nuclear-news

Wikileaks catches Australian Minister out in deception on uranium sales to India

Mr Ferguson declined to comment on the contents of a leaked diplomatic cable, revealed in The Age yesterday, suggesting Australia was planning to sell yellowcake to India

No to Indian uranium sales, The Age, Katharine MurphyFebruary 11, 2011 AUSTRALIA will not sell uranium to India until it signs a nuclear non-proliferation treaty and completes a safeguards agreement, Resources Minister Martin Ferguson says.

Mr Ferguson declined to comment on the contents of a leaked diplomatic cable, revealed in The Age yesterday, suggesting Australia was planning to sell yellowcake to India within the next three to five years in contrast to the official stance, which is to ban sales until India signs the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

”We will only supply uranium to countries that are signatories to the NPT and have signed a bilateral agreement with Australia,” said Mr Ferguson, who is a strong supporter of expanding uranium mining and exports.

In the last year of the Howard government, preliminary steps were taken to export uranium to India despite the fact it was outside the nuclear treaty. While some in the then newly elected Rudd government also privately supported the idea of selling uranium to India, Labor shut down the Howard process while it took steps to reform the international nuclear regime.

No to Indian uranium sales

February 11, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, Uranium, Wikileaks