South Australia’s Aboriginal Heritage Act requires TRUE consultation with Traditional Owners
the chair of the Andyamathanha Traditional Land Association, Vince Coulthard, says the aim of the Supreme Court challenge was not to block mining, but to challenge Government process.
He says Aboriginal Affairs Minister Grace Portolesi is legally required to consult with Traditional Owners before making a decision on exploration. But Mr Coulthard- who received the Premier’s NAIDOC award last year for work in his community- says that process never occurred
Aboriginal leader hits back at mining claim ABC News, 16 Jan 12, An Aboriginal leader in South Australia’s far north has rejected claims by explorer Argonaut Resources that the state’s Aboriginal Heritage Act is anti-mining.
In 2010, the Government granted Argonaut a licence to explore 6300 hectares of land near Lake Torrens in a joint venture with Straits Resources. Traditional Owners appealed against that decision, taking their case
to the South Australian Supreme Court. Their appeal was upheld, prompting Argonaut to claim the Act gives too
much power to Traditional Owners to veto mining……. Continue reading
Wind energy: South Australian govt in the grip of fossil fuel astroturfers?
Proposed Policy Threatens Wind Power Investment In South Australia, Energy Matters, 8 Jan 12, Australia’s Clean Energy Council (CEC) says the South Australian Opposition’s policy on wind farms would threaten more than $3 billion of investment and result in a further increase in electricity prices in the state if implemented.
South Australian Opposition leader Isobel Redmond has vowed to ban wind farms within 2 kilometres of any residence. Another key element of the Liberal’s policy is a ban on wind farms within 5 kilometres of townships.
Clean Energy Council Acting CEO, Kane Thornton, said wind power projects currently proposed for South Australia would provide for the electricity needs of more than 567,000 homes and create 948 direct jobs.
“As we’ve seen in Victoria, such measures would effectively make South Australia a ‘no-go’ zone for wind farms, driving billions of dollars of investment from the state. In addition, South Australians would see higher electricity prices as future renewable energy will need to come from higher cost sources,” said Mr. Thornton.
Mr. Thornton pointed out over 20 per cent of South Australia’s electricity is generated by wind power and the wind industry is one of the reasons the state’s carbon emissions fell by 18 per cent over the past five years.
In August last year, then-Premier Mike Rann said South Australia was home to 54% of Australia’s wind power capacity, 5 times more per capita than Victoria and 10 times more than New South Wales.
While Ms. Redmond reportedly claims wind turbines are being installed “willy-nilly with no accountability“, the CEC states current guidelines ensure a proper balance between wind farm developments and community in South Australia.
The CEC says it will work with the South Australian Liberal Party to “ensure they understand the value of the wind industry to the state, and to provide them with a more complete understanding of wind farms and associated issues.” http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=1973
South Australia’s Liberal Party sucked in by anti wind power astroturf
Liberals to ban wind farms within 2km of homes by: Political Reporter Daniel Wills The Advertiser January 06, OPPOSITION Leader Isobel Redmond has vowed to ban wind farms within 2km of any home. In her second policy announcement since declaring the end of her small-target strategy, Ms Redmond said she would move to “protect”
residents from the possible economic, social and health impacts of wind turbines if the Liberals won the 2014 election.
This comes just more than two months after Planning Minister John Rau released a scheme to reform the wind power industry, including allowing turbines 1km from homes, and follows Ms Redmond’s commitment this week to find savings in public sector wages.
Ms Redmond yesterday labelled wind “probably the least efficient and most unreliable of all the green energy sources”. She said she would not be fazed if the policy caused a drop in turbine investment…..
Government figures show wind energy contributes 21 per cent of power generated in the state. The Clean Energy Council estimates $2.8 billion has been invested in the sector…..
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/liberals-to-ban-wind-farms-within-2km-of-homes/story-e6frea83-1226237791196
South Australian government silent on Aboriginal Heritage Act, and its implications for uranium mining
The Government, however, remains silent on its responsibility in implementing the requirements of the Aboriginal Heritage Act,
“The traditional owners”.. are not even named in this news release.
