Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance and Administration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Milne asked me a question and a supplementary question yesterday in relation to proposed nuclear safeguards agreements with China. I have an answer to her supplementary question, which I seek leave to incorporate.

Leave granted.

The answer read as follows—

Yesterday Senator Milne asked a supplementary question of a technical nature pertaining to possible arrangements for the sale of uranium to China. Given the detailed nature of her question, I undertook to take advice on these matters before answering her question in this chamber.

The answer to Senator Milne’s question is as follows.

Safeguards are designed to prevent horizontal proliferation: they do not cap military programs in nuclear weapon states.

In a nuclear weapon state, such as China, IAEA safeguards are intended to ensure there is no diversion from declared civil facilities to military programs.

A bilateral safeguards agreement with China, in line with similar agreements with the other nuclear weapon states, will require Australian obligated uranium to be used only at facilities subject to China’s safeguards agreement with the IAEA, which includes the Additional Protocol ratified by China.

The IAEA is entitled to conduct inspections at these facilities and apply safeguards measures, including environmental sampling.

The IAEA conducts inspections in line with its safeguards strategy for China.