Uranium: Greens are asking some critical questions about BHP’s Roxby Downs Indenture Bill
Greens put forward 100 amendments to gridlock mine’s $525 million, by:Sarah Martin, The Advertiser, November 09, 2011 Greens MLC Mark Parnell said his minority party was “not going to be cut short and stopped from asking the questions that need to be asked”, …. BHP says the revised Indenture Act needs to pass Parliament before the end of the year to trigger spending on preparatory work for the mine…. the Bill’s passage could be delayed until Parliament resumes in February next year…..
- WHAT THE GREENS WANT TO KNOW
1. ROYALITIES
Why did the Government lock in a royalty regime for 45 years, and why is it based exclusively on old-style production-based royalties, rather than one that captures a fair share of mining profits?
2. ECONOMIC RETURN
How good an economic deal did SA receive when BHP CEO Marius Kloppers is claiming to his shareholders that the Olympic Dam Expansion will be low cost and highly profitable?
3. PROCESSING IN SA RATHER THAN CHINA
How many South Australian jobs will be lost by not requiring BHP to process our ore here in South Australia rather than exporting it to China?
4. EXEMPTION FROM SA LAWS
Why is BHP exempt from over 20 South Australian laws that every other mining company in SA has to comply with?
5. NO URANIUM OPTION
Why wasnt a No Uranium Roxby Expansion considered when we know it is not only technically feasible, it would also mean less water and energy use and more jobs as the processing would be done here in SA, rather than in China?
6. GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN
Why isn’t there a plan to wean BHP off using 42ML/day of ancient water from the Great Artesian Basin, when they plan double that volume in excess capacity (80ML/day) from their desalination plant?
7. DESALINATION PLANT & CUTTLEFISH RISK
Why is the Government prepared to risk the breeding grounds of the Giant Australian Cuttlefish by not requiring the company to build in a different location?
8. RADIOACTIVE LEAKAGE FROM TAILINGS DAM
How can the Government claim that they have met their public commitment for the expansion to meet worlds best environmental practice when only 4 per cent of the tailings dams will be lined and the dams are designed to leak up to 8 million litres of toxic radioactive waste liquid/day?
9. RESPONSIBILITY POST MINE CLOSURE
Who will ultimately be responsible to manage the open pit, tailings dams and rock waste pile for the 10,000 years after the operations cease that the radioactive risk remains: the company or SA taxpayers, and how much will that management cost?
10. GREENHOUSE POLLUTION & RENEWABLE ENERGY
Why isn’t the company committing to any investment in cleaner energy to meet their whopping 650 MW electricity demand beyond the 57MW commitment for powering the desal plant (less than 10 per cent of total demand) to reduce their enormous increase in the states greenhouse pollution of 12-15 per cent?
Liberals kow tow to BHP ‘s poor deal for South Australia in Roxby Downs Indenture Bill
Roxby Spin vs Reality as Libs Roll-over:
1) EPA not fully independent
2) No guarantee of extra processing on site
Greens Leader Mark Parnell has accused the Liberals of ducking responsibility over the Roxby approval Bill, as more details emerge that undermine confidence in the deal signed between the Government and BHP Billiton. “The Liberals claim they could have got a better deal. Well, they still can,” said Greens Parliamentary Leader Mark Parnell.
“It is not too late for the Parliament of South Australia to insist on a much better deal for our State. We can and should amend the legislation to ratify the Roxby expansion currently before Parliament. “To roll over and pass the Roxby Indenture Bill unchanged will miss a once in a generation opportunity to get this right,” he said.
The call comes as more gaps emerge in the Government’s claims over the Roxby expansion. “The Government claims the EPA will be fully independent. Yet with this Indenture the EPA will still be operating with one hand tied behind its back,” said Mr Parnell.
“Also the Government has talked up the potential to double processing on site at Roxby Downs to 350,000 tonnes of refined copper. Yet this is not a condition in the approval and there is nothing to stop BHP Billiton ignoring that commitment in the future and export all the ore from the expansion and jobs to China. “And this is on top of locking in a ridiculously low royalty rate for the next 45 years.
“The closer we look, the more concerned we are at the very poor deal the State Government has signed on behalf of all South Australians,” he said.
