Australian and more – Nuclear news -week to 26 September

Some bits of good news – Good News on AIDS, Ocean Conservation in Indonesia, and Clean Air Zones in Spain.Coronavirus. World – 

 over 609 million confirmed cases and over 6.5 million deaths. USA  395 117 new cases . The highest numbers of new weekly deaths were reported from the United States of America.  President Joe Biden says “The pandemic is over” .    As the Americans say – Go figure.

AUSTRALIA

Aukus plan to expedite Australia’s nuclear sub construction an act of nuclear proliferation under ‘naval nuclear propulsion’ cover: Chinese mission to UN .         South Australia’s premier says buying nuclear submarines directly from US would degrade Australian shipbuilding.

25 September – anniversary of nuclear bombing at Maralinga – causing Aboriginal deaths, and later deaths of soldiers exposed to radiation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0MgVjCEwd0

Australia’s foreign minister warns of ‘catastrophic’ impact of Indo-Pacific war during UN address.

Greens Senator Barbara Pocock calls on the Federal Government to suspend work on South Australian nuclear waste site. Kimba community groups need to pose these hard questions to Ministers Madeleine King and Ed Husic.

‘A huge victory’: Traditional owners win court challenge against $4.7b Santos gas project

Crikey and Media Watch v Friendlyjordies and Independent Australia.

Consumers reap rewards of 100 pct renewables as wind and solar farms hand back windfall profits

INTERNATIONAL

26 September – International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons: dismantle the warheads and build a common security. International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons 2022: History, Significance and Celebration.

SCOTT RITTER: Reaping the Whirlwind

‘Naïve’ to think Russia will lose war, says Dr Jordan Peterson – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnxxELn00gk The Ukraine war could open the nuclear Pandora’s box. The deadly game of nuclear escalation. Unlocked: NATO prolongs the Ukraine proxy war, and global havoc. World powers must take Putin’s threat seriously, stop the escalation and seek a diplomatic solution.

Small modular reactors: What is taking so long?

World’s richest countries fall short on renewable energy targets.

UKRAINE. Holding ground, losing war. War fears at another Ukraine nuclear site . In effect if not juridically, Ukraine was becoming a member of the NATO alliance.THE WORLD SPLIT APART.  

Vladislav Ugolny: Ukraine is targeting civilians for retribution in the east while its Western backers turn a blind eye. HISTORIC CONTEXT OF THE REFERENDA IN UKRAINE.

JAPAN. Fukushima: Japan attempts to safely remove nuclear fuel from crippled reactors.

UK. 

• Nuclear industry Beating Retreat at Bradwell? Is UK government’s nuclear power policy scientifically feasible? – asks House of Commons Science and Technology Committee .
• Busting The Times’ spin on “Great British Nuclear” and “a new atomic age for the UK”.       UK government PR exercise “Great British Nuclear” headed for financial failure. 
• UK government to change the rules – so that billions of pounds of pension funds can go to dodgy new nuclear projects. 
• Sizewell C: Planning shake-up – getting rid of environmental assessment ‘runs roughshod over objectors’. 
• Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) want government assurances about new rules on compensation liability for nuclear accidents.
•  UK’s nuclear waste cleanup operation could cost £260bn.  Operation Sellafield: inside Britain’s deadliest clean-up job.
• Liz Truss could break fracking election pledge to bypass local opposition. 
• Hinkley Mud still needs more testing for radiation. Continuing campaign to stop the dumping of Hinkley nuclear power station mud off Cardiff coast. 

• USA.
  • Brainwashed for War With Russia. 
  • 64 years later, the Golden Rule takes to the water again to challenge nuclear arms. 
  • US Media Held Murdered Russian Journalist to a Dangerous Standard. 
  • Nukes Are Our Corporate Death Wish…the Sun is the People’s Cure. 
  • Nuclear Weapon Development and Manufacturing Needs More Cybersecurity, Watchdog Says.
  • Getting serious about the threat of high altitude nuclear detonations. 
  • NuScale Faces Class Action Lawsuit Brought by Former Employees. 
  • Pentagon opens sweeping review of clandestine psychological operations. 
  • Nevada files motion regarding Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Project, launches dedicated website with educational resources. 
  • A Nebraska county of only 625 people contained nearly 100 deep underground nuclear missiles, so the US Air Force halted a green-power project that would have revitalized its
  • economy. It was set to be Nebraska’s largest wind project.

