urg::: uranium/ALP

[Jim Green]

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/programs/s1453727.htm
Last Updated 6/09/2005 10:32:42 AM
AUSTRALIA: Government supports further uranium mining

As the economies of China and India continue to grow, so will their demand
for electricity, including nuclear generated power. The mining industry in
Australia is hoping restrictions on mining its rich uranium reserves will be
dropped, to allow it to meet the burgeoning demand.

Peta Donald reports.

DONALD: Australia has forty per cent of the world's known uranium reserves
that are economic to mine. Its mining industry argues Australia is perfectly
placed to provide the uranium that will be needed for up to 40 new nuclear
power plants on the drawing board in China, and another 17 in India. The
Australian government has called a parliamentary inquiry into the strategic
importance of Australia's uranium reserves, with the mining industry the
latest to put its case. Mitchell Hook is from the Minerals Council of
Australia.

HOOK: We would certainly be very keen to supply the market, burgeoning
market as it is, uranium prices have climbed dramatically from probably
eight to ten US dollars a pound, that's how they describe it, to about
30-odd US dollars a pound now. That's largely on account of the demand in
China and India and other industralising countries and a tightening of
supply, essentially driven more by the reduction in weapons grade uranium.
So a lot of the electricity that's been generated has actually come from
weapons grade, those supplies are running out.

DONALD: How close do you believe you are to overturning the restrictions
that exist in Australia?

HOOK: I'd like to think very close but we're not. I think the reality is
that the state Labor governments consider themselves to be in conformance
with the overarching ALP policy of no new mines, or the three mines policy
as it was back in 1984 and until there is a fundamental change in that
position then I don't see the ALP, the states changing their current banning
of certain nuclear activities, which includes uranium mining.

DONALD: The three mines policy he's talking about belonged to Australia's
previous federal Labor government that only allowed three uranium mines at a
time. With Labor now long in opposition, a bigger obstacle for the miners is
a ban by two state Labor governments against uranium mining. The federal
government is hoping the parliamentary inquiry will put pressure on the
state governments to drop their bans, and the federal opposition will scrap
its policy.

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, in a recent speech, put the
latest argument that selling more uranium is the only answer to global
warming.

DOWNER: The number of reactors globally is expected to increase
significantly in the years to come and more countries, including countries
in the Asia Pacific region are likely to turn to nuclear power as part of
their national efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions and address other
concerns such as energy security. Australia will have a vital role to play
in the future of global nuclear power. As global demand for greenhouse
friendly nuclear power grows, global demand for uranium will also quite
obviously grow. And as the holder of the world's largest uranium reserves we
have a responsibility to supply clean energy to other countries.

DONALD: But it's not an argument that's convinced local environment groups,
or those concerned about uranium being used for nuclear weapons.

Professor Richard Broinowski is a former Australian ambassador to South
Korea and Vietnam.

BROINOWSKI: We could say to the Chinese please don't use our uranium for
weapons as we have, to the other weapons states we've sold uranium to and
they probably wouldn't do it, but it frees up a lot of their own uranium to
use in weapons. So the more they get the more they have a discretion to make
more weapons. Quite frankly because of the pressure of the United States and
international missile shield the Chinese are being encouraged to proliferate
the nuclear weapons to maintain the credibility of their nuclear deterrent.
So I think China has the motivation to build more weapons more rapidly, and
if Australia becomes a large customer for Chinese nuclear power plans that
will free up some other uranium that they have for nuclear weapon programs.

B/A: Former Australian Ambassador Richard Broinowski ending Peta Donald's
report. 
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