Friends of the Earth Adelaide

Senate Enquiry National Rad Waste Facility

roman March 1, 2018

Mara Bonacci, the CCSA’s Nuclear Waste campaigner writes:

On 6 February 2018, the Senate referred an inquiry into the selection process for a national radioactive waste management facility in South Australia to the Senate Economics Reference Committee for inquiry and report by 14 August 2018.

This is welcome.

Submissions are due by Tuesday 3rd April.

It would be wonderful if you could write a submission.

The terms of reference can be found here

Some points to consider including are:

A single individual or property owner should not be allowed to nominate a site for a nuclear waste dump.
The federal government have not made a clear or compelling case that we need a national nuclear waste dump in SA.
The consultation process has been deficient and has caused division in our communities.
The federal government plan lacks social licence or community consent. Traditional Owners have flagged concerns over cultural heritage issues.
The project has not considered the full range of options to best advance responsible radioactive waste management in Australia. Australia’s worst waste should be dealt with better.

In addition, I have set up on online submission system that is pre-filled but can be edited. I encourage as many people as possible to take a few minutes to complete.

It would be great to get as many submissions to the Senate Standing Committees on Economics as possible so collectively we can end this terrible process and get the federal government to finally take a responsible approach to radioactive waste management.

Please contact me if you have any questions or need any help with this.

thanks and regards,

Mara Bonacci
Nuclear Waste Campaigner

Usual Hours Monday – Wednesday 10am – 3pm

Conservation Council SA
The Joinery / 111 Franklin Street, Adelaide SA 5000
(08) 8223 5155 mobile: 0422 229 970

Adelaide FoE Notes, Clean Futures, Nuclear

REGARDING THE NATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY

roman March 1, 2018

A summary of the letter from MAPW to Industry Minister Matt Canavan
Medical Association for the Prevention of War (MAPW), 23 Feb 18

REGARDING THE NATIONAL RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY (NRWMF )

1) The process is very divisive. Repeated, highly damaging processes imposed on previously cohesive communities are causing significant harms.

2) Considerable amounts of persistently misleading information have been and continue to be presented to communities. Incorrect and incomplete information does not result in genuine consent.

3) There is a failure to observe international best practice standards for the highly radioactive long lived intermediate level waste (ILW) management. There is no disposal plan whatsoever for ILW, leaving the problem for many future generations.

REGARDING THE EXPANSION OF NUCLEAR MEDICINE PRODUCTION FOR EXPORT

1) There is a lack of demonstrable “Net benefit”. The proposed 40 year-long expansion of medical isotope production needs genuine cost/benefit analysis to make sure this is not a heavily subsidised product being sold into the global market at the expense of the Australian community both now and in the future. Independent NEA/OECD economic modelling finds only 10-15% cost recovery of isotope manufacture when there is genuine inclusion of all costs.

2) The expansion will create 40 years of significantly increased production of ILW.

3) ANSTO has a narrative of global shortages, yet given falling demand and increasing global supply there is no shortage of Mo99. The NEA/OECD predict a significant oversupply.

4) Again, there is no plan whatsoever for disposal of the additional ILW generated.

Both processes are unacceptably flawed.

Medical Association for the Prevention of War (MAPW) urges

A halt to the current NRWMF process until such time as world’s best practice is followed. There is sufficient capacity at the Lucas Heights facility, once regulatory approvals are met, to store Low Level Waste (LLW) and Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) well into the next decade.

Concern over gas exploration in the SE

roman February 28, 2018

As you may be aware, a number of residents in the South East have concerns regarding any mining or petroleum activities, particularly with large swaths of exploration licences over their properties. The most concerning area is water security. When there are droughts, the South East residents are fully dependent on the groundwater. Health concerns, keeping the South East’s world renowned clean and green image for export growth, and impacts on the economy are other concerns. 2015 – 2016, the value of agriculture in the SE, was $3.2 billion, which was 51% of the total gross value of agricultural production in SA.

The geology and hydrology, including limestone, cavernous systems, and fault lines are not suitable for any drilling or mining and petroleum activities, apart from extractive mining for road and building materials. With both mining and petroleum activities, there are risks to the groundwater, soil and air, through loss of well integrity, any dewatering of the aquifers, waste water disposal from gas or oil activities and no suitable way for safe disposal, contamination from tailing and benefication ponds for mining, salt impacts and landscape changes. Emissions and waste water ponds may impact bird life. There has been a shocking disaster in Canada, where 7500 song birds flew into a gas flare at a gas processing plant and died. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/7-500-songbirds-killed-at-canaport-gas-plant-in-saint-john-1.1857615

All gas needs flaring. I understand, if there is viable amounts of gas, the Katnook Gas Plant will be upgraded. In other places, including Australia, my colleagues have told me that there have been a number of animal and bird deaths that may have died through road kill and extra traffic on the roads, and also through drinking water from the contaminated waste water ponds.

I would like these concerns to be on the agenda in the South Australian Parliament, after the election.

Adelaide FoE Notes, Climate, Mining

Tim Flannery and Ursula Rakova

roman February 28, 2018

Wendy Flannery, of Climate Frontlines, FoE Brisbane, writes that Ursula Rakova, the director of Tulele Peisa, a FoE Australia affiliate in Bougainville PNG will be in town to address the Womad Planet talks.

While here, she will also appear at an event at the Hawke Centre (details below)

IN-CONVERSATION WITH TIM FLANNERY AND URSULA RAKOVA

THURSDAY 8 MARCH 2018, 6.00PM – 7.15PM

ALLAN SCOTT AUDITORIUM, HAWKE BUILDING, UNISA CITY WEST CAMPUS

Presented by the Hawke Centre, in arrangement with WOMADelaide Festival’s Planet Talks Program, a free public lecture delivered by Tim Flannery (Australia) and Ursula Rakova (PNG), discussing the beauty and environmental challenges facing Papua New Guinea.

TIM FLANNERY

Tim Flannery is one of the world’s most prominent environmentalists. In 2007 he was named ‘Australian of the Year’, arguably Australia’s highest honour. He delivered the 2002 Australia Day Address to the nation. In 2013 he founded, and is now chief councilor, of the Australian Climate Council, Australia’s largest and most successful crowdfunded organisation. His latest book is ‘Sunlight and Seaweed.’ Text Publishing. 2017.

URSULA RAKOVA

Climate justice advocate Ursula Rakova of Papua New Guinea gives a human face to the challenges faced in the Pacific from environmental degradation. She is a pioneer in Papua New Guinea’s environmental movement and campaigner for the survival of her people.

Born on Papua New Guinea’s Carteret Islands in the Southwestern Pacific, an area which is threatened by rising sea levels. She and her community are among the world’s first climate change refugees. Frustrated by inaction on the part of the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government, Rakova’s community took matters into their own hands and formed Tulele Peisa (“Sailing in the wind on our own”) – a community-based organisation helping to relocate the Carterets’ population to safer ground.

In 2008, Ursula received the Pride of PNG award for her contribution to the environment.