AWU pushes to end ban on uranium mining in Queensland

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Gene Tunny

A fierce debate will no doubt follow calls from Australian Workers Union (AWU) heavyweights Bill Ludwig and Paul Howes to end the ban on uranium mining in Queensland:

“ There is an abundance of uranium in Queensland which is currently not exploited,” Mr Ludwig said.

“ This is at the cost of our national income and good jobs.”

AWU National Secretary, Paul Howes, said the AWU wants to see further development in Australia of sustainable energy which will fuel our economic growth while limiting carbon emissions in the face of climate change.

The job-generating potential of uranium mining isn’t a strong argument, however, given the massive amount of mining industry investment scheduled for the next few years, and the large number of mining industry jobs (particularly in iron ore, coal and coal seam gas) coming out of it. That is, there will be plenty of mining industry jobs around, so there is no justification for ending the ban on uranium mining as a job creation measure.

The argument that nuclear energy is good because it would lead to lower greenhouse gas emissions is a better one, and certainly nuclear energy ought to be investigated as one means of reducing emissions.

That said, it’s worth having a debate about nuclear energy and uranium mining only so long as we give serious consideration to the occupational health risks of uranium mining, the risk of nuclear reactors melting down, and the risk of nuclear material getting into the wrong hands.

Expert opinion may be that the risks are very low, but there’s something about uranium – probably its potential to end human civilisation – which makes one very wary of the stuff. If you’re not at all worried about uranium, you may not know enough about it, and you ought to read this book:

Uranium: War, Energy and the Rock That Shaped the World

Posted in Energy, Mining | 1 Comment

Council could save $22 million by allowing Milton Tennis Centre site development

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman today announced that he wouldn’t repair the river walk without federal funds and that the Council will delay a number of road projects and scrap some non-essential council projects (e.g. $4.8m for Vibrant Laneways) to pay for flood repairs:

Roads, riverwalk delayed to pay for flood

The Council, however, appears to have overlooked an easy saving of $22 million it could make by giving up plans to resume the old Milton Tennis Centre site, and by letting developers build a 20-storey apartment tower on the site (see Old Milton tennis centre to become parkland).

I don’t know where the resumption process is up to, but surely the Council could come to some arrangement with the developer to stop the process or to sell the land back to the developer, if required. The site is ideal for residential development, being so close to the city and to both train and bus services.

Posted in Floods, Population | Leave a comment

Global milk price rises may surprise Australian consumers

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Australian consumers, who can now buy unbranded milk at $1 per litre at Coles and Woolies, may be surprised by news that milk prices are rising across the world, as reported in Businessweek:

Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) — High milk prices are “the new normal” and increased global commodity demand, led by emerging markets, is set to boost them further, according to Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd., the world’s largest dairy exporter.

Whole-milk powder prices will likely remain at least 50 percent above their historical averages in the longer term, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Ferrier said in an interview today from Auckland.

Ferrier’s forecast adds to signs of quickening global food inflation as rising incomes in emerging markets such as China spur greater consumption of dairy and meat products.

Clearly the tactics of Coles and Woolies are unsustainable over the long-term.

Posted in Agriculture, Retail trade | Leave a comment

Share market is pro-democracy

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin argued the highest stage of capitalism is imperialism, so, in his view, capitalism is inherently un-democratic. It was pleasing to see Australia’s share market prove Lenin wrong today, responding positively to the ousting of the Egyptian dictator Mubarak (as noted by IG Markets’s Cameron Peacock):

The local share market has closed at a 10-month high after mass protests in Egypt ended at the weekend and boosted sentiment on global markets.

The All Ordinaries index jumped 53 points to 5,023, while the ASX 200 index added 55 points to 4,936 as investors took on more risk.

IG Markets analyst Cameron Peacock says it is amazing what positive sentiment can do for the market.

“Oust a dictator and you have your catalyst. Even though the Egyptian situation was never really going to derail the positive sentiment surrounding the global recovery, it’s one less thing for the bears and naysayers to point to,” he said.

Sourced from the ABC News report: Optimism lifts market to 10-month high

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Cairns, a tropical Bohemia?

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Cairns is proving attractive to bohemians. The Cairns Post reports in State of The Art:

Where do tired, city-dwelling rock stars head to when in need of dramatic scenery and to revive their spirits? Cairns, of course.

How’s this for a true bohemian philosophy from rocker Azaria Byrne regarding a dislocated thumb he experienced during the filming of a video clip:

“My outlook is that art is life and life is art and doing silly things is about living your life to the full. You get in crazy situations and injuring myself near a waterfall in the wilderness is just one of those situations that tell the story of my life.

Of course, this is only one story, so it may be too early to label Cairns as a tropical Bohemia. Nonetheless, promoting Cairns as such may be a winning strategy for the Cairns Regional Council. It’s well known that attracting the bohemians is great for economic growth:

Bohemia and economic geography

They’ll certainly find cheap accommodation in Cairns:

Buy a home in Cairns for less than $70,000

Much better than a cold garret.

Posted in Cairns | Leave a comment

Constitutional crisis? Ever read section 53?

