Australia’s smug drift into anti science
the authority of science has come under challenge……In no Western country, again with the exception of the US, is the political force of climate change denialism as potent as it is in Australia….This is an inherently unstable political situation…. Unless the mood of national complacency is successfully challenged, the victor in this battle seems certain to be Tony Abbott.
Threat of the new Australian smugness, Sydney Morning Herald, Robert Manne, May 2, 2011, Our leaders encourage a mood of self-satisfaction in which the nation’s goodness and wisdom are beyond question. Continue reading
Indecent haste about poorly conceived LNG project
…… A 2010 tourism study conducted by the Curtin University Sustainable Tourism Centre found that:
• Plans for an LNG industrial site near Broome pose a serious threat to the Kimberley’s unique and globally-recognised tourism ‘brand’;……
• Tourism is more valuable to the regional economy than resource projects which return less to the local economy, employ fewer local people and have relatively short lifespans;
Kimberley gas hub Strategic Assessment citizens guide “…….Having slammed the previous Labor government for its handling of the Browse LNG siting issue and the decision by Inpex to process its Browse gas (from the ‘Ichthys’ field) in Darwin, WA Premier Barnett is desperate to have a Kimberley LNG project underway before the next State election (due March 2013). Continue reading
Australia’s Liberal Party confused on nuclear policy
Macfarlane says the unthinkable, ABC The Drum, 29 April 11 “………it’s as if Ian Macfarlane has emerged from a disorienting tackle, ball in hand, and started running toward the wrong end of the field…
In 2005, [Liberal Member of Parliament] Ian MacFarlane was saying ‘Only nuclear power has the potential to deliver base-load quantities of cleaner energy in Australia,’ ‘We would be silly not to fully consider the nuclear option’, if we priced carbon ‘nuclear energy will becheaper than clean coal’, and construction could begin before 2016.
Today Macfarlane says ‘We don’t support nuclear energy in Australia… and we’re not doing to go down that route’ — a full 360 degrees, and who knows where to next……..” http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/592538.html
A second Northern Territory Intervention, says Abbott
Abbott wants second NT intervention Herald Sun, April 28, 2011 FEDERAL Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has wrapped up a tour of Alice Springs renewing his call for a “second” indigenous intervention in the Northern Territory.
….., he wants the government to extend intervention conditions to Alice and other major centres of the Northern Territory.
Julia Gillard reaffirms Australia’s plan for renewable energy, not nuclear
Australia PM: Don’t See Place For Nuclear In Australia’s Energy Mix, Wall St Journal, By Andrew Monahan, Dow Jones NewswiresTOKYO 22 April 11-Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard reiterated Friday that her government doesn’t see any place for nuclear power in the country’s energy policy, and that a review of global nuclear safety is needed in the wake of the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
“We do not have nuclear energy and we do not plan for it to be part of Australia’s future energy mix,” Gillard said after a speech in Tokyo. “We are a country that has abundant energy resources and we are very focused now on the clean energy sources of the future.” ……http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110421-705327.html
John Howard and John White’s plan for Australia to import nuclear waste
Australian Strategic Partnership With The US | Independent Australia, 19 April 11,”.…….Howard and his chief nuclear adviser at the time, Dr. John White, were ready to come to the USA’s rescue back in 2006. Both were involved in the developmentof the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, especially White who developed the Business Plan for GNEP.Julie Macken’s articles in the Australian Financial Review detailed the plan: Nuclear waste, including plutonium from the weapons industry would be transported to Darwin by submarine. From there, it would be transferred to Serco Asia Pacific’s Great Southern Railway and transported by train to a supposedly geologically secure destination. Maralinga or Savoury Basin was the bet. Continue reading
Plan for Australia as international radioactive waste dump
The head of the World Nuclear Association, John Ritch, is one of the many foreign corporate voices calling for Australia to accept the world’s nuclear
garbage.
Foreign nuclear waste, by Dr Jim Green, 19 April 11, Federal resources minister Martin Ferguson says that high-level nuclear waste from other countries will not be dumped at the proposed Muckaty site in the Territory Continue reading
Liberal Party’s plan for Australia as world’s nuclear waste dump
Is the nuclear dump option, which has never been fully shelved by the Liberals, the secret bullet?
We know that storing nuclear waste will be incredibly lucrative, for all concerned, including the nation (and certain Liberal Party donors).
Tony Abbott must be asked to stop the uncertainty and come clean:
Does the Liberal Party plan to turn Australia into the repository for the world’s most dangerous waste? If not, say so and say it clearly, preferably using “carefully prepared, scripted notes”.
Plans for Australia to become the world’s nuclear waste dump
Australian Strategic Partnership With The US | Independent Australia, 19 April 11, “…….Howard’s legacy lives on
Howard may have gone but the legacy of his nuclear fantasy lives on in the true style of things radioactive.
……. Abbott worships John Howard. In return, like all good fathers, Howard has provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to set Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party up for life—if Tony seizes his big chance before the other contender, Russia, does. Continue reading
Close Ranger uranium mine, say Australian Greens
Australia’s Greens Want Uranium Mine Closed In Kakadu Park – FoxBusiness.com, By Enda Curran April 13, 2011| Dow Jones Newswires SYDNEY – Australia’s Greens Party wants the Ranger uranium mine located in the country’s Kakadu National Park closed permanently, saying the mine poses a significant threat to the world heritage listed site.
The mine, located in the country’s Northern Territory and operated by Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (ERA.AU), has been closed since January as heavy rains threatened a spillage of toxins from a water storage facility. That closure had been extended until late July.
Mining operations at the Ranger open pit mine are already scheduled to cease by the end of 2012, but the Greens want than plan sped up and for the company to drop its intention for acid leach processing.
“ERA should abandon this plan and close the mine,” Senator Scott Ludlam, Greens nuclear energy spokesman said in a statement….Australia’s Greens Want Uranium Mine Closed In Kakadu Park – FoxBusiness.com
Use half carbon tax money to fund renewable energy infrastructure
Decarbonising Australia requires large infrastructure like high-speed rail, smart grids, new transmission lines, electric vehicle recharge stations, and baseload solar power plants. Regardless of whether Australia gets a carbon price, public investment will still be needed to fund the infrastructure that is currently beyond the capacity of the private sector to deliver alone.
Securing climate credibility – The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Leigh Ewbank, 15 April 11, In a speech to the National Press Club yesterday, Climate Minister Greg Combet announced that the government would devote half of the carbon tax revenue for compensating households………………Politics aside, the question now remains – what should they do with the remainder of the revenue? Continue reading
Whittlesea (Victoria) may strengthen its nuclear free status
free of a nuclear power plant, uranium enrichment or reprocessing plants;Is not used as a base for nuclear weapons or any facilities associated with their development, manufacture or transportation;
Nuclear fallout – Whittlesea Leader, 12 April 11, A TOXIC debate exploded at a Whittlesea Council meeting during a discussion about the municipality reaffirming its position as a nuclear-free zone. Continue reading
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
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.
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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 