Matthias Cormann joins the Liberals’ pro #nuclear stampede
Nuclear could be lucrative: minister, http://www.9news.com.au/national/2015/10/31/10/14/nuclear-could-be-lucrative-minister#m8FlUuWPGqSToruE.99 9 News, 31 Oct 15 A nuclear fuel industry could be potentially lucrative for Australia, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says.
Senator Cormann says the government is keeping an open mind on any proposals put forward by a South Australian royal commission into the nuclear fuel cycle, which could identify opportunities to diversify the economic base on nuclear power.
“This could be potentially quite lucrative,” the minister told Sky News on Saturday, adding opposition to nuclear energy was often ideological.
Turnbull backs Sen Edwards plan to make South Australia the world’s radioactive trash toilet
PM Turnbull backs nuclear in SA, economy may get $35b injection, 
AFR, by Phillip Coorey Laura Tingle Simon Evans, 30 Oct 15 Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is backing the creation of a nuclear fuel industry in Australia that experts say could be worth up to $35 billion for South Australia.
Mr Turnbull commended South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill for setting up an inquiry to consider if the state should have a nuclear industry. He said he was sceptical about the need for nuclear power, but Australia should become involved in the nuclear fuel cycle to produce fuel rods, export them and then transport them back home once used, and store them in outback nuclear waste dumps……
Assistant Science Minister Karen Andrews told The Australian Financial Review that developing a nuclear waste disposal industry was an option, and pointed out that there is currently Australian nuclear waste in transit from treatment in France which is expected to be stored by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.
Those fuel rods come from the scientific reactor at Lucas Heights in Sydney, whereas the proposal to manufacture and store spent rods from overseas concerns the high-level radioactive rods used to power nuclear reactors that generate electricity. Even after being reprocessed, they remain radioactive for many years.
Mrs Andrews referred to a proposal by South Australian Liberal senator Sean Edwards as an example of the sort of development that could emerge in the nuclear cycle industry in Australia and overcome concerns…..
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Senator Sean Edwards wants the whole toxic nuclear chain here, as well as the radioactive trash dump
Edwards pushing forward on nuclear, Sky News, 30 October 2015 A government senator is upping the ante on the nuclear debate, saying a revamp of the industry could help deliver free energy to his fellow South Australians and reduce state taxes.
Unlike Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is open to a discussion on exporting fuel rods, Sean Edwards wants to see spent ones recycled here and generators installed.
‘We are looking for an energy that week can generate at low cost so we can foster industry and foster jobs and ensure we are not destroying the planet at the same time,’ Edwards told Sky News on Friday, spruiking the economic benefits of having a local industry……. http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/national/2015/10/30/edwards-pushing-forward-on-nuclear-3.html#sthash.Okmc5vyv.dpuf– See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/national/2015/10/30/edwards-pushing-forward-on-nuclear-3.html#sthash.Okmc5vyv.dpuf
On uranium sales to India, Malcolm Turnbull should heed Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties
Malcolm Turnbull should pay heed to the findings of the JSCOT report and not be rushed by those with poor track records and overt atomic agendas.
Nuclear ambitions must put safety first, http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/nuclear-ambitions-must-put-safety-first-20151030-gkmqtm.html Dave Sweeney, It’s now three years since then-Premier Campbell Newman back-flipped on a ‘crystal clear’ commitment and opened the door for the uranium industry in Queensland. The decision, made without consultation, evidence or any independent analysis was explained on the basis of a potential uranium sales deal with India.
Since this time – and to their considerable credit – the re-elected Labor government has reinstated the state’s long-standing and popular ban on uranium mining.
As the uranium lobbyists and former LNP mines minister Andrew Cripps continue to beat the radioactive drum it is useful to look at the risks and roadblocks that mean there will be no smooth passage to India for any Australian uranium.
In September the federal Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Treaties completed a detailed examination of the proposed sales deal and its implications. Despite strong personal support for the sales plan by then PM Tony Abbot the government controlled committee took a far more considered and cautious approach.
