Antinuclear

Australian nuclear news 7 – 14 April

Headlines as they come in:

• Dump nuclear, restore momentum – new poll shows opportunity for Coalition.
• Community groups furious Coalition nuclear plan would go ahead even if locals oppose it.
• The irrational optimism of the nuclear power lobby.
• Going nuclear will decimate jobs in regions first, stop billions in new investment
• Why is Peter Dutton shying away from nuclear power? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12RE1WGl-VQ
• As the debate around renewables and nuclear continues, here is what the experts say.
• Coalition nuclear plan will plough $58bn wrecking ball through renewable energy projects, analysis warns.
• Lambie Promises Senate Inquiry into USA Relations
• Nuclear would funnel up to 200 Gigalitres away from Australian farms annually
•  How US Dependence is Not in Our Best Interest.   
• Australia’s submarine deal under scrutiny as global alliances shift.
• What if a Fukushima-sized nuclear accident happened near you?  – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIModFC_9kI  
• Not enough water available for Coalition’s nuclear proposal to run safely, report finds.

April 10, 2025 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Australia’s submarine deal under scrutiny as global alliances shift

The Age Rob Harris, April 9, 2025

London: Britain will scrutinise Australia’s nuclear submarines deal with the UK and the United States, as concerns are raised on the other side of the Atlantic about the continued reliability of the US as a security partner.

The UK House of Commons Defence Committee quietly announced a parliamentary inquiry last week into the contentious AUKUS defence pact, signed in 2021, which will cost Australian taxpayers $368 billion over the next 30 years. The inquiry – the first of its kind – will evaluate whether the program remains on track and consider the impact of global geopolitical shifts since the deal was signed.

With none of the original signatories – former leaders Boris Johnson, Joe Biden and Scott Morrison – still in office, the inquiry also reflects the changing dynamics in global alliances. Notably, the US recently distanced itself from its European NATO allies, complicating the context of the pact.

At a US Senate hearing on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), Democrat senator Mark Warner said President Donald Trump’s decision last week to impose tariffs on US allies, including on Australia and the United Kingdom, “undermines our national security and frankly makes us not a good partner”.

“We’re supposed to be doing this major deal around jointly building submarines,” Warner said after the hearing. “I think [Australia] and all of our allies are rethinking whether we can be counted on as a partner.”………………………………………………………………………………

While AUKUS aims to strengthen defence ties in the Indo-Pacific, former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has voiced concerns, questioning whether Australia would ever receive a US nuclear-powered submarine. The US faces challenges in its own naval capabilities, with senior Pentagon officials also questioning the feasibility of the submarine deal, given current shipbuilding limitations………………………………………………………….

London-based foreign policy analyst Sophia Gaston, a senior fellow at the Australia Strategic Policy Institute, said the secret origins of AUKUS had “proven an impediment to building a wider scope of engagement around the pact”.

“This inquiry will bring new voices and energy into the conversation … but also confront the rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape in which AUKUS is seeking to make its mark,” she said……………………………………………………..https://www.theage.com.au/world/europe/australia-s-submarine-deal-under-scrutiny-as-global-alliances-shift-20250409-p5lqcq.html

April 10, 2025 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Uranium stocks dumped as market ‘paralysis’ intensifies

The ASX’s beaten-up uranium sector is braced for a fresh blow from US President Donald Trump’s next round of tariffs, which threaten to dislocate physical markets and further delay a hotly anticipated bull run.

The sell-off is feeding into the hands of hedge funds, which are heavily shorting the industry in Australia, including about a quarter of the shares outstanding on Boss Energy.

Traders have been preparing for Trump’s 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy exports to kick in tonight (Thursday AEDT) as part of his so-called Liberation Day. Despite the president initially threatening 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian uranium, the levies are still expected to rock the physical market, given the US is the world’s largest uranium buyer.

The anxiety accelerated a sell-off in ASX uranium stocks on Wednesday that sent Paladin Energy plunging 3.3 per cent to $4.66. Boss Energy fell 3.4 per cent to $2.30 and Peninsula Energy 5.9 per cent to 63.5¢.

Prices of the nuclear fuel have already collapsed 40 per cent from a 16-year-high above $US106 a pound last year to now sit at $US64.25 a pound.

And uncertainty about the scope and duration of Trump’s coming levies has intensified concerns about demand for the metal, given US nuclear power plants rely on Canada for more than a quarter of their uranium requirements – more than any other source, according to Bloomberg.

That has caused US utilities – nuclear power plant operators that are the primary buyers of uranium – to halt purchases of the nuclear fuel, sparking concerns that they will eventually run out of inventory……………………………………….

