Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister. Minister, when the government made the deal at APEC to sell uranium to Russia was it aware that 21 journalists have been killed in Russia, including the contract killing of well-known investigative journalists, since President Putin came to power? Did the government consider the fact that Russia has a habit of losing nuclear material? I understand that a lot of fissile material went missing after the break-up of the Soviet Union which is missing to this day. Does the government know that Russia has done deals with rogue states such as Iran, Syria and Myanmar including the onselling of uranium to those countries? Why did the government not insist that Russia ratify the additional protocol of the NPT? Why was Russia not asked to dismantle its remaining 10,000 weapons? Is it the case that the government has put mining money ahead of human rights and international security?

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

Australia takes very seriously its position in respect of human rights. We have an outstanding record of advancing the cause of human rights in international forums. We raise the issue of human rights wherever we can. We do highlight human rights abuses at every opportunity. At every meeting with countries where we believe that human rights are being abused they are raised. We do work actively in international forums to advance the cause of human rights and we do believe that those international forums are the appropriate place to advance those issues of human rights. We recognise that not every country in the world so protects human rights as does Australia. Australia is one of the great countries on this planet that do ensure—and this is done in a bipartisan fashion, whether it is a Liberal or a Labor government that governs this country—that the human rights of all Australians are well protected. Whether it is a Labor or a Liberal government, they seek to advance that cause throughout the world.

What the Democrats seem to be advancing is a new strategy whereby some sort of high-jump bar is erected below which no country shall participate in trade with Australia. That seems to be what is being suggested: that we should establish some sort of artificial barrier to prevent trade with countries which we believe do not meet certain human rights positions. That has never been the position of the Australian government, I think, under either major party. It is certainly not the position that we have. We will properly seek trade opportunities. We do believe that maximising trade is the way to advance both world peace and world prosperity. We certainly see APEC as a key part of advancing the cause of free trade among nations—which, as I say, is a key way to advance human rights, prosperity and world peace.

In terms of the nuclear safeguards agreement with Russia, which has been signed and which will of course have to be subject to the appropriate parliamentary scrutiny in this country, we do believe that is important. I am surprised that the Democrats, who profess to be concerned about nothing so much as growing greenhouse gas emissions, should be raising concerns about agreements that Australia enters into to ensure that zero-emission energy sources can be increasingly used.

The fact is that Russia is seeking to increase the amount of energy it derives from nuclear power from 16 per cent to some 23 per cent. It does seek to source uranium from countries like Australia to ensure that, with its new generation of nuclear power plants, it has a reliable source of supply. We welcome Russia’s commitment to increasing the proportion of its energy that it derives from nuclear power and the fact that, of course, that nuclear power has zero emissions—something I would have thought that the Democrats would be welcoming. So we applaud the fact that at APEC the Prime Minister was able to agree with the Russian President, in the first-ever visit by a Russian President to this country, on a nuclear safeguards agreement with Russia which will allow the supply of uranium to Russia in accordance with our longstanding and very strict safeguards agreements.

Lyn Allison (Victoria, Australian Democrats) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I take it from the minister’s answer that he did not consider any of those human rights or international security matters. He also says that there will be a guarantee that this material will be used for Russia’s new reactors. I ask the minister to give us a guarantee that it will not be onsold, and I do not think he can do that. I ask as well: does the minister know that a poll conducted a short time ago showed that 66 per cent of Australians are against the selling of uranium to Russia? What mandate does the government have to make such deals—particularly as close as this is to the next election—that risk global security when the majority of Australians are against exporting uranium?

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

The government does make decisions within its ambit to ensure that Australian trade can be advanced. There has been a very long tradition and history in this country of exporting uranium under very strict safeguards. Those safeguards which govern the export of Australian uranium were first established back in the Fraser years and are some of the strictest of any in the world. A number of countries are now in receipt of Australian uranium to power, for peaceful purposes, their energy-producing nuclear reactors. With respect to the potential for flowthrough of Australian uranium, I remind Senator Allison that, as with all of our safeguards agreements, the new agreement with Russia does require that Australia’s consent be obtained before any Australian obligated nuclear material is transferred to a third country. Under our policy, consent is given only for transfers to countries with which Australia has a safeguards agreement. (Time expired)