uranium - hofreps - 1970

Contexts in which the word uranium was used in the House of Representatives during the 1970s

Representatives of the U.K. authorities have indicated that if Australia decided to use British enriched uranium reactors, arrangements might be made whereby the process could be operated in Australia at some future date. [More…]
All nuclear power stations which operate on uranium fuel (whether natural or enriched) will produce plutonium. [More…]
Is he able to say whether the enrichment of uranium in the United States of America is performed by a government instrumentality. [More…]
If so, has he- any information as to what the effect on the price and availability of enriched uranium would be if this responsibility were handed over to private enterprise in the United States of America. [More…]
From what country would Australia obtain enriched uranium if a SGHWR type reactor was installed at Jervis Bay. [More…]
In just the same way these people really over-extended themselves in seeking to get a controlling interest of the Nabarlek uranium deposits which are in the Northern Territory and strictly within the jurisdiction of this Government. [More…]
What has been the (a) date, (b) nature and (c) outcome of any communications between the Commonwealth and any of the States concerning legislation to match the Austraiian Capital Territory Companies (Uranium Mining Companies) Ordinance 1970. [More…]
No attempt has been made to produce enriched uranium commercially in Australia. [More…]
What success has been achieved in producing enriched uranium in Australia. [More…]
It is understood Mrs G. Stevens of Adelaide and her 2 daughters have entered into contractual arrangements with Queensland Mines Ltd along the lines mentioned in (1) in respect of a prospecting authority held by Mrs Stevens and her 2 daughters in which a uranium deposit has been discovered. [More…]
If so, did this occur in the case of the Adelaide Lady and the uranium field discovered by Queensland Minerals. [More…]
Has the Australian Government had discussions or exchanged correspondence, with the Japanese Government regarding the possibility of co-operating to build a uranium enrichment plant in Australia? [More…]
Which Governments have indicated their willingness to discuss with the Australian Government the supply of uranium en rich ment technology? [More…]
Will uranium enrichment be one of the subjects for discussion with the Canadian Government team currently visiting Australia? [More…]
Has the Government made any assessment of the likely market available to an Australian uranium enrichment industry; if so, with what result? [More…]
Have any feasibility studies been conducted into establishing a uranium enrichment plant in Australia using (i) diffusion technology and (ii) centrifugal technology; if so, with what result? [More…]
Have any discussions been held or correspondence exchanged with enriched uranium consuming countries to assess whether they could provide a market for uranium enriched in Australia? [More…]
Briefly the situation is this: It is surprising the number of last minute transactions that were approved, not merely in relation to exploration for oil and natural gas but also for uranium by what was a caretaker government. [More…]
Has the attention of the Minister for Minerals and Energy been drawn to a report in yesterday’s ‘Financial Review’ as to the selection of a site in Queensland for a uranium enrichment plant? [More…]
In view of our quite large high grade reserves of uranium and the importance of uranium as a fuel source, will the Minister briefly outline his attitude in these areas? [More…]
Can the Minister for Minerals and Energy inform the House as to the current world developments in the pricing of uranium oxide? [More…]
As the Minister for Minerals and Energy is refusing to approve any new export contracts for uranium, is he expecting the industry to go out of business or is this his method of depressing the shares of the companies involved so that the Government can take over a reduced asset at a very cheap rate - that is, nationalise the industry in total? [More…]
Only the blindest of the exponents of private property profit, like the honourable member for Cowper who is harping like a cockatoo on a tree in the honourable member’s electorate, will deny a public corporation like the AIDC the right to share in Bass Strait oil, Northern Territory uranium or North West Shelf natural gas. [More…]
What is the present position regarding the fulfilment of the Australian contractual commitments for the export of uranium? [More…]
What are the proposals of the Minister for Minerals and Energy for the mining and marketing of uranium following the recent disallowance by the Senate of the Atomic Energy [More…]
-The development of uranium will be conducted in Australia’s best interests. [More…]
There have been a lot of very short sighted and narrow minded people- their apologists are in the Opposition- who have wanted to get their hot sweaty little hands on uranium at bargain basement prices. [More…]
The Minister, in answer to a question in this House, said that the Australian Atomic Energy Commission would, in future, have the responsibility for refining uranium in Australia. [More…]
The Government’s failure to publicly outline its policy on the development of Australia’s uranium resources and the damaging effects of Government statements on industry confidence and international goodwill. [More…]
