Martin Ferguson speaks with forked tongue at IRENA
Ferguson ….. spoke of Australia’s commitment to clean energy….But if you wanted to know what he really thinks about clean energy and resources, and what he thought his audience wanted to hear, you needed to read his speech to a business breakfast the following day. No prizes for guessing that the focus was on coal, LNG and uranium,
Clean out of time , Business Spectator, Giles Patkinson. 8 Apr 2011 Sometimes politicians travel so much and speak to so many different audiences that it must be easy to forget what they should be saying, and to whom. Particularly if your responsibilities straddle multiple portfolios, such as those of Martin Ferguson, the Federal Minister for Resources, Energy (both brown and green), and Tourism. Continue reading
BHP hastens to calm investor fears on uranium’s future
it was more likely BHP made the unusual announcement to calm fears of the Rann Labor government that international concerns about nuclear power caused by Fukushima could threaten Olympic Dam’s expansion.
BHP assurance on mine, Sydney Morning Herald, Barry FitzGeraldMarch 31, 2011 BHP Billiton has moved to dispel suggestions that the development timetable for its planned $30 billion expansion of the Olympic Dam copper/uranium/gold mine in South Australia is set to slip because of uncertainty about uranium demand. Continue reading
Greens will fight to save Pilbara environment from uranium mining
it is a pristine natural area and it has environmentally sensitive wetlands in the vicinity,” Senator Ludlam said.
The risk of ground water and wetland contamination made it one of the worst possible sites for a uranium mine, he said.
Greens urge govt to block Pilbara uranium, Sydney Morning Herald, Andrea Hayward March 29, 2011 The Greens have vowed to fight a Canadian company’s bid to mine uranium in Western Australia but hope the federal government will reject the proposal on environmental grounds.
Canadian uranium company determined to mine in W.A.
Senator Ludlam said that this week’s bid to win approval was “particularly provocative” because it involved a Canadian-Japanese venture proposing to mine uranium while a nuclear plant in Japan was smouldering.
Cameco uranium push goes on * Andrew Burrell * The Australian * March 31, 2011 CANADIAN uranium giant Cameco is pushing ahead with plans to win government approvals for its Kintyre uranium project in Western Australia despite opposition from the Greens and doubts over long-term demand for the fuel since Japan’s nuclear crisis. Continue reading
Australia’s ‘nuclear debate’ – it’s all over, red rover
Will they look voters in the face at the next election and say I want a nuclear power station in your electorate?”The recent terrible events in Japan and the ongoing emergency at the Fukushima nuclear power plant have shown very clearly the dangers of nuclear energy and why we should not go down this path in our country.”
Nuclear debate in Australia over: Bandt | Greens MPs, 26 March 11, Greens MP Adam Bandt has told the Parliament that the nuclear debate in Australia is now over.In a speech last night discussing the emergency at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Mr Bandt said other MPs, who just three weeks ago were strongly advocating nuclear power, were now silent. Continue reading
Australian government may delay its draconian Nuclear Waste Dump law
Please note – statement from Aboriginal traditional landowners can be read here – Document.pdf
It remains unclear whether or not the National Radioactive Waste Management laws will be introduced this week by Dave Sweeney, 24 March 11, some in Labor indicate that other pressing legislation coupled with increased community sensitivity to matters nuclear post Fukushima mean it is better to defer the legislation at this time, however all indications 
are that Minister Ferguson (at right) is keen to see it advanced.
Muckaty Traditional Owners Dianne Stokes and Mark Chungaloo have been in Canberra talking strongly against the dump –
Some other developments today have seen a growing number of voices join the chorus against the dump laws and plan. A group of leading medical organisations issued a call for Labor to defer the legislation pending further consultation and the federal court determination This call was echoed in a media statement by the leading aid and development organisation Oxfam
South Australian Premier rules out nuclear power and uranium enrichment
No enrichment or nuclear plant on my watch: Rann , ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), 23 March 11, Premier Mike Rann has used State Parliament to hose down the possibility of uranium enrichment or nuclear power plants in South Australia.Mineral Resources Minister Tom Koutsantonis and Olympic Dam Minister Kevin Foley broke with ALP policy this week when they made public comments in support of an expansion of the industry.Mr Rann told Parliament no companies had expressed an interest in building a nuclear power plant in SA.He made clear again his support for ALP policy on nuclear issues……..No enrichment or nuclear plant on my watch: Rann – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Scrap new Australian nuclear waste legislation, says Oxfam
“As a signatory to the Declaration, Australia has committed to obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous peoples before adopting laws and policies which may affect them. Oxfam said it believes the government should reinstate the present Aboriginal Land Rights Act consultative and decision making processes for determining radioactive waste disposal sites.
