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Australia kow tows, joining USA’s aggressive military stance in Asia Pacific

why is the Australian government co-operating in United States planning for the military containment of China? There is no threat to Australia

Stirling naval base south of Perth is set to become a major base for US operations in the region although details are not yet confirmed. Some reports suggest that US nuclear submarines may be based in Stirling.

The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) was set up recently with the expressed aim of organising against this gathering rush by the Australian government further into an unquestioning and subservient relationship with the US and its arms corporations.

AUSMIN confirms Australia’s subservience to US military, The Guardian, Denis Doherty, 20 Nov 12, AUSMIN, the annual talks between the Australian and US foreign and defence ministers, have come and gone for another year and the agreement reached makes depressing reading for Australians who want to live in peace and prosperity.

The AUSMIN communiqué outlines plans for the future benefit for US corporations at the expense of the people of
the Indo Pacific region. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta and their Australian counterparts Foreign Minister Bob Carr and Defence Minister Stephen Smith met for the AUSMIN talks on November 14 in Perth.

Before AUSMIN, elements of the US government leaked that the US was unhappy with Australian cuts to the military budget. The Guardian pointed out that this was bullying and asked how much does the US want? According to Minister Smith, Australia is already the second largest per capita spender on the military in the world. Australia spends $1.3 billion per annum on the Afghan war and provides almost 50 bases plus training areas for the US military at no cost.

Containing China The AUSMIN communiqué’s sweet language disguises the iron fist within.  Continue reading →

November 21, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Malaysians and Australians protest Lynas rare earths processing plans

Protesters rallied outside the Lynas AGM to voice their opposition to the miner’s processing plant. Source: AAP http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/activists-protest-miner-lynas-agm/story-fn3dxiwe-1226520502080  20 Nov 12, PROTESTERS outside the annual general meeting of rare earths miner Lynas in Sydney have vowed to maintain their opposition to the company’s controversial Malaysian plant.

The small band of 19 Malaysians flew to Australia over the weekend to stage Tuesday’s demonstration against the company’s rare earths processing plant currently under construction near Kuantan on the country’s east coast. Continue reading →

November 21, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA | Leave a comment

Australia joins in USA’s militarisation of space

AUSMIN confirms Australia’s subservience to US military, The Guardian, Denis Doherty, 20 Nov 12,”…..In the AUSMIN talks Australia has agreed to establish a space surveillance station which has the aim of detecting space debris. It will be established at the US North West Cape facility in WA. Efforts to stop space debris hitting commercial satellites are welcome. However, the station will also have the capability to gather intelligence to target other satellites and will be configured to provide an interface for anti-satellite warfare.

In its headlong drive to control the planet, the US is also working to control space – and Australia is complicit in this.

Space should be used for the benefit of all humanity and Australia should promote the UN resolution on the prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS)….. http://www.cpa.org.au/guardian/2012/1574/06-ausmin-confirms.html

November 21, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Praise for Australia’s leadership on climate change and Kyoto Protocol

UN leader praises Australia’s climate lead  http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/un-leader-praises-australias-climate-lead/story-e6frf7k6-1226514100428  AAP November 10, 2012, UN leader Ban Ki-moon has called for “urgent” action on measures to counter climate change, as he praised Australia for signing on to a new round of the Kyoto Protocol environmental protection treaty.

Ban called on other governments to follow Australia’s example and ”congratulates Prime Minister Gillard for her leadership,” said a UN spokesman, Farhan Haq.

“Addressing climate change is fundamental for achieving sustainable development. Urgent action is needed,” Ban was quoted as saying on Friday. ”The secretary general calls on all governments to take decisive steps against climate change at the upcoming Climate Change Conference” in Qatar, said the spokesman.

Australia, one of the world’s biggest per capita polluters, earlier announced that it was ready to join a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. So far, only the European Union and some smaller economies have signalled they are ready to agree new pledges.

Annual negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) start in Qatar on November 26.

November 10, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, climate change | Leave a comment

Collapses uranium market forces Australian company Paladin to cut back

Paladin freezes expansion Financial Review 08 NOV 2012 Uranium miner Paladin Energy  will slash costs by up to $US80 million ($76.97 million) after putting a freeze on development due to the weak uranium price.

