Olympic Dam uranium mine- South Australia’s answer to the Hutt River Province
The Principality of Hutt River lies within the geographic territory of Western Australia, but is not part of the State of Western Australia. It seceded from the State of Western Australia in 1959, and became, legally, an independent Sovereign state in 1971.
Within a month or two, BHP Billiton is well positioned
to achieve the same status for its Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia.
This will be helped along by BHP Billiton dictating policy to its servant, (just barely hangin’ on to his job) Premier Mike Rann.
BHP Billiton will “improve” on the 1982 Indenture Act which allows BHP to override the:
· Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988
· Development Act 1993
· Environmental Protection Act 1993
· Freedom of Information Act 1991
· Mining Act 1971
· Natural Resources Act 2004 (including the Water Resources Act 1997)
It is timely for Australians to rejoice in this new political entity? Time to make South African Marius Kloppers – Prince Marius? – Christina Macpherson
Australia’s Liberal Party would shut down Climate Change Department
Climate change department for chop: Hockey, THE AUSTRALIAN, Sid Maher ,August 04, 2011 OPPOSITION Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said last night he would consider disbanding the Department of Climate Change if the Coalition were to win the next election.
Mr Hockey, appearing on the ABC’s Lateline program, had been asked about the Coalition’s plan to cut 12,000 public servants’ jobs in a bid to rein in budget spending and went on to single out the department.
Mr Hockey attacked the accuracy of modelling carried out by the department in relation to the government’s carbon tax…………..This came after Climate Change Minister Greg Combet was challenged by advocates to put nuclear electricity generation on the table as Australia debates the best ways to produce low-emissions power and cut carbon pollution by 80 per cent by 2050….http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/climate-change-department-for-chop-hockey/story-e6frg6xf-1226108027421
New South Wales Premier confirms ban on uranium mining
Uranium mining ban to stay, says O’Farrell, SMH, Sean Nicholls August 5, 2011The Premier, Barry O’Farrell, has said the state government is no longer considering a proposal to repeal legislation banning uranium exploration and mining in NSW, only days after the government said it was ”under consideration”.In response to a question by the Opposition Leader, John Robertson, about whether the government was considering overturning the ban, Mr O’Farrell, pictured, responded: ”No.’….’Having consulted … we made a deliberate announcement which the Premier has already made here today,” he said. ”We are not proposing to change the law on uranium mining in NSW”…Uranium mining ban to stay, says O’Farrell
Australian govt says NO to nuclear power
Greg Combet rejects Ziggy Switkowski call to nuclear power , Sid Maher The Australian, August 04, 2011 “…. Asked about nuclear power on ABC radio in Sydney yesterday, Mr Combet said nuclear energy was “still a lot more expensive than any of the energy options we’ve got available to us”……
“And in particular in our country we’ve got tremendous resources available that will deliver us cheaper energy whether it be from more efficient generation from coal or conversion to natural gas-fired electricity,” he said.
“But also renewable energy sources will provide a much greater part of our electricity generation and they’ll all be much cheaper than nuclear.”
Olympic Damn Uranium Mine – Premier Rann’s Toxic ECONOMIC Legacy?
BHP Billiton’s expanded Olympic Dam uranium mine – if it does eventuate – will leave a toxic radioactive legacy. But that’s not all. What about its economic legacy?
It’s going to cost a heap to get it started. They are going to need to move a million tonnes of rock per day for four years, that is, a billion tonnes of rock, just because of the overburden, because the ore body is far underground. So they are moving a million tonnes a day for four years before they even get to the ore body. This is going to cost $billions.
The energy cost, in drawing huge amounts of water from the proposed desalination plant in Spencer Gulf, will be massive.
All this – at a time when the market for uranium continues to slump, when nuclear power is becoming prohibitively expensive – seems like an economic folly.
South Australian Premier Rann initially rose to fame within the Labor party with a strong anti-uranium and anti-Roxby Downs push. But, once in power as Premier, he did a complete about face. Now Rann is poised to let BHP Billiton dictate the terms for the expansion of the mine.
This means renegotiating the Indenture Act 1982, which makes BHP Billiton exempt from the laws of the country. This legislation allows the mine to operate with wide-ranging exemptions from the Aboriginal Heritage Protection Act, the Environment Protection Act, the Natural Resources Act and the Freedom of Information Act.
Mike Rann’s goal is to make Mike Rann look big in history – to be the one that gave BHP Billiton free rein with its big misguided adventure. He has to do this in a hurry, before his Labor colleagues give him the boot. Here’s hoping that more thoughtful minds in South Australian politics will see that he doesn’t get away with this.
Anti uranium, pro uranium – South Australian Premier ‘s personal ambitions
Premier Rann agrees to step down – but only after mine expansion, SMH, Phillip Coorey, August 1, 2011THE South Australian Labor Premier, Mike Rann, has agreed to quit but will not cut short a trade trip to India or stand down immediately as his party had demanded.
In a statement from Delhi, Mr Rann offered a compromise of a bloodless transition to his Education Minister, Jay Weatherill, but only after he had concluded some items of business, especially the expansion of the massive Olympic Dam uranium mine. Mr Rann made a name for himself decades ago as a political aide when he drove Labor’s opposition to uranium mining.…http://www.smh.com.au/national/premier-rann-agrees-to-step-down–but-only-after-mine-expansion-20110731-1i6il.html
BHP Billiton now in charge of South Australia’s uranium politics?
Roxby negotiations now hostage to ALP factional coup timeline, 01/08/11 The State Government has now handed over complete control of negotiations over the Olympic Dam expansion to BHP Billiton, say the Greens.“BHP Billiton can now dig their heels in and not give an inch on any aspect of the project knowing that the Premier and the Minister Foley are desperate for a deal before they are forced out,” said Greens Parliamentary leader Mark Parnell.
