China’s anxiety about Abbott’s pro USA attitudes?
What, for example, should the Chinese make of a throwaway line in his 2009 conservative manifesto Battlelines, that, 
”Although China is likely to become even stronger in the years ahead, this may not mean much change for Australia’s international relationships or foreign policy priorities.” This is the same rising China whose insatiable demand for resources has kept Australia afloat and is on track to become the world’s largest economy. The shift of power to Asia, centred on China, has prompted the Americans to deploy 60 per cent of its navy to the region – hardly something to be dismissed as not ”much change”…..
The view of Abbott the neo-con confronting ideological enemies won’t be helped by his choice of venue for a speech in Washington in the days before he goes to Beijing: the conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation.
Does Abbott have a plan for managing China in a changing world? Illawarra Mercusry, Daniel Flitton, 24 July 12, PAUL Keating went to Beijing a few months ago, only to find himself at the receiving end of a lecture that is becoming all too familiar for Australian visitors to the Asian superpower.
The feelings of the Chinese people, he was told by a senior official, had been greatly hurt by the recent deployment
of 200 American marines to a base near Darwin…….
what sort of a perspective will Abbott bring to Australia’s international affairs? Continue reading
Australia’s pro nuclear Foreign Minister hastening sales of uranium to India
Australia working to ensure uranium supply to India: Bob Carr to SM Krishna The Economic Times, 11 JUL, 2012, Australia today said it was in the process of working out internal arrangements to ensure supply of the yellowcake to New Delhi.
Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr conveyed this to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna during their talks here in the Cambodian capital on the sidelines of the ASEAN Ministerial meeting.
“As you are aware, Labor party had earlier decided to reverse its policy and supply uranium to India. Mr Carr informed the External Affairs Minister that they are in the process of working out internal arrangements which will enable them to give effect to this policy of the Labor Party and as a government they will finalise this (arrangement) and come to India shortly with the draft,” MEA Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said…… Continue reading
USA out to get Julian Assange, and Australian govt not helping him,
Foreign Minister Bob Carr… claimed last week that there was “not the remotest 
evidence” of any US government desire to prosecute the WikiLeaks founder.
Fresh call on Assange ‘espionage’ SMH Philip Dorling July 2, 2012 THE head of the United States Senate’s powerful intelligence oversight committee has renewed calls for Julian Assange to be prosecuted for espionage. The US Justice Department has also confirmed WikiLeaks remains the target of a criminal investigation, calling into question Australian government claims the US has no interest in extraditing Mr Assange. Continue reading
Lynas Corporation will have to agree to returning its radioactive wastes to Australia, unless it finds a permanent solution
The Temporary Operating License will only be issued after Lynas fulfils two new conditions imposed
AELB: Lynas committed to returning radioactive waste to Australia The Malaysian Insider By
Lisa J. Ariffin June 28, DENGKIL, June 28 — Lynas is committed to return all potentially harmful waste from its rare earths plant here to Australia despite its government’s firm refusal to take it in, Malaysia’s radiation regulator said today.
The Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) told reporters today the Australian miner would have to send home all residue that could not be turned into commercial products or if a location for a permanent disposal facility (PDF) here could not be determined or approved.
“Lynas will have 10 months to come up with a permanent disposal facility plan for its radioactive residue upon receiving its temporary operating license (TOL),” said Dr Noor Hasnah Mohamed Khairullah who is special adviser to the AELB director-general.
“If they fail to find a location for the PDF, or if the plan is not approved, then Lynas has to return the residues back to Australia. Continue reading
Ever subservient to USA, Australia’s Foreign Minister ducks and weaves, pretending to support Julian Assange
Diplomatic cables released under freedom of information legislation show that in December 2010 the Australian embassy in Washington reported to Canberra that WikiLeaks was the target of an ”unprecedented” US criminal investigation focussed on possible espionage charges
Mr Assange observed that it was “fascinating to note that the government is at odds with popular opinion; it’s not acting in its electoral interests – which makes one wonder what interests it’s really serving.”
Assange seeking US legal guarantee, The Age, Philip Dorling June 25, 20 JULIAN Assange hopes his bid for political asylum at the Ecuadorian embassy in London will elicit diplomatic guarantees that he will not be prosecuted by the United States on espionage and conspiracy charges.
However, Foreign Minister Bob Carr yesterday renewed the Australian government’s strong criticism of WikiLeaks and indicated support for Mr Assange will remain limited to routine consular assistance Continue reading
Lynas rare earths plant in Malaysia to go ahead without plan for long term disposal of radioactive wastes?
why are we talking about a storage facility in Malaysia when it was made clear that one of the prerequisite to the Temporary Operating License or TOL is that the waste be shipped back to Western Australia?
