Antinuclear

Australia has four options on nuclear disarmament and uranium sales

Promises and U-turns of the nuclear kind, The Drum, Jim Green, 19 Nov 11“…..What steps could Australia take to extricate us from the current mess – the South Asian nuclear arms race, and the broader problem of nuclear proliferation?

Option #1 is to leave uranium in the ground. It’s not as radical an idea as it might sound. Uranium accounts for a paltry 0.3 per cent of national export revenue and 0.03 per cent of Australian jobs. Few would notice if the industry vanished and still fewer would miss it.

Option #2 is to apply current government policy – restricting supply to countries that have signed the NPT. A variation of that option would be to restrict supply to NPT signatories that are serious about their non-proliferation and disarmament obligations – that would require a rethink of supply to, for example, the US and China since they have not ratified the CTBT.

Option #3 would be to insist on meaningful concessions from India as a
condition of uranium supply.

One condition would be an immediate, verified cessation of the
production of fissile material for weapons and agreement that uranium
supply would cease immediately if India resumed the production of
fissile material for weapons.

A second, important condition would be for India to sign and ratify
the CTBT along with a bilateral treaty provision making it clear that
uranium supply would cease if India resumed weapons testing. (By way
of stark contrast, the US-India agreement contains mind-boggling
clauses about the steps to be taken to ensure ongoing nuclear trade
even if India does resume weapons testing.)

A third condition would be an end to India’s development and testing
of nuclear-capable missiles. Julia Gillard didn’t forewarn Kevin Rudd
about her announcement on Wednesday but it’s likely that India was
forewarned – and duly celebrated by testing an intermediate-range
missile.

Option #4 is to sell uranium to India with no meaningful conditions
whatsoever. That is the path that Gillard and Rudd are set upon. There
will be some theatre but the intention is to pursue the one and only
option that is completely irresponsible and indefensible…
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3680602.html

November 18, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics, uranium, weapons and war