South Australian govt will decide on nuclear waste import, but let citizens talk about it anyway
Premier Jay Weatherill Thursday, 11 May 2016 Community views critical to our State’s nuclear future How will the environment factor in the Federal Election campaign?
Transition from dirty to clean energy a priority election issue http://www.themercury.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point-transition-from-dirty-to-clean-energy-a-priority-election-issue/news-story/1f6ea59d019243b1ff199e731677a018
Paul Sinclair is campaign director for the Australian Conservation Foundation. May 11, 2016 How will the environment factor in the Federal Election campaign?
If last week’s Budget was anything to go by, the Turnbull Government still favours the interests of polluters over the community.
Malcolm Turnbull’s first Budget follows the environmental neglect of his predecessor.
In fact, under the Turnbull Government, spending on the environment is forecast to fall by 17 per cent by 2019-2020.
Despite talking up the need to shift to a diversified economy, policy commitment supporting a transition away from coal and stimulating renewables or helping workers transition to a more energy-efficient future was absent from the Budget.
This is a great pity because we know the PM understands the science of climate change, and elsewhere political leaders are connecting the dots.
In the past weeks Labor and Green party leaders have released climate policies that are miles ahead of where we were 12 months ago. Continue reading
Australian Greens solar policy
Greens unveil solar policy http://www.examiner.com.au/story/3904209/greens-unveil-solar-policy/?cs=95 Georgie Burgess
@georgieburgo May 13, 2016 The Australian Greens have released a policy that aims to encourage households to take up battery storage technology by introducing a 50 per cent refundable tax credit to assist with solar costs.
Tasmanian Greens Senator Nick McKim said the policy would support the more than 26,000 Tasmanians that have solar capacity installed, with $54 million to gain.
Under the policy, people would get up to half the cost of their battery storage system covered, up to a maximum of $5000 in the first year of the program.
The program would run for five years and the amount of the credit would taper off to $1,500 by 2021, reflecting the projected decline in battery storage costs.
A grant scheme would also be available for those on low incomes.
It’s expected up to 1.2 million Australian homes could be supported over the five years of the program.
Together, small household systems in Tasmania are generating approximately 81.5 megawatts of power, with more than 12 per cent of households using rooftop solar.
“The Greens battery storage policy will support the 26,529 Tasmanian households that already have solar capacity installed and encourage thousands more to shift to battery storage,” Senator McKim said.
“Tasmanian households could gain over $54 million in support for battery storage.
“Unfortunately, the energy crisis has exposed Tasmania’s vulnerability and our over-reliance on Basslink importing dirty power from the Latrobe Valley.”
Senator McKim said the policy would be a game changer for the state’s energy security and increase Tasmania’s reputation as a centre of renewable energy.
“The Greens are the only party with the courage and vision to propose sustainable solutions for Tasmania’s energy security.”
Earlier this week, Greens energy spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said the feed-in tariff decision by the Economic Regulator to pay solar PV owners 6.6c per kilowatt hour “is a slap in the face for solar owners and the installation industry”.
Can citizen’s juries make decision on Australia importing global nuclear wastes?
Citizen’s council to steer SA nuclear waste decision MEREDITH BOOTH THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 11, 2016
A system used to decide “tricky policy issues” such as how South Australians manage unwanted dogs and cats will be set up to decide the state’s nuclear future.
Labor Premier Jay Weatherill said a citizen’s jury of 50, chosen from 25,000 “everyday South Australians’’ in a similar way to how a jury is chosen for a criminal trial, will be formed next month to pose key questions raised by the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission into the state’s further involvement in the nuclear industry.
A second jury of 350 would seek community feedback and report to the government by September, before a decision on a dump is made by November. Including an advertising campaign, the process would cost $1 million, Mr Weatherill said…..
The Premier said it would be impossible to proceed with recommendations, which included expanding uranium mining and considering nuclear power, without strong community support. “This is going nowhere if it is going to be the subject of political controversy,” he said……
“No serious investor will co-operate with us, no international partner will want to be part of entering into what is a long-term, extraordinarily expensive set of investments if they don’t think the community is going to be able to deliver on them.