The committee’s report identified a range of serious and unresolved nuclear safety, security and regulatory concerns with the proposed sales deal – as well as questioning its uncertain legal basis. Continue reading
MP Rowan Ramsey explains difference between Lucas Heights nuclear waste and the Sean Edwards import plan
A shipload of these rods, which are classified as medium-level waste, sent to France a decade ago for reprocessing is due home soon. With no place to store the radioactive material yet established, a special facility has been built at Lucas Heights in outer Sydney to store them until a location is secured…….
Mr Ramsey, who has a property outside Kimba in South Australia’s west, volunteered, but was told by then Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane, it would constitute a perceived conflict of interest.
Australia’s Minister For Nuclear soon to release shortlist for waste dump site
Seven locations make nuclear waste dump shortlist October 29, 2015, James Massola http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/seven-locations-make-nuclear-waste-dump-shortlist-20151029-gklxu4.html
Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg is poised to release a shortlist of sites that could play host to a permanent nuclear waste storage facility in Australia.
Fairfax Media has been told the shortlist contains seven possible locations for the facility and had been finalised and approved by the Abbott government before Ian Macfarlane was replaced as Resources Minister by Mr Frydenberg.
The list of sites was originally scheduled to be released by August. Mr Frydenberg now intends to release the short list by the end of the year, after consulting with local MPs affected the decision, the opposition and other stakeholders over the politically sensitive issue.
Two locations in South Australia’s Kimba shire, west of Port Augusta, and two in Western Australia, at Leonora, north of Kalgoorlie and Yalgoo, north of Perth, have voluntarily nominated to be considered for the shortlist, while a proposal for the facility to be located at Mt Isa, in remote Queensland, was recently advanced. The full list of possible locations is a tightly held secret.
Once the shortlist has been released, a further period of public consultations will begin before a preferred site is identified in mid-2016, with a detailed business case due in mid-2017 and construction and operation of the facility due by the end of the decade.
The pending decision on the waste facility comes amid renewed debate on a possible future nuclear industry in Australia.
The facility will store low and intermediate-level radioactive waste from Lucas Heights and Australian-produced waste that had been sent to France, the United States and Britain between 1996 and 2009, which is to be returned under an international agreement.
An interim facility has been constructed at Lucas Heights to hold waste being sent back to Australia. A general purpose cargo ship called the BBC Shanghai is currently en route to Port Kembla from the French port of Cherbourg carrying 25 tonnes of waste and is due to arrive at the end of the month. The waste aboard that ship will then be driven to the Lucas Heights facility.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull went further on Wednesday, suggesting that many Australians had a “perfectly reasonable” view that said “we have got the uranium, we mine it, why don’t we process it, turn it into the fuel rods, lease it to people overseas, when they are done, we bring them back and we have got stable, very stable geology in remote locations and a stable political environment”.
“That is a business that you could well imagine here.”
South Australian Labor Premier Jay Weatherill has an ongoing royal commission into the nuclear industry.
The Australian Conservation Foundation’s anti-nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney, who was also a member of the government’s advisory panel on the permanent waste facility, said achieving consent from residents of whatever area was selected for the site was crucial.
“Successive governments have failed to realise the importance of this [consent], or to achieve it. We are at the point of the process now, which is the test of the government’s commitment to community inclusion and having social licence to do this,” he said.
“We believe there is no environmental or public health reason to rush this [site selection]. The majority of the waste is currently in secured federal facilities and we need to take the time to get it right.”
Malcolm Turnbull favours importing radioactive trash to Australia
Australia could store nuclear waste for other countries, Malcolm Turnbull says, Guardian, Daniel Hurst, 28 Oct 15 PM tells Adelaide radio that he was sceptical Australia would ever build nuclear power stations, but a larger role in nuclear fuel industry was worth exploring….
Australia should “look closely” at expanding its role in the global nuclear energy industry, including leasing fuel rods to other countries and then storing the waste afterwards, Malcolm Turnbull has said.
But the prime minister said he was “sceptical” about whether Australia would ever build its own nuclear power stations to provide electricity to domestic customers, given the country had plentiful access to coal, gas, wind and solar sources.
