Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Grey for his question. After all, I think he has the world’s second largest uranium mine in his electorate. With the expansion of that mine, it will eventually overtake in size the Canadian mine, which is currently the largest. I know that the honourable member has been a great supporter of the Roxby Downs project. Next year will be the 30th anniversary of the Australian nuclear safeguards policy. This policy, introduced by the Fraser government in 1977, has been a great success. Under this policy, Australian uranium can be used only for peaceful purposes. It must be subject to the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Australian uranium must be protected under the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials. In 2005 we made an amendment to the policy under which IAEA additional protocols allowing access at short notice at any location would be a condition of the new supply of uranium to non-nuclear weapons states. Australia has a very solid nuclear safeguards policy. As an IAEA board member, we have been one of the main advocates of IAEA activities, including most recently in relation to Iran.

I was asked whether I was aware of any concerns about Australia’s policy. I had not been aware until the Leader of the Opposition announced that he was doing a backflip on Labor’s so-called three mines policy—a policy that he did not think was in need of change a few weeks ago and suddenly he decided, for reasons of his own, that it had to be changed.

What is interesting about the statement that the Leader of the Opposition made was that he was going to introduce three specific strict new measures to Australian exports of uranium. What this revealed was that the Leader of the Opposition simply had not done any homework and did not know what the existing policy was. He said that we should only export to NPT states. Well, we do only export to NPT states. That is a longstanding Australian government policy. He said that he promised the strictest safeguards in the world. We already have the strictest safeguards, and I think it holds Australia in very good stead that we do. Thirdly and most interestingly, he said he wanted a diplomatic initiative which would bring together—

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