Friday, 20 July, 2007

by George Lekakis
The Herald Sun

EXCLUSIVE: AUSTRALIA is on the brink of joining the world's most influential and exclusive nuclear club, a move that would pave the way for uranium enrichment here.

Australia and Canada -- the world's largest uranium producers -- will be invited to the next meeting of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership in Vienna in September.

The move could also see Australia house nuclear waste.

Under GNEP proposals, companies and countries that supply enriched uranium to nuclear power stations around the world would have to take back and dispose of the spent fuel.

The GNEP -- grouping the United States, Russia, China, Japan and France -- is developing a worldwide regulatory regime to manage nuclear power growth and curb the number of countries capable of processing uranium.

Membership could hand Australia a chance to enrich locally mined uranium for its own power generation or export.

Under the regulatory system, uranium enrichment and processing would be restricted to a handful of countries.

The partnership was established in May by US President George W. Bush to support the roll-out of nuclear power under an international system that aims to stem the spread of nuclear weapons.

Prime Minister John Howard talked to Mr Bush about the GNEP last year and speculation has grown that Australia is about to join it.

A spokesman for Mr Howard declined to comment on details of Australian participation, but confirmed that talks with the US about membership were continuing.

"Australia has an ongoing dialogue with the US regarding the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership," the spokesman said.
Mr Howard has long advocated nuclear power which he believes should be adopted to cut carbon emissions

When he gave details of the Government's carbon trading scheme on Tuesday, Mr Howard said Australia could become an energy superpower.

The push for Australia to embrace nuclear power has gathered momentum since the Government appointed Dr Ziggy Switkowski in June last year to review Australia's energy options.

Since then several leading business figures and companies have signalled intent to invest in nuclear generation, uranium processing and waste storage.

Local business leaders Ron Walker, Hugh Morgan and Robert Champion de Crespigny have formed Australian Nuclear Energy to invest in prospective power generation and waste storage projects.

A Melbourne-based company, Australian Nuclear Fuel Leasing, was established in December last year to provide nuclear fuel management services to companies that enrich uranium around the world.

The GNEP aims to promote the adoption of nuclear power in developing and developed countries while also ensuring that authoritarian states do not acquire weapons capabilities.

Joining the GNEP could see Australia pursuing activities such as uranium enrichment.

Experts have told the Australian Government that the economics of enrichment do not stack up unless Australia embraces nuclear power generation.

A high-level Government source told the Herald Sun it was likely that Australia would participate in the September meeting of the GNEP.

The GNEP meeting will be held after the annual conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency.