Policy of Australian Liberal Party on nuclear issues
Jobs and growth?
Why we should question the Liberal Party on nuclear waste importing
Well, of course the Liberals don’t have a policy on any nuclear issues.
So you have to look back on their record – in Wikipedia, or better still, in this fine article by Independent Australia’s intrepid investigative journalist Sandi Keane – The Liberal Party’s nuclear dreams: The strange case of Dr John White and Ignite -display/the-liberal-partys-nuclear-dreams-the-strange-case-of-dr-john-white-and-ignite,6270
It might be a waste of time questioning Labor Party politicians and candidates on what they think about importing nuclear waste – Labor policy is strongly anti nuclear.
It’s probably good to question Nick Xenophon Team – as they are still making up their minds about this.
Waste of time questioning Greens – their opposition to the Nuclear Fuel Chain is rock solid.
But the Liberals? I wonder what their politicians and members really think? Or perhaps – do they think at all?
Labor and Liberal united in disregard for indigenous people, over nuclear waste dumping
7 shady things Labor & Liberals have in common Progressive Reflection JUNE 1, 2016 CHRIS JENSEN “……..5. Dumping Nuclear waste on Indigenous Australians
Labor and Liberal politicians united earlier this year to profit from turning South Australia into a dumping ground for nuclear waste. But where do you put the most hazardous waste you can think of? Who’s backyard would our political leaders dump a hot radioactive mess in and feel guilt free about it? Who else but Indigenous Australians?.
Fukushima was an unfortunate reminder of how badly nuclear can go wrong, and many countries have since reconsidered nuclear plans. Nuclear is unlikely to ever be the energy of the future it was once thought to be. So why think of poisoning any Australian land with nuclear waste at all?
Because free money!
It’s a dream come true for some Australian politicians – rather than grapple with the politically difficult tasks of ending corporate welfare, or tax loopholes, or paying for essential services the Government could rake in a tidy $6 billion a year for at least 70 years.
All they’d have to do is screw over an indigenous community.
It’s practically business as usual.
And when Labor and Liberal come together to make something happen, they sure can be brazen about their disregard for indigenous people.
Wallerberdina Station near the Flinders Ranges is the only shortlisted site for the nuclear waste dump. Back in November last year, the indigenous community nearby demanded the government reject the proposal.
The dump threatens a local heritage site.
Federal Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg has creatively interpreted their concerns as “a broad level of community support“.
Frydenberg has said that consultation with traditional owners would be undertaken as part of the next phase of the project. That seems nice of him, except that the number of proposed sites for the dump is: 1. Just that site. What do you think the likelihood is the consultation will result in the only site planned being scrapped?
The consultation is there to serve the purpose of pretending to have listened, so that when the site goes ahead and indigenous Australian’s are outraged, they can be patronisingly told they had their chance to have their say………http://www.chrisjensen.info/blog/2016/06/7-shady-things-labor-liberals-agree/
Environmental policy threatened by Trans Pacific Partnership: this election could decide
TPP: This Election Could Decide If Companies Can Sue Australia Over Environmental Policy, New Matilda, By Thom Mitchell on June 17, 2016 Experts are warning that the Trans Pacific Partnership could get in the way of effective action on climate change, and Australia’s international obligations, at a symposium being hosted by the Queensland University of Technology.
The apprehension comes as political players take different positions on the controversial Pacific Rim trade deal, ahead of the July 2 poll which could prove critical to Australia’s involvement. The Labor Party has taken a dim view of aspects of the deal, but is yet to rule out voting for it.
Central to widespread concerns about the deal is what’s known as an Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clause, which would allow foreign companies to sue the Australian government in offshore tribunals that sit outside the judicial system. Continue reading
View South Australia Nuclear Citizens Juries Saturday 25 June and Sunday 26 June
Citizens’ Jury Viewing Your Say Nuclear Register to be an “Observer” for the first upcoming nuclear Citizens’ Jury
There are a number of sessions in which 10 randomly selected South Australians will be able to sit in and watch proceedings, hear what the Jury hears and observe how democracy works in this important discussion.
