Thursday, 31 August, 2006

The Age

HOSTILITY has erupted again within the Labor Party following confirmation that Australia will have a fourth uranium mine up and running by 2008.

Labor environment spokesman Anthony Albanese yesterday contradicted Opposition Leader Kim Beazley's arguments that the Honeymoon project in South Australia should be approved because it was covered by Labor's existing uranium policy.

"Under existing party platforms this mine will go ahead," Mr Beazley told reporters in Adelaide.

But Mr Albanese said that whether the proposed mine was acceptable under ALP policy was debatable. He said Labor should spend more time worrying about the 308 manufacturing jobs lost every week in the past two years rather than trying to convince party members to welcome a mine that would create, at best, 50 jobs.