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National Coordination COVID-19 Commission – a fossil fuel mates’ rort of staggering proportions.

Coalition’s COVID-19 Commission: Another reason for a Federal ICAC Now! Independent Australia By Ross Jones | 25 May 2020  Just how much slush do you reckon is going to wash around the Coalition’s so-called National Coordination COVID-19 Commission?

‘Amid calls for new investment in clean energy to cut greenhouse gas emissions and revive the economy, the Government’s given the task of leading the recovery to a committee that’s overweight with business leaders from fossil fuel industries, and gas in particular.’

It is brutally evident that, much like birds in a Hitchcock movie, masses of spivs are preening their flight feathers, readying themselves for a terrifying assault on Australia’s fragile environment to line their own ­– and others’ – already luxurious nests.

This is going to be a mates’ rort of staggering proportions.

There are a lot of approaches Australia could take to emerge from the COVID-19 problem a better place.

Certainly, Australia is awash with economic problems ­­— high unemployment, battered production capabilities, smashed asset values and a looming surplus of exports are just the start.

As you would expect, the Morrison Government eschewed any sensible approaches to these problems, like rebooting manufacturing to set the country up for efficient, long-term solutions, which would enable us to contribute to global attempts to slow climate change while boosting levels of meaningful employment.

Instead, the Coalition wants to unleash the dogs of destruction, just to make sure no other generation of Australians has anywhere near the opportunity this lot of privileged elitists has enjoyed.

Once fracked and drilled, that land – our children’s land – will be rendered useless. Destroyed.

Why are they doing this?

Money.

Lots of it.

Greed, bribes, backhanders and sly winks will ensure the brown paper bags – or Cayman Island cupboards – are nice and plump for all the abusers of our long-term well-being to jam their porky little mitts into.

This is exactly why we need an empowered Federal ICAC and that is exactly the reason IA is proposing the formation of a new Australian political party to be named — Federal ICAC Now (FIN).

A Federal ICAC won’t stop all the malfeasance but it could put a fair-sized dent in it.

Also, it would be great to have a few senators in the House whose focus is on corruption detection and prevention.

The next half-senate election, when the term of those elected in 2016 expires, can be held as early as 7 August 2021 but must be held by 30 June 2022.

Before the election, and especially in the last months leading up to the big event a registered FIN party would have a presence alerting voters to the issues. At the election, the above-the-line party might just have a chance.

A previous IA article floated the idea of FIN and asked readers if they would be willing to join such a party………. https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/coalitions-covid-19-commission-another-reason-for-a-federal-icac-now,13928

May 25, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, secrets and lies | Leave a comment

The torture that awaits Julian Assange in the US.

From the frying pan into the fire. The torture that awaits Julian Assange in the US.https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2020/05/10/from-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire-the-torture-that-awaits-julian-assange-in-the-us/   
Tom Coburg
 10th May 2020    WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is currently held in Belmarsh prison awaiting hearings that could see him extradited to the US to face prosecution for alleged espionage-related offences.

Award-winning US journalist Chris Hedges described the torture that would await Assange in the US prison system, adding “they will attempt to psychologically destroy him”. If extradited, Assange would likely be detained in accordance with ‘Special Administrative Measures’ (SAMs). One report equates this to a regime of sensory deprivation and social isolation that may amount to torture.

Journalists speak out

US journalist Chris Hedges spoke about the treatment Assange is likely to receive in the US. He argues that the US authorities will “psychologically destroy him” and that conditions imposed could see him turned into a ‘zombie’ to face life without parole:

Australian journalist John Pilger agrees:

If Julian is extradited to the US, a darkness awaits him. He’ll be subjected to a prison regime called special administrative measures… He will be placed in a cage in the bowels of a supermax prison, a hellhole. He will be cut off from all contact with the rest of humanity.

From the frying pan…

Assange is already in a precarious position, alongside all other UK prisoners. Belmarsh is a high-security Category A facility and, as with all other prisons in the UK, inmates there are at risk to infection from coronavirus (Covid-19).

On 28 April, the BBC reported that there were “1,783 “possible/probable” cases of coronavirus – on top of 304 confirmed infections across jails in England and Wales”. Also that there were “75 different “custodial institutions”, with 35 inmates treated in hospital and 15 deaths”.

