Tuesday, 25 July, 2006

ABC News Online

Greenpeace says Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has stepped onto a "slippery slope" with his proposed policy shift on uranium.

Mr Beazley says it is time to dump Labor's three mines policy, which was first implemented by the party two decades ago.

He wants Labor to allow new mines under tough terms and conditions.

He will take the idea to the party's national conference next year.

But although Mr Beazley says he will not support uranium enrichment or nuclear power, Greenpeace campaign manager Danny Kennedy says that is where he is ultimately heading.

"Nuclear power is not a solution to climate change - it's not a good business to be in and certainly you can't divorce nuclear power from the nuclear weapons industry," Mr Kennedy said.

"The fact that the reason we have the threat of nuclear war on Earth is because of the nuclear industry itself."
Economic rationale

The Australian Minerals Council (AMC) says South Australia could benefit economically from the shift in policy.

AMC spokesman Mitch Hook says the move could build confidence in the industry, allowing it to explore and seek new mines.

"There is considerable social and economic benefits to be had from exploiting Australia's natural endowment of uranium," he said.

"If that can be done in such a way that the benefits of converting natural endowment to societal capital are optimised, then why would we continue to deny ourselves economic advantage when the rest of the world is galloping ahead?"

But anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Helen Caldicott says the economy is not a worthwhile reason to mine more uranium.

"We're like heroin pushers - we say look the guy down the street is selling heroin, I've got to get in and sell mine first," she said.

"You don't do immoral things to make money."

Dr Caldicott says Mr Beazley's assurances on the safety of future mines are meaningless.

"In the past 30 to 50 per cent of men who've mined uranium have developed lung cancer," she said.

"Our uranium miners have never been followed-up ever epidemiologically by our Government so he doesn't really know what the dangers are."
In other developments:

* Federal Northern Territory Labor Senator Trish Crossin says she will be part of a large group of Labor members who will fight Kim Beazley's plans to change the party's position on uranium mining.
* The Western Australia Opposition is urging the Premier, Alan Carpenter, to reassess his anti-uranium stance.
* The South Australian Greens say Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley's plans to dump Labor's no new mines policy is a foolish and ill-conceived move.
* Queensland Premier Peter Beattie says he is yet to be convinced of the benefits of allowing more uranium mines.