been a massive increase in renewable energy investment and construction this year. New solar energy generation has grown by 50 per cent globally, according to a report by the International Energy Agency. The IEA’s Renewables 2017 report says 165 gigawatts of new energy came online from renewables as a whole – including solar, wind and hydro power.

“We see renewables growing by about 1000 GW by 2022, which equals about half of the current global capacity in coal power, which took 80 years to build,” IEA executive director Fatih Birol said.

“What we are witnessing is the birth of a new era in solar PV. We expect that solar PV capacity growth will be higher than any other renewable technology through 2022.”

In Australia, there are more than 40 large-scale renewable energy projects that have either started, or will start, construction this year.

Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thorton said this represented an investment of more than $8 billion.

“These 41 projects will deliver over 4330MW of new capacity, which is crucial to increasing supply in the energy market, replacing old coal-fired generation that continues to close, and ensuring downward pressure on power prices,” Mr Thornton said.

There are 26 projects being built, and another 14 projects that have secured finance with the expectation that construction will start before the end of the year.

“We have already seen six times the investment value in 2017 of what we saw in 2016, and the new capacity will also help with energy security,” Mr Thornton said.

“In 2016, the combined capacity from all projects completed stood at 264.1 MW. This year 2210.2 MW of projects have been committed and 1881.2 MW are in construction with a whole financial quarter still to go.”

October 14, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, business, solar | Leave a comment

Solar power juggernaut is catching Australia by surprise

Australia’s solar juggernaut is coming – quicker than anyone thinks, [excellent diagrams and graphs] REneweconomy By Giles Parkinson on 13 October 2017 It is perhaps not surprising that the fossil fuel industry has hit the panic button and is pushing hard for the Turnbull/Abbott Coalition government to dump the proposed clean energy target and replace it with something that might be called a coal energy target.

They can see what’s coming – and there is probably no better way to describe it than a solar juggernaut.

The fact that solar will become the dominant energy source appears to be under no doubt, even the International Energy Agency admits it. And the CSIRO and AEMO appear to be in agreement that even behind the meter solar will account for around half of all demand by the 2040s or 2050s.

But what if it happened a lot quicker than that? Australia’s grid prices have jumped again to absurdly high levels, and this has lit a fire under the rooftop solar market, which will be followed by a major push by corporate buyers into the large-scale market. The solar sector could boom in ways not previously imagined.

 Huon Hoogesteger heads Smart Commercial Solar, a company specialising in rooftop solar for businesses that has experienced a doubling in demand in the last year or so, and a three-fold increase in the current year. He can’t see it slowing down.

At this week’s All-Energy Australia conference he was asked to speak about the implications of a continued solar boom in the Australian energy market, and what it means for incumbent fossil fuel generators, and others – particularly the storage industry. It was a fascinating insight.

First of all, it should be noted that Hoogesteger focused only on solar – so his observations take no account of the 4.5GW of wind energy already in the market, and the likely doubling of that capacity in coming years (particularly as it defies doubters and matches the falling cost of solar)………

Hoogesteger says most forecasts are based around a continued linear uptake of solar, that puts the country’s capacity at about 21GW in the mid 2030s……… Base on his experience, with a near doubling of just rooftop installations, the massive investment in large-scale solar, and the technology’s falling costs, along with high grid prices, he says it could happen a lot quicker than that……http://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-solar-juggernaut-is-coming-quicker-than-anyone-thinks-70985/

October 14, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, solar | Leave a comment

14 October REneweconomy news

  • How to fix Australia’s embarrassing failure in electric vehicles
    TAI report shows 64% of all party supporters in favour of policies to increase EV uptake – so what aren’t governments doing?
  • The UK Government has announced an ambitious new Clean Growth Strategy to drastically cut carbon emissions and combat climate change.
  • UK solar fund buys stakes in three Queensland projects
    UK-based Foresight Solar Fund Limited continues Australian buying spree, taking shares in three Queensland projects under development.
  • Don’t waste time on CET – there are other options for renewables, efficiency
    We will never have an effective broad-based emission reduction policy – no matter who is in government. Best to look at alternatives, like reverse auctions.
  • NSW network to trial 1MWh grid support battery, as new suburbs boom
    MPower tapped by Endeavour Energy to install 1MWh battery on network in NSW, in a trial hoped to save $1m a year on grid costs.
  • Storage on hold as Victoria still reviewing battery tender
    Clock ticks down on Victoria government’s plans to have two large scale battery storage projects in place by January 1, with the winners still not known.
  • China halts more than 150 coal-fired power plants
    China is to stop or delay work on 151 planned and under-construction coal plants as Beijing struggles to respond to a flat-lining of demand for coal power.
  • Shark Tank’s Steve Baxter joins climate science deniers and islamophobes for Australian LibertyFest
    What do you get when you bring together some of Australia’s most fervent climate science deniers with anti-Islam activists, fledgling right-wing political groups, and an American “free market” Libertarian?