Vaughan Smith, who stood bail for Assange, reported that the virus was “ripping through” Belmarsh:

We know of two Covid-19 deaths in Belmarsh so far, though the Department of Justice have admitted to only one death. Julian told me that there have been more and that the virus is ripping through the prison.

Assange has a known chronic lung condition, which could lead to death should he become infected with coronavirus. Assange’s lawyers requested he is released on bail to avoid succumbing to the virus, but that request was rejected.

As for the psychological effects of segregation, a European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment report argued that it can “can have an extremely damaging effect on the mental, somatic and social health of those concerned”.

…and into the fire

It’s likely that Assange will be placed under SAMs if he is extradited to the US. The Darkest Corner, a report authored by the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic and The Center for Constitutional Rights, describes how SAMs work.

In its summary, the report explains that:

SAMs are the darkest corner of the U.S. federal prison system, combining the brutality and isolation of maximum security units with additional restrictions that deny individuals almost any connection to the human world. Those restrictions include gag orders on prisoners, their family members, and their attorneys, effectively shielding this extreme use of government power from public view.

It continues:

SAMs deny prisoners the narrow avenues of indirect communication – through sink drains or air vents – available to prisoners in solitary confinement. They prohibit social contact with anyone except for a few immediate family members, and heavily regulate even those contacts. And they further prohibit prisoners from connecting to the social world via current media and news, limiting prisoners’ access to information to outdated, government-approved materials. Even a prisoner’s communications with his lawyer – which are supposed to be protected by attorney-client privilege – can be subject to monitoring by the FBI.

It ominously adds that: “Many prisoners remain under these conditions indefinitely, for years or in some cases even decades”. Moreover, these conditions can be used as a weapon to force a prisoner to plead guilty:

In numerous cases, the Attorney General recommends lifting SAMs after the defendant pleads guilty. This practice erodes defendants’ presumption of innocence and serves as a tool to coerce them into cooperating with the government and pleading guilty.

The report provides further details on how SAMs incorporate sensory deprivation and social isolation measures that “may amount to torture”. Also, it argues that the SAMs regime contravenes both US and international laws.

ECHR article 3

Should the UK courts agree to extradite Assange, he could face months, if not decades, of psychological torture. However, Article 3 of the European Court of Human Rights states clearly: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Under that article, the US extradition request should be rejected by the UK courts.

For a publisher to be subjected to such a nightmare scenario would be intolerable.

May 14, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, civil liberties, legal, politics international, secrets and lies | Leave a comment

Assange unwell, stuck in solitary confinement while court hearing delayed till September

In his fight against extradition to the US, where he faces 175 years in prison and being subjected to harsh conditions under “Special Administrative Measures”, Assange is rendered defenseless. He is in effective solitary confinement, being psychologically tortured inside London’s maximum-security prison. With the British government’s refusal to release him temporarily into home detention, despite his deteriorating health and weak lung condition developed as consequences of long detention, Assange is now put at risk of contracting coronavirus. This threatens his life.

Now, as the world stands still and becomes silent in our collective self-quarantine, Assange’s words spoken years ago in defense of a free internet call for our attention from behind the walls of Belmarsh prison:

“Nuclear war, climate change or global pandemics are existential threats that we can work through with discussion and thought. Discourse is humanity’s immune system for existential threats. Diseases that infect the immune system are usually fatal. In this case, at a planetary scale.”

Assange’s US extradition, Threat to Future of Internet and Democracy, CounterPunch by NOZOMI HAYASE 8 May 20 On Monday May 4, the British Court decided that the extradition hearing for WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, scheduled for May 18, would be moved to September. This four month delay was made after Assange’s defense lawyer argued the difficulty of his receiving a fair hearing due to restrictions posed by the Covid-19 lockdown. Monday’s hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court proceeded without enabling the phone link for press and observers waiting on the line, and without Assange who was not well enough to appear via videolink.

Sunday May 3rd marked World Press Freedom Day. As people around the globe celebrated with online debates and workshops, Assange was being held on remand in London’s Belmarsh prison for publishing classified documents which exposed US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan. On this day, annually observed by the United Nations to remind the governments of the importance of free press, Amnesty International renewed its call for the US to drop the charges against this imprisoned journalist.