The Shah expressed his interest especially in iron ore and the pelletising of it, in the processing of bauxite and in uranium. [More…]
Is the Acting Prime Minister aware of reports from New York this morning of a statement by the Prime Minister to the effect that the Iranian Government may take shares in the Australian Industry Development Corporation and in the Petroleum and Minerals Authority so that it can obtain supplies of uranium, iron ore and other minerals from Australia? [More…]
-( Cunningham-Minister for Minerals and Energy)- I present for the information of honourable members a statement entitled ‘Northern Territory Uranium ‘. [More…]
Having put back the development of uranium for 6 months by his activities in the Senate, the honourable senator now chooses to apply his doubtful talents in another field. [More…]
-Has the attention of the Minister for Minerals and Energy been attracted to an article in the ‘Kalgoorlie Miner’ of 4 November in which Senator Durack accuses the Minister of ignoring Western Mining Company with respect to the development of the uranium deposit at Yeelirrie in Western Australia? [More…]
When I announced recently the arrangement with the Peko-EZ group regarding the development of uranium in the Northern Territory I said that precisely the same principles would apply in respect of offshore oil search and development. [More…]
-Could the Minister for Minerals and Energy comment on the Australian Government’s recent negotiations and discussions with the Japanese Government concerning uranium and beef? [More…]
-I deprecate the linking of the supply of uranium to Japan with the supply of beef. [More…]
The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows: (I), (2) and (3) 1 have publicly acknowledged that, prima facie, the area around the head of Spencer Gulf has attractions as a possible site for a uranium enrichment plant. [More…]
As announced in the press statement issued on 2 November 1974 after the talks between the Australian and Japanese Prime Ministers, joint studies of various matters relating to uranium enrichment in Australia will be initiated as early as practicable. [More…]
1 ) Are feasibility studies being carried out on the possible establishment of a uranium enrichment plant in Australia. [More…]
-I direct my question to the Minister for Minerals and Energy and remind him of the deep interest of the Australian people in the mining, treatment and sale of uranium. [More…]
Can the Minister confirm the recent Press reports that Kathleen Investments (Australia) Ltd has not taken up its full entitlement to shares in the issue of Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd which closed last Friday? [More…]
For the information of honourable members I present a statement on uranium exploration in the Northern Territory. [More…]
For the information of honourable members I present a statement on uranium exploration in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Can the Minister tell the House what work has been done by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission on uranium enrichment by gas centrifugation? [More…]
We happen to have in stock about 2 thousand tons of uranium oxide. [More…]
It was for this reason also that we bought into Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. We will honour the contracts to the letter. [More…]
Can the Minister advise the House what stage has been reached in uranium enrichment technology by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission? [More…]
1) to (5) In the joint press statement of 2 November 1974 after the talks with the Prime Minister of Japan, it was stated that Japan would co-operate with Australia in studying the possibility of uranium enrichment in Australia which, in principle, Japan would favour. [More…]
Further discussions have been held and it has been agreed that the study should encompass future supply and demand for enriched uranium, availability of raw materials, siting and energy costs in Australia, capital requirements, and availability of technology from third countries. [More…]
Have any feasibility studies been made or are any being made by his Department into the development of a uranium enrichment plant in Australia. [More…]
Will he make available to the House all relevant documents concerning the proposed uranium enrichment plant in Australia. [More…]
2 1 5 concerning the feasibility studies into the development of a uranium enrichment plant in Australia, which Departments of the Australian Government are involved in studying this development. [More…]
-For the information of honourable members I present a memorandum of understanding relating to the Ranger Uranium mining project in the Northern Territory. [More…]
If I am permitted to proceed without any further interruptions I will point out that the Government intends to sell down the drain Australia’s natural resources, particularly uranium. [More…]
Some facts were pointed out, I believe correctly, by the former Chairman of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, Sir Philip Baxter, in an article in the Sydney Morning Herald of last Tuesday about uranium when he said: [More…]
I am told that there is a report in the Financial Review this morning of suggestions that the Government is going to bring forward certain proposals as to the orderly development of uranium in Australia. [More…]
What has been proceeding is discussions between my Department and the potential uranium developers. [More…]
