Tuesday, 25 July, 2006

by Dennis Shanahan
The Australian

KIM Beazley has withdrawn his support for Labor's long-standing ban on new uranium mines in Australia, staking his leadership on a policy of more mining and exports.

As part of his efforts to appear decisive, the Labor leader has set out an alternative to John Howard's plans for Australia to become "an energy superpower".

The Opposition Leader said last night his change of position was aimed at lifting prosperity but he remained totally opposed to nuclear power in Australia because it was "not in our national interest."

In the Sydney Institute speech, Mr Beazley also said he did not believe uranium enrichment would happen in Australia for years - and not if he became prime minister.

His declaration brings forward the debate on one of Labor's most divisive issues, which threatens to split the ALP conference in April next year, only months before an election.

"I believe the real issue is what we do with the uranium we mine - not how many places we mine it," Mr Beazley said.

"I will seek a change to my party's platform to replace the 'no new mines' policy with a new approach based on the strongest safeguards in the world.

"Banning new uranium mines would not limit the export of Australian uranium to the world - it would simply favour incumbent producers."

Mr Beazley's public position was immediately opposed by his frontbench environment spokesman and left-wing factional leader, Anthony Albanese.

"I will be opposing this all the way to the national conference next year for all the reasons I have opposed it all along," Mr Albanese told The Australian last night. "I was consulted on this decision, I counselled against it and said I thought it was wrong."

Mr Beazley said Labor's new policy should focus on export controls rather than the mines themselves, because Australia was already the world's second biggest supplier of mined uranium and the expansion of South Australia's Olympic Dam mine would make us the biggest.

He is proposing three tests for countries wanting to buy Australian uranium: accept the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; accept the world's strictest safeguards on the peaceful use of uranium; and join Australia's new diplomatic initiative against nuclear proliferation.

Environment Minister Ian Campbell said Mr Beazley had taken 20 years to do a backflip on uranium mining and it highlighted Labor confusion over a comprehensive energy and environment plan.

Industry and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane said Mr Beazley could not wait months before setting out the policy, but had to do it now.

"If this is Mr Beazley's position, then we need to see the policy now and the West Australian and Queensland Labor Governments can act on it," Mr Macfarlane said.

But Labor's resources spokesman Martin Ferguson, another left-winger, supports the Beazley decision.

Australian Workers Union leader and Labor candidate Bill Shorten said yesterday Mr Beazley's change of position showed the party was serious about winning the next election.

Mr Shorten said Mr Beazley's intervention was significant and the policy would be changed at the ALP conference in next year.

"The policy of no new mines was a 'half-pregnant' policy and people got around it in South Australia by linking any number of mines with a road and calling it one mine," Mr Shorten said.

"Kim's calling a spade a spade. The no new mines policy was an economic ball-and-chain around Labor's leg and doing away with it makes economic sense.

Acting South Australian Premier Kevin Foley said the decision was sensible and "will give great confidence to the mining industry in South Australia."

Mr Foley said: "We're on the verge of a mining boom, this is a great leadership decision by Kim Beazley supporting that shown by Mike Rann."

Mr Beazley said his fight for a new policy was part of his leadership years "of decision".

"I'm not leading a debate in the Labor Party about uranium mining and export safeguards because it's easy. I believe it's right. Right for Australia's future," he said.

The tougher safeguards are aimed at making it more difficult for foreign companies to own Australian uranium mines, strengthening controls on how the uranium is used, boosting safety guarantees on nuclear power stations and developing an international campaign on nuclear non-proliferation.

"The new policy will be based on the strength of safeguards, not on the number of mines. "Exporting uranium will help to build our future prosperity - and pay off John Howard's foreign debt," Mr Beazley said.

"These controls should be part of the bilateral agreements our Government signs before other countries can import oururanium."

Mr Beazley said Labor's position on nuclear power in Australia was crystal clear. "Nuclear power is not appropriate for our country. I rule out nuclear power in Australia. It is not in our national interest."

He said the Prime Minister's "nuclear debate" was actually a plan to bring nuclear power into Australia if the Coalition won the next election.

Uranium enrichment had no case in Australia "for many years into the future", Mr Beazley said.

"It will not happen while I'm prime minister," he said.