The traditional owner group, known as the Yura Language Consultative Group, is disappointed the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has failed to investigate its requests for a ministerial determination over the Beverley Four Mile and Mt Gee area as being culturally significant and intimately connected, despite a legal obligation to do so under the SA Aboriginal Heritage Act.
Marsh: Cultural significance snubbed, The Advertiser, by:Jillian Marsh December 14, 2011 http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/marsh-cultural-significance-snubbed/story-e6freai3-1226221235838 THE news release entitled “Arkaroola to be protected forever” by the SA Government’s pledging a commitment of “unprecedented protection” is welcome news. This protection, on the basis of a comprehensive three-step process, is particularly welcome for traditional owners – members of the Adnyamathanha community.
This announcement follows the persistent public outcry over the past few years over exploration leases being granted in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary and, in particular, Mt Gee. Despite a shift in state political agencies towards a more sympathetic view of conservation concerns, all political parties remain hesitant in acknowledging the cultural significance of this region for the traditional owners. Continue reading
Government of Australia’s URANIUM STATE, South Australia doing its best to kill renewable energy
Green energy fund gets the chop BY: MICHAEL OWEN The Australian, December 16, 2011 A FUND to create a green energy industry will be axed in a cost-cutting measure by the South Australian government….. One of the most significant programs to be cut will be the Renewable Energy Fund, to deliver savings of more than $10 million a year. The
move will threaten the future of the five-member RenewablesSA board, chaired by prominent businessman Bruce Carter, and the role of the Commissioner for Renewable Energy, Tim O’Loughlin…..
Ousted premier Mike Rann launched the South Australian fund with an initial $20m in 2009 as the centrepiece of state Labor’s plan to become Australia’s green energy powerhouse.
It was to help the government reach its target of 33 per cent of renewable electricity generation by 2020 using wind, solar, geothermal and wave power. According to its website, the latest big announcement from the fund was a joint plan with new federal Industry Minister Greg Combet to use the fund to “create significant new job opportunities in
SA’s manufacturing sector”.
Mr Snelling refused to comment last night. Labor sources said cabinet chose to abolish the fund as it was hoped federal moves to invest in renewable energy because of the carbon tax would help reduce any political backlash.
Budget figures show that of the $10m allocated in 2009-10, just $2.7m had been spent by the fund, while last financial year just $2.9m of another $10m allocation had been
used…..http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/climate/green-energy-fund-gets-the-chop/story-e6frg6xf-1226223413572
South Australia’s Greens leader condemns Labor’s decision on uranium to India
Quoted on ABC News, 5 Dec 11 “..A Greens leader Mark Parnell says selling uranium to India would be dangerous and unprincipled. “This isn’t about climate change, this is about making money, making money for companies like BHP Billiton,” he said.
“They’ve (ALP) sacrificed their principles, they’re chasing the almighty dollar and they’re selling uranium to a country that is nuclear-armed and it’s in conflict with its nuclear-armed neighbour. “Selling Australian uranium to India means that even if they use it all in peaceful nuclear reactors, it will free up their own limited domestic supplies for use in nuclear weapons.”
Lawyers press for revealing secrets of Maralinga’s baby deaths after nuclear bomb testing
the medical records of those 23 stillborn babies remain sealed and held by the National Archives of Australia.
Now, as British lawyers search for others to join the class action against the British Ministry of Defence, they will also push for the secrets of the Woomera baby graves to be revealed.
Secrecy surrounding the disturbing rate of baby deaths and research suggesting fallout from tests blanketed the town despite being more than 600km from the Maralinga testing sites, warrants those families investigating claims as part of the class act
The Children’s Graveyard at Woomera South Australia. Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog, 1 Dec 11 What was known and when?. SECRET records detailing the fate of dozens of babies born in the shadow of Maralinga’s nuclear testing hold the key to a case building as the state’s largest class action. More than 100 South Australians have joined a class action against the British Ministry of Defence over deaths and disabilities they believe were caused by nuclear testing at Maralinga more than 50 years ago.
Among them are families of the Woomera babies – more than 60 lives lost, many without explanation, during the decade of nuclear testing, up to 600km away. Lawyers running the case say it is “just the tip of the iceberg”. They have heard only from people who are “very confident” they have a case for compensation. Already, families of some of the stillborn children, hours-old babies and toddlers who account for more than half the plots in Woomera Cemetery for the 1950s and 1960s, have come forward….. Continue reading
BHP Billiton trying to lock in huge new uranium mine by splurging money in advance of BHP Board’s decision?