Paladin will cuts costs by between $US60 million and $US80 million in fiscal 2013 and 2014, after undertaking an extensive review of costs and production. Continue reading →

November 9, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, business and costs | Leave a comment

Many Australians anxious about the grubby deal to sell uranium to India

Anxiety about uranium sales to India arises from the poor safety reputation of that country’s nuclear power industry and its development of nuclear weapons in violation of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty

the visit looked for all the world like a sales pitch. The awarding of an Order of Australia to Indian batsman Sachin
Tandulkar was clearly intended to butter up customers for a big purchase.

 The truth is that Australia, taking its cue from the US, is not worried about India having nuclear arms. In fact, it fits in nicely with long-term planning in the Pentagon.

The grubby saga of uranium sales to India, CPA 25 Oct 12 Prime Minister Gillard’s visit to India last week was pure pantomime. She met her counterpart, Mr Manmohan Singh, and took part in all manner of events and photo opportunities in an effort to repair Australia’s damaged reputation on the sub-continent –…– and to seal a deal that has made many observers nervous. Continue reading →

October 25, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, politics international | Leave a comment

Australia jumps to obey USA, on India, uranium, and militarism

Gillard is helping to destabilise the sub-continent by fuelling a dangerous arms race involving India’s rivals, China and Pakistan.

The Labor government’s about face on uranium sales to India under Gillard was carried out on Washington’s orders. In November 2011, the US ambassador to Australia, Jeffrey Bleich, publicly called on Canberra to “sort out” its issues with India, as the US had done when it resolved the “thorny point” of uranium sales through the 2008 nuclear deal that exempted India from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Australian PM visit to India bolsters new “strategic partnership” WSWS, By Patrick O’Connor 20 October2012 Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s three-day trip to India this week was aimed at deepening military, diplomatic, and economic ties between the two countries.

Washington has encouraged the closer relations as part of its aggressive drive to undermine the influence of China in the Indo-Pacific region. Gillard met with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday. High on the agenda was progress towards Australian uranium sales to India, Continue reading →

October 22, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, politics international | Leave a comment

India and Australia both lying about nuclear weapons proliferation

The opening up of nuclear trade with India — first by the US in 2008 and most recently by Australia — has broader implications. It fundamentally changes the proliferation equation for other countries.

 The most dangerous lie peddled by industry and by the Australian and Indian governments is that India has a strong track record of nuclear non-proliferation.

 The Gillard government has no intention of seriously addressing any of the proliferation, safety, security and regulatory problems, nor does it care about the repression and murder of peaceful citizen protesters in India.

India’s Abysmal Nuclear Record, By Jim Green, New Matilda, 18/10/12 http://newmatilda.com/2012/10/18/indias-abysmal-nuclear-track-record

While the media focuses on Julia Gillard’s stumbles, India’s clunker of a nuclear industry stays unexamined. But hey, what’s a bit of nuclear proliferation between friends? Jim Green from Friends of the Earth on the South Asian nuclear arms race

According to Gemma Bailey, writing in the Australian Financial Review, Prime Minister Gillard has a cunning plan. She will ensure that Australia’s uranium supply treaty with India contains strict conditions on the safe use of the nuclear fuel. The plan, we’re told, “is intended to neutralise opponents who highlight that India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”

If only that were true. Here’s Gillard’s real plan: trot out tired old lines about strict conditions and hope that journalists will regurgitate them without question. For the most part, it works. …. At stake is the nuclear arms race in South Asia and broader, global nuclear proliferation concerns. As Ron Walker, a retired Australian diplomat and former Chair of the Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said last year: “I am horrified that the media have not explained the enormity of this proposal.”

India is at least as culpable as its neighbours in fanning the nuclear arms race in South Asia. Continue reading →

October 19, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, India, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Australia’s hypocrisy in planning uranium exports to India

If we really want to assist Indian communities who currently lack access to electricity – and we should – it would be far more effective to prioritise exporting Australian expertise in regional renewable energy systems.

the admission this week from India’s own auditor that the country’s nuclear industry is “dangerously unsafe, disorganised and, in many cases, completely unregulated” – only compounds   concerns.