While sessions will be broadcast publicly via media organisations and live streaming on the YourSAy website, at any time the jury reserves the right to deliberate privately and can ask for the jury room to be cleared.
Please note that photographers will be present to take photographs and capture film at this event. This material will be published in both printed and electronic (including Internet-based) media used by the South Australian Government to promote the consultation process on the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission report. In some cases, the media in which this material is published may be administered by a third party……
Registration for the first two days of the Citizens’ Jury (Saturday 25 June and Sunday 26 June) will close at 5pm Wednesday 22 June, 2016. Registrations for the last two days (Saturday 9 July and Sunday 10 July) will close at 5pm on Wednesday 6th July. All applicants’ names will be sorted into a random stratification process which will be facilitated independently by newDemocracy Foundation. To allocate seats, a random number draw will be conducted.
Successfully drawn applicants for the first weekend of the Citizens’ Jury will be notified by telephone or email on Thursday 23 June. Successfully drawn applicants for the second weekend will be notified by telephone on Thursday 7 July.
Senator Nick Xenophon not keen on nuclear waste importing
Xenophon “can’t see benefits” of nuke dump, InDaily, Tom Richardson, 17 June 16 Influential senator Nick Xenophon has come down against the establishment of an international nuclear repository in South Australia, arguing “I can’t see the benefits are there that outweigh the risks”.
It comes as the state’s chamber of commerce, Business SA, nailed its own colours firmly to the mast, with chief Nigel McBride saying the organisation was now “advocating actively and positively for a high-level waste repository here in SA”.
InDaily revealed in March that McBride would be joining a business delegation organised by the 
Committee for Adelaide to tour nuclear sites in Europe, but at the time he insisted he was there to observe and learn, not to advocate…… with a public information campaign gearing up in the wake of the Scarce Royal Commission’s bullish final report, McBride says he is now prepared to take a lead in pushing for the repository to become a reality.
He said “thought leaders” in the community, rather than politicians, should step up to play a prominent role in the debate.
“We’re absolute advocates,” he said of Business SA…….
Business SA is overtly advocating for a high-level nuclear waste facility in SA, subject to an educational process that will get social consent.”
But the influential lobby group’s enthusiasm was not reciprocated by Xenophon at an election forum, co-hosted last night by a range of interest groups including the Wilderness Society and Conservation SA in the marginal electorate of Hindmarsh.
In a packed Glenelg Football clubroom, Karina Lester from the Yankunytjatjara Native Title Aboriginal Corporation pressed Xenophon on where his fledgling party stood on high-level nuclear waste imports.
“Would your party listen to us and support the overwhelming majority of traditional owners who continue to speak out against establishing an international nuclear waste dump?” Lester asked.
Xenophon said: “The short answer is yes, I don’t support importation of high-level waste.”
He has previously endorsed a referendum on the issue, explaining last night that “it seems to me you might get a consensus between the two major parties here in SA and it might be seen as a a done deal [so] it’s important to get the consent of the community”.
However, he added, “if a referendum were held tomorrow I can’t see myself supporting it”.
“I can’t see the benefits are there that outweigh the risks,” he said.
The debate is set to dominate the state political scene in the latter half of the year, with two Citizens’ Juries headlining a broader community consultation………http://indaily.com.au/news/local/2016/06/17/xenophon-cant-see-benefits-of-nuke-dump/
Australian Greens plan for a solar South Australia
Australian Greens announce plan to fund solar panels for 48,000 SA homes 
June 16, 2016 http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/federal-election/australian-greens-announce-plan-to-fund-solar-panels-for-48000-sa-homes/news-story/fd62f39d9131861e539f9a674 Political Editor Tory Shepherd, Advertiser MORE than 48,000 South Australian homes would get solar panels and energy efficient measures under an Australian Greens plan to reduce electricity costs and reduce emissions.
Deputy Leader Larissa Waters and SA Senator Robert Simms has announced in Adelaide today a plan to spend $2000 on each public and community housing home, which they say could save renters as much as $1075 a year.
