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
No environmental safeguards for Queensland uranium mining, (Barnaby Joyce doesn’t care)
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 OUTSPOKEN Senator Barnaby Joyce has put nuclear power on the LNP’s agenda in the lead-up to the next federal election following Queensland’s decision to resume uranium mining…..
The comments came as federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said yesterday nuclear power was not part of Australia’s future…
.. The State Government’s rush to announce its uranium backflip has left Queensland without any policy on environmental and health safeguards. Premier Campbell Newman offered a guarantee the environment and public
health would not be adversely affected by uranium mining.
The powerful left-wing union, the Electrical Trades Union, has said it will ban members from working in any uranium mine in Queensland because of the risk to the workers’ health and to Australia’s environment….
Queensland Premier Newman admits uranium not necessarily a job provider
No evidence jobs flow from uranium mining ABC News By Eric Tlozek, 26 Oct 12, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman admits the State Government has no economic modelling or studies to show lifting a ban on uranium mining will create jobs or investment in the state.
In announcing the lifting of the ban this week, Mr Newman said the decision was partially prompted by Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s recent support for uranium sales to India…
.. Mr Newman says the State Government has no modelling to show the industry will create jobs or increase investment in regional areas. He says the proposal was put to Cabinet after just one meeting with the Mines Minister.
Uranium has not been mined in Queensland since the closure of the Mary Kathleen mine in the state’s north-west in 1982.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-25/no-evidence-jobs-flow-from-uranium-mining/4333390?section=qld
Campbell Newman’s next move – get rid of Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Act.?
Qld opposition fears nuclear power plants, new.com.au by: Marty Silk October 24, 2012 THE Queensland opposition says allowing uranium mining in the state will eventually lead to a nuclear power industry. Premier Campbell Newman announced on Monday the state would lift a decades-old uranium mining ban, despite saying before the March election the Liberal National Party had no plans to allow it.
Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mulherin said he fears Mr Newman, like some of his federal counterparts, wants to build nuclear power plants in Queensland. “He’s proved his word on the nuclear industry is worthless,” Mr Mulherin told reporters. He said if the coalition were to win the federal election next year, it would be “a recipe for nuclear power
plants in our state and all the risks they pose”. Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce’s pro-nuclear power stance should
worry all Queenslanders, he said.
Mr Mulherin said the only thing standing in the Newman government’s way of introducing nuclear power is the Nuclear Facilities Prohibition Act.
The act, introduced by the former Labor state government in 2007, requires a federal plebiscite to allow nuclear power plants. “But if the Newman government repeals the act, our state is wide open to the plans of Senator Joyce and others in the LNP pushing us down the nuclear path,” Mr Mulherin said……
Bans at both levels of government have prevented uranium mining in Queensland since 1982, when the Mary Kathleen mine, near Mount Isa, ceased production.
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/uranium-mining-no-greater-risk-qld-govt/story-e6frfku9-1226502416198#ixzz2AKgTBMPw
Queensland Premier’s risky choice to go for uranium, not for sunshine
The Premier should remember that community trust is a finite resource.
The risks of uranium last far longer than a politician’s promise. Attempts to introduce uranium mining in Queensland will be actively contested.
Queensland, especially regional Queensland, is perfectly positioned to become a world leader in the globe’s fastest growing energy sector – renewable energy. Queensland has some of the world’s best solar and wind resources. There is no need to open the door to an industry like uranium which is unsafe, unwelcome and under-performing.
Uranium decision takes the cake http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/uranium-decision-takes-the-cake/story-e6frg6n6-1226502563991 BY: DON HENRY From: The Courier-Mail October 25, 2012 WHEN Premier Campbell Newman wrote to me two weeks ago saying his Government had no plans to approve the development of uranium mining, I took the letter at face value.
So I was as surprised as other Queenslanders when Newman announced on Monday at noon that he would overturn the popular and long-standing state ban on mining the nuclear fuel
.
I realise the Premier has been under a lot of pressure to reverse the state’s prudent position on uranium. The Australian Uranium Association, the Queensland Resources Council and some of the multinational mining companies that hope to make big profits from digging up uranium and shipping it overseas have lobbied hard.