The US case to extradite Assange is one of the most important press freedom cases of this century. The indictment against him under the Espionage Act is an unprecedented attack on journalism. This is a war on free speech that has escalated in recent years turning the Internet into a battleground.

Privatized censorship Continue reading →

May 9, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, civil liberties, secrets and lies | Leave a comment

Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) continues attacks on ABC 

Surprise! Surprise! IPA continues attacks on ABC https://www.abcfriends.org.au/ipa_continue_attacks_on_abc  
Latest news from ABC Friends , Margaret Reynolds, President ABC Friends National, 28 February 2020   
 The Institute of Public Affairs has (IPA) commissioned a survey by global firm Dynata to continue its campaign against the ABC and public broadcasting in Australia.

Yes, this is the same IPA which tries to influence the Liberal Party to privatise the ABC!

Guess the results: less than a third of Australians agreed that the ABC was out of touch with ordinary Australians.

So, all you extraordinary Australians who value the ABC may like to phone, text, write or visit the IPA to record why you value the essential services the ABC provides.

Website: ipa.org.au/contact-us
Email: ipa@ipa.org.au
Phone: (03) 9600 4744

Next time the IPA commissions a survey they may like to consider a poll on how many Australians value the IPAs contribution to Australian public policy debate!

May 2, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, media, secrets and lies | Leave a comment

Australian govt’s devious ploy to further dispossess the Bangarla Aboriginal people

First Nations communities continue to be left behind,   Eureka Street,  Michele Madigan -22 Apr 20  “………..As well as their own real fears for their health in the COVID-19 pandemic as documented in their recent submission (number 25) to the Senate Standing Economics Legislation Committee of Inquiry the Barngarla peoples of South Australia’s Eyre Peninisula are being forced to counter attempts to further their dispossession in new schemes by federal government. The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Committee (BDAC) plead with the federal government to delay the current procedures so that the public hearings regarding the site of the federal nuclear waste facility in the Kimba region may take place ‘on Country’ rather than by teleconference, which would greatly disadvantage their cause.

Even more seriously, the BDAC submission (among others) denounces the purposeful strategy by the Resources Minister in refusing to make a formal declaration. Instead, the Minister made ‘a policy decision’ in naming the chosen site of Napandee, having ‘presented it as a declaration’.

BDAC points out, ‘The Government is now seeking to legislate directly, as an indirect but very effective means to prevent judicial oversight.’ That is, the Minister is seeking to change the current legislation of the National Radioactive Waste Management Act so that Parliament itself will ‘select’ Napandee as the site and thereby stopping any judicial oversight of anything untoward in the long administrative process to date.

As the BDAC submission summarises, ‘This is highly concerning to the Barngarla people as it should be to all Australians.’

In the last few days, the federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has written a report critical of the treatment of Barngarla Traditional Owners. It is a unanimous report, endorsed by Coalition members of the Committee.

And there we have it. As Aboriginal communities still await the needed funding to ensure their survival during this pandemic, the wheels of another government ministry are confidently seeking to further dispossess and disempower by such proposed legislation. Shameful indeed.

Michele Madigan is a Sister of St Joseph who has spent the past 38 years working with Aboriginal people in remote areas of SA, in Adelaide and in country SA. Her work has included advocacy and support for senior Aboriginal women of Coober Pedy in their campaign against the proposed national radioactive dump.     https://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article/first-nations-communities-continue-to-be-left-behind?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Eureka%20Street%20Daily%20-%20Wednesday%2022%20April%202020&utm_content=Eureka%20Street%20Daily%20-%20Wednesda

April 23, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | aboriginal issues, AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump, politics, secrets and lies, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Another revolving door- Air Chief Marshal (ret’d) Mark Binskin AC straight into BAE warships maker

Air Chief Marshal (ret’d) Mark Binskin AC

MILITARY INDUSTRY REVOLVING DOOR. Michael West Media

In June 2018, Mark Binskin was Chief of the Defence Force when BAE Systems Australia was awarded the $35 billion Future Frigate contract, the largest surface warship program in Australia’s history. The following month Binskin retired. He has since been appointed in a non-executive director role with BAE Systems. The contract for the $1.2 billion upgrade of the Jindalee Operational Radar Network was also awarded to BAE in the final months of Binskin’s tenure…… https://www.michaelwest.com.au/air-chief-marshal-mark-binskin-ac-retd/

