a cat can look at a king - COMMENT - Christina Mcpherson The federal budget is a disappointment, in means testing solar power rebates for home owners, and in sneaking subsidies to the coal industry in - as supporting "clean" energy.

Still, the Liberals would have been worse.

Meanwhile, in the USA, Republican candidate McCain tries to put it over the plebs of Washington, about nuclear power. Or is he just stupid?

Wong's dose of shock therapy Sydney Morning Herald Marian Wilkinson and Ben Cubby May 10, 2008 Climate Change Minister faces fierce lobbying from fossil fuel companies as she draws up plans to reduce carbon emissions

It is a rare sight. The notoriously cool, calm, collected Penny Wong is waving her arms around and raising her voice with frustration. 'I couldn't believe it! I had to call back three times!'

The federal Climate Change Minister is describing attempts to sign up her Adelaide home for GreenPower, the scheme that power companies offer customers who want to pay a little extra to drive the demand for renewable energy................

.............Some of the most powerful men in Australia, the leaders of the nation's booming coal, gas and oil companies, have decided to put the heat on Wong.......................

One by one, the fossil fuel company executives have been knocking on Wong's door or using their lobbyists in a relentless campaign to shape the Rudd Government's two far-reaching plans to cut Australia's soaring greenhouse gas pollution................................……………

……………..Despite her calm tones, Wong knows she is in the eye of the storm........................'There will be a cost to producing emissions, reflecting their cost to our climate, meaning there will be an incentive to reduce them,' Wong explains.

'For too long, we have poured greenhouse gases into the atmosphere without regard for what happens next. We have done that because it was easy and cheap - at the time. But in reality, it hasn't been cheap at all; the cost has simply been deferred to our generation and future generations to deal with'....................................'..................

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong

These are indeed boom times for Australian coal exporters: Rio Tinto and Xstrata recorded profits this year of more than $8 billion and $6 billion respectively.
………………………………By December at United Nations climate talks in Poland she must reveal Australia's mid-term target. And if Australia is going to push for other nations such as China and India to cut their emissions, it must be serious, nominating a cut of at least 20 per cent in its emissions by 2020.

Wong insists the 2020 target will be credible and the emissions trading scheme, combined with the renewable energy target, will bring down Australia's emissions.
'I think we can rise to this challenge' she says. 'It's not going to be easy but I think we can'...................................."

Protestors target Martin Ferguson -Melbourne May 9 (photo - by Adam Dempsey) Protestors, (including Ziggy the huge white elephant) gathered at the office of resources minister Martin Ferguson yesterday to oppose his plans on nuclear waste dumping - in breach of Labor's pre-election commitments.

We also oppose Ferguson because of his support for uranium mining and nuclear power, his suggestion that Australia "could be regarded as a good place" for an international high-level nuclear waste dump, his patronising comments about Aboriginal people, his support for that great oxymoron 'clean coal', his hostility to renewable energy, his cavorting with crackpot climate sceptics ... and more!

Faking the feed-in - Brumby's extreme greenwash Greens Blog May 7, 2008 by Tim Hollo - "It's great that feed-in laws, regarded globally as one of the most effective mechanisms for boosting renewable energy and long-time Greens policy, are finally getting somewhere in Australia.

But it is deeply troubling that, in Victoria, they are being perverted in such a way as to make them greenwash rather than real, effective emissions reduction policies.

Feed-in laws as originally designed in Germany, and responsible in no small part for the boom in renewables that country has delivered, are about guaranteeing market access at a given price for new technologies so as to provide investors with certainty. They ensure that householders or businesses that produce renewable energy receive a fair price for that energy, a price determined by an independent authority and locked in for a period of time............

................Effectively, Brumby's feed-in is a sham. It is good for a few press releases but will benefit almost nobody...........".

Carr blames Howard govt for pricey reactor deal

ABC News May 6, 2008 - "Federal Science Minister Kim Carr has criticised the former government for signing a contract for the new nuclear reactor which cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

The Lucas Heights reactor in Sydney's south is set to be reactivated after it was shut down last year when an inspection found faults.

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) says the shut down has cost it millions of dollars in radio isotope production.

ANSTO is trying to recoup some of costs from the company which built the reactor but Senator Carr says the Howard government is to blame.