 

PACIFIC ISLANDS. Marshall Islands calls off talks after no US response on nuclear legacy plan. At U.N., Micronesia denounces Japan plan to release Fukushima water into Pacific.

RUSSIA. Moscow unlikely to use nuclear weapons, say ex-Russian generals. Putin flirts again with grim prospect of nuclear war – this time he might mean it.

POLAND. Poland distributes iodine pills as fears grow over Ukraine nuclear plant.

SOUTH KOREA. US-S.Korea to stage joint military drills with nuclear-powered US carrier.

GERMANY. Environment Minister reaffirms the phaseout of nuclear power.ITALY. Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni favours return to nuclear power and increased gas production.

NEW ZEALAND. New Zealand will push for total ban on nuclear weapons – Jacinda Ardern. World shouldn’t give up on nuclear disarmament, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb_CkO2tD80

BELGIUM. Belgium shuts down one reactor, in line with its “40 years life” rule for nuclear reactors.

Aukus plan to expedite Australia’s nuclear sub construction an act of nuclear proliferation under ‘naval nuclear propulsion’ cover: Chinese mission to UN

Image from Global Times

 https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202209/1276076.shtml By Leng Shumei and Hu Yuwei , Sep 26, 2022 , The Chinese mission to the UN in Vienna warned in an exclusive statement sent to the Global Times on Sunday that the latest move by AUKUS to plan to expedite Australia’s nuclear submarine construction is a blatant defiance of and trampling on the international nuclear non-proliferation system, and is an act of nuclear proliferation under the pretext of “naval nuclear propulsion.” 

A spokesperson of the Chinese mission to the UN and other international organizations in Vienna made the comment after leaders of the US, UK and Australia said on Friday marking the one-year anniversary of the AUKUS security pact that they have made “significant progress” toward Australia acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine. 

In disregard of the serious concerns of the international community on the trilateral nuclear submarine deal, the US is insisting on and even making reckless remarks about accelerating the deal, which is a blatant defiance of and trampling on the international nuclear non-proliferation system, the spokesperson told the Global Times in the statement. 

China has repeatedly pointed out that the nuclear submarine deal among the three countries violates the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) and Additional Protocols (AP). It is an act of nuclear proliferation under the pretext of “naval nuclear propulsion,” the statement noted.

The US regards China as an “imaginary enemy.” The act of inciting Indo-Pacific competition seriously undermines regional peace and stability, which shows that the US has a wrong understanding of China, of the world and of itself, it said.  

We hope that the US side will abandon the Cold War mentality, abandon the use of nuclear submarine cooperation among the three countries to contain China, abandon the trampling of international rules for geopolitical purposes, and work with China to implement the important consensus of the two heads of state, and practice mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, win-win cooperation, and shoulder the responsibility of a major country, read the statement.

Leaders of the US, UK and Australia said in a statement on Friday “We are steadfast in our commitment to Australia acquiring this capability at the earliest possible date,” according to Reuters.

The Biden administration is exploring an arrangement to expedite Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines to respond to China’s growing military might by producing the first few submarines in the US, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing some Western officials.

The idea is to provide Australia with an initial nuclear-powered fleet by the mid-2030s, while a longer-term effort is under way to give Australia the capability to produce nuclear-power submarines at home, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Chinese experts warned that Australia should also be alert that it is sleepwalking into a US trap to serve as the latter’s pawn in the US’ strategy against China. But they also believed that it would not be easy to implement the plan given the lack of spare shipbuilding capacity in the US and in Britain. 

In August, the US admiral in charge of building new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines said producing nuclear-power subs for Australia would interfere with the US’ efforts to build its own submarines unless a major effort was made to expand the American industrial base, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It is questionable how feasible the plan actually is, Chen Hong, president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies and director of the Australian Studies Centre at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Sunday.   

