Wednesday, 15 August, 2007

Sydney Morning Herald

THE Labor Party has warned that Australian uranium could end up in nuclear weapons overseas or in a terrorist's dirty bomb as the Government moves to reach agreement for uranium sales to India.

The Government plan, discussed by cabinet's national security committee yesterday, comes despite India not being a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, declined last night to confirm that Australia would seek to supply uranium to India. His office would not comment on suggestions that the Prime Minister, John Howard, planned to discuss the plan with the Indian President, Manmohan Singh.

Mr Downer said yesterday that Australia would first have to negotiate a nuclear safeguards agreement with India, and any Indian plants using Australian uranium would have to be subject to International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring.

The Opposition spokesman on Foreign Affairs, Robert McClelland, said a Labor government would push for a review and strengthening of the non-proliferation treaty.

"We cannot avoid the fact that as the volume of uranium the world exports increases, the proliferation risk also increases," he said.