Queensland’s Premier Newman wants sole power to speed up new mines
Campbell Newman says state should have sole power to approve new mines by: Sarah Vogler The Courier-Mail November 08, 2012 THE power to approve new mines should be handled solely by the State, Premier Campbell Newman has told a business forum in Brisbane.
Answering questions on everything from casinos to asset sales and his decision to raise mining royalties, Mr Newman said the State should be in charge of approving mines in a move he believed would mean new
mines could be approved within two years…. He said his government was ‘unashamedly’ pro development and intent on creating the best environment for business.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/campbell-newman-says-state-should-have-sole-power-to-approve-new-mines/story-e6freoof-1226513201669
New South Wales government’s wishy washy approach to renewable energy
We’ll leave it to the market to determine what the best proposals are,
Rob Stokes on clean energy in New South Wales EcoGeneration — November/December 2012
The New South Wales Government recently released a draft of its Renewable Energy Action Plan, which outlines 28 actions to help the state achieve its target of 20 per cent clean energy by 2020. New South Wales Parliamentary Secretary for Renewable Energy Rob Stokes spoke with EcoGeneration’s Melanie Ryan about the development of the plan, its implementation and general activities for attracting clean energy investment to the state. Continue reading
Australia’s energy white paper- there will be no nuclear power here for next two decades
Meltdown fears crush case for nuclear power, The Age November 7, 2012 Lenore Taylor National Affairs Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald THE Fukushima nuclear accident has quashed consideration of nuclear power in Australia, with the government’s energy white paper arguing there is no compelling economic case for it and insufficient community acceptance.
And the Coalition won’t contest the conclusion when the long-awaited white paper is released on Thursday to set policy directions for the next two decades. The bipartisan reluctance to debate nuclear power comes despite the fact that some senior Labor and Coalition figures privately support the idea.
Resources Minister Martin Ferguson has said it should remain ”a live debate”. Foreign Minister Bob Carr said 
before he re-entered politics: ”I support nuclear power because I take global warming so very seriously … [it] should certainly play a role in Australia’s future mix of energy sources.”
Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop has said it should be considered ”in the mix” and Senator Barnaby Joyce has said: ”If we are fair dinkum about reducing carbon emissions … then uranium is where it’s going to be.”
But Labor and the Coalition are formally opposed to domestic use of nuclear power, and the Fukushima accident has reinforced that political judgment. The Greens are opposed to nuclear power and uranium mining. Continue reading
Cowardly backdown by Northern Territory Chief Minister, on nuclear waste dump
“Terry Mills is rolling over to Canberra and not standing up for territorians who have great concerns about the impact a nuclear waste dump will have for generations,”
Mills slammed over NT dump comments http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/mills-slammed-over-nt-dump-comments/story-fn3dxiwe-1226511626127 AAP November 06, 2012 ENVIRONMENTALISTS and opposition politicians are criticising the Northern Territory government after Chief Minister Terry Mills appeared to accept a nuclear waste dump would be built in the jurisdiction.
“I accept the premise of this, that there needs to be a site,” Mr Mills has told ABC radio. Continue reading
Queensland Premier Newman announces his Uranium Mining Cheer Squad
Uranium Implementation Committee announced The Premier Campbell Newman has announced the membership of the Uranium Implementation Committee which will establish a best-practice framework for the recommencement of uranium mining in Queensland. “Uranium exports will earn Queensland tens of billions of dollars over the next two decades, providing thousands of jobs across rural and regional areas,” Mr Newman said.
“The State Government has established an Implementation Committee to look at the orderly development and operation of a recommenced uranium mining and export industry in Queensland.”
The Implementation Committee will be chaired by Central Highlands Councillor, Paul Bell AM, who has just retired after serving eight years as President of the Local Government Association of Queensland.
“Cr Bell has spent decades representing the mining communities of Central Queensland and understands what it takes to build a successful resources industry which benefits everybody” Mr Newman said.
Other members of the Uranium Implementation Committee will be:
· Noeline Ikin, CEO Northern Gulf Resource Management Group
· Frances Hayter, Environment Director, Queensland Resources Council
· Dr Geoff Garrett, Queensland Government Chief Scientist and
· Dan Hunt, Acting Director- General, Department of Natural
Resources and Mines
· Indigenous leader, Warren Mundine, Director of the Australian Uranium Association and a former ALP National President (subject to final confirmation).