The Australian government reiterated that it will not accept responsibility for any waste material produced by Lynas, although one of the five conditions attached to the recent approval of its temporary operating license is that it must take full responsibility for waste management from its plant including returning the waste to the source, if necessary.
But in a media briefing, AELB director-general, Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan, gave his assurance that the board would insist on a letter of undertaking from Lynas Australia that it would adhere to this condition.
TOL sell-out by PSC: The final smirk from Lynas Malaysia Chronicle, by Charles Santiago, 19 June 12, We welcome the report of the Parliamentary Select Committee which has produced its recommendations, including the upgrading of the standards used by the AELB. But while we appreciate the effort, this is clearly a document which has only looked at ways to keep the Lynas Advance Material Plant (LAMP) in operation.
The key area – returning the radioactive waste to Western Australia – has not been looked at although it was one of the earliest pre-conditions to the government granting Lynas a Temporary Operating License.
Violating pre-requisite to the Temporary Operating License (TOL) Over a ten-year period of the plant’s operation, the total volume of wastes will amount to 2,766,600 cubic metro. Over a 20-year period, as Lynas continues to enjoy its tax break, the waste would presumably have doubled. And it is highly inconceivable that there will be enough soil and technology available to “dilute” the wastes and remove its radiation level to natural ground level radiation.
This is especially crucial as Lynas plans to store the wastes onside in the Residue Storage Facility (RSF). Continue reading
Malaysia’s Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) set radiation standards to exempt Lynas to reuse wastes
the Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has arbitrarily set its own safety standards for radiation exposure, which is not in accordance with international standards. The AELB standards would be used to exempt and clear Lynas’ radioactive wastes for reuse and recycle. The exposure to radioactive waste was one of the causes that led to high levels of lead poisoning and other severe health complications of the people in Bukit Merah.
TOL sell-out by PSC: The final smirk from Lynas , Malaysia Chronicle, by Charles Santiago, 19 June 2012 “…….Health over investment? The PSC has outlined a guideline to look into health measures for the people, wording it to say that this was undertaken to arrest the fears of the public. Severe birth defects, eight leukemia cases over five years in a community of 11,000, tears and anguish of the poor people from a largely shoe-making community – these are not news headlines. Neither is it the plot of a movie.
These are the consequences of carelessly allowing the Asian Rare Earth factory to be built in Bukit Merah, Perak in 1982. When Mitsubishi Chemical started operating its rare earth factory, the villagers complained of choking sensation, pungent smell, coughs and colds.
The community also saw a sharp rise in the cases of infant deaths, congenital disease, leukemia and lead poisoning. Thirty years later, it has not wiped out the memories and heartache of the villagers who lost their children and loved ones. Only the government is feigning ignorance. Continue reading
China uneasy about USA’s increasing militarism in Australia
Home-brewed cold war bad for business, WA Today, Patrick Porter,June 18, 2012 PICK a godfather. That was the barbed warning of a former senior officer of China’s People’s Liberation Army to Australia. Choose between China (its greatest trading partner) and the US (its greatest ally and security guarantor).
In a recent visit to Beijing, Australia’s defence minister was quizzed by Chinese generals why our country is hosting 2500 marines in rotations through the Northern Territory and strengthening its defence ties with Washington.
They know about Australia’s blueprint for a future war alongside the US against China in the secret chapter of the
2009 Defence white paper, even if it was merely a contingency plan. The hostility of Chinese officials underscores Australia’s strategic dilemma: how to cope within an escalating rivalry between Beijing and Washington, and the threat that our trading interests and military-security interests could come into conflict.
http://www.watoday.com.au/opinion/politics/homebrewed-cold-war-bad-for-business-20120617-20hzt.html#ixzz1yB4na2No
Australian rare earths company Lynas backing out of its processing project in Africa
Lynas Likely To Give Up Rare Earths Project in Africa International Business Times, By Esther Tanquintic-Misa | June 14, 2012 With its highly-controversial Malaysian rare earths processing plant an already ample source of headache, Lynas Corp. has been reported to be likely backing out from another rare earths project, this time in Africa.
Citing unidentified industry sources, The West Australian reported that Lynas Corp. is thinking of shunning the Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi after a Malawi High Court questioned the authenticity of the Australian miner’s ownership over the project…..