'Frankly the way contracts are written by the previous government, you have to ask yourself why it is that we've been placed in this situation' he said..........."

VIC GOVERNMENT SOLAR SCHEME IS GREEN WASH
earthtoys.com news 7 May 08 - "Victoria's proposed clean energy payment scheme, designed to encourage more people to install solar power in their homes, has been roundly condemned by the renewable energy industry.........................clean energy groups have accused the government of deliberately designing a payment scheme that will not lead to a rapid uptake of solar power.

Clean energy payment schemes, known as feed-in tariffs, pay consumers who install solar electricity systems in their homes above retail prices for excess energy produced.

Mr Batchelor said the new feed-in tariffs would enable people to pay off the cost of solar installation in less than ten years.

.... Jeremy Rich, Managing Director of Australian renewable energy company, Energy Matters, said the Victorian government should "stop pretending," and instead follow the lead of other successful tariff schemes around the world...

....'The proposed net metering will only offer payment for the spare energy returned to the grid. This means that the feed-in tariff model, which is so successful in Europe and many other countries, will be watered down to the point that it becomes meaningless' he said........."

Members of 80 international organisations signed the statement which says the government should abandon investments in carbon capture and storage. Julien Vincent from Greenpeace says the technology is unproven and the treasurer must consider this in next week's budget............

'It's simply irresponsible to be using taxpayers money to fuel the problem any further and so we want Wayne Swan and the federal government to live up to their word on climate change and start putting our money where their mouths are and fund renewables instead of fossil fuels'...............................................".

MARTIN FERGUSON:

BREACHING LABOR POLICY AND THREATENING TO BREAK LABOR ELECTION PROMISES Friends of the Earth Jim Green 3 May 08 Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has prided himself on his commitment to keep promises made before the November 2007 federal election. He will need to haul energy and resources minister Martin Ferguson into line. Mr Ferguson is stalling on the implementation of pre-election promises regarding nuclear waste management.

The Howard government used its numbers to push through the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005, and 2006 amendments, through Parliament. Labor opposed the Act and the amendments and promised to repeal the legislation if elected to government. However last month (15/4/08), Mr Ferguson responded to written Senate questions by stating that repeal of the legislation is "under consideration". Therefore it must also be true that another option "under consideration" is to maintain the Act and therefore break an unequivocal pre-election promise.

Mr Ferguson is also in breach of Labor's commitment to address radioactive waste management issues in a manner which is "scientific, transparent, accountable, fair and allows access to appeal mechanisms" and to "ensure full community consultation in radioactive waste decision-making processes".

In addition to his breaches of Labor policy commitments, Mr Ferguson has made patronising comments about Aboriginal people, and he has made numerous demonstrably false statements on issues relating directly to his energy and resources portfolio, calling into question the wisdom of Mr Rudd's decision to appoint Mr Ferguson to the portfolio.

?Rudd and Ferguson to dump a core election promise? Crikey 2/5/08 Natalie Wasley - "................Despite repeated promises from Labor to handle the controversial issue of nuclear waste management in a more transparent and democratic manner, Ferguson has been every bit as secretive as his Coalition predecessors on this issue.

Unequivocal promises from Howard not to impose a dump in the Northern Territory, made before the 2004 election, were breached with the July 2005 announcement that three sites had been short-listed. There was no consultation with the NT Government or affected traditional owners and communities..............

..................After a decade of the Coalition Government's haphazard and bullying approach, there was a cautious sigh of relief when Labor committed last year to a different approach.

When, how and what this means is now under close scrutiny, as affected communities and stakeholder groups battle to get a clear answer from the Rudd Government.

It is time for Rudd to haul his maverick Minister into line and to ensure that pre-election promises are not broken. There is no more time to waste...."
.

Why we cast out Liberals THE AUSTRALIAN George Megalogenis | May 03, 2008 - "Australians genuinely believed that the planet was overheating. Howard did not....................Howard sought to reframe the debate to the question of job security and to promote nuclear power as a wedge to split the Labor Party.

This made no sense. If he didn't believe in global warming, why was he suggesting nuclear power as a solution? …………

……………He expected the public to share his scepticism on the science of global warming, ……

………….The cliches about preferring tax cuts ahead of public spending and economic growth ahead of the environment were being challenged in 2006. Only Howard didn't see catastrophe around the corner.."