Uranium stocks have been under fire since January when reports emerged that Chinese artificial intelligence disruptor DeepSeek was developed at a fraction of the cost and computing power of OpenAI’s equivalent model.

Investors were concerned that if AI became more efficient, it would reduce overall power consumption and therefore demand for uranium – a key ingredient in nuclear reactors being developed by tech giants such as Google, Meta and Amazon.

That price weakness has attracted the attention of hedge funds, and the ASX’s largest uranium producers – Boss Energy and Paladin Energy – are the most shorted stocks in Australia.……………………………………

Uranium stocks went on a tear in late 2023 and early last year amid concerns about supply shortages and renewed demand from Western countries turning to the energy source to meet their net zero commitments.

That dynamic led to a flood of bets that the uranium sector would be stuck in a deficit for years to come, which would boost prices………………………………………https://www.afr.com/markets/commodities/uranium-stocks-dumped-as-trump-fears-intensify-market-paralysis-20250402-p5lofe

April 8, 2025 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nuclear Threat Beneath The Seas

this development will not enhance Hawai‘i’s security; instead, it will place residents, ecosystems, and future generations in direct danger by turning the islands into a priority target in any potential nuclear conflict.

Housing nuclear submarines does not enhance security—it increases risk. These vessels carry dozens of thermonuclear warheads, and their presence in densely populated areas like Faslane and Pearl Harbor makes those regions high-priority targets in any potential conflict. But that’s not the only danger. Accidents happen.

By Lynda Williams, Popular Resistance, April 3, 2025, https://popularresistance.org/nuclear-threat-beneath-the-seas/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR08tn1TsnqxjAIg6qVp8KCYV3x9pW42zmP8114Fxte0qPxU_54NVNPraYU_aem_U7nVrPbu5zG5fwkqLnioDA

The Rising Danger of the Global Submarine Nuclear Arms Race.

Right now, beneath the world’s oceans, approximately 30 nuclear-armed submarines patrol silently, virtually undetectable. These submarines represent humanity’s deadliest doomsday machines: stealthy, always on alert, and capable of launching thousands of nuclear warheads at a moment’s notice. At any given time, an estimated 10 to 15 of them are deployed, carrying roughly 500 to 900 warheads—enough to kill hundreds of millions and trigger a nuclear winter with potentially irreversible global consequences. With this capacity to destroy life on Earth many times over, the world’s nuclear states aren’t scaling back — they’re building more, pushing the Doomsday Clock ever closer to midnight.

The Current and Growing Nuclear Submarine Global Arsenal

Six nations currently operate nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), nuclear-powered vessels designed to launch ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads from beneath the sea, each with the kill power of thousands of Hiroshima bombs. The United States and Russia maintain the largest fleets, each fielding more than a dozen SSBNs capable of carrying hundreds of warheads, with several submarines on constant patrol. China, the United Kingdom, and France operate smaller fleets of four to six submarines, keeping at least one deployed at all times. India, a more recent entrant, has one operational nuclear-armed submarine with more in development. The cost of building and maintaining these underwater arsenals is estimated at $300–400 billion. Together, the current global fleet of about 40 SSBNs carries over 1,500 nuclear warheads—enough destructive power to kill hundreds of millions within hours and trigger a nuclear winter that could collapse the Earth’s biosphere. 

All six nations are now developing next-generation nuclear-armed submarines: the Columbia-class in the U.S., the Dreadnought in the UK, the SNLE 3G in France, the Type 096 in China, successors to the Arihant in India, and the Borei-A in Russia—at a collective cost of hundreds of billions of dollars. The other three nuclear-armed states—Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea—do not currently operate nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines, though all three are exploring submarine-based nuclear delivery systems to varying degrees.

New Nuclear Arms Race Under the Sea 

On March 20, 2025, the United Kingdom formally began construction of its new Dreadnought-class nuclear submarine at BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presided over the ceremonial blessing, praising the program as essential for national security. Outside the shipyard, members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) protested the event, condemning the Dreadnought program as a reckless escalation of the global nuclear arms race. The Dreadnought will replace the UK’s aging Vanguard-class submarines and carry Trident II D5 ballistic missiles, each capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads with enormous destructive potential.

Although the submarines are built in England, they are based in Scotland, at HMNB Clyde (Faslane)—the home port of the UK’s entire nuclear-armed submarine fleet. Opposition to Trident is strongest in Scotland, where public opinion and the Scottish Parliament have consistently rejected nuclear weapons. Scottish CND, the country’s leading anti-nuclear organization, has organized decades of protests at Faslane, calling for disarmament and the removal of Trident from Scottish waters. For many Scots, the continued deployment of nuclear weapons on Scottish soil—against the will of its people—is not only a democratic violation but a threat to their safety and sovereignty. The issue remains a central point of tension in the ongoing debate over Scottish independence. For many Scots, the continued deployment of nuclear weapons on Scottish soil—against the will of its people—is not only a democratic violation but a threat to their safety and sovereignty. 

Meanwhile in the Pacific, the United States is dramatically expanding its nuclear infrastructure at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawai‘i. A $3.4 billion construction project is underway to build Dry Dock 5, which for the first time will enable Hawai‘i to host and service the Navy’s nuclear-armed submarines. Specifically designed for the maintenance and deployment of the next-generation Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines—the largest and most heavily armed submarines ever built by the U.S.—this marks a dangerous turning point for the islands, transforming Hawai‘i into an active nuclear-weapons port. This escalation is part of the Pentagon’s increased focus on the Indo-Pacific region, aimed largely at countering China’s growing military presence. Critics warn this development will not enhance Hawai‘i’s security; instead, it will place residents, ecosystems, and future generations in direct danger by turning the islands into a priority target in any potential nuclear conflict.

Current Ports for US Nuclear-Armed Submarines, Expansions and Resistance

The U.S. Navy currently houses its nuclear-armed Ohio-class submarines at Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, and Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia. In preparation for the arrival of the Columbia-class submarines, the Navy is expanding these facilities, including significant upgrades at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard to accommodate the larger submarines. Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is also undergoing extensive modifications, set to be completed by 2028. These expansions are part of the ongoing effort to bolster the U.S. nuclear arsenal—an approach that increases global risk, while the argument for nuclear deterrence remains a dangerous, outdated belief that only exacerbates global instability.

The Environmental Cost of Stealth: Active Sonar Assault on Marine Life

Nuclear submarines are engineered to be nearly undetectable—silent, mobile, and invisible to satellites and radar. This stealth makes them the most prized assets of nuclear deterrence strategy, designed to guarantee a second-strike capability even if a country’s land-based forces are destroyed. But their very elusiveness has triggered a massive and expanding global network of submarine detection systems composed primarily of sonar—Sound Navigation and Ranging—which floods the oceans with high-intensity sound waves and has a devastating impact on marine life.

To track nuclear-armed submarines, nations have constructed vast undersea surveillance systems. The United States, Russia, China, and NATO allies operate continuous detection efforts across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, relying on networks of fixed sonar arrays, underwater drones, mobile surveillance ships, and anti-submarine aircraft. These systems—particularly those using active sonar, which emits powerful blasts of sound—flood the oceans with intense noise. These pulses bounce off underwater objects and return to the detector, allowing operators to locate submarines through echolocation. But they also bounce marine mammals like whales and dolphins, potentially causing damage to their hearing, impairing their ability to navigate, and in some cases, leading to death. Scientific studies have linked active sonar to mass strandings, behavioral changes, and hearing loss. Environmental organizations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, warn that submarine detection efforts pose “a hidden but severe environmental threat to marine life.” The Natural Resources Defense Council has challenged military sonar in court, while Greenpeace’s Defending Our Oceans campaign has called for an end to sonar use in sensitive marine habitats.

The Nuclear Triad and the Arms Race

Nuclear-armed submarines represent one leg of the nuclear triad, alongside land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and strategic bombers like the B-52 and the new B-21 Raider. Together, these three delivery systems sustain a global arsenal of over 13,000 nuclear warheads owned by nine countries, including Russia (5,889), the U.S. (5,244), and China (410) (SIPRI). The global nuclear arsenal, with the combined destructive power of 417,067 Hiroshima bombs, could cause 58.4 billion deaths—more than seven times the current global population—demonstrating the staggering overkill potential of the triad. This estimate is based on the average number of casualties from the 15-kiloton Hiroshima bomb (approximately 140,000 deaths), assuming similar effects from modern nuclear warheads.

The United States alone is investing $1.7 trillion in its Nuclear Modernization Plan., which includes new Columbia-class submarines, Sentinel ICBMs, and the B-21 Raider bombers, along with new or upgraded warheads. The cost of maintaining and modernizing nuclear arsenals is astronomical. Since the Manhattan Project in 1942, the U.S. has spent over $10 trillion (adjusted for inflation) on nuclear weapons development, maintenance, and cleanup (Brookings Institution). Globally, estimates suggest that over $20 trillion has been spent on nuclear weapons programs in the last 80 years.

The return of Donald Trump to the presidency has intensified global tensions, particularly within NATO and in conflict zones like Ukraine and Gaza. His threats to withdraw U.S. support for NATO and end military aid to Ukraine have destabilized European security, prompting some leaders to consider expanding their own nuclear arsenals  (The Guardian). The Doomsday Clock was moved to 89 seconds to midnight in January 2025—the closest it has ever been. As the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists warns:

“Continuing on the current trajectory is nothing less than a form of madness.” Without urgent action through disarmament, diplomacy, and arms control, humanity risks slipping beyond the point of no return.