“The company isn’t in a hurry, but the Premier sure is. “What will happen now to previous commitments from the Government, such as processing in South Australia rather than China, and ensuring ‘world’s best practice in terms of the environment’ for the expansion?
“Will they be sacrificed in order to meet an artificial timeline set by the ALP back-room?” he asked.
Uranium mining to remain illegal in New South Wales
“Uranium mining and exploration is prohibited under the Uranium and Nuclear Facilities (Prohibitions) Act 1986.”
‘No plans’ to lift NSW uranium ban ABC Sydney – Australian Broadcasting Corporation August 01, 2011 The New South Wales Government is adamant it has no plans to overturn a state ban on uranium mining and exploration. Continue reading
BHP Billiton’s Premier Rann determined to promote uranium mining
Premier Rann to step down after nine years, Michelle Grattan and Ben Doherty, The Age, August 1, 2011 VETERAN South Australian leader Mike Rann has agreed to step down in favour of his more popular Education Minister as the party tries to fight its way back from bad opinion polls.
But he wants to complete ”several key projects” – most importantly the go-ahead for the expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine – and has not given a date for quitting.
………Mr Rann said he had decided that ”a seamless transition to a new leader was the most appropriate course”.But before he stepped down ”I intend to conclude negotiations with BHP Billiton over the indenture agreement that will allow the expansion of the Olympic Dam mine project to proceed.” The project was vitally important to future generations of South Australians. ”It is now at a critical and sensitive stage and it is important that the new leader is brought into this complex process.”
Premier Rann to step down after nine years
Julia Gillard’s Climate Change package looking like a winner
PM’s climate change loophole to stymie Abbott Sid Maher The Australian July 29, 2011 JULIA Gillard has moved to cement in law her climate change plan, including a default emissions reduction target of 12 million tonnes a year after 2016, forcing Tony Abbott to win approval of both houses of parliament if he is to vary the policy or proceed with his pledge to scrap the carbon tax. Continue reading
Australia’s Prime Minister counters the untruths of the campaign against carbon pricing
to take just one point, a false claim was made about employment,” she told Australia Associated Press, adding “there was a suggestion that employment was somehow going to go slow or go backwards under pricing carbon. It’s simply not true.”
“Employment in this country will go up by 1.6 million jobs by 2020, half a million of those jobs in the next two years,” she said.
Australian PM dismisses anti-carbon tax campaign, People’s Daily, China, 24 July 11 Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Saturday dismissed a series of anti-carbon tax advertisements paid for by big business, saying the facts are on the government’s side. Continue reading
Malcolm Turnbull – Australian Liberal’s moderate voice on Climate Change
As Turnbull said: ”There has been a very effective campaign against the science of climate change by those opposed to taking action to cut emissions – many because it does not suit their own financial interests – and this has played into the carbon tax debate.”….
Turnbull on a crusade, The Age , Michelle Grattan, July 23, 2011 “…….In Thursday’s Virginia Chadwick Memorial Oration The Age in Sydney, Turnbull took on the climate sceptics – naming Lord Christopher Monckton who appeared at the National Press Club earlier this week – and appealed to Liberals to stand up for the science.
”Those of us who do not believe that the CSIRO is part of an international Green conspiracy to undermine Western civilisation, or that leading scientists like Will Steffen are … you know, subversives, should not be afraid to speak out and loudly on behalf of our scientists and our science….. Continue reading
South Australia to ban uranium mining in Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary
Premier Mike Rann announces permanent protection for Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, Herald Sun, By Greg Kelton and Sarah Martin , July 22, 2011 ARKAROOLA will be protected for all time from mining, South Australia Premier Mike Rann has announced during a visit to the wilderness sanctuary. Continue reading
Australia’s polluting industries gear up for campaign against carbon pricing
Industry launches anti-carbon tax campaign, ABC News, chief political correspondent Sabra Lane, 21 July 11 A lobby group is opening up a new front against the Federal Government’s carbon tax plans by kicking off an advertising campaign.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Coal Association, the Minerals Council and the Housing Industry Association have formed a group they call the Australian Trade and Industry Alliance.
It says the Government’s deal with the Greens and the independents is flawed and will harm businesses.
In an echo of the mining industry’s tactics against the resources tax last year, the group says it will run a range of media ads against the carbon price.
Last year the Minerals Council spent $17 million in its campaign against the super profits tax and it was successful in watering it down. It was also credited with helping to oust Kevin Rudd from the Lodge.
“The key message is the carbon tax means pain but no environmental gain,” Alliance spokesman Peter Anderson said….http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-21/industry-group-steps-up-carbon-ads/2803794
Tony Abbott’s climate plan just can’t work
If you stop to think about it for a minute, it’s obvious that Direct Action won’t work. It doesn’t introduce a proper market mechanism for carbon abatement. It doesn’t seek to cap Australia’s carbon emissions. The odds are against it, even before we examine the depth of the Coalition’s actual commitment to addressing climate change. No wonder Tony Abbott can’t find any economists or climate scientists prepared to support it.
A close look at Abbott’s Direct Action plan, ABC Drum, Ben Eltham, 21 JULY 2011, “……What exactly are the policies of the Coalition, and would they work? After all, there’s been plenty of media scrutiny of the Government’s carbon tax. There’s been precious little on the Opposition’s own carbon policy, which it calls “Direct Action”, or the many sweeping statements on climate change and the carbon tax by Tony Abbott. Continue reading
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 