Australia’s carbon tax becomes law
Finally, carbon tax becomes law, The Labor government has finally got its carbon price plan through the Senate — on a vote of 36 to 32. The Age, Michelle Grattan November 8, 2011
The carbon price begins with a tax, starting next July and will move later to a trading scheme. The issue has dogged Labor, contributing to Kevin Rudd’s fall from the leadership, after he backed off on his emission trading scheme, delaying it when he could not get it through the Senate.
‘‘The Gillard government has today secured a clean energy future for all Australians,’’ Ms Gillard said.
Senator Brown said it was ‘‘a green-letter day that will echo down the ages’’. He said the debate on the legislation was over. ‘‘There will be no rescission of this legislation,’’ he said. Mr Abbott has promised he will scrap the legislation.
Finance Minister Penny Wong told Parliament: ‘‘Today we deliver. This is a reform for our children. Today marks the beginning of Australia’s clean future’’. Later she said the issue had been ‘‘a reminder of how hard reform can be’’ and thanked those who had campaigned through difficult times… : http://www.smh.com.au/environment/finally-carbon-tax-becomes-law-20111108-1n4rq.html#ixzz1dAdTELxy
Surprise, surprise, Liberal Party backs BHP’s massive new uranium mine
Opposition to back Olympic Dam mine expansion bill ABC News 8 Nov The Olympic Dam mine expansion legislation is almost certain to pass the South Australian Parliament before Christmas after winning the Opposition’s backing. The SA Liberal Party has met and decided to support the legislation for BHP Billiton to turn Olympic Dam near Roxby Downs into the world’s biggest open cut copper, gold and uranium mine.
The Opposition has decided it will allow the legislation to pass without amendment or delay. Liberal leader Isobel Redmond says her party’s support for the bill will give BHP Billiton certainty.
“There are things that maybe could have been better for the state but with the economic circumstances, with the massive debt, we felt that economically we could not afford for this project not to go ahead,” she said…..
The Minister says there is an option for Parliament to sit an extra week if needed to get the bill through.
SA Greens leader Mark Parnell says it is no surprise the Liberals have given the legislation their support. He says the Greens will ensure the tough questions are asked. “What we have to remember is that it is the biggest industrial project in South Australian history,” he said. “It’s going to be the biggest hole in the ground on the face of the planet and I think the people of South Australia expect their members of parliament to give this project very thorough scrutiny.”
BHP Billiton is to make a final decision on the multi-billion-dollar expansion early next year…http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-08/liberals-olympic-dam-legislation-mine/3651486/?site=newcastle
Gillard, Rudd, Obama – talks on uranium to India (as well as nuke waste to Australia)?
Could Gillard and Rudd be set for a nuclear fusion? The Age, Michelle Grattan, November 6, 2011 , JULIA GILLARD and Barack Obama are having plenty of time together. They’ve been at the G20; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum is coming up in a few days, followed by the President’s visit to Australia and then the East Asia Summit. Somewhere along the way, you’d think they would find time to discuss a big issue on which their two countries disagree – selling uranium to India.
This question is very live in the ALP just now. If the Australian government wants the option of lifting its ban on uranium sales to India in the next two years, it needs to change party policy at the December ALP national conference.
There is considerable support for a policy change. Resources Minister
Martin Ferguson wants it. On the union side, so 
does Australian Workers’ Union boss Paul Howes. As he departed the South Australian premiership last month, Mike Rann declared it was ”probably time to have a rethink on that in terms of the very strict standards that India is now prepared to sign up to”.
Gillard, having committed herself to party reform, will have to say how far she wants to go in this area. Add uranium sales to India and that is quite a bit of potential conflict to manage.
One thing is certain. Any push for change would have to involve Gillard and Rudd standing shoulder to shoulder – just like those other rivals, Hayden and Hawke, did at the 1982 ALP conference…..Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/could-gillard-and-rudd-be-set-for-a-nuclear-fusion-20111105-1n0v5.html#ixzz1d4JgOuFF
Kevin Rudd, the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, and the push to sell uranium to India
Could Gillard and Rudd be set for a nuclear fusion?, The Age, Michelle Grattan, November 6, 2011 “……Rudd is said by some to be open to the idea [of selling uranium to India] . But he and others in the government have been annoyed at India’s attempts to put pressure on Australia through the media. He recently pointed out, with considerable sharpness, that in terms of supply India didn’t need Australian uranium.
