Senate debates
Wednesday, 10 May 2006
Uranium Exports
3:51 pm
Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source
I move:
- That the Senate—
- (a)
- notes that:
- (i)
- the Chinese Ambassador to Australia, Madam Fu Ying, stated in December 2005 that China does not have sufficient uranium for both its weapons and civilian energy programs,
- (ii)
- Australian yellowcake needs to go to conversion, enrichment and processing facilities before being allocated to declared civilian nuclear power stations,
- (iii)
- most of the conversion, enrichment and processing facilities are not declared facilities and are therefore not covered by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, and
- (iv)
- those facilities that are declared are only declared at the discretion of the Chinese Government, and therefore are voluntary and can at any time be removed from IAEA safeguards;
- (b)
- recognises therefore that by exporting uranium to China, Australia will be supporting, either directly or indirectly, the Chinese nuclear weapons program in contravention of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and
- (c)
- opposes and condemns the export of uranium to China.
Question put.
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