But there are some very strong reasons Queenslanders should keep our uranium in the ground. Uranium is not like other minerals. Continue reading
Senators John Madigan and Nick Xenophon move to stop wind farms
In July 2010, the National Health and Medical Research Council found that there is no published scientific evidence to support adverse effects of wind turbines on health.
Given their currently significant, and potentially enormous, contribution to reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, wind farms should not be held guilty until proven otherwise.
Wind farms: guilty until proven otherwise? http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/wind-farms-guilty-until-proven-otherwise, 22 Oct 2012 Albert Yu Recent reports show that coal-fired power stations are finding it difficult to operate in the new market environment with falling electricity demand, a carbon price and the renewable energy target. Meanwhile, as noted by the Productivity Commission last week, wind generation is an “increasingly important source of power” in the National Electricity Market, highlighted by news of the first turbines turning at Australia’s largest wind farm to date, the 420 MW Macarthur wind farm.
As reported on Climate Spectator last month, wind power has allowed South Australia to transform itself from almost entirely being an importer of power from Victoria to being an exporter during high wind periods, whilst significantly reducing the state’s carbon emissions.
On the other hand, sitting before the Senate is the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Amendment (Excessive Noise from Wind Farms ) Bill 2012, introduced on June 28 by Senators John Madigan and Nick Xenophon to (in Senator Madigan’s words) “ensure we do not see any expansion in the number of wind farm refugees.” Continue reading
Western Australian Labor party’s weak opposition to uranium mining
Uranium mine: ‘more than the issues we’ll lock on to’ Green Left , October 20, 2012 By Alex BainbridgeTwenty-four hours after telling the world that “people need to start showing some respect for the environment they live in”, WA environment minister Bill Marmion showed what he meant by that statement by approving Western Australia’s first uranium mine The October 9 decision gives state approval to Toro Energy for its Wiluna uranium mine. The mine still requires approval from the federal Labor government, but the state approval is considered to be a major hurdles passed.
The state Labor opposition tries to walk both sides of the street, claiming it is opposed to uranium mining but promising not to close down any mines approved by the current government. This stance contrasts with the policy WA Labor had under its previous leader and is a marker of the shift to the right under Mark McGowan.
Socialist Alliance candidate for Willagee Sam Wainwright said this is a mistaken policy. “Labor should be threatening to reverse approval for the mine and promising to utilise every democratic means possible – including the power of the people – to avoid paying a cent in compensation.
“At the moment, Labor is just giving comfort to the uranium industry and promising to give them a toe-hold to maintain their existence – just as the Bob Hawke government did in 1983 with their ‘Three mines policy’…… Anti-Nuclear Alliance of WA spokesperson, Marcus Atkinson told Green Left Weekly that after protesting at Toro, the group moved to state parliament where they were joined by Manufacturing Workers Union state secretary Steve McCartney who spoke against the approval.
Other speakers included former Greens senator Jo Vallentine and anti-nuclear campaigner Mia Pepper.
ANAWA is planning to contest the mines development in every possible way, including a possible legal challenge….. http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/52565
Ducking and weaving about India’s nuclear safety – Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO)
Senator LUDLAM: …. Are you aware of the recent report by their Auditor-General that absolutely slams the industry?
Mr Shannon: Yes.
Senator LUDLAM: ……. if you are not convinced-as the Indian Auditor-General certainly isn’t-that those plants are being run to anything like world’s best practice, a sales agreement would not occur?
Ms Bird: These are all issues which will be worked through during the negotiating practice process.
http://scott-ludlam.greensmps.org.au/content/estimates/australian-safeguards-and-non-proliferation-office-asno Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) 18 Oct 2012 | Scott Ludlam Supplementary Senate Estimates – Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee – 18 October 2012 “Dr Kalish is the acting DG of ASNO……
Senator LUDLAM: … Can you tell us officially, from the point of view of ASNO, what the status is of the bilateral safeguards agreement with India?….
Dr Kalish: Negotiation has not commenced on that treaty.
Senator LUDLAM: Well, it has been announced to the entire planet that there will be an agreement. So ASNO has not yet begun work on any such agreement?