The plan would cost $60 million a year, and would not be finished until 2030. By that point homes would be retrofitted with energy-saving and water efficient devices, with solar on every roof.
Senator Simms said it would also boost jobs, employing thousands of South Australians.
“This initiative would not only provide South Australians with more jobs in the renewable energy and green housing sector, but it would save the average household $780 per year in electricity bills from installing solar alone,” he said.
Senator Waters said nationally it would help about 800,000 people. More than 2400 deaths a year are associated with cold weather, she said.
“We have an unequal system where our lowest earners are paying the highest price for power, many in ageing houses that are inefficient to run, hot in summer and freezing in winter,” she said.
The Greens will not be able to form Government but they may share the balance of power in the Senate after the July 2 election, which could give them leverage over the major parties.
Greens propose a more rational way to deal with Lucas Heights’ returning nuclear wastes
“The Greens policy delivers a way forward by redirecting existing funding of $30 million from the current process to a new deliberative public inquiry focused on transparency and evidence to come up with the best possible solutions,” South Australian Greens senator Robert Simms said.
Federal election 2016: Greens would put nuke dump on hold JARED OWENS The Australian,June 10, 2016 The Greens are pushing to stockpile radioactive waste in suburban Sydney, pending an independent inquiry that would expressly exclude evidence from anyone who might profit from a dedicated nuclear dump.
The party’s nuclear policy would cancel the process led by Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg that has identified farmland at Barndioota, 400km north of Adelaide, as a potential nuclear waste site, despite objections raised by some traditional owners.
Under the policy, exports of Australian nuclear medicine to overseas patients would be curbed and research would be funded to find alternatives to radiotherapy.
The proposed independent inquiry would be charged with recommending a long-term solution to storing nuclear waste — typically, used medical equipment and spent fuel rods from Sydney’s Lucas Heights reactor — without imposing a dump site on reluctant communities. Continue reading
Labor would reinstate funding to environment legal centres
Labor to return environment legal centres http://www.9news.com.au/national/2016/06/14/21/00/labor-to-return-environment-legal-centres#EJais4TajqQhgw6s.99 A federal Labor government would hand back taxpayer money to environment legal centres, pledging almost $11 million over four years.
Environment spokesman Mark Butler revealed Labor would reinstate federal funding to environmental defenders officers, after the Abbott government stripped the legal centres of cash in 2013.
Mr Butler also confirmed Labor would retain the federal government’s power to make environmental approvals, reversing the coalition’s policy of handing those powers to the states.
“Australians need to be able to trust the national system of environment approvals,” campaigns director Paul Sinclair said.
Labor also promised to streamline environmental assessments with states, while looking at options for an independent environment protection body.
The Wilderness Society called on the coalition to back an independent agency to work as a regulator.
“We need a new national independent environment body free from political interference,” national director Lyndon Schneiders said.
Bill Shorten ambivalent at the least, about Australia importing nuclear waste
Bill Shorten signals he may be open to supporting high level nuclear waste dump for SA, ABC News By Michael Coggan 17 Feb 2016, Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has given qualified support for the establishment of a multi-billion-dollar nuclear waste storage repository in South Australia.
Key points:
- Bill Shorten may back a high-level nuclear waste dump in SA if economics and safeguards stack up
- Labor has traditionally opposed an expansion of the nuclear industry
- Mr Shorten says issue must not be consigned to the “too-hard basket”
Traditionally, Labor has opposed the expansion of the nuclear industry.
The Royal Commission into the Nuclear Fuel Cycle released tentative findings yesterday that suggested South Australia stood to reap $5 billion a year if it established a “high-level” nuclear waste facility.
The early findings suggest that nuclear power generation is not viable in the short term.
