Angry and determined reaction from Labor Left, to decision to sell uranium to India
Domino effect ACF nuclear campaigner Dave Sweeney says exporting uranium to a country that is not a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty will undermine Australia’s credibility and reputation on nuclear issues. “It’s only a matter of time before the pressure mounts within the ALP to ‘oh, we export uranium, why don’t we enrich it’,” he said. “And then it’s ‘we export uranium and enrich uranium, why don’t we take back the waste and that will be custodianship and we’ll be a responsible country and a good steward’.
Labor Left vows to fight uranium exports, ABC News, December 05, 2011 “…….the move was fiercely opposed by several ministers and delegates who believe it is dangerous because India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Labor Senator Doug Cameron says there is no way Australia can get India to agree to proper safeguards. “There is absolutely no way we can get these commitments that the Prime Minister is talking about,” he said. “If Bush couldn’t do it, if the Canadians couldn’t do it, I don’t think we can.” Labor Senator Cameron says he will not give up the fight.” I think this is one of the worst decisions the Labor party has ever mad. in my time in the Labor Party,” he said. Continue reading
South Australia’s Greens leader condemns Labor’s decision on uranium to India
Quoted on ABC News, 5 Dec 11 “..A Greens leader Mark Parnell says selling uranium to India would be dangerous and unprincipled. “This isn’t about climate change, this is about making money, making money for companies like BHP Billiton,” he said.
“They’ve (ALP) sacrificed their principles, they’re chasing the almighty dollar and they’re selling uranium to a country that is nuclear-armed and it’s in conflict with its nuclear-armed neighbour. “Selling Australian uranium to India means that even if they use it all in peaceful nuclear reactors, it will free up their own limited domestic supplies for use in nuclear weapons.”
Labor’s dangerous new uranium policy – but it’s really about career moves for Labor heavies
... Kevin Rudd is filthy with Prime Minister Gillard’s uranium decision and 
thinks India ought to have been forced to make some concessions in return for uranium sales, such as ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. If so, Rudd ought to say so publicly…..
South Asia is a dangerous nuclear minefield. All the more so in the wake of the US-India agreement, and all the more so in the wake of Labor’s decision to sell uranium to India with no conditions which would curb its weapons program or de-escalate the South Asian nuclear arms race.
Labor Signs Up To The Arms Race, New Matilda, 5 Dec 11, Paul Howes might think the Cold War is over but the nuclear arms race hasn’t slowed. South Asia is a nuclear minefield and Labor’s decision to sell uranium to India makes it more dangerous, writes JimGreen….. Of all the idiotic, asinine contributions to Labor’s faux-debate on uranium sales to India, Howes trumped the lot with his assertion that “The Cold War is over and it’s time for Labor to embrace that fact”.
Since the end of the Cold War the existing weapons states have been busily “modernising” their nuclear arsenals: Continue reading
Western Australia’s Labor Party would stop uranium projects
Ripper draws battle lines over uranium, The West, 5 Dec 11 Eric Ripper has put uranium miners on notice, vowing that a returned Labor State government would stop their WA projects from going ahead, however advanced.
Sparking warnings from Premier Colin Barnett that the State would be exposed to compensation claims worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the Opposition Leader said any government he led would withhold final approval for the mines.
Mr Ripper’s comments came after the ALP national conference backed Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s push to allow uranium exports to India, 206 votes to 185.
“No Labor minister or public servant responsible to a Labor minister will issue any approval to facilitate a uranium mining project under a WA Labor government,” Mr Ripper said yesterday.
“It does not matter how advanced the projects are – I’m putting the industry on notice, you won’t have your final approvals by the time of the next election and they will not be granted if WA Labor is elected.”…..
no uranium project would be completed or in receipt of final approval by the time of the next election in March 2013…..