Nuclear waste law must wait until Muckaty landowners’ objections heard in Court, says Oxfam International Business Times, March 22, 2011 The Gillard government should not try to pass legislation that would allow a national radioactive waste dump on Muckaty Land Trust in the Northern Territory before the Federal Court case opposing it lodged by some traditional owners of the Land Trust is heard, Oxfam Australia said today. Continue reading
Penny Wong speaks out for renewable energy, against nuclear power for Australia
“We have had an underinvestment in the energy sector.”
Senator Wong said setting a carbon price would give investors certainty. She said it would give an incentive to investors to look to cleaner energy.
Penny Wong rejects uranium push as key MPs back expansion of industry * By Christopher Russell , The Advertiser * March 22, 2011 , SENIOR federal South Australian minister Penny Wong has warned against the state becoming involved in the nuclear enrichment industry. Senator Wong, a former climate change minister, said on ABC radio that enriching uranium or even having nuclear power stations was “not the sort of vision I want for SA”. Continue reading
South Australian govt wants to enrich uranium in S.A.
In a bullish speech to a uranium conference in Adelaide, Mr Koutsantonis dubbed the reaction to the Fukushima crisis as ”hysteria”, and said nuclear power remained “the path for the future”..
SA call for uranium enrichment at home, Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Ker, Adelaide, March 22, 2011A SPECULATION about the demise of the uranium industry has been fiercely challenged by the South Australian government, which yesterday suggested Australia should expand its relationship with uranium to include domestic enrichment Continue reading
Australia’s politicians ignore opportunity for renewable energy
Beyond Zero Emissions has shown that a rapid transition to renewables is possible and made its reports available to major party politicians, with no result.
Parramatta hosts Beyond Zero Emissions, Green Left Weekly, March 20, 2011 By Kerry Smith, Sydney Parramatta Climate Action Network hosted a presentation by Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) at Parramatta Town Hall on March 14.The presentation summarised the “Zero Carbon Australia 2020” stationary energy report, which details how Australia can transition to 100% renewable energy by 2020.
Ferguson, Abbott, Howes, etc – the nuclear lobby’s political stooges
Andrea Mayes takes on the pro nuclear politicians:
Japan’s disastrous and tragic nuclear record should be warning enough to Australian politicians to stop their dangerous flirtation with nuclear energy.
Disaster proves nuclear danger, The West Australian, Andrea Mayes, 15 March 11, “……….For some in Australia, the temptation to move down the nuclear energy path is proving irresistible.Both Federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott favour nuclear energy as part of the solution to the challenge of climate change……. Continue reading
Pro nuclear stand by Liberal MPs and Labor’s Paul Howes
Opposition Deputy Leader Julie Bishop and Shadow Energy and Resource Minister Ian Macfarlane both did their part to keep nuclear power on the agenda yesterday, with Bishop taking the strongest stance, that “nuclear power is the only low-emission technology currently capable of supplying the constant energy we need for large cities and industry”. ….AWU secretary Paul Howes is still agitating in that direction, saying this issue should still be weighed up “unemotionally”.
A vanishing vision of nuclear power,Business Spectator, Rob Burgess, 15 Mar 2011
On both sides of politics, those who envisage an Australian nuclear power industry are watching that ambition vanish into the distant future. Continue reading
Australia needs nuclear power, say Liberal’s MacFarlane and Labor’s Ferguson
…….. Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said last month nuclear power was “proven clean-energy technology” and the cost of generating electricity from it was getting cheaper……
Calls for ‘science-based’ nuclear debate , Brisbane Times, Daniel Hurst March 14, 2011 The federal Coalition’s energy spokesman has restated his support for nuclear power, despite the unfolding crisis in Japan.
Angela Pamela uranium mine, and Northern Territory’s two- faced politician
Mr Conlan came out against the opening of the Pamela-Angela uranium mine in Central Australia a few days before the Araluen byelection in Alice Springs last year… [but he also devised] a “great way to outmuscle” mine opponents, such as the “comrades” from the Greens and Arid Lands Environment Centre.
Matt’s email con job, NT News NIGEL ADLAM | March 11th, 2011 A CLP politician who publicly opposed the opening of a uranium mine in the Territory privately agreed to help the mining company. 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 