Indeed, the more India makes a public fuss, the harder it is for the government to change policy without appearing to have simply capitulated to its pressure. Rudd and others have also put much emphasis on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. To drop the requirement that our uranium goes only to signatories is difficult, though not impossible, to explain and justify….
Secretive and inadequate plan for Toro Energy’s uranium mining project at Wiluna, Western Australia
Toro Energy acknowledges that it has not fully verified the accuracy or completeness of its own application, and does not accept responsibility or liability for its application.….A mining agreement with Traditional Owners has not yet been negotiated…Uranium mining and tailings disposal in this region would occur below the water-table and be connected to aquatic ecosystems. There is a risk of contaminating the aquatic ecosystems….The mine rehabilitation plans are incomplete and Toro Energy’s preliminary costing for rehabilitation is being kept secret.
Submission to the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia on behalf of the Conservation Council of WA, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Wilderness Society and the Anti Nuclear Alliance of WA. This submission was prepared with the help and advice from Dr Jim Green, Dr Gavin Mudd and Dr Nic Dunlop.
re: Toro Energy Ltd Wiluna uranium project Environmental Review and Management Programme (ERMP) Wiluna ERMP Submission_Final.doc
Australian uranium mines have a history of leaks, safety breaches and failed rehabilitation. Accordingly a 2004 report by a Senate References and Legislation Committee found “a pattern of under-performance and non-compliance” in the uranium mining industry and identified many gaps in knowledge. To date, not a single uranium mine in Australia has been rehabilitated to the point that radiological conditions are stable and ongoing monitoring is no longer required.
The history of the wider mining sector in WA has also been problematic as detailed in a recent Auditor General’s report . Continue reading
People power effective against New South Wales government plan to dump radioactive waste on Kemps Creek
People power stops Kemps Creek toxic waste plan Liverpool Leader, 1 Nov 11 RADIOACTIVE waste will not be dumped on Kemps Creek following an outpouring of community anger. The state government announced on Monday that more than 5000 tonnes of radioactive material will now be treated on-site by a federal agency at Hunters Hill before it will be removed.
Previous coverage: Kemps Creek dumping ground for radioactive waste
It ends a week of speculation after Finance Minister Greg Pearce agreed there were “no alternative waste sites in NSW”, during budget estimate hearings. Angry that the material from the former Hunters Hill uranium smelter seemed destined to be dumped at the SITA Environmental Solutions site, Kemps Creek residents last week kicked off a campaign to get a 10,000 signature petition to be debated in Parliament…. http://liverpool-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/heated-local-reaction/
Olympic Dam – A detailed submission to the Roxby Downs Indenture Bill committee
SUBMISSION TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE. NECTARIA CALAN, Friends of the Earth Adelaidc /- Conservation Council of SA
Level 1, 157 Franklin Street, Adelaide SA 5000 Contact: blackwallaby@gmail.com, 26 October 2011
Re: Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) (Amendment of Indenture) Amendment Bill 2011
I ask the Committee to revisit the issue of consultation, in regards to the approval of the Olympic Dam
expansion as set out in Clause 11(3) which ratifies and approves the amendments to the Indenture. Continue reading
South Australia’s Olympic Dam Indenture scrutiny – a token effort, just for show?
Weatherill happy to widen Olympic Dam mine bill scrutiny, ABC News October 28, 2011 South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says he would be happy for groups opposed to the planned Olympic Dam mining expansion to put evidence to a special parliamentary committee.
It sat on Thursday to examine legislation which will enact the Olympic Dam indenture. The Greens say they managed to get the proceedings opened to the public, but said the committee was a farce because the three witnesses who appeared were all in favour of the mining expansion near outback Roxby Downs in South Australia.
Mr Weatherill said he would not be opposed to other groups having a say.”That’s a matter for the committee but I think we want to make this an open process as we can,” he said….
Greens leader Mark Parnell was upset the only parties invited before the parliamentary inquiry were proponents of the expansion; BHP Billiton, the Chamber of Mines and the Olympic Dam task force. He accused the SA Government and Opposition of colluding to make sure the committee only heard from those who favoured the mining project.
After the hearing, the Greens said BHP Billiton had been given an easy ride. Mr Parnell says it was a one-sided affair with little real scrutiny.