$1.3 billion is a lot of money to spend on a project that might never come to fruition. It’s a common tactic, 
but one that could come unstuck. But then, I’ve always suspected that Marius Kloppers, Dean Dalla Valle, like many bigwigs might feel that they have plenty of BHP money to splash around – perhaps an old-fashioned case of more money than sense.
The international news is not encouraging for the uranium industry – though I note that Australia’s mainstream media just ignores facts like – the expensive mess of nuclear transport in France and Germany, – the anti nuclear political strength gathering in France, – the huge anti nuclear movement and other nuclear hindrances in India, -and the ever downward price of uranium. – Christina Macpherson
South Australia Parliament approves BHP Billiton Olympic Dam expansion, by:Sarah Martin, Adelaide Now, :The Advertiser, November 30, 2011, BHP Billiton will start spending $1.2 billion on equipment for the Olympic Dam expansion in coming weeks after winning final approvals from Parliament for the deal to proceed.
The head of the company’s uranium operations, Dean Dalla Valle, said the approval paved the way for the $30 billion mine to be SouthAustralia’s economic driver for the next 40 years, but gave no guarantees BHP Billiton’s board would approve the project in 2012. Continue reading
BHP BILLITON ABOVE THE LAW FOR ANOTHER 70 YEARS AND BEYOND
The Roxby Downs Indenture Bill today passed the South Australian Upper House. It has now passed both houses of Parliament, enshrining in law an agreement that over-rides some 21 South Australian laws, including state legislation covering radiation protection.
“Since the negotiation of the Indenture Agreement, it has been clear that the parliamentary process would simply be a rubber stamp. For example, in the Parliamentary Select Committee hearing, the opposition had the chance to question BHP for an hour, and the nature of their investigations were along the lines of concerns for the caravans that may be inconvenienced if a road was closed, never mind the tailings dams that are designed to leak,” said Nectaria Calan from Friends of the Earth Adelaide.
“Neither Labor not Liberal have shown any inclination to critically scrutinise the implications of the project, with the government bending over backwards to accommodate the mining giant. BHP wanted to recognise a historical version of the Aboriginal Heritage Act that was repealed over 20 years ago – they got it. They wanted a mining lease that spans 70 years, despite the fact that their Environmental Impact Statement only covers 40 years – they got it. They wanted the right to be granted the expanded mining lease, covering nearly 50, 000 ha as freehold, free of charge – they got it. They wanted royalties capped for 45 years – they got it,” said Ms. Calan.
The scope of the Indenture Agreement extends far beyond the 40 years covered in the Environmental Impact Statement.
“It’s a strange state of affairs to have an Environmental Impact Statement that only covers 40 years, a mining lease granted for 70 years, and an indenture agreement that creates the right for future mining leases that will not expire until the last of the extended mining leases have expired. The intention appears to be to avoid any further Parliamentary scrutiny at all cost,” continued Ms. Calan.
South Australian Parliament trashes state environmental, heritage, aboriginal laws in passing Roxby Downs Indenture Bill
Dark day as state laws trashed in Roxby riches rush The Parliamentary debate over the Roxby expansion Indenture Bill has confirmed that the State Government has delivered a bad deal for South Australia, says Greens Parliamentary Leader Mark Parnell.
“This is a dark day for our State’s democracy. The Government has locked in for the next 70 years the right of the world’s richest resource company to over-ride all relevant State laws,” said Mr Parnell.
“The hours of debate in Parliament has shown that in the rush to get this deal signed before ex-Premier Rann departed, the State Government has given too much away for too little in return.
“The environmental costs are going to be much higher, and the economic return will be much lower than the SA public rightly expect.
“Parliament has exposed the yawning gap between the Government’s hyperbolic spin over the Roxby riches and the dark reality of this terrible deal.
“Future generations are going to be disgusted with us for giving their resources away for a pittance and leaving them to deal with the enormous toxic legacy of managing the world’s largest radioactive waste dump,” he said.
The Greens put forward a package of amendments that would have positively transformed the Indenture contract.