Prominent Labor politicians will vote against uranium sales to India
Conroy to vote against uranium sales, The Age, 1 Dec 11VICTORIAN right-wing cabinet minister Stephen Conroy will break with his faction and with the Prime Minister by opposing uranium sales to India when the issue is debated this weekend. Senator Conroy told The Age yesterday he could not in good conscience support a change in the party’s platform at the national conference, despite Julia Gillard’s strong public call for reform. ”I won’t be supporting uranium sales to India,” the Communications Minister said. ”I have a long-standing position opposing the nuclear industry based on family experience.” Senator Conroy joins his cabinet colleague, the Left’s Anthony Albanese, in publicly breaking ranks with the Prime Minister’s position in support of uranium sales to India.
The controversial policy change – sought by energy-hungry India – is supported almost uniformly by the Labor Party’s Right faction, which has a majority at the national conference. It is opposed strongly by a majority of the party’s Left, which historically has been opposed to the uranium and nuclear industries, and concerned about proliferation risks.
Even though the majority of the Left faction is strongly opposed, the push for liberalising Labor’s uranium policy in recent years has been spear-headed by Martin Ferguson, Labor’s left-wing Resources Minister – a strong supporter of the uranium industry throughout his trade union and parliamentary careers.
The party platform prohibits uranium sales to countries outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Given the ways the numbers are trending, Labor’s national conference will make an exception for India. Right-wing powerbroker and union official Paul Howes – another long-time supporter of Australia’s uranium industry – said yesterday he expected a heated debate, but believed the Prime Minister’s position would prevail……
In 2007, former prime minister John Howard agreed to export Australian uranium to India, despite the fact it was outside the NPT. Kevin Rudd reversed that position when he took office later that year.
Indian officials have lobbied consistently for Labor to reinstate the Howard policy, and follow the United States, which is among a number of powerful nuclear countries to negotiate in recent years a bilateral nuclear co-operation agreement with Delhi. http://www.theage.com.au/national/conroy-to-vote-against-uranium-sales-20111130-1o76t.html#ixzz1fJVUtCG5
Labor Senator and others take a principled stand against uranium exports to India
Time to make a stand over uranium sales, The West, Senator Louise Pratt, 29 Nov 11 At the Labor Party national conference this weekend I will, as the Prime Minister has called on party members to do, be making a robust contribution to important debates. In particular, I will be arguing against the export of uranium to India. I do not believe there is a place for such an export in a world worried about nuclear weapons.
In 2007, I was proud when the newly elected Federal Labor government reinvigorated Australia’s commitment to nuclear disarmament, reversing the Howard government’s neglect of an important issue. Our concern about the poor state of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons motivated us to support the establishment and work of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. Continue reading
BHP BILLITON ABOVE THE LAW FOR ANOTHER 70 YEARS AND BEYOND
The Roxby Downs Indenture Bill today passed the South Australian Upper House. It has now passed both houses of Parliament, enshrining in law an agreement that over-rides some 21 South Australian laws, including state legislation covering radiation protection.
“Since the negotiation of the Indenture Agreement, it has been clear that the parliamentary process would simply be a rubber stamp. For example, in the Parliamentary Select Committee hearing, the opposition had the chance to question BHP for an hour, and the nature of their investigations were along the lines of concerns for the caravans that may be inconvenienced if a road was closed, never mind the tailings dams that are designed to leak,” said Nectaria Calan from Friends of the Earth Adelaide.
“Neither Labor not Liberal have shown any inclination to critically scrutinise the implications of the project, with the government bending over backwards to accommodate the mining giant. BHP wanted to recognise a historical version of the Aboriginal Heritage Act that was repealed over 20 years ago – they got it. They wanted a mining lease that spans 70 years, despite the fact that their Environmental Impact Statement only covers 40 years – they got it. They wanted the right to be granted the expanded mining lease, covering nearly 50, 000 ha as freehold, free of charge – they got it. They wanted royalties capped for 45 years – they got it,” said Ms. Calan.
The scope of the Indenture Agreement extends far beyond the 40 years covered in the Environmental Impact Statement.
