Australia`s nuke panel an excuse to deny uranium to India�
Zee News
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd`s initiative of setting up nuclear disarmament commission as "half baked", Australia`s opposition party has said it was "an excuse to continue the ban on uranium sale to India".
"Rudd`s proposed nuclear commission could be used as an excuse to continue the ban on selling uranium to India for generating electricity," the opposition foreign affairs spokesman Andrew Robb said.
While the previous Howard government supported uranium exports to India, Labor banned the export because the Asian nation was not a member of the NPT and has nuclear weapons.
Allowing India to generate clean electricity was a crucial environmental issue which needed to be dealt with quickly, Robb was quoted as saying by AAP on Tuesday.
"We`re selling uranium to China and to Russia but not selling it to India for clean energy purposes, there seems to be a great inconsistency here," Robb said.
Last night, Rudd maintained his stand on uranium sale to India stating he stood firm by the decision till India signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Robb welcomed the initiative of creating nuclear disarmament process but warned he was trying to do too much.
"There seems to be an announcement a day from Rudd, he seems to be doing so much he really runs the risk, I think, of achieving very little on so many fronts," Robb was quoted on a local radio.
"Rudd`s proposals seem invariably to be half-baked. The Prime Minister should not make grant announcements before consulting extensively with other countries," he said.
"Rudd`s proposed nuclear commission could be used as an excuse to continue the ban on selling uranium to India for generating electricity," the opposition foreign affairs spokesman Andrew Robb said.
While the previous Howard government supported uranium exports to India, Labor banned the export because the Asian nation was not a member of the NPT and has nuclear weapons.
Allowing India to generate clean electricity was a crucial environmental issue which needed to be dealt with quickly, Robb was quoted as saying by AAP on Tuesday.
"We`re selling uranium to China and to Russia but not selling it to India for clean energy purposes, there seems to be a great inconsistency here," Robb said.
Last night, Rudd maintained his stand on uranium sale to India stating he stood firm by the decision till India signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Robb welcomed the initiative of creating nuclear disarmament process but warned he was trying to do too much.
"There seems to be an announcement a day from Rudd, he seems to be doing so much he really runs the risk, I think, of achieving very little on so many fronts," Robb was quoted on a local radio.
"Rudd`s proposals seem invariably to be half-baked. The Prime Minister should not make grant announcements before consulting extensively with other countries," he said.