The nuclear-powered submarine deal under AUKUS is a blatant, irresponsible act of nuclear proliferation, and once again proves that AUKUS countries are practicing a “double standard” on nuclear non-proliferation and using the deal as a tool for geopolitical gamesmanship, Ambassador Wang Qun, China’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Vienna, told the Global Times in a recent exclusive interview.

Song Zongping, a Chinese TV commentator, warned it is already a fact that the US is dedicated to nuclear weapons proliferation. 

But more importantly, the US is pushing its frontier against China to Australia by weaponizing Australia with nuclear submarines. The Australia’s nuclear-submarine fleet would be a squadron of and be controlled by the US, Song noted.    

In the Friday statement, the AUKUS leaders – US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – also said they had made “significant strides” in other areas, including hypersonic weapons, cyber, electronic warfare capabilities and additional undersea capabilities, according to Reuters.

Chen warned that by enhancing cooperation under AUKUS in these aspects, Australia does not understand that it is actually sleepwalking into a trap to serve as a pawn for the US’ strategy against China.    

Currently, the nuclear-powered submarine deal under AUKUS attracts the most attention, but cooperation under AUKUS is far more complex as the organization’s long-term strategic aim is to contain China’s development, Chen noted.       

Australia is being pushed into the teeth of the storm in the US’ strategy against China. It should be on high alert that it probably is sacrificing its own national security for other countries’ national interests, Chen warned.

Kimba community groups need to pose these hard questions to Ministers Madeleine King and Ed Husic, and to ANSTO ARWA and ARPANSA

In order to establish fully and properly the breaches by the federal government as to its Kimba nuclear installation, community group opposing the installation proposals need to immediately send out this formal request to the various persons and organisations listed below

KIMBA COMMUNITY
Formal requests for Kimba proposals:

1. What are the earthworks being carried out or planned in connection with
   the government’s proposed nuclear waste facility
2. Are these earthworks confined to the Napandee farm site
3. If not what other land in the Kimba region is affected by the earthworks
4. How much actual physical work has been carried
5. By whom and how was this work authorised
6. Was any licence issued by ARPANSA for his work
7. If not and why not as is required by the guidance codes and standards of
   IAEA
8. Was a progressive safety case started for these earthworks
9. If not how was the work justified without community consultation and
   involvement
10. How have the environmental aspects of these earthworks been dealt with
11. Have there been any environmental studies done
12. Has the community generally been consulted on the environmental studies
    or referrals
13. Will the community be involved by consultation as to all aspects of the
    earthworks as to the environmental implications

PLEASE immediately provide:
• the plans and other details for for the earthworks
• the environmental studies and assessments for this work
• any licences or applications for licences
• a full copy of the environmental referral

This list of requests should given to:
Hon. Madeleine King Hon. Ed Husic as the responsible ministers
The chief executive officers of ARWA ANSTO and ARPANSA
Meghan Quinn PSM as the Secretary of the Department of Industry, Science,
Energy and Resources
Andrew Metcalfe AO as the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Water
and the Environment

Greens Senator Barbara Pocock calls on the Federal Government to suspend work on South Australian nuclear waste site

Call to suspend work on SA nuclear waste site InDaily , Stephanie Richards, 20 Sept22, The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation in December applied for judicial review in an attempt to thwart construction of the controversial radioactive waste storage facility at Napandee near Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula, arguing they weren’t properly consulted before the site was selected.

Despite the active legal challenge, the Federal Court was told in June that the government had already approved plans to begin earthworks.

That prompted South Australian Greens Senator Barbara Pocock to last week write to federal Resources Minister Madeleine King asking her to commit to suspending all preparatory work and construction at the site pending the outcome of the court proceedings.

“The Barngarla people are unanimously opposed to the waste dump,” she wrote in the letter, seen by InDaily.

“The site is an important part of their culture and heritage, yet they were not consulted on the proposal.

“In light of the Barngarla opposition and lack of consultation, I write to ask that you commit to suspending all preparatory work and construction in relation to building the waste dump at Napandee, pending the outcome of the current judicial review and court proceedings underway.”