The controversial Bill has now passed both houses of State Parliament, with only the Greens voting against it.
What the debate exposed:
- · The local jobs, manufacturing and local procurement Plan will contain ‘aspirational’ targets only. Not one extra job is guaranteed.
- · The ‘net’ economic return to state coffers in years 10-20 of the project could be as low as $10 million / year – and that’s even before millions are given back to BHPB through Federal subsidies like the diesel fuel rebate.
· No explanation for locking in royalty rates at a low rate for 45 years – apart from that is what BHP wanted.
- · The Government did not do any comparative economic analysis with similar projects interstate and overseas to see if we were getting a good economic deal.
- · There is nothing the Government can do to make BHPB expand their domestic processing up to an additional 200,000 tonnes of ore (as has been promised by the Premier and others). In fact, there is nothing to stop BHP exporting all ore from Roxby Downs to China (including the ore that is currently processed here).
- · Govt has relied entirely on BHPB’s figures for the cost of processing in SA rather than exporting South Australian copper ore to China.
· BHPB can continue to extract fossil water from the Great Artesian Basin until 2082, with costs capped for the next 30 years.
· Third parties won’t have any right to access the railways, roads, ports and airports being constructed for the expansion.
· No cumulative impacts of this expansion (beyond the artificial EIS timeframe of 40 years) have been considered.
- · The Government doesn’t know what impact the ODX will have on the State’s greenhouse pollution reduction targets.
- · The toxic tailings waste dams have been deliberately designed to leak.
- · The final operating conditions to protect the marine environment at Point Lowly will not be known for years and will be negotiated in secret.
South Australia: Labor and Liberal toe the BHP Billiton line on Roxby Downs Indenture Bill
Roxby debate exposes BHPB radioactive racism Greens MLC Mark Parnell has questioned why the SA government, under the Roxby Downs Indenture Ratification Amendment Bill 2011, is allowing BHP Billiton to continue to override the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988.
The answers in Hansard reveal BHP Billiton’s continued radioactive racism and of the failure of the State to respect or to protect Aboriginal people’s interests including Aboriginal Heritage. The ALP and the Liberals voted together to prevent the Greens deleting Clause 8 of the Bill and repealing Section 9 of the Roxby Downs Indenture Ratification Act 1892:
Extracts: The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I have been advised that that is what the agreement was at the time and that BHP currently are only willing to consider the continuation of the current arrangements.
… I have been advised that BHP insisted that the current arrangements continue and they were not prepared to consider changes to that.
… I have been advised that BHP were satisfied with the current arrangements and insisted on the continuation of these arrangements, and the government did not consult further than that.
ROXBY DOWNS (INDENTURE RATIFICATION) (AMENDMENT OF INDENTURE) AMENDMENT BILL
In committee. Legislative Council, Thursday 24th November 2011. Page 4699-4717 (the second of three Hansard sections on that day re the Roxby Indenture) http://hansard.parliament.sa.gov.au/pages/loaddoc.aspx?e=2&eD=2011_11_24&c=26 Continue reading
UK govt lied about the extent of the atomic bomb tests in Maralinga
A spokesman for Rosenblatt solicitors, which is representing veterans from the UK, New Zealand and Fiji since taking up the case six years ago, said: “This is potentially very significant information for the progress of the case.”…
RAF veteran says government covered up scale of nuclear tests, Ex-airman’s evidence could prove crucial in court case against Ministry of Defence, THE INDEPENDENT, OMAR OAKES, PAUL CAHALAN 14 NOVEMBER 2011 A former RAF navigator has claimed the size of a nuclear bomb detonated during tests in the 1950s could have been three times bigger than the Government officially stated, in evidence which could that prove crucial for more than 1,000 service veterans suing the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for upwards of £100m. Continue reading
Maralinga’s hidden legacy of radioactivity AND asbestos
Maralinga sites need more repair work, files show, The Age, Philip Dorling, November 12, 2011 MORE than a decade after the Howard government declared the clean-up of Maralinga to be finished, the Australian government is continuing to support remediation work at the former British nuclear weapons test site.