Turnbull made the observations in a radio interview on Wednesday, a day after he named Dr Alan Finkel, a vocal advocate of nuclear power and the outgoing chancellor of Monash University, as Australia’s next chief scientist.
He was asked to weigh in on the issue during a visit to South Australia, where the state Labor government has launched a royal commission into options for participation in the nuclear fuel cycle. Turnbull praised the premier, Jay Weatherill, for setting up the inquiry…..
“…it’s a perfectly reasonable view: we’ve got the uranium [and] we mine it; why don’t we process it, turn it into the fuel rods, lease them to people overseas; when they’re done, bring them back – and we’ve got very stable geology in remote locations and a stable political environment – and store them?”
“That is a business that you could well imagine here.”….. playing that part in the nuclear fuel cycle I think is something that is worth looking at closely.”
Turnbull was environment minister in the Howard government, which commissioned a study into the feasibility of nuclear power by a task force led by the former Telstra chief, Ziggy Switkowski, who is now chairman of NBN Co……
The Australian Conservation Foundation described Turnbull’s comments as “ill-considered” and warned that radioactive waste was “a complex and contested policy area”.
“Radioactive waste presents serious environment, security and public health challenges – and it lasts a lot longer than any politician’s tenure,” said Dave Sweeney, a foundation campaigner.
Greenpeace dismissed nuclear power as “an expensive distraction from the real solutions to climate change, like solar and wind power”.
“It leaves a legacy of radioactive waste which remains dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years,” said Emma Gibson, head of program for Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
“We only have to look at the Fukushima disaster in Japan to be reminded of the health, social and economic impacts of a nuclear accident, and to see that this is not a safe option for Australians.”
Turnbull is seeking to bolster the Liberal party’s popularity in South Australia, where the government suffered political difficulties after his predecessor, Tony Abbott, backed away from a pre-election promise to build 12 submarines locally……. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/28/australia-could-store-nuclear-waste-for-other-countries-malcolm-turnbull-says
Australia’s govt and Opposition swing towards the nuclear industry
New Resources Minister Josh Frydenberg, who has said there is a moral obligation to exporting coal to provide energy for millions of people without access to electricity, has been a long-time supporter of nuclear power and said in his maiden speech that it was “inexplicable that in Australia we have yet to have a constructive and thorough debate about nuclear power, the only baseload, carbon-neutral energy source”.
Showing how the nuclear debate is moving, Mr Shorten also did not rule out nuclear power in the future, saying he would watch what the South Australian royal commission says
Nuclear power option should not be closed: federal government, Financial Review, by Laura Tingle, 27 Oct 15, The federal government is keeping open the possibility of adopting nuclear energy to fulfil Australia’s baseload electricity needs while asserting the central role of coal to global energy needs.
The government has told the South Australian Nuclear Royal Commission that nuclear power plants can deliver large amounts of electricity with very low carbon emissions, and should not be closed off as an option.
The revelation came as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rejected a call by a group of 60 prominent citizens for a moratorium on coal exports and new mines amid a revived debate about Australia’s energy future.
“No I don’t agree with a moratorium on the idea of exploiting coal”, Mr Turnbull said on Tuesday, a position backed by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten……. Continue reading
PM Turnbull appoints a nuclear energy enthusiast as Chief Scientist
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to appoint nuclear power advocate Dr Alan Finkel as chief scientist http://m.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/prime-minister-malcolm-turnbull-to-appoint-nuclear-power-advocate-dr-alan-finkel-as-chief-scientist/story-fnpp4dj5-1227581950975 October 26, 2015
The Herald Sun has learned that Dr Alan Finkel, a respected engineer who has long called for nuclear to be part of the nation’s energy mix, will this week be named as Australia’s chief scientist.
The appointment by Malcolm Turnbull could reignite public and political divisions over a nuclear industry, which has been debated since the mid-1970s and spawned a political and environment movement in the 1980s.
Dr Finkel, the outgoing chancellor of Monash University, has argued nuclear power is needed for Australia to achieve an “abundant, reliable supply of low-emissions electricity”.
The Prime Minister vowed last week to put science “right at the centre” of his Government’s agenda and at the “very heart” of its future.
