Australian uranium fuelled Fukushima nuclear reactors at time of the catastrophe
Fukushima five years on, and the lessons we failed to learn, Guardian, Dave Sweeney, 11 Mar 16 “…….In October 2011 it was formally confirmed to the Australian parliament that not only was Australian uranium routinely sold to the corner-cutting Tepco but that a load of true blue yellowcake was fuelling the Fukushima complex at the time of the disaster. Australian radioactive rocks were the source of Fukushima’s fallout.
Surely after directly fuelling disaster Australia would have taken some steps to review and possibly reconsider our role in the global nuclear trade?
The UN thought so. In September 2011 the UN secretary-general called on Australia to conduct “an in-depth assessment of the net cost impact of the impacts of mining fissionable material on local communities and ecosystems”.
This has never happened. It needs to, and Australia’s uranium sector deserves some long overdue scrutiny.
The most recent independent assessment of the Australian uranium industry – a Senate inquiry in October 2003 – found the sector characterised by underperformance and non-compliance, an absence of reliable data to measure contamination or its impact on the environment and an operational culture focussed on short term considerations…….http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/11/fukushima-five-years-on-and-the-lessons-we-failed-to-learn
Genetic damage to later generations from Maralinga radiation fallout
New generations of Australian families suffering deformities and early deaths because of ‘genetic transfer’,news.com.au MARCH 10, 2016 [EXCELLENT PHOTOS] PEOPLE who worked at Australian atomic bomb test sites claim they have produced generations of children with severe deformities and suffered a high number of stillbirths.
Documents obtained exclusively by news.com.au show hundreds of children and grandchildren of veterans exposed to radiation were born with shocking illnesses including tumours, Down syndrome, cleft palates, cerebral palsy, autism, missing bones and heart disease.
One veteran, who was posted to the Maralinga nuclear test site in South Australia in the 1950s as part of the British Nuclear Test (BNT) program, says the radiation contaminated his sperm and is to blame for the death of a child he never got to know.
But he is not alone, with the documents detailing a litany of miscarriages and stillbirths that has allegedly passed the devastation from generation to generation.
Australian ex-servicemen and their families originally made submissions to a Federal Government review in 2003 over deaths and disabilities they believe were caused by exposure to radiation from nuclear testing in South Australia and Western Australia in the 1950s and 60s.
The submissions were later compiled to use in a class action against the British Ministry of Defence, but the case was not allowed to proceed because it was deemed impossible to prove radiation caused their illnesses. Continue reading
Australia’s uneconomic and declining uranium industry
Fukushima five years on, and the lessons we failed to learn, Guardian, Dave Sweeney, 11 Mar 16 “…….As home to around 35% of the world’s uranium reserves, Australia has long been a significant player in the global nuclear trade.
Since the 1980s Australian uranium mining has been dominated by two major operations – Ranger in Kakadu and Olympic Dam in northern South Australia. Both operations and their heavyweight owners have been voting with their feet and their finances since 2011. Processing of stockpiled ore continues at Ranger but mining has ended and parent company Rio Tinto is now preparing to commence costly and complex rehabilitation work.
At Olympic Dam the world’s biggest mining company BHP Billiton stunned the South Australian government in 2012 when it shelved an approved and long planned multi-billion dollar mine expansion.
Smaller mines like Honeymoon in South Australia have been placed on extended care and maintenance, junior companies have abandoned the field and the sectors prevailing business model is to get the paperwork in order and wait in hope for better times.
Historically the sector has been constrained by political uncertainty, restrictions on the number of mines, a consistent lack of social license and strong Aboriginal and community resistance.
Recent years have seen fewer political constraints but a dramatic decline in the price of uranium and popularity of nuclear power following Fukushima.
Australia now accounts for approximately 11% of global uranium production, down from over 18% a decade earlier. Australia’s uranium production of 5,000 tonnes in 2014 was the lowest for 16 years.The industry generates less than 0.2% of national export revenue and accounts for less than 0.02% of jobs in Australia. Less than one thousand people are employed in Australia’s uranium industry.
In an attempt to jump start the flat-lining uranium trade, successive federal governments have preferred enthusiasm to evidence. They have failed to conduct the requested industry review and instead fast-tracked increasingly irresponsible uranium sales deals, most recently with India.
Approvals are fast-tracked, regulators are complacent, community concerns are air-brushed away and all for a sector that never really made sense and now doesn’t even make dollars.