……………………….new information released by the federal government reveals it is spending three times more than Barngarla Traditional Owners fighting the project in the Federal Court.

In response to a question on notice lodged by Pocock, the government stated that between December and July, it had spent $343,457.44 on legal fees.

That compares to the approximate $124,000 spent by the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation over the same period.

The Native Title group estimates that the total cost incurred by the federal government would run into the millions.

Pocock said the disparity between the spending was “disproportionate and just unfair”.

“This is a David and Goliath case,” she said.“The spend so far shows that the government is doing all in their power to minimise the voices and traditional rights of the Barngarla people.”…………….

The Napandee site was selected by the former Morrison Government in November last year, with then Resources Minister Keith Pitt saying the government had secured “majority support” from the local community after more than “six years of consultation”.

But Barngarla Traditional Owners opposed the project and argued they were not included in the consultation.

South Australian Labor has long called for Barngarla people to have the right to veto the project, with Premier Peter Malinauskas telling ABC Radio Adelaide this morning that the state government had expressed its views to the federal government…………..

 https://indaily.com.au/news/2022/09/20/call-to-suspend-work-on-sa-nuclear-waste-site/?fbclid=IwAR112RR7jtDs6_ZDGb98Do0kqLRnWhuhoZAb-esAG6tp9WaB5F1YHIIPWM4—

This week in nuclear news

Some bits of good news –   California Begins Covering Canals with Solar Panels to Fight Drought.       World’s first 100% hydrogen-powered trains now running regional service in Germany to replace diesel. 
End of Covid pandemic ‘in sight’, says World Health Organization

Climate : As resistance grows to the fossil fuel regime, laws are springing up everywhere to suppress climate activists.

Coronavirus. Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Weekly Epidemiological Update.

Nuclear.  Oh dear. I hope that the  Zaporizhzhia situation works out safely. Even the IAEA are worried, and their job is to promote the nuclear industry.  They also think that Australia’s AUKUS nuclear submarines will be fine – no weapons proliferation implications!

Personal note. I also do hope that the news coverage of the Queen’s death has been adequate, and that everyone is getting enough public holidays etc about this.   I can’t get through to TPP Wholesale, to find out when and if they’re restoring our website nuclear-news.net. I guess they’re still in mourning.

AUSTRALIA   

Australia needs a non-nuclear submarine – the TKMS TYPE 218SG would be fine – just do it, Richard Marles! China, and others, see the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as biased in supporting AUKUS nuclear submarines plan .

The Defence Strategic Review – Australia is becoming a proxy or is it a patsy for the US in a possible conflict with China. Aw gee shucks – Australia can be IMPORTANT if we lead USA’s attacks with our AUKUS submarines !

Barngarla people say NO to a nuclear waste dump. https://youtu.be/mEn_2_x2fZM

‘Doesn’t seem genuine’: Ex-Pacific leaders question Australia’s climate stance

INTERNATIONAL

Doomsday scenario: Simulation reveals nuclear war with Russia would cause 90 million casualties.

New research on how nuclear war would affect Earth – it won’t matter who is bombing whom.

What’s the real price tag for renewable energy for the planet?

World BEYOND War Volunteers to Reproduce “Offensive” Peace Mural.

US EU LOOMING CRASH, BILLIONS OF US $$ POURING INTO UKRAINE, WAR BETWEEN THE US AND RUSSIA.

China, AUKUS clash over nuclear subs.

Nuclear Power Is Too Risky Even in Peacetime. Ukraine Is the Tip of the Iceberg.     Nuclear power still doesn’t make much sense.

Gullible governments – US Energy Department returns to costly and risky plutonium separation technologies.

The madness of some environmentalists sucked in by Edward-Teller style nuclear propaganda.

Extreme hunger is soaring in the world’s climate hotspots – Oxfam

Plunging costs of renewable energy – as nuclear power costs increase. Fast transition to renewables will save the world  at least $US12 trillion ($A18 trillion) by 2050.

Study shows ‘unprecedented’ changes to world’s rivers

UKRAINE.

American-backed Ukrainian attack to recapture Zaporizhzia nuclear power plant is a critical part of the Western strategy .