Confidential federal government files released under freedom of information also show Canberra bureaucrats have at times been primarily concerned with ”perceptions” of radioactive contamination, while rejecting a request by the Maralinga Tjarutja Aboriginal community for a site near the Maralinga village to be cleared of high levels of toxic uranium contamination.
Files released by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism show that erosion of the massive Taranaki burial trench north of Maralinga, described by federal bureaucrats as ”a large radioactive waste repository”, has required significant remediation work. Other burial pits scattered across the former nuclear test range have also been subject to subsidence and erosion, exposing asbestos-contaminated debris…..
The Taranaki trench was excavated in the mid-1990s and used to bury radioactive-contaminated debris and soil, principally from numerous ”minor trials”, British nuclear weapons safety and development experiments conducted between 1956 and 1963 that caused the heaviest radioactive contamination at Maralinga. Records of a Maralinga Lands and Environmental Management Committee meeting in October last year show that ”erosion of the Taranaki trench was noted” and that repair work funded by the Commonwealth would be carried out by the Maralinga Tjarutja. An annual survey of 85 debris pits revealed that 19 pits had been subject to erosion or subsidence, with eight requiring ”major work” and at least four containing exposed asbestos…..
The released files also show that the Australian government declined requests by Maralinga Tjarutja to clean up the trials site closest to the Maralinga Village. Situated east of the Maralinga airstrip, the Kuli site was used by British nuclear weapons scientists to conduct 262 trials that explosively dispersed 7.4 tonnes of uranium into the environment……… http://www.theage.com.au/national/maralinga-sites-need-more-repair-work-files-show-20111111-1nbpp.html#ixzz1dck3m6z7
Australia’s Maralinga veterans and Aboriginals paid the price for nuclear bomb testing
Finally they can heal together, Adelaide Now, Bryan Littlely, From:The Advertiser, November 12, 2011 THEY are snapshots from a secret time. An insight into a life in one of the harshest and most secure places in Australia. The men who took these photographs at Maralinga during the series of British nuclear testing and clean-up from 1952 to 1967 carry them proudly. Most also carry another legacy of this land and the controversial atomic testing that went on here.
Cancers and other conditions linked to the radiation, plutonium, burilium-laced lands that were left after the testing has claimed the lives of many of the men who were at Maralinga. In 1985, a survey found that of the 12,500 people involved in the British nuclear testing program in Australia, 11,000 had died. Hundreds of Maralinga-Tjarutja people were also forced from their homeland during the testing.
Few of the veterans remain today but the handful who have gone back to Maralinga for the Remembrance Day reunion have done so with the blessing of the traditional owners, so the two groups of people for
whom Section 400 is so significant can heal together…. Australian Nuclear Veterans Association founder Avon Hudson, the Maralinga whistleblower and advocate for compensation claims for the men, said there were only about 50 members of that association left.
“We’re nearly buggered … most of our members are old buggers like me and we are dropping off the perch,” Mr Hudson, 74, said. “We can get a bit of healing coming back here. It brings back a lot of sad memories because almost all my mates are dead but it is mixed feelings because I have a lot of good memories, too.”…
“We were sent on to that Taranaki ground zero site to test some stuff… nobody knew it was contaminated,” he said…..
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/finally-they-can-heal-together/story-e6frea83-1226193206591
Marathon uranium miner to sue South Australian government
Mining company Marathon Resources sues over Arkaroola ban, Courier Mail, Greg Kelton, From:AdelaideNow, November 12, 2011 MINING company Marathon Resources will sue the South Australian State Government over its plan to ban mining at Arkaroola in the Flinders Ranges.
The Government’s proposed ban, one of Mike Rann’s final acts as Premier, directly affected a Marathon mining lease which had been granted by the Government. Legal proceedings were issued in the Supreme Court yesterday by Kelly & Co on behalf of Marathon….. Marathon was carrying $15.8 million of exploration expenditure relating to its Mt Gee tenement in its December accounts and the Government’s decision would require the company to write off these expenses – destroying all but $500,000 of Marathon’s residual equity in one blow. While the State Government may not have a legal obligation to compensate Marathon for its expenditure, it is likely to offer an “egratia” payment for political purposes. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/marathon-resources-sues-south-australia-government-over-arkaroola-mining-ban/story-e6freooo-1226193147653
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