Mr Newman also released the Terms of Reference of the Uranium Implementation Committee which will be available on the Department of Natural Resources and Mines website.
tatements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2012/10/30/uranium-implementation-committee-announced
How embarassing for Australia’s politicians! Solar power will influence election results
Solar’s irresistible political spell, CLIMATE SPECTATOR: Tristan Edis, 6 Nov 2012 “….. the seats 
most likely to influence who takes the reins of government. Not all the seats have high solar PV penetration, (indeed it seems some of the highest solar PV penetration is in safe regional Liberal and National Party seats). But as an overall average, around one in 10 households have a solar PV system. Even in Victoria, where solar PV tends to be less popular than the sunnier states, all the marginal seats have at least one in 20 households with solar PV. Continue reading
Australia’s solar voters: a new phenomenon challenging politicians
The leading electorate with the most rooftop solar systems is Wright in south-east Queensland, held by the Liberal National Party’s Scott Buchholz. In second place — for both PV and hot water systems — is Lalor, the seat held by Prime Minister Julia Gillard (25,829 systems)..
The rise of the solar voter — they’re not where you think Crikey, GILES PARKINSON | NOV 05, 2012 Analysis shows where Australia’s solar panels are — and it’s not in the inner-city latte set. Some politicians may need to rethink their view on support for solar, writes Giles Parkinson of RenewEconomy. For years, some politicians have wanted to dismiss rooftop solar PV (and other renewables), as a middle-class fetish for wanting to be green. The last thing they would have expected was solar emerging as a political issue, not just on the state and national scale, but in their own electorates.
They were mistaken. Continue reading
Rooftop solar energy will be an issue in Australia’s 2013 election
MP’s – How Many Pro-Solar Voters In Your Electorate? http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3450 by Energy Matters, 5 Nov 12 Some MP’s will get a nasty shock and others a pleasant surprise this morning as they gain more insight into how many pro-solar voters live in their electorates.
A map and accompanying tables compiled by consultancy firm Sunwiz and released by the Australian Solar Council, 100% Renewables and the Solar Energy Industries Association shows substantial solar uptake in many marginal seats and a particularly strong showing in the mortgage belts of our big cities and in rural regions. For pro-solar MP’s, the news will be heartening, but to those opposed, the results could be a little worrying.
The map indicates Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s electorate of Lalor in Melbourne has the second highest uptake of solar panels and solar hot water systems.
“Four million Australians now have solar on their roofs, thanks to the Renewable Energy Target, and we know many more Australians want to go solar to cut their power bills”, said John Grimes, Chief Executive of the Australian Solar Council. “This is true peoples’ power.” Lindsay Soutar, 100% Renewables National Campaign Co-ordinator, says solar will be an important issue in the election next year.
“Solar offers householders the ultimate financial control over their power bills so voters will be looking to see which party will help them manage their energy bills now and in the future.”
Our politicians shouldn’t just be concerning themselves with the favour of current solar households, but those wanting to make the switch. An additional estimated 1.5 million Australians are likely to install solar panels on their roofs over the next two years – if the Renewable Energy Target isn’t interfered with.
“Politicians in all electorates are on notice,” says Brian England, National Chairman of the Solar Energy Industries Association
The Climate Change Authority’s (CCA) Review of the Renewable Energy Target Discussion Paper had an unpleasant surprise for small scale solar. The CCA has suggested reducing the level of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) attached to home solar power systems; which would impact on the subsidy available. This suggested action would be in addition to the Solar Credits multiplier ending next year.
The Australian Solar Council has strongly opposed the recommendation and 100% Renewables recently undertook a “People’s RET Review” to show the Climate Change Authority the depth of support for an unchanged RET in the wider community.
Who’d have thought it? Solar PV becoming a political issue
Climate-Action Canberra via 100% Renewable News in today! Get set for the 2013 solar election. Rooftop solar in Australia is spreading like wildfire, especially in marginal seats. Check out new data released today by Australian Solar Council, SunWiz and us, showing number of solar homes in each Australian electorate. Sunny days ahead!