Rising Tide of Resistance

The resistance to these doomsday ships has been long and ongoing, with local groups such as Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action in Bremerton, Washington, and the Kings Bay Plowshares in St. Marys, Georgia, actively opposing the operations of nuclear-armed submarine bases. Ground Zero, established in 1977 adjacent to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, engages in peaceful protests and civil disobedience to challenge the presence of nuclear weapons in their community. Similarly, the Kings Bay Plowshares, a group of seven Catholic peace activists, gained attention for their 2018 action at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, where they symbolically disarmed nuclear weapons to protest their existence. In response to escalating dangers posed by the expanding submarine nuclear arms race, a growing global movement is demanding disarmament. Organizations like the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in the UK, Veterans For Peace in the U.S., the Australian Anti-AUKUS Coalition, and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) are mobilizing to oppose the new nuclear arms race and advocate for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). As Retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright of Veterans For Peace recently stated:

“The bottom line on nuclear weapons is that it will take only one nuke to kill us all! If any nation fires just one nuclear weapon at any target, then the U.S. and Russia will respond thinking the next nuke might be coming toward them. And that one nuke will trigger a nuclear weapons exchange that will be the end of our planet as we now know it.”

In April 2025, the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace is organizing a Peace Camp at RAF Lakenheath. This camp aims to protest the proposed return of U.S. nuclear weapons, specifically the B61-12 bombs, to the base. Echoing sentiments from the historic Greenham Common protests, the camp will feature workshops, vigils, and nonviolent direct actions. Kate Hudson, General Secretary of CND, echoed this urgency during the protest at Barrow-in-Furness on March 20, 2025:

“Nuclear weapons do not make us safe. In fact, they are weapons of mass destruction that put us all at risk of annihilation. Britain should be leading the way towards disarmament, not escalating this deadly arms race.”

According to Laulani Teale, coordinator of Hoʻopae Pono Peace Project in Hawaii,

“The construction of a war dock for nuclear submarines in the very home of our sacred shark goddess, Ka’ahupahau, who is the protector of O’ahu and the keeper of peace itself, should not be acceptable to anyone. It is time to end colonialism everywhere, before we all die of it.”

As we mark the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this is a pivotal moment for global action. These groups are calling for renewed international pressure, public education, and grassroots mobilization. The risks we face are immense, but so too is the potential for a unified global movement to prevent catastrophe.

Lynda Williams is a physicist, performance artist and activist based in Hilo, Hawaii. More of her reporting here. https://lyndalovon.blogspot.com/ Lynda is going on tour this summer in the UK with her one woman show ATOMIC CABARET commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the US Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

April 5, 2025 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Average person will be 40% poorer if world warms by 4C, new research shows

 Economic models have systematically underestimated how global heating will
affect people’s wealth, according to a new study that finds 4C warming
will make the average person 40% poorer – an almost four-fold increase on
some estimates.

The study by Australian scientists suggests average per
person GDP across the globe will be reduced by 16% even if warming is kept
to 2C above pre-industrial levels. This is a much greater reduction than
previous estimates, which found the reduction would be 1.4%. Scientists now
estimate global temperatures will rise by 2.1C even if countries hit
short-term and long-term climate targets.

 Guardian 1st April 2025,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/01/average-person-will-be-40-poorer-if-world-warms-by-4c-new-research-shows

April 3, 2025 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

China or America. Who is the warmonger?

by Richard Cullen | Mar 28, 2025, https://michaelwest.com.au/china-or-america-who-is-the-warmonger/

The US wants us to believe we should be scared of China, buy nuclear subs to help fight her, and increase our military spending to 3% of GDP. But who is the real warmonger, asks historian ,

One way to get a brisk fix on who is most scary is to look back over the last decade or so. And then consider what has unfolded over the last few months.

America, with its Gothic military budget greater than the next nine nations combined and with close to 800 worldwide military bases, has been involved in non-stop global warfare over the last decade in the Middle East and beyond. In Afghanistan, the US spent over $2 trillion to replace the Taliban with the Taliban.

Any doubt about this war-mongering obsession (notwithstanding recent White House attempts to wind back the Ukraine war) has been comprehensively erased by the continuing mass homicidal horror stories emerging, month after month, from the hellscape created by Israel in Gaza, backed with obscene fervour by the US.

Over the same period, the drum-beat mantra for China has been,  “let’s go to work” rather than “let’s go to war.”

April 3, 2025 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | Leave a comment