April 21, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, secrets and lies, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Australia’s political revolving door between military industry and government – Reynolds and Reith

 

Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC

MILITARY INDUSTRY REVOLVING DOOR, MichaelWest.com 15 Apr 20

The “spruiker-in-chief” of defence industry has been involved with promoting military industry interests since the late 1980s when she co-founded the WA Defence Industry Council. Reynolds combined a career in the army reserves with political staffing roles for the Liberals, and a stint with industry giant Raytheon, before becoming a senator for WA in 2014. From 2 March 2019, she served as Minister for Defence Industry before being promoted to Defence Minister on 29 May 2019……..  https://www.michaelwest.com.au/linda-reynolds/

The Hon Peter Reith AM

MILITARY INDUSTRY REVOLVING DOOR

Former Howard government defence minister Peter Reith created a storm of protest when he quit politics and started work within a day or two for Tenix Defence (now BAE Systems Australia) as a consultant on government relations. Tenix Defence was Australia’s largest military industry corporation and a significant contractor to the department over which Reith had just had oversight. ……..more  https://www.michaelwest.com.au/peter-reith/ ……  https://www.michaelwest.com.au/linda-reynolds/

April 16, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, secrets and lies, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear front group Energy Policy Institute joins with NuScam to promote Small Nuclear Reactors to Australia

US urges Australia to consider nuclear , THE AUSTRALIAN,   ADAM CREIGHTON, ECONOMICS EDITOR, 30 Mar 20

A top Trump administration ­official has urged Australia to join the US in researching and building small “modular” nuclear reactors.Suzanne Jaworowski, chief of staff and senior adviser at the US Department of Energy, said about 45 companies in the US were working on small modular reactors and one could be built in Australia by the mid-2020s

“You could have up to 12 reactor modules each producing 60MW, even more reliably than coal and gas,” she told The Weekend Australian, recommending business and government work with NuScale Power, which is building an SMR in Idaho.

“They are at a point where they could work with a country like Australia,” she said.

Australia’s prohibition on ­nuclear energy, in force since the late 1990s, was “unfortunate”, she said. The growing push for zero emissions by mid-century could only be achieved with nuclear power, on current technology……

A federal inquiry into nuclear power suggested a partial reversal of the 1998 legislative ban on ­nuclear energy late last year. In NSW, state One Nation leader Mark Latham and state Nationals leader John Barilaro are pushing to dump a similar state ban.

Ms Jaworowski, who had to cancel a planned trip to Australia this year because of the corona­virus, said nuclear energy faced a “perception problem”. …… Ms Jaworowski said nuclear energy in the US could be supplied from small modular reactors at about $55 a MwH, “which is very competitive with other forms of energy”.

Liddell coal power station in NSW, with 2000MW capacity, is scheduled to close in 2023. The federal government, which has said lifting the nuclear ban would require bipartisan support, is putting together a “technology road map” to ensure large cuts in carbon emissions by 2050.

Ms Jaworowski said nuclear energy in the US could be supplied from small modular reactors at about $55 a MwH, “which is very competitive with other forms of energy”.

The Energy Policy Institute said the US, Russia and China were in a three-way contest to dominate the global nuclear generation market with SMRs. “The nuclear competition will be good for Australia because we need greater energy security than we’ve got at present,” institute executive director Robert Pritchard said.   https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/us-urges-australia-to-consider-nuclear/news-story/f555996beccc347f6b57bb9d1c126f77

March 30, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, secrets and lies | 1 Comment

Australian government manipulates the National Radioactive Waste Management Act so as to prevent an Appeal

Govt accused of legal appeal block, Whyalla News , Louis Mayfield , 11 Mar 20,  

A South Australian Senator has accused the government of stonewalling any attempts to launch a legal appeal against their legislation for a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility (NRWMF) at Napandee.

According to a letter from Resources Minister Keith Pitt to Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick, the government has not formalised the decision to make Napandee the location for the facility under the National Radioactive Waste Management Act 2012.