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The News Ltd papers are reporting the bizarre assertion that Australia may be facing a constitutional crisis (see the bullet point at the top of this story, Julia Gillard cops historic blow with ‘$317m act of irresponsibility’):

LABOR has suffered a humiliating blow after the Opposition passed a controversial Bill on welfare for regional students through the Senate.

The Gillard government will call on the Governor-General to strike out the Coalition attempt to impose a $317 million hit on the budget bottom line.

In a surprise Senate defeat today, the opposition banded together with independent senators to pass a bill to improve country students’ access to youth allowance.

The government has declared the bill unconstitutional, saying only it can make budget appropriations from the Senate.

Also see:

Government accused of using G-G as human shield in constitutional row

The media is presenting this as a legitimate difference in views on the constitutionality of the bill, as if there is a debate. There isn’t, as the Government is absolutely correct the bill is unconstitutional. From the parliamentary website:

The powers of the two Houses to initiate and amend bills are identical except in relation to bills that impose taxation or appropriate money. Section 53 of the Constitution provides that such bills may originate only in the House of Representatives.

Case closed. The bill will fail.

Posted in Budget | Leave a comment

River Walk rebuild looking less likely now

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Gene Tunny

PM Julia Gillard appears reluctant to provide Brisbane City Council with the cash to fix up the River Walk and to fully repair the City Cat network. The Courier-Mail reports:

Council big enough to pay for flood recovery bill, Julia Gillard says

Given the $75 million repair bill and high ongoing maintenance costs for the River Walk, not to mention the possibility it will get washed away again in a future flood, the PM may be doing Brisbane ratepayers a big favour.

Posted in Brisbane, Floods | Leave a comment

Ipswich MP slams flood response

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Gene Tunny

While the consensus across Queensland is that our authorities handled the floods exceptionally well, Ipswich federal MP Shayne Neumann offers a hard-hitting, dissenting view – i.e. Ipswich was ignored in the flood. The Queensland Times reports:

EVERY level of government failed the people of Ipswich in the wake of January’s epic flood, irate Labor MP Shayne Neumann says.

The Federal Member for Blair told Federal Parliament on Tuesday night that Ipswich City Council, State Government and his own government performed poorly in response to the flood, and that it was a disgrace that people were left to fend for themselves.

Mr Neumann said civilisation was almost at the point of breaking down in the days following January 12, when the Bremer River peaked at 19.5 metres.

“We teetered on the brink of lawlessness in some of these communities,” he told Parliament during condolence motions for the flood victims on Tuesday.

“There were many failures and I’m thoroughly and utterly furious and angry at the lack of communication, co-ordination and consultation.

“The people in my electorate were let down, and I have to say, at every level of government.

On Mr Neumann’s specific concerns:

Mr Neumann told The Queensland Times he had spoken to the Mayor [of Ipswich Paul Pisasale] aabout his concerns, such as the lack of a doctor at the Ipswich Showgrounds on the morning of the flood peak.

“I got there and they asked me to go get syringes and medication,” Mr Neumann said.

“The council tried to close down the Riverview Evacuation Centre, which was housing 90 people at the time, which was a ridiculous idea. The Mayor knows how angry I am about the stuff-ups in managing the flood.”

These are certainly issues the Government’s flood inquiry should explore. Mr Neumann deserves respect for his courage in challenging the consensus on the flood response.

Posted in Floods, Ipswich | Leave a comment

Flood clean up & repair bill around $1,100 per Brisbane household

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Gene Tunny

The Courier-Mail reports Brisbane flood cost City Council $440 mil.

The Brisbane City Council area has a population of around 1.05 million people living in around 400,000 households, meaning the City Council’s clean up and repair costs add up to around $420 per resident or $1,100 per household.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman is hoping the Commonwealth & State Governments and insurance companies pick up a large part of the bill, so the Council only has to pay between $20-50 million – i.e. $50 to $125 per household.

Mr Newman is looking for budgetary savings. Scrapping the river walk, which would cost $75 million to replace, is a no brainer, given it’s a luxury and has very high maintenance costs. Also Council could indefinitely delay the rebuilding of City Cat terminals in areas well-serviced by buses or trains, particularly Toowong.

Posted in Brisbane, Floods | Leave a comment

Falling CBD vacancy rates inspire confidence

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Gene Tunny

Brisbane Business News reports that Brisbane records biggest take-up in CBD commercial space:

BRISBANE has emerged as the star performer as demand for Australian office space recovers with vacancy rates expected to continue a downward trend in 2011.

The state capital recorded the largest fall in vacancy in the CBD markets over a six-month period from 10.9 per cent to 9.4 per cent, according to the latest office vacancy data from the Property Council of Australia (PCA).

National office vacancy rate has dropped from 10 per cent in July 2010 to 9.5 per cent in January 2011.

David Prosser, CB Richard Ellis state director of office services, attributes an influx of mining companies in Brisbane to the shift.

This confirms that the fundamentals of Queensland’s economy are strong, and we should expect Queensland’s resources sector and broader economy to grow strongly in future years. This will likely restore our attractiveness to interstate migrants, and is thus another reason to doubt the Courier-Mail’s big call on the population boom hitting the wall.

Posted in Migration, Population | Leave a comment