Is Zaporizhzhia safer now?

U.S. Finally Admits Ukraine Bombs Zaporizhzhia’s Nuclear Power Plant.          Ukraine’s threatened nuclear power plant has been shut down. Has a crisis been averted? Main power line reconnected to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant . Back-up power lines restored to the shut-down Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station .

Ukraine cracks downs on civilians – official. (Amazingly, this is reported also in the Washington Post – article headed: “Ukraine hit squads are killing Russian occupiers and collaborators”) Hundreds Of Children Included In Ukrainian Public Kill-List. Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Ukrainian lawmakers to drop media bill . 

Caitlin Johnstone: Ukraine crawling with CIA & Co. Zelensky and NATO plan to transform post-war Ukraine into ‘a big Israel’.

JAPAN. Plan to encase a Fukushima nuclear reactor and then flood it.

Tepco to revise power prices for industry, factoring in nuclear restart.

UK. 

• Why future sea levels matter to Suffolk’s Sizewell nuclear plant.   Permit problems for Sizewell C nuclear project? Cooling system could kill millions of fish. 
• France’s problems with nuclear power now causing electricity shortage in Britain, too.
• Scotland, with its renewable energy success, has no need for nuclear power.    
• If we want to cut energy bills we must stop wasting energy .     
• Tory Minister Zac Goldsmith who cares about the environment sacked as Environment Minister.
• EUROPE. Russia’s uranium exports can continue – exempt from sanctions imposed on other commodities. NATO’s Approach to Russia’s Borders Planned Years Ago.
• FRANCE. 
• France calls for more electricity to be imported from neighbouring countries. Continued drop in France’s nuclear power energy production. EDF’s core profits to take a €29bn hit this year from outages at France’s nuclear reactors. 
• EDF contractors relax radiation exposure limits to speed up reactor repairs. 
• 32 organisations challenge French government’s decrees setting up Bure district for a nuclear waste dump that is not yet even authorised. 
• A new window into France’s nuclear history. 
• France sends reprocessed nuclear fuel to Japan, despite environmental and safety dangers.
• France Urges Brussels To Label Nuclear-Produced Hydrogen “Green”.

RUSSIA. Russia’s Stranglehold On The World’s Nuclear Power Cycle. New study reveals Russia’s comprehensive buildup of nuclear missile test-ground at Novaya Zemlya.

JAPAN. Sendai and Genkai nuclear power stations in the path of powerful Typhoon Nanmadol.

 40% of Japan’s nuclear plant staff lack experiences of reactivation.

USA. Veteran Intelligence Professionals: Ukraine Decision Time for Biden. U.S. military leaders are reluctant to provide longer-range missiles to Ukraine. ( Zelensky itching to attack Crimea?)       US-South Korea Provocations in the Pacific.

The Weapons Industry as a Taxpayer Scam How we got to an $850 billion Pentagon budget – “independent” think tanks are funded by weapons corporations.

Space race – the old macho aim – USA and China to beat each other.

General: Supply chain problems are hurting nuclear modernization. 

Plutonium secretly shipped to Nevada removed sooner than expected. Weapons-grade plutonium secretly sent from South Carolina to Nevada removed early. Watchdog sues nuclear agency over Los Alamos National Laboratory evaluations.

CANADA. Walk held to protest storing nuclear waste in Northwest. Walkers Count on Local Politicians to Oppose Nuclear Waste in North West Ontario.

IRAN. Israeli sabotage should not be allowed to kill Iran nuclear deal: Middle East Eye.

TURKEY. Russian state firm signs $9.1bn loan deal to fund nuclear plant in Turkey. Turkey, Russia reach deal resolving nuclear plant dispute.

Barngarla people say NO to a nuclear waste dump

NITV – The Point, September 18, 2022)

Aw gee shucks – Australia can be IMPORTANT if we lead USA’s attacks with our AUKUS submarines !

Marles said nuclear subs would make “the rest of the world take us seriously”,

Final design and cost of Australia’s nuclear submarines to be known in early 2023, Defence minister Richard Marles links the cutting-edge technology to Australia’s economic and trade success

Guardian, Josh Butler, Thu 15 Sep 2022 The defence minister, Richard Marles, says Australia’s pathway to acquiring nuclear submarines is “taking shape”, flagging key decisions within months about which ship to use, how to build it and boosting the country’s defence-industrial capability.