Dr Kalish: I believe what was announced was that negotiations would commence on an agreement.
Senator LUDLAM: Can you just sketch for us the process by which those negotiations will be conducted?
Mr Shannon:….. The agreement has been reached to start the negotiations, which was last night, our time. Advice is being
assembled for ministers to consider the mandate. …. We think it will take some time, maybe a year or two. We do not have a feel for it yet
Senator LUDLAM: It sounds like a big announcement has been made but actually there is nothing at all in terms of how these negotiations will progress or, from an Australian side, who the lead organisation will be, who our negotiators will be.
Mr Shannon: No. Those things have not yet been finally decided…… Continue reading
Uranium mining in Western Australia – the Barnett Government’s Betrayal
The Premier has shown his colours this week by attacking the Renewable Energy Target and supporting a half-baked scheme to mine toxic material and sell it to a dangerous industry that is in terminal decline. The Wiluna project makes no sense whatsoever on an economic level as well as an environmental level.
10 October 2012 The Western Australian Minister for Environment has handed down his flawed decision to approve the Toro Energy Wiluna Uranium Project today. This mine, if not stopped, will be the first uranium mine to open since the change in uranium policy by the Western Australian Government in 2008.
The State Government has failed to place adequate conditions on mine closure for Toro’s Wiluna Project. Toro has not revealed estimates of future mine closure liability and has not submitted a final rehabilitation plan. Despite the scarcity of water in the area, the Minister failed to determine adequate water resource for the life of the mine. Continue reading
Woomera, the size of England, to open for uranium mining
Woomera Prohibited Area Open to Resources Development 04 October 2012 Stephen Smith MP
Minister for Defence Martin Ferguson MP Minister for Resources & Energy Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson today announced the next step in opening up the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) in South Australia to minerals exploration and resources development.
“The Woomera Prohibited Area has great economic potential, with estimates that more than $35 billion of developments, including iron ore, gold and uranium projects would be possible over the next decade, ” Mr Ferguson said.
“We can now consider new applications for access to the area from companies wishing to explore for minerals,” Mr Smith said…..
Minister Ferguson said that implementing the recommendations of the Hawke Review will help secure the longevity of our minerals resources sector….. The Review is being implemented in three phases – the moratorium on the granting of new non-Defence entrants access to the WPA, a transitional phase involving the development and implementation
of enabling legislation, and a final phase where transitional arrangements are implemented and where permanent arrangements are put in place.Further information is available at www.defence.gov.au/woomera/
Woomera Prohibited Area, Australian Department of Defence The Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) is a globally unique military testing range. It covers 127,000 square kilometres in north-west South Australia, approximately 450 kilometres NNW of Adelaide. It is the largest land range in the world, with a centre line of over 600 kilometres, comparable in size to England….The WPA comprises extensive lands north of the Indian Pacific railway, from Maralinga in the south-west up to its north-west corner in the Great Victoria Desert (that stretches across the SA-WA border), across to Coober Pedy, and west of Roxby Downs down to Woomera in the south-east.. http://www.defence.gov.au/woomera/about.htm
Big mining companies again exercise their power over the Australian government
Miners’ push for inquiry successful The Observer, Daniel Burdon | 29th September 2012 FOUR Australian mining industry heavyweights dominated a “policy transition group” which two years ago recommended the Federal
Treasurer launch an inquiry into the regulatory hurdles for minerals and energy exploration.
On Thursday, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson and Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury announced the Productivity Commission inquiry would go ahead.
Mr Ferguson also sat on the policy transition group, alongside former BHP Billiton chairman Don Argus; non-executive chairman of uranium explorer Toro Energy, Dr Erica Smyth; non-executive chairman of Clough Ltd, Keith Spence; and David Klingner, a former Rio Tinto executive and current director of uranium miner Energy Resources
Australia….
… The commission will recommend changes to the Federal Government, as well as what could be done at the state level, which the Commonwealth has committed to refer to the states for action under Council of Australian Governments arrangements. http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2012/09/29/miners-push-inquiry-successful/
Family First Party tries to stop wind energy for homes
Push to close turbine loophole before 10m-high structures are erected
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/push-to-close-turbine-loophole-before-10m-high-structures-are-erected/story-e6frea83-1226482927714 Emma Altschwager The Advertiser September 27, HOUSEHOLDERS can cash in on wind power by erecting turbines up to 10m high in their backyard that could transform suburban skylines.