My question is directed to the Minister for National Resources and refers to a report in this morning’s Financial Review under the heading ‘Government’s dilemma on uranium policy’. [More…]
I ask the Minister: Does he intend to carry out an independent survey of world uranium demand? [More…]
I preface my question to the Deputy Prime Minister by drawing his attention to the fact that the French Atomic Energy Commission, through one of its subsidiaries, has applied for an exploration licence to search for uranium in New South Wales. [More…]
Would the Federal Government grant an export licence to the French Atomic Energy Commission to export uranium in any form if the application in New South Wales was successful and uranium was subsequently found? [More…]
Has the Government any ground to believe that other nations might be provoked to use force to get access to our mineral resources, including our vast deposits of uranium, if, because of its policies on Aboriginal rights, environmental factors or overseas ownership, the Government did not make those resources available to other nations? [More…]
In particular, have Australian officials, such as the former Chairman of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, ever reported that they have been threatened by senior Japanese officials that if their country could not get uranium they would be entitled to come and get it? [More…]
If he believes that uranium involves the security of Australia, why has he eradicated all Government involvement in this industry, leaving the exploration for and processing of uranium to private companies, many of which have foreign content and many of which have very small amounts of paid-up capital? [More…]
Has the Government made a firm and final decision concerning uranium exports, thus pre-empting the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry that is being conducted by Mr Justice Fox? [More…]
Has his attention been drawn to comments by Sir Philip Baxter on the Television program Face the Nation on Channel 9 on Sunday, 28 March 1976 to the effect that threats were made to him by senior Japanese officials that, if Australian uranium was not provided on reasonable terms to Japan, Japan would come and take Australian uranium. [More…]
-I ask the Prime Minister: Has the Australian Government received approaches from the American Government in relation to which countries should be barred from being recipients of Australian uranium? [More…]
As the honourable gentleman well knows, the Government will make its decisions about uranium policy once it has the Fox report- after it has that report and not before it has that report. [More…]
On receiving the Fox report on the Ranger inquiry into uranium mining will the Prime Minister give an undertaking that the [More…]
Government will make no decision on mining and export of Australian uranium until there has been a widespread public debate on the issue in accordance with Commissioner Fox’s statement that the findings should be used as a startingpoint for a public debate, not as a final decision on the matter? [More…]
-I direct my question to the Prime Minister and preface it by referring to an earlier question seeking a wide public debate on the mining and export of uranium before a Government decision is made. [More…]
Now that the Fox Commission has recommended such a public debate, will the Prime Minister give a firm assurance that a wide public debate will take place before any Government decision is made to mine or export Australia’s uranium? [More…]
For the information of honourable members I present the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
Has the Government made a decision on any aspects of uranium mining or exports? [More…]
I ask: Is it true that Australian Government officials have begun talks with Japanese officials to study the feasibility of uranium enrichment in Australia? [More…]
Further, if this report is true, is this further evidence that the Government is determined to go ahead with its uranium program and to ignore public debate, as recommended by the Fox report? [More…]
Development of Uranium Deposits at Alligator River (Question No. [More…]
1 ) With reference to the statement appearing on page 59 of the Bureau of Transport Economies’ report on the provision of general cargo facilities at Port Darwin, that it seems certain that uranium deposits known to exist in the Alligator River region of the Northern Territory, about 300 kilometres east of Darwin, will be developed in the foreseeable future and that initially, at least, raw materials for processing this ore will have to be imported through Darwin, what is the basis for this statement. [More…]
What is the present status of the letter of request addressed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales seeking evidence of alleged price fixing of uranium. [More…]
Last year, the Minister said in this House that his Government would take decisions on the further development of the Australian uranium industry in the light of public discussion and of debate in the national Parliament. [More…]
In view of this statement, what action is his Department, or any Government department, taking to further public debate and discussion on the uranium industry? [More…]
I direct to the Minister for Foreign Affairs a question which refers to a statement he made in this House and particularly that part dealing with the world-wide movement of uranium oxide. [More…]
What are in fact the present effective safeguards applied to transactions in and international movement and exports of uranium? [More…]