In response to the nuclear waste dump option, Mr Shorten said “on this question, (SA Premier) Jay Weatherill and I are of one mind”.…….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-16/shorten-and-weatherill-of-one-mind-on-sa-nuclear-waste-dump/7174002
Bill Shorten refuses to back South Australian nuclear probe, THE Australian 10 Feb 15 BILL Shorten has refused to back the South Australian Labor government’s proposal to investigate nuclear energy. …..
spokesman for the federal Opposition Leader said he would not support the inquiry, and the ALP had a “longstanding position on nuclear power based on the best available expert advice”.
Labor has maintained consistent opposition to the establishment of nuclear power plants and all other stages of the nuclear fuel cycle. It is also “strongly opposed” to the importation and storage of nuclear waste sourced from overseas in Australia…… http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/bill-shorten-refuses-to-back-south-australian-nuclear-probe/story-e6frgczx-1227213806115
Climate change action can’t wait until the 2020 election: it’s critical NOW
This Is The Climate Change Election, Despite What Turnbull Or Shorten Say NewMatilda, June 10, 2016 Both parties are ignoring the big, coal-coloured elephant in the room. With the world speeding towards a tipping point, action can not wait for the next election cycle to begin, writes Costa Avgoustinos.Climate change is the number one issue this election, whether Turnbull or Shorten are willing to frame it that way or not. This is not only because averting climate disaster is important. It’s because our ability to do so is time-sensitive – after decades of delay the window for effective climate action is closing rapidly and will soon shut forever.
Here is a quick and dirty summary of the climate science: If the world heats up 1.5°C, we’re screwed.
Why? Because it is expected at this “tipping point”, how hot things get begins to significantly fall from our control. A series of events we have no power over are triggered once 1.5°C is breached – for example, the ability of oceans and forests to absorb our carbon emissions are substantially exhausted and greenhouse gases currently trapped under ice start being released.
We may soon be placed in a position where all we can do is powerlessly watch as temperatures climb to Mad Max levels; where sea rises will gobble at our coasts (where 85 per cent of Australians live), food and water sources are devastated, heat-thriving diseases are incubated, and conflicts and a meaner streak of politics are inevitable.
Because politicians are not taking the task of staying below the Paris Agreement target of 1.5°C seriously, many predict we are “locking in” temperature rises of 4°C, which Professor John Schellnhuber, one of the world’s most influential climate scientists, bluntly stated at a conference in Australia would threaten nothing less than “human civilisation”.
The World Bank, hardly an organisation of tree huggers, stated “all our work, all our thinking, is designed with the threat of a 4°C degree world in mind” with the unnerving warning that there is “no certainty that adaptation to a 4°C world is possible”………..
Both the Coalition and Labor stoke and exploit our psychological blindspot, the difficulty we all have in seeing the climate crisis for the danger that it is, to get us talking about what they want us to consider an emergency. Don’t let them do it. This election, vote for climate action and against new coal mines. It is literally the most critical issue on the table, and its time is now. https://newmatilda.com/2016/06/10/this-is-the-climate-change-election-despite-what-turnbull-or-shorten-say/
Nick Xenophon Team has NO policy on nuclear wastes
How long can Senator Nick Xenophon sit on the fence regarding the plan for Australia to import the world’s nuclear waste?
Xenophon has said that he wants a referendum in South Australia, on this issue – BUT ONLY AFTER a dump site has been selected.
Nuclear waste dumping was the main focus of questions at a recent Nick Xenophon forum.
The nuclear waste import plan is not just a matter for South Australia. It is a critically important issue for all of Australia. With the federal election looming, it’s becoming apparent that the Nick Xenophon Team could well hold the balance of power, post election.
There’s no mention of nuclear issues in their national policy. Not good enough. Time Xenophon came clean on whether or not he will fall in with the nuclear lobby’s plans.
South Australia’s Labor and Liberal leaders for nuclear jaunt together to Finland
Weatherill, Marshall to make bipartisan trip to permanent nuke waste dump in Finland June 9, 2016 , Daniel Wills and Luke Griffiths,The Advertiser
PREMIER Jay Weatherill and Opposition Leader Steven Marshall will make a bipartisan trip to Finland in August and visit the world’s first long-term nuclear waste storage facility……
The bipartisan delegation to Finland will also include members of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission Consultation and Response Agency Advisory Board, which is overseeing statewide consultation on the proposal as the State Government considers whether to proceed.