On the first anniversary of the Aukus pact, Marles said nuclear subs would make “the rest of the world take us seriously”, linking the cutting-edge technology to Australia’s economic and trade success.

Final design and cost of Australia’s nuclear submarines to be known in early 2023

Defence minister Richard Marles links the cutting-edge technology to Australia’s economic and trade success…………………………….

On the first anniversary of the Aukus pact, Marles said nuclear subs would make “the rest of the world take us seriously”, linking the cutting-edge technology to Australia’s economic and trade success.

“The optimal pathway is taking shape. We can now begin to see it,” he said. “With Aukus there’s a really huge opportunity beyond submarines of pursuing a greater and more ambitious agenda.”……..

Marles, also the deputy prime minister, said the first steps toward acquisition of nuclear submarines were on track. In a briefing call with journalists this week, he said the current timeline had Australia slated to make initial announcements in the first part of 2023.

The government plans to give answers to five questions by that time: the final design; when it can be acquired; what capability gap that timeline will create and solutions to plug it; the cost; and how Australia’s plans comply with nuclear non-proliferation obligations.

The government is said to be choosing between building American or British ships, or some hybrid. Marles said the government was not ready to announce which type of submarines would be built but hinted Australia’s design could be “trilateral” in nature………..

In a press conference with Marles in the UK earlier this month, the British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said future submarine designs may see a combination of British, American and Australian components.

“We are on to our next design and our new one and that might well be fully shared with all three nations as a collaborative design,” he said.

The cost of the submarine program is not yet known but is expected to be in the tens of billions. Marles linked the Aukus arrangement not only to military but economic security, saying a boosted submarine fleet would protect freedom of navigation through vital shipping routes.

“We need a highly capable defence force which has the rest of the world take us seriously and enables us to do all the normal peaceful activities that are so important for our economy,” he said………

V Adm Jonathan Mead, the chair of the nuclear submarine taskforce, also spoke of protecting “sea lanes” on the call.

Mead said the navy was investigating workforce challenges, such as how to build and crew the ships – which may involve placing Australian staff in British and American nuclear schools or agencies, laboratories and shipyards

“The exchange of these personnel will be both ways and won’t just involve our submariners,” he said.

Facilities to build and maintain the submarines in Australia are part of the equation. Defence this year pinpointed Brisbane, Newcastle and Port Kembla as possible sites for an east coast nuclear base and consultation with those communities is said to be in its early stages.

Marles also spoke of building Australia’s defence-industrial capability on the back of the nuclear process…………………..“We hope Aukus can help develop a genuinely seamless defence industrial base across the US, the UK and Australia.”…………………….

A report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Aspi), released on Thursday, recommended further investment in other Aukus streams like hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence technology, to help plug a capability gap while the submarines are built………..

Such short-term investment may force government to make “difficult choices and trade-offs” in its defence strategic review, also slated for March, Aspi said. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/sep/15/final-design-and-cost-of-australias-nuclear-submarines-to-be-known-in-early-2023

China, AUKUS clash over nuclear subs

By Francois Murphy, South Coast Register, September 17 2022  China has clashed with the countries in the AUKUS alliance at a meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog over their plan to supply Australia with nuclear-powered submarines, capping a week in which Beijing has repeatedly railed against the project.

Under the alliance between Washington, London and Canberra announced last year, Australia plans to acquire at least eight nuclear submarines that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi has said will be fuelled by “very highly enriched uranium”, suggesting it could be weapons-grade or close to it.

To date no party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) other than the five countries the treaty recognises as weapons states – the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France – has nuclear submarines.

The vessels can stay underwater for longer than conventional subs and are harder to detect.

“The AUKUS partnership involves the illegal transfer of nuclear weapon materials, making it essentially an act of nuclear proliferation,” China said in a position paper sent to IAEA member states during this week’s quarterly meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors……………………

The AUKUS countries and the IAEA say the NPT allows so-called marine nuclear propulsion provided necessary arrangements are made with the IAEA.