When did he write to the President of the United States of America concerning safeguards on the export of uranium. [More…]
Has he written to the heads of government of other uranium producing countries about this matter; if so, to whom, and when. [More…]
-I ask the Minister for National Resources: Is it a fact that Peko-Ez and Queensland Mines Ltd claim, or intend to claim force majeure on their existing uranium contracts with Japan? [More…]
1 ) Has his attention been drawn to statements made by the Movement Against Uranium Mining that donations are tax deductible, if made via the Australian Conservation Foundation; if so, are these donations tax deductible. [More…]
Is the South Australian Premier, Mr Dunstan, on record as pressing the Commonwealth Government for the establishment of a major uranium industry in South Australia? [More…]
Has the Minister noticed a certain knock-kneed ambivalence creeping into the Premier’s current position on uranium development? [More…]
At another time and in another way we will have to have a debate on uranium which I am prepared to provide. [More…]
Our policy on uranium has been made clear many times. [More…]
For the information of honourable members I present the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry Second Report. [More…]
In view of the presentation of the Fox report last night, will the House be given an opportunity to discuss uranium this session? [More…]
Is he aware of the report of Sir Ernest Titterton that Australia possesses at least 25 per cent of the world ‘s proven reserves of uranium oxide? [More…]
On what date did he receive the letter from Mr Justice Fox concerning the interpretation that has been placed on the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry’s first report (Senate Hansard. [More…]
I do not know the circumstances of this matter regarding the United States of America but I would be very surprised if the United States had made a decision to sell any enriched uranium to India unless it had on the first hand received the strongest of provisos as to what would happen to that enriched uranium. [More…]
Australia will be selling uranium only to those countries which are signatories to the NPT or which at present are classified as original weapon states. [More…]
Are recent reports that the United States of America will supply uranium to India true? [More…]
Finally, will the Government, in line with the safeguard proposals announced last week, refuse to supply uranium to the United States on the grounds that its government may permit the re-export of uranium to a country that is determined to continue the manufacture of nuclear weapons? [More…]
by leave- This statement, the third in a series of six, relates to the international implications of the Government’s decision to develop new uranium deposits for export. [More…]
The Government has no doubt that the decision it has taken on uranium represents the only responsible course in terms of Australia’s international relations and the objective of nonproliferation. [More…]
Important though these considerations are in foreign policy terms, I wish now to concentrate on the relationship between uranium export and the problem of nuclear weapons poliferation. [More…]
This problem was of paramount concern to the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
So are the requirements for prior Australian consent to high enrichment and reprocessing of nuclear material supplied by Australia and the requirement that adequate physical security be maintained on the nuclear industries of uranium importing countries. [More…]
Now that the Government has decided to proceed with uranium export the task will be to press ahead and implement our safeguards policy. [More…]
Bilateral agreements between Australia and uranium importing countries; and [More…]
For the information of honourable members, I present a copy of the six related ministerial statements together with other associated papers on the Government’s policy on uranium development and move: [More…]
15, Government Business, relating to the motion to take note of the Second Report of the Ranger Uranium Inquiry. [More…]
-Has the Prime Minister’s attention been drawn to Press reports that the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions is seeking a referendum on the question of uranium development? [More…]
-The Prime Minister will be aware of the violence which has just recently attached to the export of uranium. [More…]
Will the Government allow violence to deter it from its policy to export uranium? [More…]
-Is the Prime Minister aware of a claim that the Australian Government has committed itself to supply uranium before any of the customer countries have committed themselves to safeguards? [More…]
-Can the Minister for National Resources and Minister for Overseas Trade say how soon the economic benefits from the mining of Australian uranium will be felt in the community? [More…]
I refer him to recent Press reports that certain leading figures in the trade union movement are predicting bloodshed in the streets unless demands to hold a referendum on uranium development are acceded to. [More…]
Drilling results released by the company on 5 May 1977 indicate the presence of further copper and uranium mineralisation. [More…]
What assessment has been made by his Department of the copper and uranium deposits located on Roxby Downs Station in South Australia by the Western Mining Corporation. [More…]