In short, Australia’s uranium sector is high risk and low return. It leaves polluted mine sites and home and drives nuclear risk and insecurity abroad. And it fuelled Fukushima – a profound environmental, economic and human disaster that continues to negatively impact lives in Japan and far beyond.http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/11/fukushima-five-years-on-and-the-lessons-we-failed-to-learn
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT DENIES LINK BETWEEN RADIATION EXPOSURE AND ILLNESS
New generations of Australian families suffering deformities and early deaths because of ‘genetic transfer’, news.com.au MARCH 10, 2016 [EXCELLENT PHOTOSlifestyle/health/health-problems/new-generations-of-australian-families-suffering-deformities-and-early-deaths-because-of-genetic-transfer/news-story/5a74b7eab2f433402aa00bc2fcbcbea4 “…….. But the link between exposure to radiation at the test sites and subsequent illness of the BNT veterans and their descendants has never been accepted by the Australian Government.
Those who can prove they sustained an injury or disease related to their service are eligible for compensation under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRCA), and its antecedent Acts.
But BNT veterans told news.com.au they are continually rejected on the grounds that the levels of radiation they were exposed to were “too low” to cause their illnesses.
It’s a stark contrast to a 1999 study for the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association, which found that 30 per cent of the nuclear test veterans had died, mostly in their 50s, from cancers or cancer-related illnesses.
In addition, a 2007 New Zealand study found that New Zealand sailors who had been exposed to the nuclear testing had three times the level of genetic abnormality and notably higher rates of cancer than the general population.
Following a British decision in 1988, the Australian Government negotiated compensation for a small group of Australian servicemen suffering from two specific conditions — leukaemia (except lymphatic leukaemia) and a rare blood disorder known as multiple myeloma.
But the bulk of BNT Australian veterans have never been compensated over radiation exposure during the atomic bomb tests in the 1950s and 60s. Nor have their medical conditions been officially linked to their exposure.
While BNT service personnel have had access to disability pensions and health care under the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 (VEA) since July 1, 2010, and cancer treatments, many of them say they are not entitled to full benefits.
Mr Batchelor said he wasn’t even entitled to a veteran’s gold card despite all he has suffered, sacrificed and lost.
“Those (veterans) that are left could desperately do with a gold card,” he said.
“I don’t think that’s asking for too much.” http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/new-generations-of-australian-families-suffering-deformities-and-early-deaths-because-of-genetic-transfer/news-story/5a74b7eab2f433402aa00bc2fcbcbea4
Greens plan for solar shade in Brisbane’s King George Square
Brisbane council election: Greens promise ‘solar shade’ in 
, Brisbane Times March 9 2016 Cameron Atfield It’s long been the civic centre of Brisbane, but now King George Square has again found itself at the centre of Brisbane’s council election campaign.
Greens lord mayoral candidate Ben Pennings has unveiled a plan to cover the square in solar shading, which would come equipped with sockets for people to charge their phones in the shade. Below – solar shade , Arizona University
The Greens want to introduce solar shade, similar to this at Arizona State University, to Brisbane’s King George Square
Mr Pennings said the solar panels would generate 100,000 kilowatt hours a year to help charge City Hall, which he said would save Brisbane City Council $20,000 in annual electricity bills.
“The Greens’ plan for King George Square embraces this century rather than looking to the past of roped-off grass,” he said. “A one-off investment of $2.5m will shade King George Square with solar panels.”Residents can relax in the shade and use the power to charge their phones, tablets or laptops.
“New seating will allow people to recharge on their own or connect under the shade in small groups.”………http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-council-election-greens-promise-solar-shade-in-king-george-square-20160309-gneylr.html
Capping of Ranger open cut uranium mine
Ranger uranium mine open cut pit capped as part of ongoing site rehabilitation ABC Radio NT Country Hour By Daniel Fitzgerald 10 Mar 16 An open cut pit at the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory has been capped after 20 years of rehabilitation work.
Energy Resources Australia (ERA) began filling in Pit 1 after mining in the pit ceased in 1996, with work continuing intermittently around other activities at the site, which is surrounded by Kakadu National Park. AUDIO: Tim Eckersley speaks about rehabilitation works at ERA’s Ranger mine (ABC Rural)
Leftovers from the processing operations at the mine, known as tailings, were dumped into the large pit and left to settle. General manager of operations at the Ranger mine, Tim Eckersley said the tailings were a “sandy, muddy mixture so it has taken quite some years to consolidate.”………..