“This is a test of our democracy. Can we have a mature and reasoned debate about this issue and come up with a wise judgment,“ he said.
The government has recently used citizen juries on issues of dog and cat management and cycling laws, saying it develops independent views not dominated by lobbyists and activists.
But the nuclear question was “clearly a very significant decision to entrust to this process,’’ said University of Adelaide political analyst Clement Macintyre.
“It means that the decision is arms’ length from the government, and potentially politically safer for them,’’ he said.
Mr Weatherill’s openness to a nuclear dump has clashed with Labor’s national platform, which is strongly opposed to the importation and storage of nuclear waste. However, he said political consensus had to be achieved at state level before taking the question nationally. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/citizens-council-to-steer-sa-nuclear-waste-decision/news-story/20e35875865926c8d1746ed9a55174b5
Long haul for South Australia nuclear waste dump project, and serious risks
Australians face big decision on nuclear waste dump, news.com.au MAY 10, 2016 ….. ” it’s not going to be an overnight fix for the state’s budget problems. A permanent facility would take 28 years to build, and this construction could only start once local residents were on board. The commissioner has suggested it could take 10 years to get this approval.
Even if an interim facility was built to take used fuel while the permanent version was under construction, this would still only be operational 11 years after a decision on the project was made.
SAFETY ASPECTS
Used nuclear fuel, stored as a solid ceramic in metal cladding, generates heat and is highly radioactive and dangerous.
According to the commission, radiation levels reduce quickly during the first 30 to 50 years of storage and the most radioactive elements decay within 500 years. But less radioactive elements in nuclear fuel do require storage and isolation for at least 100,000 years.
The commission noted that the most serious consequences of disturbing nuclear fuel were linked to potential exposure to radiation.
And certainly nothing focuses the mind like considering the wasteland of Chernobylor Fukushima………
the difficulty of disposing of nuclear waste, even low-level waste, which needs be stored for up to a few hundred years, have been illustrated in the US and France.
America’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) was compromised when a drum of radioactive waste burst open in the underground facility. Most disturbingly, the rupture was blamed on someone putting the wrong type of kitty litter in the drum, possibly due to a typo in a policy manual.
A WAR BEGINS
Conservationists have accused the commissioner of downplaying the risks of nuclear storage and have threatened to ramp up their campaign against the dump.
“We’ll be increasing our profile, our presence and our concerns,” Australian Conservation Foundation spokesman Dave Sweeney told AAP……..
Invitations will be sent this week to 25,000 people seeking an expression of interest in being part of a 400-person jury that will consider the state’s approach…….
Treasurer Scott Morrison said the Federal Government would work constructively with SA to address any issues arising out of the Royal Commission…….
New report attacking environmental groups must be resisted
Green groups are united in calling for the PM and Minister Hunt to reject the report and a number of its recommendations. Any administrative changes to the Register of Environmental Organisations done before the federal election would confirm that the Inquiry was all about politics and not about good management of environmental groups.
Malcolm Turnbull must reject anti-democratic attack on environmental groups, Independent Australia, Cam Walker 9 May 2016, Will Malcolm Turnbull follow Tony Abbott’s witch-hunt on environmental groups, which will see them lose charitable status for “civil disobedience”?
THE DISPROPORTIONATE influence of the fossil fuel and mining sectors over federal government policy is both well documented and long standing.
With the rise of the far right neo-liberal Abbott Government, the agenda of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) also became more influential after several years of being on the “outer” while the ALP was in power.
The IPA is well known for arguing against the environment movement and has campaigned against specific environmental policies like thecarbon tax.
Being fundamentally opposed to mainstream scientific positions on climate change and the work of the environment movement, the IPA has argued for the government to reconsider all funding which is provided to the environment movement.
This convergence of views – conservative MPs, right wing think tanks and influence by the fossil fuel sector – has led to a sustained attack on the environment movement in recent years.