Senator Patrick said this was a deliberate move by the government to avoid the legislation being challenged legally.

“The whole motive behind getting the Parliament to make an Act that selects the site is that what Parliament does is not reviewable by the courts unless someone thinks it’s unconstitutional,” he said.

“The pathway they’re taking this down denies anyone the ability to seek judicial review into whether or not they have achieved broad community support.

“We know the Barngarla people are clearly opposed, we also know there are some neighbours who are opposed as well.

“It’s important that people need to be made aware that no decision has been made, only an assessment.”

Legislation for the NRWMF is now before a Senate Inquiry, with Resoures Minister Keith Pitt saying the government had self-referred the bill….

Both Senator Patrick and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young are calling for a public hearing to be held in Whyalla regarding the legislation.

The Senate Economics Committee are now taking submissions from the public. https://www.whyallanewsonline.com.au/story/6673978/govt-accused-of-legal-appeal-block/?fbclid=IwAR3GEn2HgTDReXDl2Qhp9pkDFk6H7NMonpjmIxg2IC6_pTDObtu5SZIAxxA

March 12, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, secrets and lies | Leave a comment

ANSTO Senior Nuclear Officer Admits Admits ANSTO reclassifies High Level Wastes as Intermediate Level.

Note the wastes in question – vitrified – at the top of the list above

Kim Mavromatis     No Nuclear Waste Dump Anywhere in South Australia shared a link. ANSTO Senior Nuclear Officer Admits Admits – France classifies waste from reprocessed Spent Nuclear Fuel as High Level Nuclear Waste – and when the waste gets shipped back to Aust it is reclassified as Intermediate.

Paul Culliver ABC North and West interview with ANSTO’s Hef Grifiths commences at 2hours 35mins into radio pgm link.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/northandwest/programs/breakfast/breakfast/11908618?fbclid=IwAR3FWCH3w0ch4zfLOqp0ma9d55XZSFDvwAQGjV6uCNpLRBI-W2RkzRbvIsk

February 6, 2020 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump, secrets and lies | Leave a comment

NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP DECEPTION 

Kim Mavromatis  No Nuclear Waste Dump Anywhere in South Australia, 11 Dec 19,

The whole of SA should wake up to what ANSTO and the Fed govnt is proposing. ANSTO and the Fed govnt are not being honest about what they are going to dump at the proposed sites near Kimba or in the Flinders Ranges near Hawker. ANSTO state that spent nuclear fuel from the Lucas Heights reactor is Intermediate Level Nuclear Waste – but it’s really High Level Nuclear Waste.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Definition of High Level Nuclear Waste : “High-Level Radioactive Waste (HLW) is produced from the burning of uranium fuel in nuclear power reactors. It is of two kinds: spent fuel, declared as waste and ready for disposal, or waste resulting from the reprocessing of spent fuel. Due to its high radioactivity and very long half-life, HLW has to be well contained and isolated from the human environment.”

Even after 30 years, spent nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors is still 10,000 times more radioactive than uranium ore. And the waste that is shipped back to Australia from France from the reprocessed spent nuclear fuel still contains 95% of the radioactivity. As well as low-level waste, ANSTO are proposing to temporarily dump High Level Nuclear Waste in SA (deceptively classifed as Intermediate) for up to 100 years until a permanent solution can be found.

If a nuclear waste accident occurs, it’s likely to be catastrophic for the region and South Australia. The Spencer Gulf is connected to aquifers from the Flinders Ranges and floodwaters from significant flooding events at the proposed site end up in the Spencer Gulf via Lake Torrens.

Why on earth would ScoMo’s Federal Liberal govnt want to dump nuclear waste in the Flinders Ranges, on a floodplain, in a seismically active region, bordered by natural springs, in an iconic tourism destination, or on Eyre Peninsula farmland, near Kimba and next to Lake Gilles Conservation Park?????