In view of the fact that yesterday the Australian Uranium Producers’ Forum took the cheque book around to Liberal Party Secretary, Tony Eggleton, in an effort to pressure the Government - [More…]
-Has the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development seen or heard a statement which claimed that uranium and nuclear power is the most violent source of energy known to humanity? [More…]
In reaching its decision on the mining of uranium the Government had as a fundamental concern the welfare of the Aboriginal people in the Ranger Region. [More…]
If so, will those Aborigines living on reserves be brought to the cities and integrated into Australian life and will this have the dual benefit of giving the present Administration the appearance of domestic policy being consistent with its international utterances, while simultaneously removing Aborigines from reserves which are located on top of uranium deposits. [More…]
Which commercial television and radio stations transmitted the broadcasts on uranium by the Prime Minister on 28 August 1977 and the Leader of the Opposition on 4 September 1977 and at what time did each do so. [More…]
The following table shows the commercial television and radio stations which carried the addresses on the subject of uranium by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on the 28 August 1977 and 4 September 1977 respectively, together with the times of each broadcast. [More…]
He will recall answering questions yesterday about the threatened disruption of uranium exports by industrial action. [More…]
Is the threat of disruption confined to uranium? [More…]
I refer him to the proposed uranium mining venture at Ranger. [More…]
-I ask the Prime Minister whether his attention has been drawn to newspaper reports of further allegations regarding massive donations to the Liberal Party from oil companies, uranium mining companies and land agents. [More…]
The Minister will be aware of concern as to whether existing uranium export contracts will be honoured. [More…]
Can the Prime Minister tell the House about the attitudes to Australia’s uranium policy expressed to him by heads of government during his visit to Europe earlier this year? [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister whether the Government is aware that the British Government and other Western European governments secretly supplied uranium for the nuclear weapons program of Israel. [More…]
Australia’s participation in the International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation flows directly from the Government’s uranium and nuclear safeguards policies. [More…]
-My question, which is directed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, concerns uranium and Australian participation in the International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation. [More…]
I think people should be aware that the contracts entered into by Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd, Queensland Mines Ltd and the Ranger partners involve about 11,700 short tons of uranium which is to be delivered up until 1986. [More…]
I briefly preface my question to the Minister for Trade and Resources by pointing out that the mining and export of uranium is of particular concern to the people in the northern part of this continent and in my own home areas we have the only mine which produces and exports uranium at Mary Kathleen. [More…]
Is the Minister satisfied that there are now no difficulties in the way of honouring in full Australia’s contract for the supply of uranium to overseas customers? [More…]
The Fox report drew attention to the same need in its uranium environmental inquiry. [More…]
The Government’s support for international nonproliferation objectives precludes co-operation either in the sale of uranium or the provision of technology directly related to the nuclear fuel cycle to non-nuclear weapon states which are not parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). [More…]
Can the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs advise the House whether there are any proposals to limit compensation payable to Aborigines for the mining of uranium on Aboriginal land or land claimed to be Aboriginal land? [More…]
I further ask what is the present state of negotiations with the Northern Land Council concerning uranium mining in the Ranger area as it has been recently reported that the NLC draft agreement is said to be calling for a 37! [More…]
Will the Minister table the model agreement forthwith so that the Australian Parliament may be apprised of the approach that the Australian Government is taking with potential uranium customers? [More…]
Are there any figures available showing the number of deaths caused by lung cancer in uranium miners working (a) underground and (b) in open cut mines in (i) the U.S.A., (ii) Canada, (iii) South Africa, (iv) the U.S.S.R. and (v) Czechoslovakia. [More…]
It is clear that this Government will set up an Advisory Uranium Council. [More…]
18m is also included for payment into the Uranium Stockpile Trust Account. [More…]
Ranger Uranium Project: Consultation with Aborigines (Question No. [More…]
Before the debate on the Atomic Energy Amendment Bill 1978 is resumed, I would like to suggest that it may suit the convenience of the House to have a general debate covering this Bill and the ministerial statement relating to uranium development. [More…]