When Australian uranium leaves our waters it effectively disappears from the radar. This is a profound concern for a fuel that can power either nuclear reactors or nuclear weapons. High-level Indian officials have stated that they need to source uranium from overseas in order to free up their own uranium for military purposes

No smooth passage to India for Australian uranium http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2012/10/18/3612800.htm DAVE SWEENEY, ABC 18 OCT 2012 PRIME MINISTER JULIA GILLARD is in India this week and amid the staged handshakes and solemn exchanges of signed papers.  The uranium sales plan is being heavily promoted. But there is growing concern both here and in India about the implications of the move and the fast-tracking of nuclear-armed India into the global atomic club.
No doubt Julia Gillard will be employing the age-old tactic of highlighting a problem that no reasonable person could ignore and then seeking to ‘own’ the solution. Proponents of the sales deal point to the estimated 200 million Indians who do not have reliable access to electricity as a rationale for the sales deal. But to link Australian yellowcake with lights and cookers in remote Indian villages is to draw a very long bow. Continue reading →

October 19, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, India, politics international | Leave a comment

Farce of Australia’s uranium deal, and award to Indian cricketer

Cricketism has brought India closer to Australia and nuclear grey deals brought them still closer and the announcement by a silly Australian PM to offer the nation’s prestigious awards to foreigners, especially in cricketism exercises. India needs Australian uranium for nuclear terror purposes

Mutual exchange of honorary degrees and awards are very common, like street robberies, in international politics for the promotion of trade in arms and nukes stuff.

Russians supply India nuclear stuff and Australians offer awards.

Why should the Indian regime of corporates and mafias kill people in Kudankulam? 

India’s Archons bribes Australia for awards — Cricketism, The Canadian 18 OCTOBER 2012 BY DR. ABDUL RUFF ” …….Madam Gillard arrived in India after a surprise trip to Afghanistan had meetings with business leaders and their protector Singh in Delhi. Indian nuclear mafia abroad is doing well.

Australia’s ruling centre-left Labor party voted to overturn its ban on uranium sales to India last year after a long debate about nuclear weapons and reactor safety following Japan’s atomic crisis.  Continue reading →

October 19, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, India, politics international | Leave a comment

Australia’s rather dodgy “medical” nuclear reactor

ANSTO chief ducks and weaves on questioning about incidents at Lucas Heights nuclear reactor

Noel Wauchope 18 Oct 12, I guess that we can rely on the mainstream media to give a sympathetic coverage to Dr Adi Paterson, chief of Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) –  who was very distressed after being put on the spot in the Senate yesterday.  At one point in the polite, but persistent, questioning by Senator Scott Ludlam,  the discussion was interrupted by an interjection from David Reid. Reid was the whistleblower who alerted us all to a radiation incident at Lucas Heights, and was sacked for this

Anyway, the most recent KPMG report on the 2007 incident criticised the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) for its poor response to the incident.

This report was one of several reports on the matter.  In February 2011,  Australia’s workplace health and safety regulator, Comcare,  found the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, or ANSTO, has under-reported accidents and breached safety standards. Investigating radiation incidents, Comcare found that ANSTO breached health and safety laws. It also reported that  Mr Reid’s suspension was somewhat extreme and Mr Reid was substantially denied procedural fairness.

In the Senate yesterday Senator Scott Ludlam got devious answers from Dr Paterson, who seemed bent on asserting that the radioactive spill incidents never happened, anyway.  No wonder that David Reid angrily interjected!

SENATOR LUDLAM:  ” The KPMG report finds that ANSTO technical and supervisory staff and the executive management covered up the fact that three staff were contaminated by the beta emitter yttrium on the relevant day and that Mr Reid witnessed an incident between two men at the contamination barrier on the day in question n. He reported that one man had yttrium contamination, which is a beta radiation emitter, all down his clothes and in his mouth and that the other man’s supervisor was trying to clean him up and was telling him not to report the contamination….Mr Paterson, are you still contesting that these events even occurred at all? “

DR PATERSON: We were not involved in this investigation in a way that would have allowed us to put all of the  issues on the table     this was a report that was,  indeed, intended for ARPANSA. It was not intended to make any findings in relation to ANSTO, and I do not  believe it has done.

