Antinuclear

Abbott’s logic, that Australia is already selling uranium to an increasingly aggressive and expansionist country – so what’s the problem, is the starters gun in a radioactive race to the bottom. It reflects a disturbing retreat from reason and responsibility in policy and raises questions the PM needs to answer before putting pen to paper for a photo opportunity in India.

Despite assurances of ‘peaceful purposes’, this sales deal has serious nuclear security implications. Even if all goes well, and in the shadow of Fukushima that is a big assumption, it will free up India’s domestic uranium stocks for military use and do nothing to advance Indian non-proliferation or reduce the continuing tension with nuclear rival Pakistan.

The sale of uranium to India, a nuclear armed nation that is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) nor subject to full international nuclear safeguards but is engaged in an active nuclear weapons expansion program, is also in direct conflict with Australia’s obligations under the South Pacific Nuclear Weapons Free Zone Treaty.

While the new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is intent on expanding India’s civil and military nuclear ambitions, large question marks remain over the adequacy of safety and security arrangements covering India’s nuclear sector. In 2012 the Indian Auditor General released a damning report warning of a ‘Fukushima or Chernobyl-like disaster if the nuclear safety issue is not addressed’.

This frank assessment came from India’s own senior officials. Fast forward to 2014 and the issues identified by the Auditor General have not been addressed and there is no certainty they ever will be. The safety of India’s nuclear reactors remains shaky, the sectors regulation and governance deficient and the costs of errors extraordinary……..

Yes, Mr Abbott, Australia has unwisely provided uranium to Russia in the past. But instead of this becoming a justification for opening up new uranium sales in increasingly insecure and conflict-prone regions we should instead be drawing a lesson about the need to tread more carefully with our uranium supplies in the future.

Uranium is not just another mineral. It fuels nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons and it all becomes nuclear waste. As home to around a third of the worlds’ uranium supply Australia’s decisions matter and this is an important moment to comprehensively re-consider the domestic and international costs and consequences of our uranium sales.

Tony Abbott has no excuse or mandate to put the promise of small time corporate profit ahead of the reality of severe and sustained human and environmental radioactive risk. http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=16656