The Minister shall cause to be prepared and kept a list setting out the name of each Department, authority, incorporated company or other body that in his opinion has an interest in uranium mining operations in the Alligator Rivers region . [More…]
The Minister shall cause to be prepared and kept a list setting out the name of each Department, authority, incorporated company or other body that in his opinion has un interest in uranium mining operations in the Alligator Rivers Region and- [More…]
That all words after ‘That’ be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: the House declines to give the Bill a second reading (a) until the Minister initiates consultations and provides all necessary material to relevant Ministers of all States and the Northern Territory on the hazards and dangers associated with uranium mining and nuclear activities and ( b) until such time as any State Government determines that it is safe to mine uranium and that proper international safeguards exist, no action should be initiated by the Commonwealth to make provision to enable mining to take place within that State or Territory’. [More…]
and (2) I refer the honourable member to my press statement of 24 November 1978 in which I announced the members of the Uranium Advisory Council. [More…]
Is the Minister for Foreign Affairs aware that many of the people worried about the mining of Australian uranium are concerned that adequate controls do not exist regarding its use? [More…]
In view of the fact that the Government has given details of the international and bilateral agreements that must be met before uranium can be sold overseas, will the Minister explain how these conditions and safeguards will be enforced and the nature of supervision that will apply? [More…]
-Can the Minister for Trade and Resources confirm that negotiations have opened in Darwin with the Northern Land Council and others on terms and conditions, from all points of view, for the development of the Ranger uranium project? [More…]
Can he inform the House of the outcome of the discussions which he and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs had in Darwin yesterday with the Northern Land Council and the Northern Territory Executive concerning uranium mining? [More…]
The Government has decided to accept this recommendation but to go further and together with the States to establish by legislation uniform national codes which cover all aspects of mining and milling and transport of uranium as well as any future nuclear activities. [More…]
-When did the Prime Minister first learn of the allegations against the former Minister for Finance relating to advice on uranium share trading? [More…]
It relates to the poor reporting of the national Press of the uranium debate. [More…]
It is part of the subtle campaign by the Sydney Morning Herald to label any opposition to uranium rnining as left-wing opposition and to obscure the real issues which concern a wide cross section of the Australian community. [More…]
The ALP found itself confronted by the anti-uranium line which its left wing had adopted from overseas. [More…]
Many of its leaders are privately convinced that uranium mining should go ahead but they are responding to left wing pressure and making public commitments against it. [More…]
The important thing that needs to be remembered, with all due respect to the people of the Northern Territory, is that the question of uranium mining is not just a question for the people of the Northern Territory to decide. [More…]
However, we are still opposed to the Bill as part of the uranium package, and we will be dividing on the question. [More…]
Honourable members will know that some concern had been expressed about the role which the Northern Territory should play in the developments that are planned in the Alligator Rivers Region as a consequence of the Government’s decision to proceed with uranium mining in the region. [More…]
The whole point of our amendment, which surely the honourable member can understand, is that there would be a right of action not only by the people here nominated but also by any person or persons whose interests were affected by uranium mining. [More…]
All the Senate has done is to include in the Bill provision for one other body to make an application to the court in respect of uranium mining operations. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that some concern had been expressed about the role which the Northern Territory should play in the developments that are planned in the Alligator Rivers Region as a consequence of the Government’s decision to proceed with uranium mining in the region. [More…]
The purpose of these amendments is to give the Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission standing to invoke the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in relation to uranium mining operations for the purposes set out in clause 4 of the Bill. [More…]
These amendments further underline our recognition of the role of the Northern Territory in respect of uranium mining operations in the Alligator Rivers Region. [More…]
Can the Minister inform the House what information is available about Britain’s uranium requirements, and the implications of this for Australia? [More…]
The Northern Land Council is actively involved in negotiations with respect to uranium mining in the Alligator Rivers province. [More…]
No arrangements have been concluded for supply of Australian uranium to the Philippines. [More…]
No arrangements have been concluded for the supply of Australian uranium to the Philippines. [More…]