The govnt have stated that there’s never been a nuclear material transport accident in Aust – but there has been, and the people affected were treated badly and many died of cancers – watch our film : “NUCLEAR WASTE CRASH COVERUP – POISONED POLICE SPEAK OUT” https://vimeo.com/372781616

  https://www.facebook.com/groups/1314655315214929/

December 12, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump, secrets and lies | Leave a comment

Victoria’s chemical waste scandal

The man who made a toxic waste disaster, Greed, lax oversight and poor regulation allowed one man to distort the national market for toxic waste disposal and create an environmental catastrophe.The Age, By Chris Vedelago, Sumeyya Ilanbey and Cameron Houston, DECEMBER 8, 2019   August 2012, former truck driver and sandblaster Graham Leslie White bought a 567-hectare block of useless scrubland outside the tiny western Victorian town of Kaniva, nearly five hours from his home and businesses in Melbourne.He began by building a road, designed to support the weight of heavy vehicles, into the desolate patch. Later, White bulldozed a network of tracks deep into the interior of the property that dead-ended in oddly shaped clearings of rough, red earth.

White claimed it was a quad-biking course for his children, an answer that satisfied the curiosity of the council officer.

But five years on, we know the truth. Covered by a thin layer of topsoil were the pits that White had dug and that he was filling with toxic waste — millions of litres of chemicals and tonnes of asbestos-contaminated products brought by the truckload.

The Kaniva property was the final destination for an illegal dumping syndicate whose operations grew so large they distorted the national market in toxic waste disposal.

Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority — relying on a paper-based tracking system and a lax inspection regime — was blindsided by this dark market that threatened public safety and the welfare of emergency services personnel.

By the time the scheme was accidentally exposed in 2018, White and his associates at Bradbury Industrial Services had illicitly buried or stockpiled an estimated 50 million litres of highly flammable solvents and other toxic materials.

The failure to arrest this operation also laid the groundwork that sparked two of Melbourne’s worst-ever industrial fires.

The value proposition

Some time after 2013, White made an informal arrangement with waste recycling and remediation company, Bradbury. Their pitch to the producers and owners of toxic waste was simple — we can do it cheaper.

Industry sources who declined to be identified for fear of retribution by their employers say the waste industry operates on thin margins.

The syndicate offered to dispose of products at up to half the cost of competitors. Sometimes they offered to transport chemicals from the factory door for free.

An investigation by The Age has revealed that manufacturers, chemical companies, waste processors, and paint, automotive and cleaning businesses across the eastern states quickly signed up. …… https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-man-who-made-a-toxic-waste-disaster-20191205-p53h1x.html

December 9, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, secrets and lies, Victoria, wastes | Leave a comment

“Intermediate Level” nuclear wastes for South Australian are really “High Level”

Barb Walker shared a post. Fight To Stop Nuclear Waste In The Flinders Ranges.   Relaying important information at the request of Dr. Susi Andersson
Flinders Local Action Group

Intermediate level radioactive waste (ILW) is not the gloves, masks and gowns mentioned by Alan Moskwa (Nuclear Safety (26/11/19). Australia’s intermediate level waste (ILW) includes the spent fuel elements of the HIFAR (Australia’s first) reactor, which are classified as high level waste in many other countries. In ANSTO’s words, 98% of their ILW is waste specific to the post reactor processing of uranium targets to produce Mo-99 and other radiopharmaceuticals.

Dr. S Andersson    https://www.facebook.com/groups/941313402573199/

November 28, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump, secrets and lies | 1 Comment

ANSTO’s reply on nuclear crash report – that reply debunked

Kim Mavromatis No Nuclear Waste Dump Anywhere in South Australia, Nov 19,    MY REPLY TO ANSTO’s DENIAL : FROM OFFICIAL POLICE RECORDS / REPORTS / FACTS / QUESTIONS

ANSTO Claim : “The accident in the 1980s did not involve material or vehicles associated with ANSTO’s predecessor, the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC), nor did it originate from Lucas Heights”.

The following is my reply to ANSTO’s denial in relation to the 1980 fatal accident on the Pacific Highway involving highly radioactive Americium 241 and Cesium 137 (and 2012 incident involving road workers at the accident site) featured in our documentary :
“Nuclear Waste Crash COVERUP – Poisoned Police Speak Out”.

At the accident site, a ruptured drum labelled ‘Americium 241’ was lying on the road and a broken open canister of ‘Cesium 137’ was on the side of the road (both photographed).

