THE Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has set the scene for a brawl at the ALP national conference by calling on the party to reverse its policy and allow uranium exports to India.

Calling for a policy change that is likely to be adopted, Ms Gillard says it is time for Labor to broaden its platform and ''strengthen our connection with dynamic, democratic India''.

 

Labor has long resisted selling uranium to India, which has nuclear weapons and nuclear power, because it refuses to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, a prerequisite Labor policy puts on uranium sales.

The opposition has been demanding for years that the government change policy so Australia can tap into the lucrative and growing Indian market and the Indians have also been applying pressure.

In a column in the Herald today, Ms Gillard says uranium sent to India would have to be accompanied by guarantees it not be used for weapons.

''We must, of course, expect of India the same standards we do of all countries for uranium export - strict adherence to International Atomic Energy Agency arrangements and strong bilateral and transparency measures which will provide assurances our uranium will be used only for peaceful purposes.'' 

Her call is likely to meet fierce resistance from the Left at the conference next month and Ms Gillard says there should be an argument. ''I'm looking forward to some noise being made,'' she said.

The policy change would signal another shift in Labor's uranium policy. In 2007, it ditched its no new mines policy.

Ms Gillard will try today to placate the Left by also supporting a change in policy to allow a conscience vote on gay marriage. The Left wants full legalisation of gay marriage.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Kevin Rudd, was in India yesterday and is understood to have conveyed Ms Gillard's position on uranium to the Indian government. She says it does not make sense to sell uranium to China, Japan and the US but not India.

She badges the policy about-face as an economic and environmental measure. Australia is the world's third largest uranium exporter. It contributes a relatively small $750 million to the economy but creates 4200 jobs. Ms Gillard will argue that nuclear

power is a cleaner source of energy for the rapidly developing India.

''[We] must be prepared to confront difficult questions about maximising prosperity and the strength of our relationships in our region of the world''.

At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, where Indian officials and businessmen were lobbying behind the scenes, Mr Rudd said India did not need Australian uranium. ''There is no problem in terms of global supply. Let's just be very, very blunt about this,'' he said.

''If you hear an argument from an Indian business person that the future of the nuclear industry in India depends exclusively on access to uranium, that is simply not sustainable as a proposition. Have a look at the data.''

But sources close to Mr Rudd say he has privately supported the policy change for some time.

The Premier, Barry O'Farrell, now in Mumbai leading a 30-strong business delegation and unaware of Ms Gillard's call, lashed out at the Commonwealth's ban on uranium sales to India, describing it as "stupid".

"I believe that when the new government is elected in Australia, the ban will be lifted, though I want the existing government to make the change," Mr O'Farrell told India's newspaper Business Standard.