“The questions asked of BHP Billiton were about as soft as they get,” he said. “This is a multi-billion-dollar project that will go for 100 years or more and a lot of the committee’s time was wasted talking about boggy roads and grey nomads.http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-27/conservationists-to-testify-over-olympic-mine/3604936
Pressure on Kevin Rudd to join Australia’s nuclear marketing men
Rudd targeted in push to sell uranium to India, The Age, Michelle Grattan, October 28, 2011 PRESSURE is
mounting on Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd to join the strong push to change ALP policy to allow uranium sales to India. The uranium debate is shaping up as a major issue for the December ALP national conference, with Resources Minister Martin Ferguson urging a change of policy……
Last night, Australian Workers Union chief Paul Howes backed change, saying if there was a debate at the national conference, he would argue for sales to India… Mr Ferguson and Mr Rudd yesterday appeared together at a mining breakfast in Perth….
Mr Rudd is in a difficult position on the issue because of his strong support for the nuclear non-proliferation treaty…..
Mr Howes said … the non-proliferation treaty was a ”rubbish treaty’
‘…….Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/rudd-targeted-in-push-to-sell-uranium-to-india-20111027-1mm30.html#ixzz1c79oexS4
Sydney’s Western suburbs don’t want Hunter’s Hill radioactive uranium waste
Uranium plant waste unwelcome in western suburbs, SMH, Ben Cubby, October 26, 2011 THE state government will face tough local opposition if it intends to take contaminated waste from a radioactive site in Hunters Hill and bury it at Kemps Creek in the city’s west.
It conceded at a budget estimates hearing this week that Kemps Creek was the only viable option if 5800 tonnes of mildly radioactive dirt and rock were to be removed from the site of a former uranium-processing plant.
The waste cannot be taken overseas or interstate, but Penrith City Council remains firmly opposed to the plan, which was first floated under the previous state government. Documents produced last year showed waste was to be placed in sealed trucks and driven to Kemps Creek, and warned that protests against the operation were likely to take place in western Sydney……
Hunters Hill Council wants the site cleaned up and the earth removed but does not want to simply transfer the problem to another part of Sydney. The land, on Nelson Parade, was the site of a radium smelter between 1911 and 1916. About 500 tonnes of uranium ore were processed at the plant and radioactive tailings are still mixed in with soil.
At least six people who have lived on or next door to the site have died of cancer, but there is no proven link between elevated levels of radiation on the site and health problems. http://www.smh.com.au/environment/uranium-plant-waste-unwelcome-in-western-suburbs-20111025-1mi4y.html#ixzz1bx7aVolq
Renewable energy in Australia is up against anti science Tea Party style thinking
As in the U.S., Australian conservative parties have been the target of a take over by self-styled Tea Party radicals in recent years…
Conservatives are increasingly led by a more shrill, less educated set, who are more likely to be small business owners or from the resource sector. To these climate denialists, renewable energy is part of a global conspiracy to destroy prosperity and Western values. ..
Unsurprisingly, some think tanks on the conservative side of politics are now linked with the notorious climate denial and astroturf efforts of the Koch brothers.
In Australia, Can Renewable Energy Get Over the Tea Party Blues?, Renewable Energy World, By Dan Cass , October 27, 2011 Australia’s government is trying to initiate a new era of clean energy and facing such powerful opposition that some renewables companies that will benefit from the policy are scared to proactively campaign for it.
The debate around Australia’s new Clean Energy Future legislation has seen conservative parties here — as in the USA — take a stance that is not just oppositional, but dangerously radical. They now oppose traditional conservative measures such as carbon trading and corrections to market failure and a substantial minority are vocally anti-science. Continue reading
South Australia’s rushed discussion of draconian new legislation for BHP’s Olympic Dam uranium mine
Nectaria Calan, 27 Oct 11, The most concerning and indeed contentious parts that I am familiar with at this stage relate to the water and freehold clauses, and continued exemptions from the Environmental Protection Act and the Aboriginal Heritage Act.
Re: water – the much publicised water levy for Great Artesian Basin Water (and perhaps water from other sources) does not address the increased volume of water to be taken from the GAB (increasing from 37 million litres per day to 42 million), nor the impact that even the current volume is having on the mound springs in the region. …
Clause 24 provides for the Minister to grant the entire 49, 700 ha of the proposed expanded mining lease (as estimated in the EIS) to BHP as freehold title free of charge. This is a huge area to be simply given away by the State Government to one mining company, and amounts to a huge subsidy for the company. The most contentious aspect of this clause is that it absolutely dispossesses the Aboriginal custodians of the area by simply giving the land away. One may ask, if the government is so keen to give it away, why they don’t return it to the Aboriginal communities of the region?