One key aspect of this attack has been the House of Representatives Inquiry into the Register of Environmental Organisations. After narrative in the media and, we have to assume, lobbying by many in the mining and fossil fuel sectors, Minister for the Enviroment Greg Hunt initiated the Inquiry into the tax status of green groups. It was widely seen as being politically motivated. Continue reading
No national referendum on nuclear waste importing? Just shonky “citizen juries”
Citizen juries to weigh SA nuclear dump https://au.news.yahoo.com/sa/a/31561735/citizen-juries-to-weigh-sa-nuclear-dump/
AAP on May 10, 2016 South Australians will be asked to take part in citizen juries to help decide whether the state should host a high-level nuclear waste dump.
A jury of 350 voters will be asked to produce a report in November outlining the community’s views on the proposed dump and other nuclear issues, with the government to outline its decision by year’s end.
The government will also launch an advertising campaign encouraging people to “explore the facts” on the nuclear fuel cycle, Premier Jay Weatherill told reporters on Tuesday.
Both Labor and Liberal supporting South Australian nuclear waste dump importing
SA nuclear royal commission sets 10-year timetable MEREDITH BOOTH THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 10, 2016
South Australians could be ready in 10 years to accept nuclear waste from overseas for storage, royal commissioner Kevin Scarce said yesterday following the release of his final report.
The report, released 14 months after Mr Scare’s appointment, made 12 recommendations. It said the state could “safely increase its participation in nuclear activities”, with a storage facility generating more than $100 billion over a 120-year lifespan.
But Mr Scarce said there would be “10 to 15 years, 10 years I hope, to get to a point where we’ll make a decision’’, with ongoing community support required and consultation to start as soon as possible through an independent agency.
“I would hope that if there’s strong social consent, we might get there faster,” he said. “We need to take the time to explain the steps, to explain the safety concerns.’’
At the same time, the agency should also determine general criteria for an appropriate dump site, he said.
Labor Premier Jay Weatherill said the commission’s findings had bipartisan support but required strong public approval. A community engagement process would begin “within days” to inform the government’s response by the end of the year…..
Opposition Leader Steven Marshall said both sides of politics would need to work together……http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/sa-nuclear-royal-commission-sets-10year-timetable/news-story/35c622dec6665e53850407ce47777041
Turnbull government will back nuclear waste dump import plan
Former Governor Kevin Scarce recommends go ahead for nuclear storage in SA The Advertiser, May 9, 2016 DANIEL WILLSSTATE POLITICAL EDITOR SOUTH Australia should immediately start talking to nuclear power nations about whether they would use an international storage facility in this state and seek an indication of how much they would be willing to pay, the Royal Commission has found.
Premier Jay Weatherill on Monday released the final findings of former governor Kevin Scarce’s Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission, which strongly backs an SA waste dump……….
Mr Scarce made 12 recommendations, which include ending bans on the use of nuclear power and enrichment of uranium. He finds only nuclear storage is likely to be viable in the medium term and that it “should be actively pursued, and as soon as possible”.
It is estimated to be about a decade before SA could host a storage facility, because it would need to win both state and federal approval as well as demand the construction of about $2 billion in new infrastructure including a port, rail and roads before waste arrived.
Mr Weatherill is expected to detail further steps later this week. However, Mr Scarce’s report says that should include seeking host community bids and identifying customers.
“A preliminary indication should be sought from potential client countries as to their interest in further discussions on their potential participation,” it states.
“To provide the SA community with more detailed information regarding economic viability and potential benefits, it is necessary to determine with more confidence whether potential client nations would be willing to use an international used fuel storage and disposal facility.”
Countries with large stockpiles include Korea, Japan, Germany, Spain and Belgium.
The report stresses that “from the outset, it should be acknowledged that there would be a substantial package of community benefits” and says there could be multiple bidders.
There would also need to be significant scientific studies of the Outback to find land which is dry and stable. Previous analyses have identified the Gawler Craton and Officer Basin, which cover much of the state west of Adelaide, as potentially viable regions….
Federal Resources and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the report was a “sound basis” for further discussion and he would develop a thorough response.