Which environment
is the Minister protecting?

The Guardian Anna Pha 23 April, 2008- "........................In regard to priorities in the allocation of funding Ferguson defended the government's focus on 'clean coal' - something that might not come on line for 20 or 40 years, if ever.

Ferguson emphasised that 'it's about creating an environment that guarantees that we make progress in terms of clean coal technology…'

He agreed that solar is now capable of, and is actually providing baseload power in the USA, at prices that are commercially viable. 'But we're not about picking winners' Ferguson reassured viewers.

The government is focusing on an environment, but not the environment that is being damaged by the burning of fossil fuels, that supports life as we know it on earth.

Its priority when addressing climate change, as Ferguson so honestly admitted, is to create an attractive investment environment, one that pleases the markets................The markets have failed dismally to pursue economically and environmentally sustainable development.

Left to their own devices they will never succeed, regardless of what cosmetic programs or green-sounding utterances they come up with......................

...........When Ferguson says "commercially viable" he actually means "able to make big profits". ....

...............Ferguson says the government is not about picking winners. That might be more true than he realises. By giving priority to the investment environment and private profits, the government is picking losers. The losers are the people, the animals and plants of this rich and diverse planet. They will lose badly if climate change is not brought under control, and for that to happen, governments must take responsibility and act decisively to quickly develop alternative renewable energy sources. .. "

Govt urged to boost solar incentives ABC News By Kerry Brewster Apr 18, 2008 "For 10 months, pupils at Sydney's Pittwater High staged raffles, manned stalls and lobbied local businesses, raising $85,000 to go solar.
'We could no longer sit on our hands and hope that others would do something about global warming,' Pittwater High School principal Russ Cusworth said.
'We're certainly not in it for the money. In fact, it's a very, very expensive exercise and we are a public comprehensive high school.'
Photovoltaic or PV panels run 10 classrooms and during the holidays the school hopes to feed electricity into the grid, eventually powering the surrounding suburb. 'If a school can do this, so can a hospital, so can a shopping centre, so can a factory,' Mr Cusworth said…………

……………………It is baseload electricity generation, however, that really matters, and it is in California that the big investment is being made in large-scale solar thermal.

Solar thermal entrepreneur David Mills says massive projects in the order of $1 billion are being announced every few weeks..........................................".

We were a little late in finding these "India" items, - below - but they are important, given the push by South Australia's Premier Rann - to flog our uranium to India

Leadership Down Under Washinton Post By Deepti Choubey April 5, 2008; - "Australia is under pressure, from both abroad and at home, to make an exception to global nuclear trading rules for India. Since taking office last November, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has taken a principled stand against the further spread and use of nuclear weapons and materials. In particular, he promised that Australia -- one of the world's largest uranium exporters -- would trade only with countries that play by international nuclear rules.

Rudd should stand firm, honor his campaign promise and continue Australia's strong nonproliferation record by opposing or at least imposing conditions on the India deal. This approach could put him on a collision course with the United States and Australia's opposition party.

Since his victory, Rudd has charted a more independent course for Australia -- distancing his government from the Bush administration -- by immediately signing the Kyoto Protocol, attending climate talks in Bali and announcing the withdrawal of its troops from Iraq...............................

But it was his scuttling of the former Prime Minister John Howard's proposal to enable the sale of uranium to India -- a plan that contravened Australia's longstanding policy not to export uranium to countries that have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -- that has the Bush administration and Rudd's opposition worried.

Bush needs Australia to turn a blind eye to the civil nuclear cooperation deal he has cut allowing India an unprecedented exception to the global rules governing nuclear trade. The Bush administration claims the controversial and troubled deal will bring India into the "nonproliferation mainstream." Even those in favor of the deal hint it has more to do with nuclear weapons recognition for India than with nuclear energy cooperation. Tellingly, after three years, the United States is no closer to assurances from India that it will buy U.S. reactors than it was before. ".

…………………..Without Australia's leadership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the exception will likely be adopted without restrictions. With Australia's leadership, there is a chance to sustain the global rules that so far have worked well to keep small the number of states with nuclear weapons.

NSG waiver: U.S. to seek promise from Australia
The Hindu Mar 25, 2008 Melbourne: The United States is likely to seek a 'promise' from Australia that it will not vote against a Nuclear Suppliers Group's waiver for India to allow nuclear commerce with it, a key requirement for the implementation of the India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal.