China disagrees in this case because nuclear material will be transferred to Australia rather than being produced by it.

It argues the IAEA is overstepping its mandate and wants an unspecified “inter-governmental” process to examine the issue at the IAEA instead of leaving it to the agency.

In its seven-page position paper, China said AUKUS countries were seeking to take the IAEA “hostage” so it could “whitewash” nuclear proliferation.

Nuclear submarines are a particular challenge because when they are at sea their fuel is beyond the reach of the agency’s inspectors who are supposed to keep track of all nuclear material.

IAEA chief Grossi has said he is satisfied with the AUKUS countries’ transparency so far……………………

https://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/7906718/china-aukus-clash-over-nuclear-subs/?cs=202—

The Defence Strategic Review – Australia is becoming a proxy or is it a patsy for the US in a possible conflict with China

Pearls and Irritations By John Menadue, Sep 16, 2022

The Defence Strategic Review must warn Minister Marles about the dangerous path he is committing Australia to. We are becoming a spear carrier for the US.

• Fearing its world hegemony is under challenge the US is goading China at every opportunity. Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was but the most recent example of this goading.
• The threat we face from China is if we continue to act in our region as a proxy for the US. Other regional countries are not doing so.
• The ‘China’ threat is a rerun of the shameful and earlier ‘yellow peril’. China is not a military threat to Australia.
• The US is the most violent and aggressive country in the world, almost always at war. Its  military empire includes 800 foreign military bases.
• 
  We need a strong US presence in our region but not the provocative and dangerous behaviour we see time and time again.
• We are attaching ourselves uncritically to a declining  but dangerous hegemon.
• Our ‘Washington Club’ has been on an American drip feed for a long time.It has a ‘colonial’ mind set.It accepts without serious thought the US view of the world.
• Northern Australia is becoming a US military colony.These points are developed further below.

Northern Australia is becoming a US military colony

In some political difficulty in 2011 Julia Gillard was anxious for President Obama to visit Australia and address the Parliament. Kim Beazley, our Ambassador in Washington was very keen to help. As part of the deal to lock in the Obama visit Gillard agreed to the rotation of Marines through Darwin with US hopes for more future basing in Perth and Cocos-Keeling.

This was the real door opening for the Americans.

The colonisation has continued apace since then with more and more Marines rotating through Darwin and USAF operations in Northern Australia.

But putting the foot on the accelerator of US military colonisation really came in September 2021.

On 16 September 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin hosted Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Marise Payne and Minister for Defence Peter Dutton in Washington D.C. for the 31st Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN 2021). The Secretaries and Ministers endorsed the following areas of force posture cooperation:

Enhanced air cooperation through the rotational deployment of U.S. aircraft of all types in Australia and appropriate aircraft training and exercises.

Enhanced maritime cooperation by increasing logistics and sustainment capabilities of U.S. surface and subsurface vessels in Australia.

Enhanced land cooperation by conducting more complex and more integrated exercises and greater combined engagement with Allies and Partners in the region.

Establish a combined logistics, sustainment, and maintenance enterprise to support high end warfighting and combined military operations in the region.

See the Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) joint statement.

We have committed ourselves to ‘high end warfighting and combined military operations and unfettered access for US forces and platforms’ in northern and western Australia.

Only yesterday the AFR highlighted the US focus on western and northern Australia. ‘Former foreign policy adviser to president George W. Bush and new United States Studies Centre chief executive Michael Green predicts the US will become more dependent on Australia for its military operations and intelligence. A shift in foreign policy focus from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific meant that areas of western and northern Australia would be ‘‘critical’’ for the US and its allies. ‘‘We need access: we need purchase on the Indian Ocean and, so geographically, in technology, in terms of military operations and intelligence, the US is going to be more dependent on Australia,’’ Mr Green said. ‘‘There’s no two ways around it.’’

We have not seriously debated or considered the enormous and very risky consequences of all of this. Our sovereignty and integrity as a nation is on the line and at the whim of the US, a country that does not really know which path it is on, crypto-fascism, civil war or anarchy.