How rooftop solar PV suddenly became a hot political issue http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/how-rooftop-solar-pv-suddenly-became-a-hot-political-issue-13825 By Giles Parkinson 4 November 2012
For years, some politicians have wanted to dismiss rooftop solar PV (and other renewables), as a middle class fetish for wanting to be green. The last thing they would have expected was solar emerging as a political issue, not just on the state and national scale, but in their own electorate.Both views have now been shown to be mistaken.
A whole series of surveys and postcode analysis have shown that Australia has one of the highest deployments of small scale systems on household roofs in the world – beaten only by Japan – and most of this has been put on the rooftops of households in the nation’s mortgage belts, in the city and in regional areas.
Finally, someone has done the obvious and made the effort to link these installations with electoral divisions. The results will take many politicians by surprise. Now they must now sit up and take notice. Continue reading
VIDEO: Gutless Australian government is gutting environmental protection laws
VIDEO Australian Government Abandons World Heritage Sites http://larissa-waters.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/australian-government-abandons-world-heritage-sites 01 Nov 2012 | Larissa Waters Australia’s World Heritage sites, such as the Great Barrier Reef, Kakadu and the Franklin River, will be abandoned by the Federal Government and left to the whim of the state governments, as revealed in Senate Question Time today.
“Senator Evans has confirmed today that, in a reversal from the Prime Minister’s statements in April, the protection of World Heritage sites will indeed be given to the pro-mining states, and the federal government will no longer have any right to intervene,” Australian Greens environment spokesperson, Senator Larissa Waters, said. Senator Waters’ Take Note Speech
“The Australian Government has taken another step towards the complete gutting of environment protection in this country.
“Only uranium mining will still require federal oversight – and as the Australian Government is intent on shipping uranium to India, it would seem that they’re keeping this power to ensure the uranium gets dug up, not to protect the environment from its toxic effects.
“The major environment wins of the past – like the Franklin River – are now up for grabs again. This is the Labor Government using John Howard’s laws to trash Bob Hawke’s legacy.”
Australian labor Party’s right wing opposing renewable energy?
Whip Joel Fitzgibbon told to fall in line on renewable energy targets BY: LANAI VASEK The Australian October 31, THE Greens say Labor’s chief whip and former cabinet minister Joel Fitzgibbon should “back off” from his calls for the renewable energy target to be cut.
In a heated defence of the RET, Greens MP Adam Bandt said Labor needed to unite and decide if it was for or against the scheme. “The right-wing factional power brokers within the Labor party are beginning a campaign against renewable energy,” Mr Bandt said.
“This will be a litmus test for the Labor party to decide whether they have got their foot on the accelerator or the brake when it comes to Australia’s transition to a clean energy economy.”Joel Fitzgibbonneeds to back off. If Labor is serious about a renewable energy future, with the hundreds of thousands of jobs that will come with that as Australia plays its part to tackle global warming, then Joel Fitzgibbon needs to back off from his campaign to wind back the
renewable energy target.”….
Parliamentary Secretary Richard Marles said the RET was bipartisan policy and Labor had no plans to make
changes to it. “This is bipartisan policy, this was policy of the Howard government … it’s been bipartisan policy for 10 years,” Mr Marles said. “We are not talking about changing the RET.”
Liberal backbencher Alan Tudge said the Coalition was also not considering making any changes to the RET.
Poor outlook for Queensland uranium mining, but “Yellowcake Newman” presses on
The Australian Conservation Foundation’s Dave Sweeney called on Mr Newman to back up his claim that uranium exports will earn Queensland tens of billions of dollars over the next two decades, providing
thousands of jobs.
“Development plans have been shelved at Yeelirrie and Kintyre, the two largest deposits in Western Australia.
“Kakadu uranium miner Energy Resources of Australia has lost more than $180 million and BHP Billiton has walked away from its long-held plan for a massive expansion of the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia.”
