Lack of principle in Australia selling uranium to nuclear-armed India, no proper safeguards
The alternative course for Australia is to side with the large majority of the world’s countries who want to re-establish and reinforce the principle that nuclear trade should be restricted to countries that have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and take seriously their non-proliferation and disarmament commitments.
We could take a principled rather than an unprincipled approach. We could lead rather than follow.
Safeguarding uranium exports to India Online Opinion , Dr Jim Green, 1 Dec 11 A big part of the PR pitch for uranium sales to nuclear-armed India is the assertion that ‘strict’ safeguards will ‘ensure’ peaceful use of Australian uranium. Sadly, it’s just PR.
The claim sits uncomfortably with the reality that safeguards are based on occasional inspections of some nuclear plants by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The claim sits even more uncomfortably with the observations of recently-retired IAEA chief Mohamed El Baradei that the Agency’s basic rights of inspection are “fairly limited”, the safeguards system suffers from “vulnerabilities” and efforts to improve it have been “half-hearted”, and the system operates on a “shoestring budget…comparable to a local police department”. Continue reading
USA citizens have no way of knowing the cost of America’s nuclear weapons
Taxpayers Left in the Dark When it Comes to Nuclear Weapons Spending, Project on Governmnet Oversight (POGO) Dec 01, 2011, By MIA STEINLE and DANIELLE BRIAN The U.S. government has never been fully open about the cost of its nuclear weapons programs. This fact has sparked a debate over how to best calculate the financial burden nuclear weapons place on taxpayers. The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler wrote yesterday that the estimate of $700 billion over ten years put forth by the Ploughshares Fund (a nuclear policy foundation that is one of POGO’s funders) has gained a lot of traction, has been disputed by the Obama administration as being too high.
In response, Ploughshares defended its number but pointed out that “There is no official number that tells American citizens how much our government is spending on nuclear weapons. In fact, we are not even precisely sure how many nuclear weapons we have.”
But what wasn’t fully acknowledged in WaPo’s analysis is that the Obama administration’s $200 billion estimate—a rough number the Department of Defense (DoD) gave to Congress earlier this month—is far too low. Continue reading
Kevin Rudd now denies plan for India, USA, Australia defence pact
Australia government denies backing India, U.S. security pact, Dec 2, 2011 (Reuters) – Australia denied on Friday it was pushing for a joint security pact with India and the United States, a tie-up that would likely add to China’s fears that wary neighbors were trying to encircle it.
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd was quoted in an interview with the Australian Financial Review newspaper this week as backing the idea of a trilateral security pact. But a Rudd spokeswoman said he had been misinterpreted and had been responding to a question on the likely overturning soon of an Australian ban on uranium exports to India……
India’s foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement on the ministry website that New Delhi was “not aware of any such proposal”, while China’s military denounced the United States and Australia for recently upgrading military ties, warning such moves could erode trust and fan Cold War-era antagonism.
China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, with two-way trade in 2010 worth A$105 billion ($107 billion), up almost 24 percent on the previous year and driven by energy-hungry Chinese demand for Australian resources….. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/02/us-china-us-australia-idUSTRE7B10BB20111202
Toro Energy looking for funds for Wiluna uranium project, but cautious about its future
TORO Energy will consider all project funding options as it moves towards developing Western Australia’s first uranium mine.. Adelaide Now, Christopher Russell December 01, 2011
Mr Hall told the company’s annual general meeting in Adelaide yesterday Toro estimated it will cost about $280 million to build the mine at Wiluna in south-central WA…..
Toro was looking for options to fund Wiluna, which would produce about 820 tonnes a year of uranium….. “In the current climate, the most likely method will be a joint venture partner who takes part-ownership in return for both funding and offtake of uranium….
Chairman Erica Smyth said the company was proceeding very cautiously……”We’re looking at all the options to finance this.” Both Dr Smyth and Mr Hall said the industry had been dealt a severe blow by the Fukushima disaster…. http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/toro-seeks-partners-for-280m-wa-mine/story-e6frede3-1226210632139
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 