This is a new addition to the Indenture – it is not in the current Act.
In particular, the subclauses state that for the minister to grant freehold title he must first be satisfied that either Native Title has been extinguished or that the act of granting freehold will extinguish it. So the intention is clearly to extinguish Native Title if possible. Additionally, I believe (although I am not certain) that once Native Title is extinguished it is extinguished permanently – however this fades in significance when you consider that the land will be returned to the Crown (at the mines closure) contaminated with almost 9 billion tonnes of tailings and after the company has destroyed sacred sites by virtue of digging the biggest hole in the world.
The exemptions from the Aboriginal Heritage Act carry through to the amended Bill (from the current indenture). Both the Indenture Act and amended Bill exempt BHP from key parts of the main piece of legislation in the state providing protection for Aboriginal heritage sites – there is a conflict of interest here as a company with a commercial interest in the land is left to adjudicate the validity of competing non-commercial interests.
Despite the state government claiming last week in a press release that the expansion will be subject to the Environmental Protection Act (by removing the exemption from the Indenture), the amended indenture still lists the Act as one over which the indenture prevails. BHP’s environmental Management Plans are to be over-seen and approved by the Minister rather than the Environmental Protectkion Agency (which would be the norm). This is essentially the same as the current Indenture Act. There is arguable a conflict of interest here also, as the Minister (for Mineral resources and Energy) is a proponent for mining.
The Select Parliamentary Committee established to further inquire into the Indenture Bill is having its first hearing tomorrow. It will be hearing from BHP, the Olympic Dam taskforce (which is a department within the state government, and the Chamber of Mines (an industry body). Clearly all witnesses are uncritical of the Indenture, and at this stage it looks like it will be held behind closed doors. it is also unclear whether they will call for more witnesses on another day.
Make Roxby Downs Indenture Act discussion transparent, and study environmental issues, say Greens
Weatherill must back Roxby words with action, 27 Oct 11 Greens Leader Mark Parnell has welcomed Premier Jay Weatherill’s call for the special Parliamentary Committee examining the Roxby Expansion to be an ‘open process’ that hears from critics of the project.
In response to pressure from the Greens, today’s hearings of the Select Committee into the Olympic Dam expansion legislation were opened up to the media and public. However, at this stage the Committee – made up of 4 Labor and 3 Liberal MPs – has no plans to hear from any other witnesses apart from the 3 pro-expansion spruikers: the Government ODX Taskforce, BHP and the Chamber of Mines, despite other requests from scientific and environmental experts to appear. The Committee has only 2 days left to schedule hearings.
“I welcome the Premier’s intervention, but he has to back his words with action,” said Greens Parliamentary Leader Mark Parnell. “Time is well and truly running out to hear from anyone else. If the Committee is genuine about keeping faith with the Premier, it will make a public call for submissions and offer an opportunity for those who have raised concerns in the past about this project to challenge the assertions made by BHP Billiton and the ODX Taskforce.
“The Greens have forced the door to be opened on these hearings. Now we insist these hearings must be open to other witnesses,” he said. Mark Parnell also rejected the claim by Committee Chair Tom Koutsantonis that the Parliamentary Committee should not be looking at the project’s environmental issues. “The Minister’s claims that the environmental issues with the expansion project were signed away with the EIS approval is rubbish,” said Mr Parnell.
“The Roxby Indenture legislation is all about the deal done with BHP on water, energy, waste tailings, the desalination plant and environmental monitoring. The reason BHP CE Marius Kloppers is crowing to his shareholders that this is a ‘low cost’ project is because SA is bearing all the environmental costs and not getting a fair share of the returns.
“So far, this Parliamentary Committee has failed to rigorously examine this project to ensure our State gets the best deal possible,” he said.
1 This month.
20 September –National Day of Action in Melbourne on the International Day of Peace
Help Aunty Sue Protect Her Land and Sacred Sites From Destructive Rocket Testing.
.
Australians deserve the truth
about
AUKUS – https://aukuspublicinquiry.com/
PETITION – To: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Government
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 