Activists slam ‘Yellowcake’ Newman http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/newman-names-qld-uranium-committee/story-e6frf7kf-1226506654419 AAP October 30, 2012 QUEENSLAND activists say Premier “Yellowcake” Campbell Newman’s new uranium committee is a stunt to fast-track mining of the “toxic” substance.
Mr Newman on Tuesday named members of the committee, which will establish a framework for the resumption of uranium mining in the state. It will be chaired by Central Highlands councillor Paul Bell, who has just retired as the president of the Local Government Association of Queensland, the government’s chief scientist Geoff Garrett and industry representatives.
Mr Newman said former ALP national president and indigenous leader Warren Mundine had been invited to serve on the committee and he hoped he would agree. Continue reading
Queensland government considering shipping uranium through Great Barrier Reef
Queensland uranium could be exported through reef, SMH, October 31, 2012 -The Queensland government says it would consider shipping uranium through the Great Barrier Reef if a new advisory committee made the recommendation.
The comments come as the United Nation’s environmental arm considers whether to list the reef as a World Heritage site in danger. In a report earlier this year, UNESCO identified shipping as one of the most pressing threats to the reef’s future. Continue reading
Australian Labor govt wishy washy on renewable energy
Mr Fitzgibbon back-pedalled on Wednesday from his claim that he was “tempted to say we should not have a renewable energy target at all” given Labor had put a price on carbon
Labor muddled on renewable energy: Greens THE AUSTRALIAN, JULIAN DRAPE AAP October 31, 2012 THE Australian Greens have attacked Labor for sending mixed messages about the renewable energy target (RET) after chief whip Joel Fitzgibbon suggested it should be reduced.
Greens leader Christine Milne dubbed the whip “Coal Fitzgibbon” on Wednesday arguing he and the ALP right were “out on a limb” trying to undermine the RET. “What this shows is you simply can’t trust the Labor party to run a consistent line when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Senator Milne told reporters in Canberra.
“The Climate Change Authority has come out having reviewed the RET and said it’s a really good policy.” The target is meant to ensure 20 per cent of Australia’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2020.
But softer demand and the popularity of rooftop solar panels mean the fixed 45,000 gigawatt-hour target may be exceeded….. the Greens want the RET extended to ensure 50 per cent of Australia’s electricity
comes from renewable sources by 2030. Continue reading
Senator Larissa Waters debunks Queensland’s uninformed fervour for uranium minng
Senator Barnaby Joyce says nuclear power in Australia is next step after Queensland decision to resume uranium mining Robyn Ironside, John McCarthy The Courier-Mail October 24, 2012 “….Queensland Greens Senator Larissa Waters said those supporting uranium mining in Queensland had not worked out safe means of
transporting and exporting uranium.
Guidelines have only recently been adopted in WA and that state will not allow uranium oxide to be transported to, or shipped from, its ports until 2014.
“It is too dangerous, it is too risky, it is dirty and we have clean safe renewable alternatives that won’t end up making the world’s conflicts even worse,” Senator Waters said.
She said she doubted uranium would be an “economic saviour” for Queensland because the price of uranium was very low, now about $43 per pound.
The Queensland government is expecting total royalties of around $900 million if the total resource ($18 billion on current prices) was mined.
“The price for uranium has tanked in the last few years – all the more because of the Fukushima disaster – and we have just seen Olympic Dam in South Australia, the biggest uranium mine in Australia – well we’ve just seen plans for that to expand, 
shelved,” Senator Waters said.
Senator Waters said transportation of uranium remained a major problem. “There is no safe way to dig up uranium, or transport it to port, or export it, and have it used safely,” she said. “We simply don’t have the guarantees that we need that this stuff can be managed.” “It is radioactive, it is toxic.”….. : http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/uranium-cheapest-alternative-fuel-20121023-2838o.html#ixzz2AWgmmDmv
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/235274195556
20 May – Webinar – The dangerous world of AUKUS, US, military occupation and suppression of dissent
National Webinar, 20th May, 2026, 6.30pm AEST. Confronting laws restricting/suppressing protest speech and action
Speakers: Former Sen. Rex Patrick, Lawyer Nick Hanna ,Arthur Rorris ,Jorgen Doyle, Sen David Shoebbridge,
Facilitator Kelley Tranter.
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 