In AUKUS, at enormous cost and with great delay we are planning to fuse our future nuclear powered submarines with the US Navy to operate in the South China Sea against China.

Minister Marles has told us that we are not only working ‘inter-operatively’ with the US military in numerous ways but we are now committed to ‘inter-changeabilty’ with US forces. We are locking ourselves even more to a ‘dangerous ally’. Minister Marles seems unconcerned about the dangerous path we are on.Even worse he seems careless about surrendering our national sovereignty. He should be watched very carefully.

The US is the most violent country in the world and almost always at war

There is an enormous and powerful US constituency committed to continual war. We joined those wars in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. All were disastrous. Now the US is continually goading and provoking China and wants us to join it. And we are obliging…………….

In this blog, Is war in the American DNA?, I have drawn attention repeatedly to the risks we run in being “joined at the hip” to a country that is almost always at war. The facts are clear…………………..

Despite all the evidence of wars and meddling, the American Imperium continues without serious check or query in America or Australia………………………………………………………………

Australia is trapped within the American Imperium

This complex co-opts institutions and individuals around the globe. It has enormous influence. No US president, nor for that matter any Australian prime minister, would likely challenge it. Morrison and Albanese have the same view on the US imperium.

Australia has locked itself into this complex. Our military and defence leaders are heavily dependent on the US Departments of Defence and State, the CIA and the FBI for advice. We act as their branch offices.

…………………………………… AUKUS has locked us in even more. In AUKUS we are effectively fusing our Navy with that of the US so that we can operate together in the South China Sea and threaten China. We are surrendering more and more of our strategic autonomy by encouraging the US to use Northern Australia as a forward base against China as if the US does not have enough giant military bases ringing China in Japan, ROK and Guam.

A ’rules-based international order’; but not for America

The third reason for the continuing dominance of the American Imperium is the way the US expects others to abide by a “rules-based international order”………………………….

Derivative media compounds Australia’s lack of autonomy

A major voice in articulating American extremism and the American Imperium is Fox News and Rupert Murdoch who exert their influence not just in America but also in the UK and Australia. ………………………. But it is not just the destructive role of News Corp in the US, UK and Australia. Our media, including the ABC are so derivative. It is so pervasive and extensive, we don’t recognise it for its very nature. We really do have a ‘white man’s media’. We see it most obviously today in the way legacy media spew out an endless daily conveyor belt of anti-China stories…………………………………..

Read more in our Defence Strategic Review series of articles.  https://johnmenadue.com/the-defence-strategic-review-we-are-ceding-our-sovereignty-to-the-us/

South AustralianPremier backs traditional owners in saying no to nuclear waste facility

Above” Barngarla traditional owner, Linda Dare with the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Kyam Maher, Premier Peter Malinauskas, and Barngarla traditional owner, Daw Taylor. Picture: Jason Bilney, Chairman of Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation

Extracts Adelaide Now, 15 Sept 2022, Premier Peter Malinauskas has thrown his support behind traditional owners trying to stop a nuclear waste facility being built on Native Title land near Kimba on the Eyre Peninsula. On Thursday, during the state government’s country cabinet tour, the Premier said he supported the Barngarla people who have been fighting to stop the proposed project…

Mr Malinauskas said though his government did not have the power to stop the project, he did support the Barngarla people and their cause, and would use his position to influence the Labor federal government.

“Ultimately, the nuclear waste facility is a matter for the federal government,” he said.

“However, the state government’s position is that the local Indigenous community should have the opportunity to have a veto on this proposal. “While the state government doesn’t necessarily have the legislative ability to act, the government does have the ability at a political level to raise concerns where relevant.” …

Chairman for BDAC, Jason Bilney, said it was good to see Mr Malinauskas backing the Barngarla people and hoped the federal government would do the same. …

It’s about the Statement from the Heart, truth-telling, and having a voice for First Nations people to be heard.

“It’s our country, we’ve been here for over 60,000 years and it’s about having us at the table and listening to First Nations voices, especially when we don’t want a nuclear waste dump on our country.”   https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/…/d4f25d032c394c9d77257d…