Since 2012 ERA said it had spent more than $400 million on rehabilitation works at the mine.
Environmental management of the mine site had been marred by several incidents in recent years.Last year, a fire on the site burnt into Kakadu National Park and threatened nearby Indigenous cultural sites.ERA avoided charges over a 2013 incident when 1,400 cubic metres of radioactive slurry was spilt after a tank collapsed.
The mine has an uncertain future after traditional owners said they would not support mining operations after the mining lease ended in 2021. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-09/disused-open-cut-pit-at-ranger-uranium-mine-capped-era/7221720
Australia’s Liberal Party Wants National Debates on whether or not Climate Change is happening!
NSW Liberals call for national debates on climate change science
The NSW Liberals have formally called on the Turnbull government to conduct public debates about climate change – including as to whether the science is settled – in a stark reminder of the deep divisions within the party over the issue.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-liberals-call-for-national-debates-on-climate-change-science-20160307-gnd3zn.html
The Sorry History of the Liberal Party’s Religious Conversion to Climate Denialism
Lest anyone assume that this is an issue only for the Liberals, it should be noted that the Australian Labor Party’s climate policies have hardly been consistent, veering from indifference under Paul Keating, to grave moral challenge under Rudd, and finally the “art of the possible” under Julia Gillard. Meanwhile, the arcane accounting rules around the Kyoto Protocol have allowed both Labor and Liberal governments to draw a veil over the true progress.
As economist Ross Garnaut warned in 2008, it may be that the problem is simply too wicked for our democratic system to cope.
How climate denial gained a foothold in the Liberal Party, and why it still won’t go away, The Conversation, Marc Hudson, March 10, 2016 It seems the Liberal Party is still having trouble letting go of climate denial, judging by the New South Wales branch’s demand that the Turnbull government arrange a series of public debates on climate science.
Leaving aside the fact that this kind of town hall debate would only entrench opposing viewpoints rather than making scientific headway (a task best left to peer-reviewed journals), it is not the only recent example of Liberal Party members seeking to stoke doubts over the reality of climate change.
Last September, Liberal National Party senator Ian Macdonald told the federal parliament that Australia’s children have been “brainwashed” about human-induced climate change, which he described as “a fad or a farce or a hoax” and “farcical and fanciful”.
Two months earlier, Macdonald’s fellow LNP MP George Christensen attended the Heartland Institute’s climate sceptic conference. There he described climate concerns as “hysteria” and the stuff of science fiction.
And a month before that, rural Liberals called for a parliamentary inquiry into climate science, while urging Australia not to sign any binding agreement at December’s Paris climate talks.
This pervasive climate scepticism might make it look like this is a longstanding position within the Liberal Party. But history tells rather a different story.
The forgotten history of Liberal climate positions
Dangerous global warming will happen sooner than thought
Dangerous global warming will happen sooner than thought – study, Guardian, Joshua Robertson, 10 Mar 16 Australian researchers say a global tracker monitoring energy use per person points to 2C warming by 2030. The world is on track to reach dangerous levels of global warming much sooner than expected, according to new Australian research that highlights the alarming implications of rising energy demand.
University of Queensland and Griffith University researchers have developed a “global energy tracker” which predicts average world temperatures could climb 1.5C above pre-industrial levels by 2020.
That forecast, based on new modelling using long-term average projections on economic growth, population growth and energy use per person, points to a 2C rise by 2030.
The UN conference on climate change in Paris last year agreed to a 1.5C rise as the preferred limit to protect vulnerable island states, and a 2C rise as the absolute limit.
The new modelling is the brainchild of Ben Hankamer from UQ’s institute for molecular bioscience and Liam Wagner from Griffith University’s department of accounting, finance and economics, whose work was published in the journal Plos One on Thursday.
It is the first model to include energy use per person – which has more than doubled since 1950 – alongside economic and population growth as a way of predicting carbon emissions and corresponding temperature increases.
The researchers said the earlier than expected advance of global warming revealed by their modelling added a newfound urgency to the switch from fossil fuels to renewables.
Hankamer said: “The more the economy grows, the more energy you use … the conclusion really is that economists and environmentalists are on the same side and have both come to the same conclusion: we’ve got to act now and we don’t have much time.”……..