“A re-elected Turnbull Government stands ready to work with the SA Government if they choose to pursue any new economic opportunities in this area,” he said.http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/technology/former-governor-kevin-scarce-recommends-go-ahead-for-nuclear-storage-in-sa/news-story/c320cdebf7f0b3bc745ecb447abf9aef
Climate Change Authority report recommending ‘a mandatory carbon price’ held back until after election
May 6, 2016. A report that recommends putting a price on emissions from the electricity sector has been held back by the Climate Change Authority until after the election, prompting calls from Labor and the Greens that it be made public to inform debate.
The independent authority, whose board is now dominated by appointments made last October by Environment Minister Greg Hunt, was to have released its policy options paper for the power industry by the end of April. http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2016/climate-change-authority-report-recommending-a-mandatory-carbon-price-held-back-until-after-election-20160506-gonw88.html
Aboriginal award winner calls on Premier Weatherill to save Flinders traditional land from nuclear waste dumping
Premier silent while Flinders Ranges threatened, INDAILY, 6 May 16 One of the traditional owners of the Flinders Ranges land earmarked for a low level nuclear waste dump, Regina McKenzie, writes about the significance of the site and why Premier Jay Weatherill should intervene…….
Last year I was awarded the SA Premier’s Natural Resource Management Award in the category of ‘Aboriginal Leadership − Female’ for working to protect land that is now being threatened with a nuclear waste dump.
But Premier Jay Weatherill has been silent since the announcement of six short-listed dump sites last year, three of them in SA. Now the Flinders Ranges has been chosen as the preferred site and Mr Weatherill must speak up.
The Premier can either support us ‒ just as the SA government supported the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta when their land was targeted for a national nuclear waste dump from 1998-2004 ‒ or he can support the federal government’s attack on us by maintaining his silence. He can’t sit on the fence.
Regina McKenzie is a Yappala Station resident and member of Viliwarinha Yura Aboriginal Corporation. http://indaily.com.au/opinion/2016/05/06/premier-silent-while-flinders-ranges-threatened/
Australia’s pro nuclear politicians want to be nuclear industry leaders
AUSTRALIA JOINS INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR RESEARCH FORUM 29 Apr 2016
Australia has overnight been approved as a member of the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), a co‑operative international endeavour, joining 12 other nations and the European Union to work together on long‑term research on advanced nuclear technologies.
The Forum develops Generation IV technology and addresses not only the construction and operation of the next generation of nuclear power reactors, but also considers fuel efficiency, reducing waste production, and meeting stringent standards of safety and proliferation resistance.
Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science Christopher Pyne said Australia’s success in gaining membership is based on the landmark research infrastructure and world-class research capabilities and expertise at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) to contribute to the GIF’s goals.
“Australia’s invitation to join this important global project marks an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of global innovation in the nuclear industry,” Mr Pyne said…..GIF research is focused on six reactor designs that will deliver safe, secure, sustainable, competitive and versatile nuclear technology…
[Frydenberg]“This forum will help develop the technologies that will be integral to the future of the international nuclear industry.”https://www.pyneonline.com.au/media-centre/media-releases/australia-joins-international-nuclear-research-forum
Climate change doesn’t get a mention in Turnbull’s budget
Turnbull’s first budget ignores climate change and dumps clean energy: That’s #innovative?, Independent Australia , Giles Parkinson 5 May 2016 So much for Turnbull’s trumpeting of a ‘transitional economy’ with zip $ for climate initiatives and $1.3 billion stripped from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.RenewEconomy‘s Giles Parkinson reports.
CLIMATE CHANGE, prime minister Malcom Turnbull once said, is the ultimate long-term problem that needs to be acted on urgently. But in his first budget as government leader, it is as though the issue does not exist.
Climate change was not even mentioned as a word, or a concept, or even an issue — despite Tuesday’s budget apparently being about growth and jobs for the future. T
here was no new money for climate initiatives and the only mention renewable energy got was to confirm that $1.3 billion in funds would be stripped from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
“There was nothing in the speech, not a word,”Professor John Hewson, a former leader of Liberal Party, told the SolarExpo conference in 2016.
“The slogan is jobs and growth. I would have though that one of the most significant sectors for economic and jobs growth is renewables — I am staggered that it didn’t get a mention in the speech or in the documents.”