“It’s a strange state of affairs to have an Environmental Impact Statement that only covers 40 years, a mining lease granted for 70 years, and an indenture agreement that creates the right for future mining leases that will not expire until the last of the extended mining leases have expired. The intention appears to be to avoid any further Parliamentary scrutiny at all cost,” continued Ms. Calan.
South Australian Parliament trashes state environmental, heritage, aboriginal laws in passing Roxby Downs Indenture Bill
Dark day as state laws trashed in Roxby riches rush The Parliamentary debate over the Roxby expansion Indenture Bill has confirmed that the State Government has delivered a bad deal for South Australia, says Greens Parliamentary Leader Mark Parnell.
“This is a dark day for our State’s democracy. The Government has locked in for the next 70 years the right of the world’s richest resource company to over-ride all relevant State laws,” said Mr Parnell.
“The hours of debate in Parliament has shown that in the rush to get this deal signed before ex-Premier Rann departed, the State Government has given too much away for too little in return.
“The environmental costs are going to be much higher, and the economic return will be much lower than the SA public rightly expect.
“Parliament has exposed the yawning gap between the Government’s hyperbolic spin over the Roxby riches and the dark reality of this terrible deal.
“Future generations are going to be disgusted with us for giving their resources away for a pittance and leaving them to deal with the enormous toxic legacy of managing the world’s largest radioactive waste dump,” he said.
The Greens put forward a package of amendments that would have positively transformed the Indenture contract.
The controversial Bill has now passed both houses of State Parliament, with only the Greens voting against it.
What the debate exposed:
- · The local jobs, manufacturing and local procurement Plan will contain ‘aspirational’ targets only. Not one extra job is guaranteed.
- · The ‘net’ economic return to state coffers in years 10-20 of the project could be as low as $10 million / year – and that’s even before millions are given back to BHPB through Federal subsidies like the diesel fuel rebate.
· No explanation for locking in royalty rates at a low rate for 45 years – apart from that is what BHP wanted.
- · The Government did not do any comparative economic analysis with similar projects interstate and overseas to see if we were getting a good economic deal.
- · There is nothing the Government can do to make BHPB expand their domestic processing up to an additional 200,000 tonnes of ore (as has been promised by the Premier and others). In fact, there is nothing to stop BHP exporting all ore from Roxby Downs to China (including the ore that is currently processed here).
- · Govt has relied entirely on BHPB’s figures for the cost of processing in SA rather than exporting South Australian copper ore to China.
· BHPB can continue to extract fossil water from the Great Artesian Basin until 2082, with costs capped for the next 30 years.
· Third parties won’t have any right to access the railways, roads, ports and airports being constructed for the expansion.
· No cumulative impacts of this expansion (beyond the artificial EIS timeframe of 40 years) have been considered.
- · The Government doesn’t know what impact the ODX will have on the State’s greenhouse pollution reduction targets.
- · The toxic tailings waste dams have been deliberately designed to leak.
- · The final operating conditions to protect the marine environment at Point Lowly will not be known for years and will be negotiated in secret.
The Nuclear Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill – new law coming to Australia
Australian Lawmakers to Consider Nuclear Terror Bill, NTI Nov. 28, 2011 Lawmakers in Australia have received a bill intended to bolster the nation’s posture against nuclear terrorism, Australian Attorney General Robert McClelland announced on Wednesday (see GSN, May 8, 2009). The Nuclear Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 would institute as national law the requirements set on member nations to the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism.
“This bill sends a strong message to the international community demonstrating Australia’s continued commitment to addressing the threat of terrorism,” McClelland said in a press release. “It will also strengthen Australia’s case in encouraging our neighboring countries to ratify the 16 international counterterrorism instruments.”
The legislation increases the number of criminal offenses covered by the 1987 Nuclear Nonproliferation (Safeguards) Act that bans the illicit application of radioactive substances and nuclear plants. It sets a two-decade maximum punishment for crimes listed in the 24-year-old law.