The researchers suggested switching $500bn in subsidies for fossil fuels worldwide to renewables as a “cost neutral” way to fast-track the energy transition.
Wagner said pulling the rug from out under the fossil fuels industry was a move of “creative destruction” and “more a political issue rather than an economic issue”…….http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/mar/10/dangerous-global-warming-will-happen-sooner-than-thought-study
High Court challenge to Tasmania’s anti protest laws – by Bob Brown
Bob Brown challenges Tasmania’s anti-protest laws in High Court ABC News 9 Mar 16 Former Australian Greens leader Bob Brown has issued a High Court challenge to the Tasmanian Government’s anti-protest laws.
The legislation which passed Parliament in 2014 allows for on-the-spot fines and tougher penatlities for repeat offenders.
Mr Brown and a number of others were arrested and charged in January, under the new laws, for protesting against the logging of Lapoinya Forest in Tasmania’s north west.
He issued the High Court challenge on the grounds the laws were contrary to the implied freedom of speech on government and political matters under the Australian constitution.
“I know that a challenge in the High Court can be a very expensive thing but I also know that a lot of people are worried about this legislation and the spread of it in other states,” he said.
“The laws will, if not challenged, trap everybody who wants to take a stand against something that’s manifestly wrong going on in our country.” Mr Brown said the Tasmanian Government promised the laws were not aimed at “mum and dad” protesters.
But he said “first up, they trapped a young mother and nurse who grew up in the Lapoinya area and a local grandfather”.
Hobart solicitor Roland Brown said the High Court challenge was a test case.
“This case is unusual because it’s seeking to have made invalid, or declared invalid, legislation that targets people’s political belief and their opinion in relation to environmental, social, cultural and economic factors,” he said………http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-10/bob-brown-flags-high-court-challenge-to-workplace-protest-laws/7236124
Don’t nuclear waste Australia! Make a stand!
Dave Sweeney, Australian Conservation Foundation, 9 Mar 16 Six communities in regional and remote areas around the country are on a government shortlist as possible sites to house Australia’s radioactive waste.
Toni Scott from Kimba in South Australia visited Parliament House last week with farmers, residents and Traditional Owners from every community on the list. “I’m the direct neighbour of a site and I’m here to say to Minister Frydenberg this process is wrong. He needs to stop and start again and get it right. He’s got time to do that.”
Josh Frydenberg, the Minister for Resources, Energy and Northern Australia, has promised not to impose radioactive waste on a site without broad community support. It is now time to honour this promise.
Public comment on the proposed six sites ends this Friday. Will you make a public comment in the next 48 hours and take a stand with Toni?
I was at Parliament with Toni and the other representatives from the six proposed sites and they’re concerned, suspicious and opposed.
Radioactive waste is caused by splitting atoms. We cannot let it split communities.
Peter Woolford, a grain grower from Kimba, said, “The mental health issues that the process has created, the stress and the anger and the deep division in our community is real. We are here as one to make sure our concerns are heard. The process is wrong and it’s damaging our communities.”
Regina McKenzie, a Traditional Owner from the Flinders Ranges, worries that the Indigenous cultural work done in her community over many years will be lost. “There was no consultation whatsoever. We all found out when it was released on the news and we feel it’s an attack on our belief system.”
Peter Kenny, a Traditional Owner from Walkabout Bore, so wanted to represent his community he travelled out of the Northern Territory and in a large plane for the first time.
Annette Clement from Oman Ama in southern Queensland stated, “We feel it’s been unfairly foisted upon us. We were told it wouldn’t come to a community if we said no. We say no but they continue to coerce us with inferred incentives – money – and guilt.”
Most of Australia’s radioactive waste is currently securely stored in a facility at Lucas Heights in NSW and there is no reason to rush to move it anywhere else. We have the time to finally develop a credible and considered approach to radioactive waste management.
For two decades successive governments have tried to impose radioactive waste on unwilling remote communities. The most recent attempt, at Muckaty in the Northern Territory, was shelved after sustained Aboriginal and community opposition. The current approach must avoid replicating the mistakes of the past.
ACF wants to see responsible radioactive waste management, not more pressure on communities.
How we handle radioactive waste is an issue that lasts longer than this generation. It’s not contained to any single post code. We don’t need to rush, but we do need to get it right.
Restoring social order? Treaty with Alyawarr people first!
“Sir – I am an Alyawarr traditional custodian and I am calling for a treaty on the back ofDr Dennis Jensen MP’s controversial speech in Parliament last week regarding Aborigines. …
Greater autonomy within Aboriginal communities is necessary to address these issues and the way to achieve this is through treaties, and I call for one between the
Commonwealth Government and the Alyawarr people.
Government trashing Australia’s international reputation, with climate study cuts to CSIRO
“our whole reputation is at risk … it’s our international reputation in delivering results”.
A petition signed by 150 scientists attending the conference has called on the Federal Government to reconsider the organisation’s restructure.
Global spotlight on CSIRO cuts as work culture turns toxic, inquiry hears , ABC News, 7 Mar 16 Australia’s top marine scientists are warning that the country’s international scientific standing will be damaged by the CSIRO’s climate restructure.
About 350 jobs nationally are expected to go by mid 2017, including positions from the Oceans and Atmosphere Unit and 100 from land and water research.
A total of 191 staff work in the Oceans and Atmosphere division in Tasmania.
Scientific leaders from the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) are giving evidence before the Senate’s Select Committee into Scrutiny of Government Budget Measures in Hobart. Continue reading
South Australian Government pro-nuclear waste dump PR campaign set to roll
The Premier’s announcement today that the State Labor Government will move to repeal part of the 
Nuclear Waste Storage Facility (Prohibition) Act 2000, indicates that a taxpayer-funded pro-nuclear waste dump public relations campaign is on its way.
The Government says the repeal is necessary in order to consult with the community over the Nuclear Royal Commission’s findings.
“That’s just not true”, according to SA Greens Leader and environmental lawyer, Mark Parnell MLC.
“The Act only prohibits the use of public money to “encourage or finance any activity associated with the construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility in this State”. It doesn’t preclude genuine public consultation that asks South Australians whether or not they believe SA should host a high-level nuclear waste dump. Genuine consultation with the South Australian community is allowed, even if it uses Government resources. What isn’t allowed is a biased or one-sided PR campaign that “encourages” the construction or operation of a nuclear waste dump.”
“If the Government’s intentions were honourable, it wouldn’t need to repeal this legislation.”
“What is most galling is that the Premier isn’t even prepared to wait for the Royal Commission’s final report in May before legislating to be able to spruik a nuclear waste dump. The Government had said it would wait until the end of the year before deciding what to do with the Royal Commission’s findings. Rushing now to repeal this legislation suggests that it’s mind might already be made up.
“If this legislation is repealed, the Government will be able to legally spend millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money to promote SA as the Nuclear Waste State. It will also be able to conduct detailed planning and design work for a nuclear waste dump, with only the final consent requiring Parliamentary approval,” concluded Mark Parnell.
South Australia nuclear law repeal opens door to taxpayer funded spin
Conservation Council of South Australia 7 Mar 16 The move by the Weatherill Government to repeal parts of the SA Nuclear Waste Storage Prohibition Act even before the Nuclear Royal Commission hands down its final report is deeply disappointing.
“This move is cold comfort for communities in Kimba and the Flinders Ranges who are currently in the frame for a national radioactive waste facility,” said Conservation SA Chief Executive, Craig Wilkins.
“With the Royal Commission months from handing down its final report, Premier Weatherill is clearly jumping the gun.
“The South Australian public now has every right to question how genuine the ‘listening’ process in response to the Royal Commission will be over the coming months.
“They will rightly be outraged if the Government intends to free up taxpayer funds to spin an unpopular nuclear waste dump proposal,” he said.
The object of the Nuclear Waste Storage Facility (prohibition) Act is to ‘protect the health, safety and welfare of the people of South Australia and to protect the environment in which they live by prohibiting the establishment of certain nuclear waste storage facilities in this state.’ The Act expressly bans the use of public money ‘for the purpose of encouraging or financing any activity associated with the construction or operation of a nuclear waste storage facility in this State’. This clause is now set for repeal.
Rose Lester, Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman said: “When many Anangu people have clearly expressed opposition to nuclear industry, weakening any protection is not a step in the right direction for reconciliation. It is very disheartening that people who don’t have strong connection to country change laws to suit their ideology rather than acknowledging and respecting the law of the land.”
1 This month
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
.
Australians deserve the truth
about
AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