'The Bush Administration is expected to seek a promise from Australia that it will not vote against the Indian agreement in the Nuclear Suppliers Group, in which it is one of 45 member-states' the daily said. - PTI

Coal taskforce is a smokescreen: Greens The Age April 15, 2008 -

Senator Christine Milne

- "The Australian Greens have criticised a proposed taskforce that will see two environmental groups co-operate with the coal industry to speed up the development of "clean coal" technology.

Greens climate change and energy spokeswoman Christine Milne says Greens climate change and energy spokeswoman Christine Milne says (CCS) is not the solution.CCS is not the solution.

The proposed taskforce would simply be a smokescreen for the federal government, she said.
'The technology is not being proven as they claimed it would be' Senator Milne told ABC Radio.
...........Greenpeace on Monday said the WWF and the Climate Institute were misguided to support public funding of research into technology which was more than a decade away when proven renewable energy alternatives were available now...................."

China's challenges: from market forces to human rights The Age April 9, 2008 "………………………………………………………The Rudd Government has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, which would please China. Last year President Hu Jintao told a conference in Sydney that he believed the protocol was the 'core mechanism' for international co-operation.

The climate change talks have as a backdrop the year-old uranium safeguard agreement between the two nations. China has commissioned eight new nuclear plants.

It is incumbent in these talks for Australia to insist on appropriate monitoring of the uranium in China. Contracts have not yet been signed. ..............."

From The Sydney Morning Herald , John Garnaut April 7, 2008 - "The Australia-China safeguards agreements rely on monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, but it has little chance of keeping track of a system that even the Chinese Government can't fully control. Brief visits to two large decommissioned mine sites, code-named 711 and 712, and villages such as Xinwuli, reveal nuclear production run by unaccountable officials and naive peasants who will trade their lives to escape poverty. The Guangzhou court case was said to involve a Hong Kong businessman. The villagers at Goat River sold their uranium to a Chenzhou trader and didn't know where it went after that.

A Chinese security official told BusinessDay he was concerned about China's black market uranium passing to domestic terrorist groups. A senior Israeli official said he was worried about it passing to the Middle East.

……………………The most powerful of China's overlapping nuclear companies and regulators is the China National Nuclear Corporation,which used to be military-controlled and has its share of corruption problems. On Thursday, a company spokesman explained why he would not answer BusinessDay's questions: "If you want to report on the future of China's nuclear power industry, then that's a good thing. But if you want to report about the mines, or mine managers, then that could only cause a loss of face."Villagers at Goat River say recent attention from Beijing regulators has not killed the illegal industry but merely raised the local bribe price.

Australia's future uranium exports and the Rudd Labor Government are obviously vulnerable to attack. If the Chinese Government has failed to safely regulate the mining, upstream processing and trading of uranium, then its assurances about controlling enriched uranium are open to question.

"There's really no accountability whatsoever on our uranium exports, it could easily end up in missiles or on the Chinese black market," says Jim Green, an Australian anti-nuclear campaigner with Friends of the Earth.

Neither the Australian Government nor Australia's mining companies mentioned China's nuclear safety problems when the safeguards agreements were signed and then ratified. But the companies, at least, have a fair idea of the choice they face

Either they quietly use their market leverage to help China move towards Australian-style health, environmental and governance standards or one day the Australian public will shut their exports down....".

Liberals continue Howard era thinking

Liberals wary of climate change tag The Age 28 March 08 - "A MOTION to ban the term 'climate change' when referring to man-made environmental impacts will be debated at next month's state Liberal council as the party wrestles over its position on global warming.

The agenda for the Liberal state-council includes the proposition 'that the party avoids using the term `climate change' when referring to man-made environmental impacts.' The agenda says the term is favoured by green activists..............

............the Party needs to be wary of accepting the (green activists') premise in our policy......

.......A separate motion calls for the Federal Government to instruct its climate change investigator Ross Garnaut to 'provide evidence as to the extent of the contribution of human activity to global warming'.................."

Nuclear elephant in the room Daily Telegraph Malcolm Farr - April 02, 08 - "OUR two major political parties are in coy agreement over the benefits of nuclear energy.At the same time, however, they both refuse to say it would help Australia. They recommend that other countries use uranium, preferably the stuff we produce....................This two-faced approach to nuclear energy is one of the starkest instances of policy hypocrisy we have seen..................................".