So where did the Americium 241 and Cesium 137 come from? Americium 241 is a radioactive decay element of Plutonium created from nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors (in high-level nuclear waste / spent nuclear fuel). The Lucas Heights nuclear reactor is the only place in Australia capable of creating Americium 241 from Plutonium (other than British Nuclear testing at Maralinga). At the time it was operated by Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC now ANSTO).

The truck driver involved in the accident stated the radioactive materials came from Lucas Heights.

The Americium drum was labelled as the property of and destined to “Gulf Nuclear, Texas”.

Police officers Deards and Clifton attended the accident. Instructions were given by AAEC at Lucas Heights to move the Americium drum off the road into a cool place because it was a hot December day and if the paraffin wax around the inner lead container melted, radioactive materials could escape. How did AAEC know the makeup of the contents of the drum if they didn’t load it?

After the policemen did as instructed and moved the drum (photographed), the AAEC representative arrived at the scene and reported that the drum of Americium 241 was safe, even though police officers Deards and Clifton clearly saw the drum was ruptured and material was oozing out of it. The police officers experienced a strong acid like smell coming from the drum which affected their mouths, noses and eyes. Radioactive poisoning can occur by inhaling radioactive particles. A geiger counter reading at the scene was not taken by the AAEC representative.

The truck driver stated he was en route to Brisbane wharf and was instructed to cover the load so no one could see radioactive material being illegally transported through Brisbane streets.

After the accident, police officers Deards and Clifton suffered major health issues, lost their jobs, were cast aside and abandoned, and received threats to shut up or else.

In the following years many of the people who attended the accident and buried the tonnes of toxic chemicals on the side of the road, died prematurely from cancers.

THERE ARE MANY MORE QUESTIONS
If a nuclear waste accident occurred today, how would the affected community be treated by the govnt?

Why were police officers Deards and Clifton threatened and their official accounts disregarded?

Why was this highly radioactive material being shipped to Gulf Nuclear, Texas?

How many radioactive consignments like this were made over the years? Were they legal?

What was Gulf Nuclear (20 years in operation) doing with it ?

How was the Americium 241 extracted from Plutonium? https://www.facebook.com/groups/1314655315214929/

Kim Mavromatis is an Award-Winning documentary filmmaker. mav@mavmedia.com.au

November 25, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, secrets and lies, wastes | Leave a comment

Nuclear Waste Crash COVERUP – Poisoned Police Speak Out

Nuclear Waste Crash COVERUP – Poisoned Police Speak Out  Kim Mavromatis No Nuclear Waste Dump Anywhere in South Australia  https://vimeo.com/372781616?fbclid=IwAR0im5Vuz_UbrDAklOuNImdf1RRDuN7Z9pnLDOVO_84JaM9qa6IaVUuNn50

2 policemen, cast aside and abandoned, speak out about the poisoning, trauma and nightmares they faced, after attending a fatal road accident on the Pacific Highway involving nuclear waste from Lucas Heights.

Nuclear Waste from Lucas Heights in NSW that was heading to Brisbane wharf along the Pacific Highway to be shipped to Gulf Nuclear in Texas.

WAKE UP CALL
A wake up call for all South Australians as the federal govnt propose to dump nuclear waste in SA.

THREATS AND COVERUPS
“Shut your mouth, don’t talk to the media, or you’ll get a bullet in the back of your head”.

“It was a cover up from day one”.

“It was disgusting the way we were treated. Really was”.

NUCLEAR WASTE TRANSPORT ACCIDENTS
“The more they transport, the greater the risk”. “It will happen again, one day, somewhere – It will happen”.

SPECIAL THANKS to Bob and Terry for sharing their story.

THERE ARE MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS CONSIGNMENT?
Why were Bob and Terry (policemen) treated sooo badly, threatened and told to shut up about the accident?

Why was Aust Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC now ANSTO) at Lucas Heights shipping this
highly radioactive material to Gulf Nuclear in Texas?

How many consignments like this were made over the years?

Was it legal?

What was Gulf Nuclear (20 years in operation) doing with it ?

How did AAEC (now ANSTO, Lucas Heights) create Americium 241 and Cesium 137 – did they have authority to do so?https://www.facebook.com/groups/1314655315214929/

November 25, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | - incidents, AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, secrets and lies, wastes | 2 Comments

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