As president of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Dr Finkel said Australia had a proud record for regulatory oversight and would “without doubt” be able to manage a nuclear electricity system at “very high safety levels” . Dr Finkel’s pending appointment comes as Labor leader Bill Shorten yesterday ruled out supporting a switch to nuclear energy, despite a push from state governments.
A divide within the party was reopened at the weekend, when Mr Shorten said he was prepared to assess the outcome of South Australia’s nuclear inquiry but federal Labor’s priority was renewable energy.
Mr Turnbull, as environment minister in the Howard government, said in order to deal with climate change, a “nuclear option” must be on the table while Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said last year nuclear was an “obvious direction” for Australia as it considered how to cut carbon dioxide emissions after 2020.
Dr Finkel will replace Professor Ian Chubb after his five-year stint as chief scientist.
Labor Leader Bill Shorten opposes nuclear industry mainly because it is ‘not viable’
Labor reopens nuclear divide at South Australian state ALP convention, Advertiser October 24, 2015 PAUL STARICK CHIEF REPORTER LABOR’S long-running nuclear energy divide reopened yesterday when federal leader Bill Shorten declared his opposition to reactors in Australia.
Speaking after the State Labor Convention, Mr Shorten said he was prepared to assess the outcome of South Australia’s present nuclear Royal Commission but federal Labor’s priority was renewable energy.
But Premier Jay Weatherill said SA had to take charge of creating future jobs — the state’s jobless rate is a nation-leading 7.7 per cent — and this included seriously considering a nuclear future…….
Asked whether he had an open mind about nuclear energy, Mr Shorten said he had always believed the cost outweighed the economic benefits, even before considering environmental safeguards.
“At this point, I don’t support nuclear energy. I don’t see it as a viable prospect — obviously I’ll see what the Royal Commission says,” Mr Shorten said………
State Labor president Peter Malinauskas told the conference it was right for the government to pursue jobs growth by “planting the seeds of new industries, like the clean and virtually carbon-free nuclear industry”…….
Tentative nuclear Royal Commission findings are expected to be released in February for public consultation, ahead of a final report in May…..http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/labor-reopens-nuclear-divide-at-south-australian-state-alp-convention/story-fni6uo1m-1227581198474?sv=89f1a1c2a3348d615bf8cb1f04ad75b0
Turnbull Government defending Abbott plan to stop community from enforcing environment law
Greens Senators Larissa Waters & Nick McKim:
http://larissa-waters.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/turnbull-government-defending-abbott-plan-stop-community-enforcing-environmen
21 Oct 15: “The Attorney-General last night in Senate Estimates confirmed the Turnbull Government was still pushing Abbott’s plan to remove community rights to protect the environment.
Senator Larissa Waters, Australian Greens Deputy Leader and environment spokesperson, said:
“Trying to silence communities, farmers and everyone who cares about the environment is an atrocious idea and, if the Turnbull Government brings this on in the Senate, it will be defeated. …
“What’s the point of having environmental laws if government can ignore them, or allow huge coal companies to ignore them, and only allow people to complain about that if they live next door? …
Greens Senator for Tasmania and legal affairs spokesperson, Nick McKim said climate change was a global problem with implications for all Australians. …
“They [Citizens] are entitled to have a say about the massive coal mines that are helping to drive climate change, threatening groundwater and driving threatened species to extinction.”
“Only a tiny fraction of developments have been blocked through legal action under the EPBC Act, yet the Government wants to water down the small protections we have.” “Our judicial system does not exist to serve the sold-out coal interests of this government. It exists to uphold the law,” Senator McKim said.”
Australian government withdraws funding offer to Bjorn Lomborg’s anti climate action centre
Bjorn Lomborg: Government withdraws $4 million funding offer for controversial research centre, ABC News, By political reporter Francis Keany and Sara Phillips 22 Oct 15 The Federal Government says it has withdrawn a $4 million offer to help establish a research centre headed by Danish academic Bjorn Lomborg.
Education Minister Simon Birmingham has told a Senate estimates hearing the proposal was quietly dropped in the week when Malcolm Turnbull became Prime Minister.