Nuclear & uranium spin getting underway in Australia. After a brief honeymoon period - the new government's environmental credentials are just as shaky as the old - when it comes to nuclear spin

- and hey, let's bribe the aborigines, too - Christina Macpherson

below - Martin Ferguson ALP pusher for the uranium lobby

Labor resurrects Howard's uranium plan The Age Katharine Murphy April 2, 2008 - "THE Federal Government has quietly resurrected John Howard's plan to expand uranium mining in Australia.

Resources Minister Martin Ferguson, an enthusiastic industry advocate, has reconvened the Uranium Industry Framework, a hand-picked advisory group appointed by the previous government.

Policies on its agenda include a forthcoming information campaign, paid for by the uranium industry, to address public concern about uranium mining........

There is a separate strategy to use uranium mining to improve the economic fortunes of indigenous communities and to improve "engagement" between traditional owners and mining companies..............."

BHP to use half of state's electricity THE AUSTRALIAN Jeremy Roberts | March 27, 2008 - "BHP Billiton will need nearly half of South Australia's current electricity supply to power its vastly expanded Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine......

............An industry insider yesterday described as 'staggering' BHP's new power needs, which exceed previous forecasts by 170mW.

It would require the building of new power stations in the state at a time when incentives for business to invest in traditional power generation are clouded by efforts to combat global warming.

The new BHP forecast comes a week after the Rudd Government's Garnaut report on greenhouse emissions recommended power generators not be compensated in a carbon trading scheme...........................................

The South Australian Government has not imposed any mandatory requirements on BHP to source renewable energy.

South Australian Greens MP Mark Parnell said the lack of renewable energy sources for Olympic Dam would make the state a 'greenhouse pariah'.

'Our state risks being left with a huge carbon black hole as we become the greenhouse dump for one of the world's richest companies,' Mr Parnell said...".

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd - the federal government remains silent on uranium mining mining in the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary

New push for wilderness mining ban ABC News 26 March 08 - "A former environment minister in South Australia is urging a federal ban on mining in Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary in the Flinders Ranges, but is also making his own efforts to achieve a ban.

There was alleged environmental contamination of the area recently by mining company Marathon Resources during uranium exploration work.

MP Iain Evans wants a mining ban.

Private member's bill Evans is drafting state legislation to end mining in the sanctuary, despite his party voting against similar legislation this month.
The Liberal Opposition joined the SA Government to defeat a Greens bill to end mining in all sanctuaries.

Mr Evans hopes his colleagues will support a private member's bill to ban mining at Arkaroola and says his party has not yet declared a position on mining there............................".

Photographs capture Greenpeace's campaign for change Courier Mail Tonya Turner March 21, 2008 "A PHOTOGRAPHER working for Greenpeace died in 1985 when the ship the organisation was planning to take into a French nuclear testing zone was bombed in New Zealand

.It was later discovered that French government agents, under orders to divert Greenpeace from its mission, had planted the bombs that killed Fernando Pereira and sank the Rainbow Warrior.
Greenpeace Australia celebrates its 30th anniversary this year with a photographic exhibition of its inspirational, dangerous and powerful environmental campaigns……

……..The exhibition takes a fascinating look at the history of Greenpeace ……………

………Before joining Greenpeace Australia late in 2005, Greenpeace Australia chief executive Steve Shallhorn worked with the organisation in Canada, the US, the UK, Japan, Russia and the Netherlands. In 1989 he took part in the Nuclear-Free Seas campaign, which revealed that the US Navy had lost a nuclear weapon from an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War.

In Canada he took part in a successful anti-nuclear campaign that stopped the government using nuclear submarines, and in 1990 led an expedition to the secret site of nuclear weapons testing by the former Soviet Union. He was arrested, and later released, in a dramatic sequence of events broadcast around the world, and while the Soviets went ahead with the nuclear tests, they were the last they ever did.
In 1993 he was involved in the anti-nuclear campaign which led to a significant global treaty banning the dumping of nuclear waste at sea,………………"

…..Greenpeace, 30 Years of Inspiring Action: A Photographic Retrospective, Metro Art Galleries, Brisbane, Wednesday to April 5.

