Beazley unfazed by uranium mines debate
Tuesday, 25 July, 2006
ABC News Online
Mr Beazley wants the existing ban on new mines to be overturned at the party's national conference in April next year.
But Labor Party environment spokesman Anthony Albanese has condemned the move, saying most members want the ban to stay.
Mr Beazley has told Southern Cross Radio there will be an argument about uranium mining but Labor MPs will conduct themselves properly.
"There won't be blood on the walls but there will be a serious argument," he said.
"My argument to the party and to the public is this: it is no longer an issue of who digs it up or whether or not it's dug up, frankly that issue was resolved in the early 1980s."
The president of the Labor Party, Warren Mundine, says Mr Beazley's policy will not split the ALP.
"I think at the end of the day whether we keep that policy or whether we change it, that's a determination for the national conference," he said.
"All I'm saying is that we need to ensure that debate is proper and it's about the points of view of the party and about the issues.
"I think that's the most important thing, and I'm not too concerned about the debate at all."
Wider issues
The federal Labor Member for Denison, Duncan Kerr, says the debate will open up concerns about nuclear issues.
"Whether we want to go further into the nuclear cycle with all the questions that are starting to hang over us, with additional concerns about countries pressing on with making nuclear weapons, with issues about what we do with waste not fully resolved," he said.
Federal Labor resources spokesman Martin Ferguson, who supports Mr Beazley's stance, says mining more uranium does not mean Australia would have to store nuclear waste.
"In terms of waste, we're not going down that track - if people want to buy Australia's uranium, it's their responsibility to store that waste, that's part and parcel of how business operates in international communities," he said.