Nagasaki remembrance
Thursday, 9 August, 2007
No Waste Alliance
Mr Justin Tutty, a spokesperson for the No Waste Alliance, says this year’s anniversary is particularly relevant.
“Over the past year, we’ve seen a weakening of Australia’s uranium export controls. For the first time ever, Australia has allowed trade in nuclear materials and technologies with China. Now our leaders appear ready to further erode our commitment to nuclear disarmament, in order to open up markets in India.”
Mr Tutty says the global threat of atomic weapons is just as real now as it was 60 years ago.
“The nuclear industry would have us believe that the global nuclear weapons threat ended with the cold war. But there are still over 27000 nuclear weapons illegally deployed around the globe. This century’s arms race is happening on the India / Pakistan border.”
Last month, Foreign Affairs Minister, Alexander Downer, and the Industry Minister, Ian Macfarlane, gave their support for plans for Australia to enter into a nuclear energy agreement with the U.S.A., that could pave the way to joining president Bush’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership.
“Australians are right to be concerned that signing up to this agreement would put pressure on Australia to accept all the waste that is inevitably produced from all uranium we export.”
“But we should also note that signing on to the Bush plan would further erode our capacity to exert control over where Australian uranium ends up.”