With the recent development, the Australian rare earths miner deemed it might be better to give up the African project altogether, than suffer again the same fate as with its highly controversial rare earths processing plant in Malaysia, The West Australian reported…. Lynas Corp. “is reassessing the project’s risks in the context of Malawi’s present governance and institutional frameworks,” sources told The West Australian. … http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/351984/20120614/lynas-corp-rare-earths-malawi-africa-malaysia.htm
Australia promoting nuclear power in our region
AUSTRALIA PROVIDES ADVICE ON NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY (FED) 15 June 12, Federal Parliament’s Treaties Committee will examine the extension of an international treaty aimed at improving regional cooperation for the peaceful uses of nuclear material. Australia has been a signatory to the treaty, aimed at strengthening the ability of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to safely and securely use radioactive materials for peaceful purposes.
In order to remain a party to it, Australia needs to ratify an extension to the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training relating to Nuclear Science and Technology. The principle behind the Agreement is that the signatories cooperate with each other to promote research, development and training projects in nuclear science and technology.
Australia-based Barefoot Power provides small scale solar power to 10 million impoverished homes
The Australia-based social enterprise Barefoot Power aims to expand access to its high-quality, energy efficient, affordable light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, home lighting systems and phone chargers, to more off-grid communities with expansion in Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria and India as a focus by 2015. The company has already captured the majority market share in East Africa.
Solar energy enterprise to provide 10 million with access to renewable energy , PR Wire 24 May 12 The BCtA is a global initiative that encourages private sector efforts to fight poverty, supported by several international organizations including the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Ten million low-income people living in rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America
and the Caribbean, will gain access to low-cost solar energy by 2015, in part due to a commitment made by solar energy provider Barefoot Power to the Business Call to Action (BCtA).
The BCtA is a global initiative that encourages private sector efforts to fight poverty, supported by several international organizations including the UN Development Programme (UNDP). Continue reading
India’s democracy in peril
Should India’s troubled democracy give way to an authoritarian, and more militaristic regime – should Australia be send ing India uranium, the fuel for its nuclear weapons? – Christina Macpherson
Australia’s next big problem: India’s democracy, SMH, May 21, 2012 Here’s a nasty thought: the big threat to Australia’s commodities-underwritten prosperity extending out to 2030 and beyond is India’s democracy. Much worse though is the threat that irresponsible democracy poses to India itself.
Present crises aside, Australia’s is supposed to live happily ever after thanks to India picking up the commodities demand slack as the Chinese economy matures, thus extending our resources boom for another decade or
two,….,
India barely has manufacturing industry thanks to a conspiracy of poisonous protectionism, stifling bureaucracy and
endemic corruption, never mind the gross waste of resources that is the caste system……
.Should the day arrive when one brand or another of authoritarianism – nationalistic, religious or military – is able to seize control through gross government failure, lack of demand for Australian coking coal could be the least of the region’s concerns. http://www.smh.com.au/business/australias-next-big-problem-indias-democracy-20120521-1z08u.html#ixzz1vYS6w3JG
Australia’s love-in with USA and NATO
(I don’t know about the rest of Australians, but I found this article a bit sick-making – Christina Macpherson)
every time NATO deploys Australia is there as a great, great friend of the United States.
The increased formalisation of ties between NATO and partnership countries will be discussed at a meeting on Monday to be addressed by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.
US turns the screws on NATO, lauds its ally Australia SMH, May 19, 2012 “… the report was enthusiastic of the expanding role of non-NATO partnership countries, such as Australia, which was, it noted, among a small group of countries that contributed ”real combat or niche capabilities to the mission” in Afghanistan. Continue reading
Pakistan says it, as well as India, should get Australian uranium
Pakistan has contended that since Australia has lifted its ban for a country that has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it too should be allowed to benefit from the concession.
Uranium sale: Australia says cases of India, Pak different, Business Standard, 18 May 12, Unlike Pakistan, India has an exemption from Nuclear Suppliers Group Press Trust of India / Islamabad May 18, 2012, Amid Pakistan’s demand that it be given access to Australian uranium for which India has been granted green light, Australia has said it
believes Islamabad is not eligible to buy the yellow cake from it. Continue reading
Australia’s uranium to India, but not to Pakistan
Nuclear deal with Pakistan not possible: Australian HC, Business Recorder 18 May 12, Australian High Commissioner Tim George on Thursday said nuclear deal similar to Australian-Indo nuclear agreement was not possible with Pakistan. George, whose three-year term as Australian envoy to Pakistan comes to an end, was speaking at a farewell news conference. To a question, he said Pakistan does not qualify for Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG) and a bilateral nuclear agreement similar to his country struck with India, was not possible with Pakistan…… http://www.brecorder.com/general-news/172/1190658/
1 This month.
20 September –National Day of Action in Melbourne on the International Day of Peace
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)
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