Friday, 1 December, 2006

by Steve Lewis, Chief political correspondent
The Australian

LABOR MPs have backed plans to turn Australia into a world uranium powerhouse and endorsed a national schools campaign to "dispel myths" about nuclear power.

In a move that will further inflame internal ALP tensions, a high-powered parliamentary committee including three Labor MPs has called on the states to lift their bans on uranium mining, warning that billions of dollars in potential exports are threatened.

After an exhaustive two-year study, the House of Representatives committee recommends that the Howard Government look at ways to add value to future uranium production.

Controversially, it suggests that Australia examine the viability of nuclear "leasing" - a process of providing uranium to foreign countries for energy generation then taking back the waste - despite John Howard cautioning against such a plan.

It also suggests possibly establishing nuclear enrichment plants, using licensed technology from countries such as France.

The Australian has obtained key details of the 700-page report - Australia's Uranium: Greenhouse friendly fuel for an energy hungry world - which will be released on Monday.

Chaired by Liberal MP Geoff Prosser, the industry and resources committee has outlined a bright future for Australia's uranium sector but warns that a lack of skills and intransigent state governments could stifle future growth.

It also wants a national communications strategy implemented to address community concerns about nuclear power, and allay fears about the sites of nuclear power stations.

This includes rectifying any inaccuracies or lack of balance in school and university courses - a move that will be strongly resisted by the Labor states.

The parliamentary study comes at a critical time for the Government, which is digesting the landmark report into the nation's nuclear options by former Telstra chief executive Ziggy Switkowski.

The three Labor representatives on the committee - Opposition resources spokesman Martin Ferguson, Michael Hatton and Dick Adams - have endorsed the majority report, despite Kim Beazley's strong opposition to a nuclear future.

But they will qualify this by spelling out Labor's present stance on nuclear power and opposition to an enrichment industry in Australia.

The government MPs on the committee are far more effusive. They argue that Australia has the potential to earn billions of dollars in additional revenue if it unlocks the potential of its uranium deposits - and considers ways to value-add to this production.

The committee says there is great scope for Australia to become the premier supplier of uranium, increasing national exports by billions of dollars and improving the country's terms of trade. Australia has almost 40 per cent of the world's uranium reserves but accounts for only 23per cent of global production.

The push by the committee to lift the ban on uranium mining will present a new challenge to Labor as it contemplates whether to dump Mr Beazley as its leader.

The Opposition Leader is backing a change to the ALP platform - which bans new uranium mines - at the party's national conference in April.