Hewson said the decision to remove funding from ARENA was an “absolute tragedy.”
In the budget papers, for instance, there is no extra funding for the Direct Action plan that Turnbull once ridiculed and dismissed as a “fig-leaf” for a climate policy and now forms the basis of the government’s emissions reductions plan, including the Paris agreement it signed just a few weeks ago.
Once the government has spent the current $2.5 billion allocation for handouts to polluters to do pretty much what they were doing anyway, there is zero extra funding for emissions abatement.
The Coalition government might have been expected to shift towards a “modified” scheme that would see Direct Action evolve with its safeguards mechanism to become a baseline and credit scheme. But that’s what Labor suggested last week, and rather than accept the tentative offer of a return to a bipartisan approach to climate policies, the government slammed the door.
It slammed the door, too, on renewable energy innovation. The $1.3 billion of unallocated funds for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency remains excised from the budget papers – even though it remains legislated – while $1 billion is transferred from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and rebadged as a new Clean Energy Innovation Fund.
Don’t expect Labor to stand in the way of that initiative. It voted with the Coalition earlier this week against a Greens motion to protect ARENA, and has since blamed NGOs for not standing up to the Coalition move to de-fund ARENA,so it won’t stand up either.
For his part, Australian Solar Council chief John Grimes was taking a stand on the matter, telling the Energy Storage Conference in Melbourne on Wednesday that the federal government had “taken a backwards step” in defunding ARENA, and not making the Agency’s competitive grants available any more……..https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/turnbulls-first-budget-ignores-climate-change-and-dumps-clean-energy-thats-innovative,8955
Australian Greens plan to subsidise households’ solar batteries
Greens to hand households 50% battery cost https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/31522244/greens-to-hand-households-50-battery-cost/ Elise Scott – AAP on May 5, 2016 The Australian Greens would spend billions handing back half the cost of battery storage to households to encourage the uptake of renewable energy.
The five-year program would be funded by savings through slashing fossil-fuel tax breaks.
The $2.9 billion plan would allow individuals to claim a 50 per cent refundable tax credit on battery storage for their homes, up to $5000 in the first year.The credit would taper off to $1500 by 2021 which the Greens say reflects the projected decline in battery storage costs.
The minor party will on Thursday reveal the policy, which also includes a grant scheme for low income households.”Our battery storage plan will help people power up their home and power down their bills,” Greens leader Richard Di Natale said.
Business would be able claim depreciation on the battery storage asset over an accelerated period of three years.
Batteries enable simpler storage of renewable energy, which otherwise needs to be consumed as it is generated. New technologies are emerging, however battery storage remains relatively expensive for households and business.
Parliamentary Budget Office costings obtained by the Greens showed $2.85 billion would be needed over the forward estimates for the household policy.
The business incentives would cost an additional $38 million. The Greens said it would be funded through by savings, including $2.75 billion from removing accelerated depreciation from fossil fuel intensive industries.
No thought of nuclear upgrade for submarines, says Prime Minister Turnbull
Possibility of nuclear upgrade held no sway in subs decision: PM, THE AUSTRALIAN MAY 3, 2016 Brendan Nicholson Malcolm Turnbull has strongly rejected claims his government picked the French submarine so the navy could more easily swap to nuclear powered boats in the future……….
Mr Turnbull said the submarines would be the best.
“This is a great national enterprise and it will drive our economic plan for jobs and growth.” http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/possibility-of-nuclear-upgrade-held-no-sway-in-subs-decision-pm/news-story/ce2c7e245db93571fbd7007a86ce0f04
1 This month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
15 April – Zoom –Nuclear Power is Not the Solution
Apr 15, 2026 01:00 AM in Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Join the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) on Tuesday, April 14th for a timely webinar exploring the risks associated with nuclear power and challenging the myth that it offers a simple, safe, carbon-free solution to the climate crisis
21 April Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-04-21 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-04-21 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
Event Type: Virtual
A virtual link will be communicated before the event.
Host Contact Info: australia@icanw.org
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 