UK prepares for risks of a BP collapse
UK prepares for risks of a BP collapse
- From: The Times
- July 06, 2010
A BP worker washes booms that have been collecting oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Picture: AP Source: AP
THE British government is drawing up contingency plans for a possible collapse of BP, The Times has learnt.
News of the preparations come amid mounting fears that the oil giant could be broken up or taken over in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
The talks, which are being led by officials at the Department for Business and the Treasury, reflect growing concern within Whitehall about the implications that a corporate failure of BP, formerly Britain’s biggest company, would have on UK interests domestically and around the world.
BP, whose value has more than halved since the accident on April 20, has liabilities of up to $US70 billion ($83.4bn), according to estimates by Goldman Sachs.
Gillard and Abbott locked in race to bottom-Greens
Gillard and Abbott locked in race to the bottom – Greens
The Australian Greens warn both major parties are participating in a
race to the bottom on asylum seekers, with the Greens the sole voice of
compassion and fairness following announcements from Prime Minister
Gillard and Opposition Leader Abbott today.
“Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott may differ on some things, but on this
issue they are both backing a return to Howard’s Australia,” said the
Greens’ Immigration Spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
“If voters believe in preserving the Australian fair-go, looking after
the little guy and the need for compassion for our fellow human beings,
it is clearer than ever that they need a strong Green voice in
Parliament.”
“Julia Gillard has made it clear she wants a policy that will be harder
on refugees, more harmful to children in detention and harsher towards
the world’s most vulnerable people.”
“The Greens recognise the small number of people who arrive by boat
seeking protection deserve to have their case heard and be treated
humanely.”
Andrew Macintosh’s dissection of Tim Flannery’s latest sillyness
Worth reading Andrew Macintosh’s dissection of Tim Flannery’s latestsilliness: 12. Flannery on the CPRS: separating fact from FlanneryAssociate director of the ANU Centre for Climate Law and Policy AndrewMcintosh writes: CLIMATE CHANGE, CPRS In the Sydney Morning Herald on the weekend, Professor Tim Flanneryattacked the Liberals and the Greens for their positions on the CarbonPollution Continue Reading →
Gillard’s goal: wreck people smugglers
Gillard’s goal: wreck people smugglers
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced the government will target ports of origin as it aims to stop people smuggling and stem the flow of asylum seekers to Australia.
Ms Gillard on Tuesday called for a national debate on the asylum seeker issue, saying the community had been polarised by inflammatory language from the opposition.
She said the government’s policy goal was clear.
“It is to wreck the people smuggling trade by removing the incentive for boats to leave their ports of origin in the first place,” Ms Gillard said.
The prime minister said Labor’s policy would seek to remove the “profitability of the trade and the danger of the voyage”.
The announcement came after Opposition Leader Tony Abbott earlier in the day confirmed the coalition had ratcheted up its border protection policy.
Ms Gillard said Julian Burnside QC was right on the point it would take 20 years to fill the MCG with illegal arrivals.
But the prominent QC was wrong to label people with concerns about unauthorised arrivals ‘‘rednecks’’, she said.
‘‘Of course there are racists in every country but expressing a desire for a clear and firm policy when you are faced with a difficult problem does not make you a racist,’’ Ms Gillard said.
The debate on asylum seeker policy had been polarised by extreme emotionally charged claims and counter claims by a fundamental disrespect the prime minister said she would reject.
‘‘Even worse is the deliberate use of inflammatory politics presented as policy,’’ Ms Gillard said pointing to opposition claims they would turn boats back.
Mr Abbott’s ‘turn the boats back’ slogan was shallow and ‘‘nonsense’’, Ms Gillard said.
Gillard”s asylum stance ‘risks losing votes to Greens’
Gillard’s asylum stance ‘risks losing votes to Greens’
Updated
Ms Gillard says people should feel free to say what they believe about the issue. (Australian Customs and Border Protection)
There are mixed views from within the Labor Party on Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s call for an open debate on asylum seekers.
Ms Gillard has nominated the policy on asylum seekers and border protection as the next thing on her to-do list.
Yesterday she said people should feel free to say what they believe about the issue, but some MPs see echoes of former prime minister John Howard in her words.
Scientists find new way to map eathquakes
Scientists find new way to map earthquakes
Posted
Australian seismologists have discovered a new way to locate earthquakes and map underground fault lines.
The scientists say the discovery could help save lives and property.
Australia experiences a severe earthquake every five years and about two medium-sized earthquakes annually.
Seismologist David Robinson says Australia is one of the most active regions in the world, but the mapping of earthquakes is in its infancy.
“It’s quite common for a an earthquake of similar size to Newcastle to have an uncertainty on its location of the order of up to five kilometres,” he said.