“Acts of nuclear terrorism, including conduct relating to radiological and nuclear material, may result in grave consequences and pose a threat to international peace and security,” McClelland said. “We need to make sure that any act of nuclear terrorism is treated as a criminal offense” (Australian Attorney General Robert McClelland release, Nov. http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20111128_5611.php
Big Australian union will fight decision to sell uranium to India
Union digs in over uranium for India, BY:EWIN HANNAN AND BRENDAN NICHOLSON , The Australian November 28, 2011 ONE of the biggest left-wing unions has promised to fight Julia Gillard’s decision to support selling uranium to India at this week’s ALP national conference.
Electrical Trades Union national secretary Peter Tighe accused the Prime Minister of rewarding India for its “flagrant disregard” of international commitments…. The Left is opposed to any dilution of the party’s position on India, which has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty….. Mr Tighe said the decision was “alarming” and he would pursue the issue. “This policy shift has been sold as ‘modernising’ Labor’s position on uranium, but there’s nothing ‘modern’ about nuclear weapons or energy,” he said.
“We can have all the safeguards we like, but as soon as yellowcake leaves Australian shores, we lose control over it. India developed its nuclear capacity with no regard to international commitments. It is highly irresponsible to reward such flagrant disrespect of the international community with uranium supplies.
“The union is particularly concerned in the context of ongoing tension between India and Pakistan over the disputed regions of Jammu and Kashmir.”A recent meeting of the union’s divisional council passed a motion condemning the policy shift.
“This divisional council calls on all ALP delegates attending the ALP national conference to oppose any changes that allows any increase in sales of uranium,” it says. “Further, divisional council directs the divisional secretary to write to all ALP conference delegates . . . asking them to oppose any change to ALP policy.” Mr Tighe said nuclear power and energy had “horrific consequences” and Australia should “have no part in it”. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/union-digs-in-over-uranium-for-india/story-fn59niix-1226207507185
South Australia: Labor and Liberal toe the BHP Billiton line on Roxby Downs Indenture Bill
Roxby debate exposes BHPB radioactive racism Greens MLC Mark Parnell has questioned why the SA government, under the Roxby Downs Indenture Ratification Amendment Bill 2011, is allowing BHP Billiton to continue to override the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988.
The answers in Hansard reveal BHP Billiton’s continued radioactive racism and of the failure of the State to respect or to protect Aboriginal people’s interests including Aboriginal Heritage. The ALP and the Liberals voted together to prevent the Greens deleting Clause 8 of the Bill and repealing Section 9 of the Roxby Downs Indenture Ratification Act 1892:
Extracts: The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I have been advised that that is what the agreement was at the time and that BHP currently are only willing to consider the continuation of the current arrangements.
… I have been advised that BHP insisted that the current arrangements continue and they were not prepared to consider changes to that.
… I have been advised that BHP were satisfied with the current arrangements and insisted on the continuation of these arrangements, and the government did not consult further than that.
ROXBY DOWNS (INDENTURE RATIFICATION) (AMENDMENT OF INDENTURE) AMENDMENT BILL
In committee. Legislative Council, Thursday 24th November 2011. Page 4699-4717 (the second of three Hansard sections on that day re the Roxby Indenture) http://hansard.parliament.sa.gov.au/pages/loaddoc.aspx?e=2&eD=2011_11_24&c=26 Continue reading
Labor’s Party President says No to uranium sales to India
Re-elected Labor Party president Jenny McAllister says yes to gays, no to uranium, BY:MILANDA ROUT , The Australian November 26, 2011 “……Jenny McAllister says she has always been opposed to expanding uranium exports.
Ms McAllister, from the party’s Left faction, was yesterday declared the winner of the month-long ballot for the figurehead role after more than 12,000 votes were lodged by members……
Ms McAllister, who campaigned on a platform of party reform, also said she had concerns about exporting uranium to more countries. The Prime Minister last week announced her plan to lift the ban on uranium sales to India.
“I have a longstanding and very public position against the expansion of uranium exports,” Jenny McAllister said…..
