The Howard
government has been one of the most pro-nuclear governments in the
world. Its record on the world stage is there for all to see. In the
May 2000 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty talks, it was one of only
a very small number of nations allowing the nuclear weapons states
unlimited time to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. (Most
nations wanted a clear time limits for this disarmament process.)
In March 2001 Australia was alone in saying it "understood"
President Bush's wish to go ahead with the Ballistic Missile Defence
System (BMD/Star Wars).
At the UN Climate Change conference in The Hague, Netherlands, in
November 2000, Australia along with only Canada and Japan argued for
nuclear power to be classified as a 'Clean Development Mechanism'
under the Kyoto Protocol. And in the UN's conference on Ecologically
Sustainable Development in US recently, it was one of only a few countries
arguing once again for nuclear energy to be regarded as clean and
green. The government body ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology
Organisation) has been quietly pushing for the development of nuclear
power in Asia, preferably fuelled by Australian uranium. (e.g. ANSTO
has been giving nuclear advice to the Thai government.)
Australia's main involvement in the nuclear fuel chain is in the export
of uranium from three mines - Ranger in the Northern Territory and
Olympic Dam and Beverley in South Australia. Australia also has one
small research reactor, the ageing HIFAR facility at Lucas Heights
in Sydney, New South Wales. The government is facing strong community
and some ALP opposition to its plans to replace this reactor with
a bigger one, for which the contract has already been awarded to an
Argentinian company INVAP.
The major players in the Australian nuclear industry are the mining
giants, chief among them Rio Tinto which recently acquired (from North
Ltd) the majority shareholding in the Ranger mine and the Jabiluka
lease, Western Mining (WMC) which has the huge uranium and copper
mine at Roxby Downs, and US company General Atomics (through its subsidiary
Heathgate Resources) which recently started production at the Beverley
mine. A host of multinational companies including Canada's CAMECO
and French COGEMA and smaller local companies are out there exploring,
and buying and selling leases, waiting for an upturn in the market
or a return of pro-nuclear state governments in WA and QLD.
Internationally, though it has been going through an all-time low
period which looked like its dying days, the nuclear industry has
been given a new lease of life. With the election of president George
W Bush, the US is renewing its interest in all things nuclear. The
US is looking to hone its nuclear war-fighting capabilities with its
Ballistic Missile Defence (Star Wars) system, and begin building new
nuclear power stations. Whether his divided Congress and the citizens
of the US allow this is another matter, although the recent Californian
power crisis (a result of poor administrative planning) has rekindled
public acceptance of nuclear power. Bush is also attempting to fast-track
the highly unpopular and unsuitable Yucca Mountain site for a high
level nuclear waste dump.
In Russia, the collapsed military apparatus of the former USSR has
left a terrible legacy of nuclear contamination across the continent.
Nuclear submarines are rusting away into the sea on the Kola Peninsula,
and the area around the city of Chelyabinsk is one of the most highly
radioactive areas in the world, following years of nuclear pollution
and neglect. The Russian Parliament (Duma) has passed through two
of the three stages of approval necessary to change their laws which
currently prohibit the import of foreign nuclear waste. Becoming an
international waste dump would give a huge boost to the ailing Russian
economy while creating a deadly legacy for future generations. The
USA has been lobbying intensively and there have been allegations
of cash ($US) for votes in the Duma.
Europe presents a mixed picture, with the UK still doggedly pushing
on with the nuclear experiment, while Germany has pledged to shut
down the industry within 20 years and Italy has closed down all its
nuclear plants. France, whose energy is 80% nuclear, could be approaching
a turning point with pro-nuclear President Chirac calling (4 May 2001)
for 'debate without taboo' on nuclear energy, in a bid to woo Green
voters in next year's election. The trend towards deregulated energy
markets, which can encourage more realistic accounting for energy
costs, is an increasing threat to the nuclear industry.
Japan is showing some encouraging signs, with the Governor of Fukushima
Prefecture indefinitely withdrawing support for the government's plans
to burn MOX (mixed oxide) fuel in modified nuclear reactors. The MOX
program is a central plank of the government's nuclear strategy, and
the move is seen as a vote of no confidence by other prefectural governments.
Since the Tokai disaster in 1999, there have been a number of setbacks
in Japanese plans for more nuclear energy.
Driven to a standstill by community opposition, the western nuclear
corporations have been pushing for south and east Asian countries
to develop their own nuclear power (with very mixed success). In a
desperate attempt for credibility, nuclear interests have been touting
themselves as the only solution to the threat of climate change, despite
the fact that the nuclear fuel chain emits huge amounts of greenhouse
gas in the course of uranium mining and fuel refinement. The lesser
greenhouse emissions from nuclear power stations would come at a cost
of the deadly ever-present risk of leaks, accidents and the routine
emissions of radioactive materials into the environment, and the as
yet unsolvable problems of nuclear waste.
This makes it all the more important that we stand firm in Australia
and send a very clear message to our political representatives: the
nuclear industry is unsafe, unclean, unwanted and definitely not the
answer to the greenhouse problem.
The world's largest uranium producer. Based in Canada.
French Government nuclear agency.
Proponent of the Beverley Uranium Mine (BUM) in South Australia.
Perth-based exploration company with leases in Western Australia, South
Australia and Malawi
One of the largest mining groups in the world, with a savage reputation
and a grip on Jabiluka.
The
Australian mining giant Western Mining Corporation operates the Olympic
Dam/Roxby Downs mine in SA and is responsible for the radioactive mess
at Yeelirrie, WA.
Pangea Resources operates out of an office in Perth, WA and is backed
by British Nuclear Fuels Ltd among others.
Canadian proponent of the Honeymoon Uranium Mine in South Australia.
The
Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency is responsible
for regulating the Australian nuclear industry.
The Uranium Information Centre is Australia's uranium industry propaganda
centre, funded by mining companies with uranium investments.
The Uranium Institute is a major British pro-nuclear think-tank.
The International Atomic Energy Agency is the United Nations body set
up to promote the commercial use of nuclear technology.