1 ) What subsidies, concessions and other financial assistance have been provided by successive Governments to Mary Kathleen Uranium and associated undertakings (a) directly and ( b) indirectly. [More…]
Was the National Energy Advisory Committee requested or directed by him not to make recommendations on nuclear energy or uranium processing in its report on proposals for a research and development program for energy. [More…]
Are (a) HIFAR ‘s fuel rods and (b) other materials irradiated by HIFAR, such as uranium oxide, covered by international safeguards. [More…]
and (2) Approximately 15 per cent of the total staff of 1,070 at the AAEC’s research establishment is employed in the Uranium Fuel Cycle Programme. [More…]
A substantial part of this 1 5 per cent is engaged in research into uranium enrichment. [More…]
1 ) How many staff of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission Research Establishment in the categories of (a) executive and senior staff, (b) research staff, (c) experimental staff, (d) other professional staff, (e) technical staff and (f) trade staff were engaged in each of the following research programs during 1976-77: (i) energy resources, (ii) fission reactor performance, operation and safety, (iii) controlled thermonuclear fusion systems, (iv) alternative energy systems, (v) uranium industry, (vi) enrichment by the centrifuge process and (viii) enrichment by novel methods. [More…]
1 ) How many staff of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission have been engaged in research on (a) uranium enrichment by the centrifuge process, (b) laser enrichment of uranium and (c) other uranium enrichment processes during each year from 1965-66. [More…]
How many of these staff were engaged in (a) scientific and technical research and (b) economic studies of uranium enrichment processes. [More…]
I ask the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs: Was the Ranger uranium agreement scheduled for signature on Thursday of this week? [More…]
1 ) Has his attention been drawn to the book Uranium on Trial by Professor S. Butler, Professor Watson Munro and Robert Raymond, and, in particular, to page 89 of that book. [More…]
If so, would this accentuate the yet unresolved problems of uranium waste disposal. [More…]
As the book is very strongly in favour of Australia mining and exporting uranium, will he thoroughly examine the serious question of safeguards raised in the book before the Government commits Australia to uranium export and production. [More…]
Has the Commission ever sought ministerial approval to undertake research in matters not associated with atomic energy or uranium. [More…]
Has ministerial approval ever been granted to the Commission to undertake research in matters not associated with uranium or atomic energy, either on his initiative or at the request of the Commission. [More…]
Can the Minister for Trade and Resources advise the House of any recent developments in the uranium industry overseas which have significance for the future development of the industry in Australia? [More…]
In the last two days the Minister has continued his hysterical attempts to blame the Australian Labor Party for Aboriginal opposition to uranium mining. [More…]
I hope that this will then have the effect of increasing foreign investment by the hundreds of millions of dollars which are necessary to get uranium, bauxite and iron ore out of the ground. [More…]
1 ) Does the Government ‘s nuclear safeguards policy prohibit the export of uranium on contract to any nations which manufacture, test or maintain stocks of nuclear weapons. [More…]
If not, what means will be used to ensure that uranium supplied on contract to such countries from Australia will not be used in nuclear weapons by those countries. [More…]
1 ) Has the Utah Mining Company acquired rights to the El Sherana uranium mine in the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory. [More…]
-In this morning’s Melbourne Age the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (Mr Anthony) was quoted as saying that as far as this Government is concerned neither the Aboriginal people, whom he saw as a manipulated minority, nor anyone else in Australia will interfere with the Government’s determination to mine uranium. [More…]
From the time the Government decided to mine uranium it was inevitable that a time would come when the concerns of the Aboriginal people about their land rights and the environment would conflict with the perceived policy of the Government. [More…]
1 ) Did officers of his Depanment assist in the planning of meetings with the Northern Land Council, local Aboriginal people and Queensland Mines Ltd in order to explain the Nabarlek Uranium Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement to local Aboriginal people. [More…]
The terms of reference of the Uranium Advisory Council were set out in my Statement to Parliament on 10 April 1978. [More…]
Before the debate is resumed on the Bill, I would like to suggest that it might suit the convenience of the House to have a general debate covering this Bill and the motions to take note of the papers and ministerial statements on the Ranger uranium project agreement between the [More…]
1 ) When did negotiations commence between the Commonwealth Government and the Northern Land Council concerning the Ranger Uranium Project. [More…]
Nominations for Uranium Advisory Council (Question No. [More…]
2,066 kg of uranium metal swarf and 187 kg of thorium metal swarf under kerosene in steel drums, category 4 solid waste. [More…]