But the window of opportunity could be slammed shut by Family First, which wants to change development regulations and allow neighbours to have a say in the erection of any wind turbines in their street. Continue reading
BHP’s shares down as it dallies again with the expensive Olympic Dam dream
BHP seeks more time on Olympic Dam Kristie Batten , 27 September 2012 THE South Australian government says it will carefully consider a request by BHP Billiton for an extension to the December deadline for its shelved $A28 billion Olympic Dam expansion
The government received a letter requesting the four-year extension beyond December 15 ahead of a meeting between the miner and Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy Tom Koutsantonis in Adelaide yesterday.
“Very careful consideration will now be given to the company’s request and the reasons given for seeking an extension,” Koutsantonis said in a statement…….
this will require a lot more work at the pit, a lot more work here in Adelaide and the scale and the scope of that work will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.”
However, SA Greens politician Mark Parnell told ABC Adelaide the government should reject the request and renegotiate.
“Extending a bad deal for four more years doesn’t improve it one iota,” he said.
“This is really a chance for South Australia to renegotiate with the world’s richest resource company a deal that looks after the environment, is better for the economy, guarantees local jobs and makes sure that all South Australians benefit from the resources that we own.”
BHP has said it did not expect to approve any major projects in the current financial year. Shares in BHP last traded 27c down to $32.54.
Solar energy going backwards in Queensland, with its anti-renewable energy government
Queensland a leader in solar? Not on Campbell Newman’s watch By Charis Palmer 27 September 2012 The Conversation Around the clock solar power could be a reality for Australians in the foreseeable future, but experts say a hostile state government stands in the way of Queensland becoming the solar power leader suggested by the Climate Commission.
The latest instalment from the Climate Commission on the impacts and opportunities of climate change is “wilfully blind to reality”, with no mention of the massive coal and coal seam gas industries in Queensland, said Chris McGrath, senior lecturer in environmental regulation at the University of Queensland. The report says Queensland’s solar resources are among the best in the world, and the state should take more advantage of the opportunity.
But in the absence of positive deployment policies from the state government, it will take some time to see large solar power stations serving retail customers, said Mark Diesendorf, deputy director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at University of New South Wales. The Climate Commission’s report cites the Kogan Creek Solar Boost Project, which will provide a solar thermal addition to the neighbouring coal-fired power station, expected to be the largest solar integration project in the world.
But in July, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman withdrew $75 million in funding from the proposed stand-alone 250 megawatt Solar Dawn project near Chinchilla.
Dr Diesendorf said concentrated solar thermal could be vital to solar power generation in the longer term. “It’s not very expensive to store the heat on concentrated solar thermal and therefore have 24 hour solar power.”
But with several coal-fired power stations running at less than capacity in Queensland, organisations investing in new solar infrastructure will find it difficult to compete, Dr McGrath said. He added that the government’s focus remained on coal and coal seam gas, with renewables seen as a small component only.
“They’re talking about Queensland as a leader for solar, but Queensland’s going backwards in terms of participating in any funding for addressing climate change, and unwinding programs.” Dr McGrath said the picture painted by the Climate Commission in its report is the same one that’s been painted for ten years with no action taken.
He said a blunter approach was needed from the Commission and agreed that while it may not be an advocacy group, it was up to scientists to point out the consequences of policy choices. “It’s not advocating if you say the 5 per cent by 2020 goal will lead to three degrees warming and we won’t have a Great Barrier Reef at this point. That’s just joining the dots for people to see.”
1 This month
17 October, Free Public Talk on Nuclear Issues in South Australia
David Noonan will speak on public interest concerns over the new Roxby Downs Indenture Act 2026 on BHP copper-uranium mining and ore processing in SA, and on how AUKUS may face SA with a High-Level nuclear waste agenda.
Dr Jim Green will discuss international developments in the field of nuclear power including ‘small modular reactors’ and Generation 4 ‘advanced’ nuclear reactor concepts.
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
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