Wednesday, 13 December, 2006

West Australian

New national Labor president John Faulkner will be on Peter Garrett ’s side when the ALP debates uranium mining at its April conference, but he does not expect to win the argument.

The powerful NSW senator was elected president in October on a platform of supporting Labor ’s decades-old three mines policy. He will begin his tenure at next year ’s national conference, when the uranium policy will be decided.

But with Kevin Rudd declaring his intention to ensure a new ALP policy supports more uranium mines, momentum is building behind the rookie Opposition Leader.

Mr Garrett, his new shadow environment minister, however, has declared his intention to argue strongly against more uranium mines.

Senator Faulkner would not comment yesterday on the looming debate except to say there would be no embarrassment to Mr Garrett or himself if their argument failed.

But he conceded Mr Rudd would be in a position of strength.

Labor ’s current national president Warren Mundine, who will be a delegate to the conference, is in favour of broadening the uranium mines policy.

"I didn ’t find it at all surprising that Kevin stated strongly his intention to have the policy changed because it is a bizarre policy," he said.

"It ’s like trying to be half pregnant. You either have a policy to mine uranium or you don ’t." Mr Mundine said Mr Garrett was not setting himself up for a fall over the issue because the Labor Party encouraged vigorous debate.

"The community expects us to express differing views and then get on with it, because that ’s how the community itself operates," he said.

"It won ’t be embarrassing at all for Peter Garrett."

But another Labor insider said Mr Garrett would have to compromise on the issue and it could be a hard pill for the one-time anti-uranium campaigner to swallow.