She said she was especially looking forward to discussing ways to give grassroots members more of a voice in the party’s policy formation…http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/re-elected-labor-party-president-says-yes-to-gays-no-to-uranium/story-fn59niix-1226206539925
Danish visitors puzzled by Victoria’s laws against wind farms
Wind turbine rules mystify Danes, The Age, Adam MortoNovember 26, 2011 The head of the world’s largest wind energy company has questioned the Baillieu government’s rationale for giving households veto rights over turbines within two kilometres of their homes.
Ditlev Engel, chief executive of Danish company Vestas, said he had ”no idea” where the policy had come from. Mr Engel, who is visiting Victoria with Crown Prince Frederik and Tasmanian-born Crown Princess Mary, said no one had explained the motivation for Victoria’s most restrictive regulations on turbines.
Mr Engel backed opening wind farms to the public to dispel myths about wind power. Denmark generates a quarter of its energy from wind power. Vestas had turbine blade manufacturing plants in Victoria and Tasmania, but they closed in 2007 over policy uncertainty… http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/wind-turbine-rules-mystify-danes-20111125-1nzb0.html#ixzz1eqqTjYpA
Victorian govt leads the way from renewable energy, towards brown coal, then nuclear
the massive 3,700 sq km lease EL4416 to Dr. John White’s Ignite Energy Resources. Cutting a swathe right across southern Gippsland’s prime coastal and tourism region, it runs the entire length of the spectacular 90 Mile Beach from the top of Wilsons Promontory to the Gippsland Lakes, half circling the towns of Bairnsdale, Sale and Traralgon.
when action on global warming can no longer be delayed, what will the Victorian government’s exit strategy be for brown coal? How will it placate community concern over food security and energy in a warming planet? In the absence of any willing investors left for wind or solar, are Victorians the first to be softened up for the nuclear debate we’re yet to have?
White is more than just a valued friend of the Liberal Party and former head of Prime Minister John Howard’s Uranium Industry Framework. White is a serious player in the international nuclear stakes and was the brainchild behind the “cradle to grave” business plan for President George Bush’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.
Victoria goes dirty brown, Independent Australia, 25 Nov 11 IA INVESTIGATION: The new Victorian Government has abandoned any concerns for the environment in a rush to turn Victoria into a big, dirty, brown coal mine. Environment editorSandi Keane reports “…. Under recent legislation, new coal-fired power stations can be built 1km from the nearest residence (or just over 1km in the case of the Anglesea Primary School) – but not for a windfarm, which needs to be at least 2km away from the nearest complaining resident….the grab for arable land is on…..Over 40 per cent of Victoria is now under licence — a “ticking time bomb” according to Environment Victoria’s Make Wakeham. Its new website, CoalWatch, allows users to see at a glance which areas of Victorian have been leased to mining companies for the mining of brown coal….. Continue reading
Poll shows Queenslanders reject uranium mining, and uranium sales to India
Queenslanders reject Julia Gillard’s uranium sales to India, Galaxy Poll finds, by:Steven Scott , The Courier-Mail November 21, 2011 PRIME Minister Julia Gillard’s plan to allow uranium sales to India has been rejected by a majority of Queensland voters. And only a third of the state’s Labor voters back Ms Gillard’s controversial plan, a Galaxy poll conducted exclusively for The Courier-Mail found….A meeting of left-wing Labor MPs in Canberra yesterday vowed to use the conference to fight against Ms Gillard’s plans to sell uranium to India because it has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. “It is a sell-out of everything we’ve stood for as a party over the last 40 years,” Left faction convener Doug Cameron said.
About 56 per cent of the state’s voters are opposed to selling uranium to India, according to the poll of 800 people on November 16 and 17. Opposition to the plans is even higher among Labor supporters, with 61 per cent rejecting it. The plans have pitted Ms Gillard against Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, who has refused to lift a ban on mining the state’s considerable uranium reserves….. http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/poll-backs-ban-on-uranium/story-fn7kjcme-1226200652135
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 