Saturday, 21 July, 2007

by George Lekakis
Sunday Herald Sun

OVERSEAS nuclear waste will not be dumped in Australia, the Prime Minister said yesterday.

Speaking after the Herald Sun revealed that Australia was in talks to join an exclusive nuclear group, John Howard reiterated his determination to develop domestic nuclear industries.

But he ruled out support for a dump to store other nations' nuclear waste.

"We've made that clear: we're not taking other people's waste," he said.

He repeated that nuclear energy was the cleanest way of tackling global warming.

"I keep hearing from people in the Labor Party and elsewhere that we want cleaner alternatives to this dirty commodity, coal," he said

"Well, the cleanest alternative of all, which is capable of generating enough power to run our nation, is nuclear."

The Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, comprising the US, China, Russia, Japan and France, was set up this year to control the rollout of nuclear energy projects worldwide while preventing nuclear weapons proliferation.

Australia has been agitating to join so it can help shape rules for exporters of enriched uranium. Joining may allow it to set up nuclear and uranium enrichment plants.

Under a nuclear fuel leasing proposal, exporters of enriched uranium will be responsible for managing spent rods from power stations.

This has prompted speculation Australia may eventually have to have a nuclear waste dump.

The Australian Conservation Foundation warned that joining the GNEP would be "a regressive step".

"It would increase pressure on Australia to enrich uranium and take on the storage of unclean waste," said David Sweeney.

"These are major public policy issues but they are happening in backroom deals between Canberra and Washington."

He rejected government assertions that nuclear power was a clean and efficient way to reduce greenhouse emissions.

"It's absurd to say it is clean. Nuclear power is high-cost and high-risk," he said.

BHP Billiton, the nation's largest uranium producer, has argued that the economic case for local enrichment "did not look positive".

"BHP Billiton has no intention of entering this market," it has said.