Downer denied Indian scientists visas Richard Baker and Sarah Smiles The Age 17 March 08 - "TWO Indian nuclear officials were last year barred from Australia on "health and character" grounds and for fear they would learn information to assist "India's weapons of mass destruction program", documents reveal.

The documents show that former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer refused visas for the Indian Department of Atomic Energy scientists in April, at the same time that his department was negotiating the sale of uranium to India, which is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

.In August, the Coalition controversially agreed to export uranium to India although it was not a signatory to the treaty.Then prime minister John Howard argued the uranium was intended only for power generation and would not contribute to nuclear proliferation. The decision has since been overturned by the Rudd Government. …………………

………letter written on Mr Downer's behalf by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's assistant secretary for arms control and counter proliferation, John Sullivan, argued that the Indian scientists worked for an organisation that played "a leading role in India's nuclear weapons research". ……………………………….GBC Scientific founder and managing director Ron Grey told The Age the former government was being hypocritical by barring his Indian customers while it was negotiating to sell uranium to India outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Just when we thought he had disappeared into oblivion...........

Danged if he hasn't turned up, in all his neo-conservative glory, amongst George W Bush and the US neo-con clique -... and even at Harvard !

John Howard hits paydirt Herald Sun Peter Jean and Stephanie Balogh March 12, 2008 - "JOHN Howard is earning tens of thousands of dollars each time he trumpets his former government's achievements to American audiences..............Celebrity publicist Max Markson said American organisations were being charged $50,000, plus travel and accommodation costs, to hear Mr Howard speak…………………………………….After his speech, Mr Howard confirmed he had dined with US President George W. Bush at a low-key family dinner in the White House last Thursday.........." .

Former Australian P.M. Speaks at IOP The Harvard Crimson Tuesday, March 11, By MARK HOADLEY - "......Howard, who governed Australia from 1996 to 2007, surrendered the top post after losing his re-election bid last November. ……

………Howard also defended Australian nuclear policy, saying that Australia was 'keen to supply uranium to China' and that adequate safeguards exist to guarantee that any fissile material China purchased would be for 'non-military use'

…………………….During his final term, Howard was criticized in Australia for his unwavering support of President George W. Bush even as the war in Iraq became increasingly unpopular internationally.

However, Howard's successor, Kevin Rudd, has differed from Howard in more policy areas than just Iraq.

Rudd has issued an official apology to indigenous Australians, who in the past have received questionable treatment by the Australian government.

Howard, who publicly declined to issue the apology, defended the decision last night, saying he did not believe that "one generation can assume responsibility for the acts of a previous generation."

Students said they had mixed impressions of Howard. Several audience members said that Howard appeared to measure his responses carefully when answering listeners' questions.

……………………Belinda R. J. O'Donnell '1 was skeptical, questioning Howard's presentation of nuclear policy and calling him "evasive" on questions about an apology to indigenous Australians'.............................................. "

Atomic-test veterans to sue Government THE AUSTRALIAN 7 March - "AUSTRALIAN nuclear-test veterans are closely monitoring a mass compensation claim in Britain as they prepare to launch a class action of their own.
A total of 800 former servicemen from the UK, New Zealand and Fiji are included in a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against the British Ministry of Defence (MoD)..........

.....Australian Nuclear Veterans Association (ANVA) president Ric Johnstone confirmed his organisation was sharing information with those involved in the case and would "shortly commence litigation" on home soil.But there is a sense that time is running out. .There's not all that many of us left and those of us that are left aren't in very good health,. Johnstone said......"

Nuclear energy off the table says Wong SCOPICAL/AU 22 February 2008 - "Australia will not build Nuclear Reactors to service its growing power needs.......Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has ruled out allowing for nuclear reactors to be built around Australia, saying the Government remains committed to renewable energy forms including solar and wind.

'Australia is best with many renewable resources. We will continue with our policies to improve solar, wind and other renewable resources of energy. We don't need to go down the path of nuclear energy,' Ms Wong told the Nine Network.

Ms Wong said that Australia would seek to have a 20% use of renewable energy by the year 2020, and this would assist significantly in reducing carbon dioxide emissions - the key cause of global warming. "What we do need to ensure is we look at renewables, and the government has a 20% renewable energy target by 2020," she said.

