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AUSTRALIA
Aboriginal issues to the fore this week. Yesterday an deal was announced between the Mirrar Aboriginal and Energy Resources of Australia, (ERA) after 14 years of negotiations, over the Ranger uranium mine. Highly respected senior traditional owner Ms Yvonne Margarula, has welcomed the agreements, and that’s good enough for me.
Still, this could herald the start of a persuasion process, by ERA, leading into their planned new underground mine, ”Ranger 3 Deeps”. This project is not covered by the new agreements. Uranium miners have been known to mine underground, in order to avoid the responsibility of native title issues on the surface.
Julia Gillard parachuted Aboriginal sports star Nova Peris-Kneebone into pre-selection for the Northern Territory Senate seat. Ms Peris joined the Labor Party only on Wednesday. Overlooked was a real Aboriginal fighter for Territory Aboriginal rights, Marion Scrymgour. The suspicion remains that Julia is expecting Peris to toe the Party line, while giving Labor a good “Aboriginal look”
Maralinga veterans and Aboriginal victims of the atomic tests have now been told that they have no case for compensation, in British courts. Yet there Is evidence of radiation harm, much of it covered up by the Australian and British governments. Paul Langley has covered this extensively in his Nuclear History blog - http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/
Cyber Security was a big theme of Gillard’s latest speech. While there are certainly legitimate concerns for national security on the Internet, Senator Ludlam warned about “overkill” - the implications for privacy, copyright, and freedom of communication
Uranium to India. Bob Carr announced progress in these negotiations, as usual, oblivious to the way that India is ramping up its nuclear weapons, and cracking down on the thousands of rural anti nuclear protestors.
Victoria. Mildura area is to get two solar farms at Koorlong an Carwarp.
INTERNATIONAL
Fukushima is always in the news, if only in the alternative media. Tepco’s plan to empty tomnnes of radioactive water into the Pacific. Fish caught with high levels of cesium. Nuclear top officials “descended for Heaven” into high paying jobs.
Africa France is sending troops into Niger, specifically to protect AREVA’ uranium mines. Also to send 2500 troops (for a start) into Mali, which has huge deposits of uranium.
Russia making efforts to get out the uranium, and do a bit of cleaning up of its radioactive waste dump in the Arctic Kara Sea – preliminary to oil drilling there. Climate Change and nuclear issues converge in the Arctic. As sea ice dwindles, oil companies move into the Arctic.
Germany shows that shutting down nuclear power is no handicap, as its power supply thrives, with renewable energy.
There’s really lots more – but I’m running out of steam. E.g USA angsting about how to relicense aging reactors. Will San Onofre nuclear plant be closed down permanently? Virginia at critical stage about whether or not to lift its ban on uranium mining.