October 13, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy | Leave a comment

Australia’s role in monitoring North Korea’s nuclear tests

North Korea nuclear tests: How Australia is watching Kim Jong-un http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/north-korea-nuclear-tests-how-australia-is-watching-kim-jongun/news-story/0db7b03f8ebb9d99b045a6e4e9d6e23b

THE key to stopping North Korea’s nuclear technology could lie in Australian towns you’ve never even heard of.  Debra Killalea@DebKillalea 12 Oct 17,  debra.killalea@news.com.au

THERE are 321 monitoring stations around the world all designed with one common goal. The International Monitoring System (IMS) uses four technologies to monitor nuclear activity in countries including North Korea.

Unsurprisingly some of these stations are located within our own borders and play a powerful role in monitoring rogue nations.

In a piece for The Conversation, Trevor Findlay, Senior Research Fellow Department of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne reveals the key role Australia plays.

Dr Findlay writes Australia hosts six seismic, two infrasound, and one hydroacoustic station, including a large seismic array and infrasound station at Warramunga in the Northern Territory.

DETECT AND RELAY

The Vienna-based Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) uses the IMS to detect nuclear tests around the world.

This means if Kim Jong-un decides to conduct another nuclear test there are several monitoring stations in Australia which could potentially pick up this abnormal activity.

According to Dr Findlay its monitoring system, which began construction in 1996, is “sensitive enough to detect underground nuclear tests below 1 kiloton”.

The CTBTO picked up the September 3 blast detecting a seismic magnitude of 6.1 and a blast yield of 160 kilotons.

Data such as this is picked up is transmitted to Vienna via satellite where it is analysed and distributed to member states.

The CTBTO’s International Monitoring System is basically designed to verify compliance with the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban treaty.

POWERFUL TOOL

According to Associate Professor at Australian National University’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre Dr Stephan Fruhling, the monitoring system is hugely beneficial.

“The technologies used by the monitoring system (seismic, infrasound, and radionucleides) were all used developed the Cold War to monitor other countries’ nuclear tests, and/or are also the same as used in geophysical monitoring,” he said.

However, it has a much more vital function.

“The main innovation of the CTBTO system is that it makes all raw data freely available, which means that all member states have now access to a global detection system that is meant to give confidence that the treaty is effective, whereas before only the superpowers had such capabilities,” Dr Fruhling said.

He also said the system is operating “even though the CTBTO itself isn’t actually legally in force, and probably never will be.”

Dr Fruhling said the system was very effective and expects it to become even more so over time as sensors and computing improve and the last few stations come online.

He said the system wasn’t perfect.

“There are some limits to the system in terms of very low-yield tests, especially where reduced enrichment fuels are used that do not produce a full yield but still a useful neutron flux to validate a weapons design,” he said.

“However, this is something that is of more use to the advanced nuclear powers who have a lot of experience and access to past testing data, than it is to a new proliferant like North Korea.

AUSTRALIA’S ROLE

Nuclear disarmament campaigner John Hallam said the system and Australia’s role in it was actually quite remarkable.

Mr Hallam said the system has managed to not merely detect, but diagnose every North Korea test right from their first which was just a fraction of a kiloton.

“Australia plays quite a key role, mainly with the big seismic and infrasound array at Warramunga and the Hydroacoustic station at Cape Leeuwin,” he said.

“The CTBTO manages to do amazing work not only in detection of nuclear blasts, but also in detecting earthquake and volcanic activity and a secondary role as a tsunami early warning network.”

However Mr Hallam said the current policies of the US threaten all of that as the CTBTO has been in effect “boycotted” by the Government, despite being the first to actually sign it.

CTBTO’s executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo is geophysicist who used to be the Director of the International Data Centre which processes and analyses all the data coming from the more than 300 stations around the globe.

CTBTO’s work, including the establishment and maintenance of the IMS, is mandated by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty which was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in the 1990s and endorsed by the General Assembly. It opened for signature in 1996.

 

October 13, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Julie Bishop says that USA should keep Iran nuclear deal

US should keep Iran nuclear deal: Bishop http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/10/12/us-should-keep-iran-nuclear-deal-bishop

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has made the case to the US that the nuclear deal with Iran should remain. Australia has urged the US to retain the nuclear deal with Iran in the absence of any credible alternatives.

US President Donald Trump will make an announcement this week on an “overall Iran strategy”, including whether to decertify the international deal curbing Tehran’s nuclear program, the White House says.

“We are urging that it be maintained and Iran’s other behaviour be dealt with in different circumstances,” Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told ABC TV.

October 13, 2017 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics international | Leave a comment