The Liberal/National coalition under former Prime Minister John Howard had previously said it may back nuclear power in the future, with the then Government producing a hit list of locations around Australia where reactors could be built.................................".

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong

Uranium 'double standards', says ACF ABC News 15 Feb 08 - "The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) has accused the South Australian Government of double standards on uranium mining.

There are plans to extend the Beverley uranium mine in outback SA, but David Noonan from the ACF says it would lead to radioactive liquid being pumped into ground water in the Flinders Ranges.

He says the Government seems set to approve the proposal, despite having banned another company Marathon Resources from uranium mining exploration at Arkaroola because of contamination concerns there.

'The State Government has got a clear contradiction in ... their so-called standards, you can't on one side of the fence order people to take away inappropriately-buried radioactive waste, and on the other side of the fence deliberately arrange for a US nuclear corporation to dump liquid waste in ground water,' he said....".

A new right-wing guru on the block The Guardian 6 February, 2008

It did not take Paul Howes, the new National Secretary of the Australian Workers' Union, long to show his right-wing credentials and to be given a tick of approval by the media with publicity in various daily papers and by an address to the National Press Club. At 26 years of age he would only have been appointed to that position if his patrons were thoroughly convinced of the reliability of his right-wing convictions.

At a conference of trade union leaders held last week Mr Howes took the floor early to tell the gathering that Australia should 'consider' use of nuclear power - Howard's preferred option - to deal with global warming. Given the strong opposition in Australia to nuclear power, not to mention nuclear weapons, are those who actually want to get a nuclear power industry going to limit themselves to a 'discussion' ?

No one should be fooled about their real objective, which is to change public opinion and garner support for the nuclear option. Paul Howes does not seem to have made any strong representations for renewable energy sources as a better way to combat global warming.

The meeting of trade union leaders did not support his nuclear gambit...................................................."

Australian uranium sales to India cancelled National Business Review by John Dixon 16 Jan 08
"Australian sales of uranium to India, announced last year by the Prime Minister John Howard, are off.

The 1968 treaty requires members not to develop atomic weapons and for nuclear-armed countries to reduce their weapons stockpiles; India has never signed........................"

State to retain uranium ban Courier Mail By Margaret Wenham January 13, 2008 - "THE State Government has again ruled out changing its long-standing ban on uranium mining.
Acting Mines and Energy Minister Rod Welford yesterday restated the Government stance ....................'The State Government has a long-standing policy that prohibits uranium mining in Queensland and we have no plans to change this stance' Mr Welford said.
'We also brought in new laws last year that ban nuclear facilities, including power stations and radioactive waste dumps, in Queensland.
'We took this course of action to protect the health, safety and well-being of each and every Queenslander.'

Mr Welford said the risks of nuclear generation were too great and far outweighed any potential advantages................................".

Ding dong the wicked witch is dead, BUT!

- Christina Macpherson Dec 3rd 07 - Yes, we rejoice that the ruthless rule of John Howard is over. And with it, the early prospect of Australia taking international nuclear waste, and of nuclear power.

BUT - the Labor government's position on the nuclear industry is hypocritical and probably untenable, in the long run.

Kevin Rudd needs to learn that he got the support of anti-nuclear people because he was not John Howard.

ALP policy remains pro uranium mining, and as such, it's an issue on which we must oppose the Rudd government.

It was great to see Rudd's resounding election victory. But the honeymoon is over. We continue the fight to stop uranium mining.

Dining on yellowcake with the devil Sydney Morning Herald Grigory Pasko
September 4, 2007 - "Russian nuclear power stations account for 16 per cent of the country's electricity production. Last year the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, demanded the proportion be increased to 25 per cent by 2030.

These ambitious plans have already raised a storm of indignation from environmentalists in Russia.

First and foremost because Russia is doing practically nothing to develop alternative power sources, following a path of least resistance and imperial desire to develop an industry that will be useful for military purposes as well...........................................

Australian intends to sell uranium for the Russian nuclear power industry. In the words of the Australian Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, the countries have achieved 'substantial progress'in negotiating the agreement.

In fact Howard and Putin are expected to sign the deal this Friday...............

................Is Australia absolutely sure that Russia will not use Australian uranium in its weapons programs? .............Russia can also export the uranium it buys. Where is the guarantee it will not sell uranium to Iran? Nowhere................................"