John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I think, Senator, you need to keep in your mind that Australia and Russia already have a bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement, which was concluded in 1990 and is still in force. That agreement does of course meet all of Australia’s key policy requirements: uranium can be used only for peaceful, non-military purposes; it must be subject to Russia’s safeguards agreement with the IAEA; and it can only be used in facilities that are mutually acceptable to both Australia and Russia. That is the situation we have at the moment with the agreement that is in place. Of course, prior to ratification of any new nuclear cooperation agreement— (Time expired)