“Certainly, a specific incentive from the Government for such an institute is no longer available,” Senator Birmingham said……..
Greens Senator for South Australia Robert Simms described the withdrawal of funding as “welcome” and said it was “in response to a really strong campaign that’s been run across the community”.
“It’s good to see the Turnbull Government making a break with the Abbott era and dumping Dr Lomborg,” he said…… http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-21/govt-withdraws-funding-from-lomborg-centre/6873238
Malcolm Turnbull won’t back Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Malcolm Turnbull refuses to back Clean Energy Finance Corporation Labor uses question time to attack the prime minister and the Coalition over its climate change policies, Guardian, Lenore Taylor, 20 Oct 15 Malcolm Turnbull says the need for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation remains an “open question” and has dismissed emissions trading schemes as simply another “piece of economic plumbing”, as Labor attacked the credibility of the Coalition’s climate policies.
Turnbull lost the Liberal leadership in 2009 over his backing for the former Rudd government’s emissions trading scheme, and was forced to pledge to retain the current Direct Action climate plan in order to win support from conservative and climate-sceptic colleagues before becoming prime minister, despite having once described it as “bullshit” and a “recipe for fiscal recklessness on a grand scale.”
Under Tony Abbott, the coalition unsuccessfully tried to abolish the corporation, which the former prime minister derided as the “Bob Brown bank”.
The CEFC lends to clean energy projects on commercial terms and has so far lent $1.4bn, which will reduce emissions by 4.2m tonnes annually and also achieve a positive return on the commonwealth’s investments.
Under Turnbull the CEFC has been transferred to the environment department and the government has apparently dropped plans to hobble its mandate by banning investments in wind farms and small scale solar and has suggested it plays an important role in its climate plans.
But despite this, during question time on Tuesday, Turnbull refused to say he backed the institution – instead hedging his answer and pointing out the government had been unable to get the Senate to agree to the CEFC’s abolition…….http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/20/malcolm-turnbull-refuses-to-back-clean-energy-finance-corporation
Environment Minister Greg Hunt full of praise for Clean Energy Finance Corporation
the new Greg Hunt was full of praise for ARENA and the CEFC, listing them as one of the “successes and tangible outcomes” his government had overseen.
“The Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency are our major instruments to research, develop, test, and demonstrate emerging technology and solutions,” Hunt said.
while we welcome this change in tone, it is worth noting that the ARENA, CEFC and CCA Abolition Bills are still on the House of Representatives and Senate Notice Papers, meaning the government hasn’t formally changed their policies to abolish them.
Hunt hails ‘green shift’, praises ARENA, CEFC http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/hunt-hails-green-shift-praises-arena-cefc-24228 By Sophie Vorrath on 14 October 2015 Pop news quiz: Which Australian politician said the following this week: “It gives me great pleasure today to share my views on the required ‘green shift’ toward a more vibrant, resilient and low emissions society.”
If you answered Richard di Natale, you are wrong. It was Greg Hunt, in a speech titled “Australia’s Green Shift”, delivered to Australia’s Norwegian Embassy on Wednesday.
Yes, the federal environment minister – who as recently as July this year described the Labor Opposition’s comparatively ambitious renewable energy and emissions reduction targets “a triple-hit on electricity prices” – is now all about shifting to green, and wants everyone to know it.
“The Australian Government is driving this transformation in Australia and working globally to build a future that reflects the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said – a sentence it is safe to say he would never had uttered under his former boss, Tony Abbott. Continue reading
South Australia: subsidy for large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects
Rooftop solar subsidies for SA business http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/rooftop-solar-subsidies-for-sa-business/story-fni0xqi4-1227569000315
CLIMATE Change Minister Ian Hunter says the subsidy for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) projects, between 10 and 50 megawatts, will help businesses take advantage of a $100 million commonwealth funding pool aimed at increasing the uptake of solar panels.
“This is a great opportunity for potential developers to bring the cost of solar PV down to a price comparable to wind energy,” Climate Change Minister Ian Hunter said on Wednesday.
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 