It will visit the Onkalo nuclear waste facility in northern Finland, where the country plans to bury its own spent fuel in a labyrinth of tunnels 520m under the ground for permanent storage. Onkalo is expected to accept fuel for 100 years before being sealed for eternity. The facility is currently under construction is expected to become operational within a decade.
Mr Weatherill said it was critical to see first-hand the kind of facility SA could build.
“The research and evidence shows SA can safely deepen its involvement in the nuclear fuel cycle,” he said. “I want to see first-hand what this might look like and see what lessons Finland can share with us, should this be something South Australians want to consider.”
“To make an informed decision later this year, it’s important that I understand the concept of deep geological disposal. This bipartisan visit to the Onkalo site will allow us to learn valuable lessons from the Finnish experience, which we will share with the SA community.”
Mr Marshall said it’s important there is a bipartisan investigation of the opportunity and co-operation during the community consultation process.
Also on the panel was Greg Ward, chief of staff to the Nuclear Royal Commission…….http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/weatherill-marshall-to-make-bipartisan-trip-to-permanent-nuke-waste-dump-in-finland/news-story/8a1be359682fb154b4fdccd48cc36dca
Greens move to prevent vested interests profiting from Federal nuclear waste dump
Federal election 2016: Greens would put nuke dump on hold, THE AUSTRALIAN, JUNE 10, 2016 Jared Owens The Greens are pushing to stockpile radioactive waste in suburban Sydney, pending an independent inquiry that would expressly exclude evidence from anyone who might profit from a dedicated nuclear dump.
The party’s nuclear policy would cancel the process led by Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg that has identified farmland at Barndioota, 400km north of Adelaide, as a potential nuclear waste site, despite objections raised by some traditional owners.
Under the policy, exports of Australian nuclear medicine to overseas patients would be curbed and research would be funded to find alternatives to radiotherapy.
The proposed independent inquiry would be charged with recommending a long-term solution to storing nuclear waste — typically, used medical equipment and spent fuel rods from Sydney’s Lucas Heights reactor — without imposing a dump site on reluctant communities.
In the meantime, intermediate-level nuclear waste would continue to be warehoused at the Lucas Heights reactor in Sydney’s south.
The inquiry would hear from community groups and experts in engineering, social science, environmental science, community consultation, radiation and medicine, the policy says.
However, witnesses deemed to have a “conflict of interest” — that is, those who might profit from the storage of nuclear waste — would be excluded from the process.
“The Greens policy delivers a way forward by redirecting existing funding of $30 million from the current process to a new deliberative public inquiry focused on transparency and evidence to come up with the best possible solutions,” South Australian Greens senator Robert Simms said.
The policy adds to the growing list of demands that Bill Shorten would face in exchange for the minor party’s support in the event of a hung parliament……..
The Greens’ proposed inquiry would run alongside a separate royal commission into British nuclear testing in South Australia and Western Australia in the 1950s and 1960s. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/federal-election-2016/federal-election-2016-greens-would-put-nuke-dump-on-hold/news-story/42fabc8f9172fe65f1f282322fe60ade
Election 2016: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders unite
Launch of the #RedfernStatement 2016
https://changetherecord.org.au/blog/news/election-2016-national-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-leaders-unite
“The #RedfernStatement at a glance:
The Statement calls on the next Federal Government to:
– Restore the $534m cut from the Indigenous Affairs Portfolio by the 2014 Budget.
– Commit to better and ongoing engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through their representative national peaks.
– Recommit to Closing the Gap by:
i. setting targets to reduce rates of family violence, incarceration and out-of-home care and increase access to disability support services; and
ii. securing national funding agreements to drive the implementation of national strategies.
– Commit to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders to establish a Department of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs in the future.
– Commit to address the unfinished business of reconciliation.”
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.
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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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