SENATOR LUDLAM:  It is your facility; it is your plant. It is a report about an accident involving your staff at your facility. I am not quite sure why we are creating this distance. It was created for the regulator because they were extremely unhappy—I will contest these contentions later on this morning with ANSTO—with ANSTO’S response to these incidents, which did indeed occur. These are not alleged incidents. These are a matter of public record.

DR PATERSON  I believe that we have been very clear on this matter. If indeed this incident did take place—   —(interjection here from David Reid)…

SENATOR LUDLAM:  So you contest the existence?

DR PATERSON: :  I can contest whether there was an incident of this nature at the time that has been outlined in the report.

October 17, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, spinbuster | 1 Comment

Cooling city buildings by using roof gardens

Adelaide in South Australia is leading the way in water-sensitive urban design and green roof technology.

Roof gardens proven to cool buildings ABC Radio The World Today Nicola Gage reported this story on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 ELEANOR HALL: Roof gardens are becoming more prevalent in the world’s major cities.

Now a study has found that not only are they building mini-ecosystems, they’re also cooling buildings significantly and reducing carbon emissions, as Nicola Gage reports.

NICOLA GAGE: Major cities have inherently been linked to pollution and rising carbon emissions, but 22 stories up on the roof of a building in Adelaide, there’s a micro-climate that’s returning wildlife to the city. Continue reading →

October 10, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, ENERGY | Leave a comment

Australian rare earths company Lynas facing further uncertainty in its Malaysian project

Activists and local residents have vowed to shut the plant – the biggest outside China – which has emerged as a controversial issue in the country’s national elections

 opposition politicians and environmentalists have expressed fears that radioactive waste it produces can seep into the ground and water, harming the environment and people’s health.

Hearing on Lynas Malaysia plant postponed http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/hearing-on-lynas-malaysia-plant-postponed/story-fn3dxix6-1226488399907 THE AUSTRALIAN  AAP October 04, 2012  A MALAYSIAN court has postponed until next week a hearing on a temporary operating licence granted to Australian miner Lynas Corp for a rare earths plant, an activist says.

Thursday’s decision to postpone hearing to next Wednesday further delays the start of operations at the $US800 million ($A786.82 million) facility, which has been dogged by environmental protests and concerns about radiation.
Lynas secured the operating licence in early September but Kuantan High Court in eastern Pahang state, where the plant is based, put it on hold later that month after an appeal by activists. Continue reading →

October 5, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA | Leave a comment

Australian Government set up a Renewable Energy Package- a good model for USA

What America Can Learn from Australia’s New Clean Energy Future Package http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/09/29/929441/what-america-can-learn-from-australias-new-clean-energy-future-package/ Sep 29, 2012  by Jennifer Morgan, via WRI Insights  Australia, one of world’s most  carbon-intensive countries, recently began implementing a comprehensive national policy to address climate change and transition to a clean-energy economy. Yesterday, WRI had the pleasure of hosting Mark Dreyfus , Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, who outlined his country’s plans to a group of business, congressional, and NGO representatives.

One point that came through at the event is that Australia’s recent energy and climate choices can be very instructive to the United States. This post provides a quick look at Australia’s new policy and explores how it can inform and inspire U.S. efforts  to move toward a low-carbon future.

Why Did Australia Adopt a National Climate and Energy Policy? Continue reading →

October 1, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, renewable | Leave a comment

Australia’s former conservatve Prime Minister warns on danger of USA militarism

An Australian General, Major General Richard Burr, has become a deputy commander of United States Army Pacific. He will be responsible for planning and advising on the further expansion of American armed forces throughout the Western Pacific.

Australia hostage to the politics of the US in the Asian Century, The Drum, MALCOLM FRASER, 27 Sept 12,  This week Malcolm Fraser delivered a speech on Australia-US relations in the Asian Century. In this edited extract, the former prime minister says our Government has made us hostage to the politics of the United States. Australia has, under this Labor Government and with apparent consent of the Coalition, become the southern bastion of America’s re-arming in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. This is an extraordinary consequence of Australian Government ineptitude and of military planning, which might recognise America’s interest, but pays little account of our own.

It makes us complicit in any military activity that the Americans might undertake. Continue reading →

September 28, 2012 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

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