Nuclear Denotations From Mount Gambier
[from ABC South East SA]

With the headline “We’ll Join the Nuke Race,” the article in today’s paper reports that the mayor of Mount Gambier City, Steve Perryman, wants the city “considered in any debate on suitable sites for proposed nuclear power plants”.

But Perryman is fuming about the report.

“I won’t take credit for starting all this,” he told ABC South East this morning. “This is a case of a newspaper journalist wanting to make the news rather than report the facts.

“The context of the conversation was…that Portland appeared on a list of suitable sites and I was asked by the journalist at the Advertiser what my thoughts on nuclear power were for Mt Gambier.

“I iterated a number of times that I’m not advocating that Mt Gambier put its hand up and I’m not entitled to do that. I wouldn’t do that without first consulting with my council and also the community.

The Port of Portland is currently seeking a new CEO and a new Marketing Manager.

South Aust Premier In U.K. To Sell Uranium?

South Australian Premier Mike Rann isn't known as "Media Mike" for nothing. This is why it's suprising that Rann has made a trip to England with no public fanfare. His website isn't even operative to convey his media releases!

Mr Rann usally makes great media mileage from his visits, proposing M-1 tank reconstruction facilities, visiting warship contract contenders, generally publicising his intentions from the perceived locales of "the horse's mouth" This is why it's surprising that the best our Premier has had to offer is that our defence contract bids are to be managed by a man who doesn't live in South Australia. Rann's climate change consulant, by the way, is also about to become a Sydney resident.

The editorial in today's Australian may be right in saying that Rann's just flogging our wine and tourism. But this doesn't explain the lack of publicity of the trip from a man who would open a chook raffle if it provided a photo-op.

Viewed in context with the international whirlwind of publicity surrounding international uranium sales, and in the light of UK PM Tony Blair's recently announced plans to revitalise the UK's nuclear power industry, an "unannounced" visit by the head dignitary of a uranium-rich locale could be perceived as a "shock-tactic" in nuclear salesmanship.

Think about it.. Blair says that the UK needs more uranium, and in a heartbeat Premier Rann is on his doorstep.

No doubt Mr Rann's job will be done before whatever announcement Australian PM Howard makes from Ireland.

S.A. Gets Cosgrove Endorsement

S.A. Gets Cosgrove Endorsement

It's a smart man that gets paid to sent defence construction to South Australia and then stays in Sydney.

[ABC]

The former head of the Australian military, General Peter Cosgrove, will lead South Australia's bidding for multi-million dollar defence contracts.

Premier Mike Rann has announced General Cosgrove as the new chairman of the state's Defence Advisory Board.

General Cosgrove helped restore order in East Timor in 1999 and named Australian of the Year in 2001.

He will remain based in Sydney but will visit South Australia regularly.

Speaking this morning from England, Mr Rann says General Cosgrove is an ideal choice for the role.

"We want to grow our defence jobs in South Australia from about 16,000 jobs up to 28,000 jobs within 10 years," he said.

"I can't think of anyone better than General Cosgrove to lead the push for South Australia."

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This announcement from the Premier is not available from his website. The site has been closed for reconstruction since the election.

South Australia- India Uranium Trade Tied To Nuclear Reactor Construction Contracts

I've highlighted the last sentence of this extract because it seems of particular signifigance to activity in Australia.

[from the Financial Express, poste 20/5/05]

MAY 19: Seeking to meet its rising energy demands, India may pay suppliers, including General Electric (GE) Co, Rs 1.8 trillion ($40 billion) to build nuclear reactors over the next 14 years, a government official said.

France’s Areva SA, Electricite de France and US-based Westinghouse Electric Co are among the possible providers of 25 to 28 reactors by 2020, chairman Nuclear Power Corporation of India, SK Jain said.

US President George Bush is seeking an end to the three-decade-old international ban on nuclear technology sales to India, prompted by its atomic bomb test in 1974.

India and China are leading a worldwide revival in atomic energy after oil and coal prices rose to record levels. Russia and Japan are among the nations that may lift sanctions on India and enter the contest for contracts to install 40,000 megawatts (mw) of capacity. This would be enough to supply electricity to four cities the size of New York.

‘‘We are very confident the deal and all agreements will go through,’’ Mr Jain said in an interview in Mumbai on Tuesday. ‘‘As an outcome of that, India will have access to the global nuclear technology market.’’

President Bush has asked the US Congress to end nuclear sanctions against India. US and other members of the so-called nuclear suppliers group, including France, Russia, Japan and Australia, are debating whether to lift their ban on exports of equipment and materials for atomic use to India.

India is turning to overseas nuclear-reactor builders after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh doubled the nation’s 2020 capacity target from an initial 20,000 mw. India’s homegrown atomic power programme won’t cope with the stepped-up construction plan, Mr Jain said.He addedthe programme was also limited because of a uranium shortage caused by the international embargo on sales of the reactor fuel. Once sanctions end, supplies of enriched uranium will be included in contracts to install reactors.

While at this stage having no evidence to authenticate the last claim, let's assume for now, even though this might not be the case, that international reactor constructors are including whole-of-life (that's 20,000-plus in uranium years) supervision and/or ownership of fission-fuel used on Indian soil.

If such were the case, placing of the waste in a repository would be on the agenda, which would be more difficult for a company that didn't already have a pre-arranged site when it made a tender to the Indian Government.

No matter which company wins I bet Halliburton will make a fortune in environmental impact assessments.

Who were the "officials' that Downer was relying on for his information last week? They need to be identified sooner rather than later

HICKS UK CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS UPHELD

He's a step closer.. David Hicks right to British citizenship has been upheld by the UK courts.

A final appeal against Hick's eligibility has been rejected, clearing all legal barriers against Hicks claim.

The application for UK citizenship was made after a chance remark made by the Adelaide-resident Guantanemo inmate to his military lawyer, while discussing the Ashes cricket game in London, that his mother was British.

David's father Terry said from Adelaide today that the only real barrier for his son now was that it would be difficult for him to take the citizenship oath while being held in Guantanemo.

The UK Government successfully asked for all of its citizens to be removed from the Halliburton-constructed detention facility and returned to their own land. If Hicks is granted UK citizenship it is expected that his case would fall into the same category.

This would give the Bush Administration no other option but to let their prisoner go.

It's a crying shame that Australia hasn't lifted a finger to help him.