In view of the Government’s decision to proceed with the proposed Ranger uranium mining venture under the Atomic Energy Act which inter alia provides for the application of the Approved Defence Projects Protection Act 1947 to all works carried out by or on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission, will the Government give an undertaking that the Approved Defence Projects Protection Act will not be applied to the proposed new Ranger mine. [More…]
See my statement to Parliament on uranium export policy of 1 June 1978. [More…]
Those uranium maniacs that we haveand there are plenty in this Parliament and the community outside- ought to think very carefully of what Einstein stood for and his role as a man of peace. [More…]
1 ) Which aspects of the mining, milling and transport of uranium does the Government propose to regulate through mandatory codes of practice. [More…]
If so, how does the Government reconcile this reliance with the expressed assertion that Australia is making its uranium available to the world nuclear fuel cycle in order to prevent reprocessing. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister: Does the Government take any responsibility for the consequences to the safety of citizens of countries to which our uranium is sold or in which it is disposed? [More…]
The need to ensure that no new uranium export contracts are approved by the Government until such times as the grave risks associated with the nuclear industry have been resolved. [More…]
the inquiry should investigate the Ranger Uranium project, Mary Kathleen Uranium, the Australian Industries Development Corporation, Qantas, TAA, the Pipeline Authority, ANL and the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories. [More…]
1 ) Can he say what commercial scale uranium enrichment plants are in operation throughout the world and in each case what is the plant’s capacity and the cost of production per separative work unit. [More…]
Is he also able to say what uranium enrichment plants are under construction and in each case what is the projected capacity and start-up date. [More…]
Can he also say from what countries and in what proportion does (a) France (b) the United Kingdom (c) Japan (d ) West Germany (e) Italy (f) Sweden (g) Switzerland (h) Canada and (i) Finland obtain uranium enrichment services. [More…]
1 ) and (2) Commercial scale uranium enrichment plants in operation and under construction: [More…]
1 ) the Government has failed to act on the assessment report of the Nabarlek uranium project prepared by the Department of Science and the Environment which revealed that radiation levels at the mine site are five to 10 times higher than Queensland Mines estimates and that workers in the mine would be exposed to lethal dosages of radiation should they work for more than 3 hours a day over the 29 week extraction period; [More…]
3 ) the Government has failed to draw on the experience in the United States of America where several hundred uranium miners have died from lung cancer and pulmonary fibrosis as a result of exposure to radiation at the site. [More…]
I make for the benefit of the honourable member for Reid (Mr Uren) is that he adopts an antiuranium stance and tries to identify every Aborigine in the Territory with that anti-uranium stance. [More…]
The Yuendumu mining company, which is situated 1 80 miles north-west of Alice Springs, is an Aboriginal mining company and it is flat out for the mining of uranium. [More…]
Has the Government approved Esso’s purchase of 15 per cent interest in the Yeelirrie uranium deposit from Western Mining Corporation; if so, why. [More…]
As outlined in my statement of 1 0 June 1 979, the Government has given foreign investment approval to the joint venture arrangements for the development of the Yeelirrie uranium project by Western Mining Corporation [More…]
-Does the Minister for Foreign Affairs consider that Australia, as an exporter of natural uranium, should be concerned about the eventual disposal of nuclear fuel? [More…]
Has the Australian Atomic Energy Commission or any other Federal agency established a trans-uranium register of persons who have come into contact with uranium or its radio-active products so that the long term effect on health can be monitored: if not, why not [More…]
1 ) In a statement before a US Senate Committee in June 1 978, Mr Dougherty put forward suggestions for a limitation on investments by oil companies in coal and uranium. [More…]
2 ) I am aware of interest being shown by oil companies in investing in coal and uranium deposits in Australia. [More…]
For the information of honourable members I present a report by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies on the Social Impact of Uranium Mining on the Aborigines of the Northern Territory. [More…]
I ask for your indulgence, Mr Speaker, to add to the other part of the answer about uranium sales which I gave earlier to the honourable member for Blaxland. [More…]
I refer the honourable member to the Ministerial Statement of 13 September 1979 by the Minister for Trade and Resources on the Uranium Advisory Council First Report (Hansard, pages 1085-7). [More…]
What action has the Government taken or does it propose to take to devise adequate procedures to ensure that the Uranium Advisory Council is fully informed on all relevant matters pertaining to its functions as expressed in its terms of reference. [More…]
1 ) On what dates has the Uranium Advisory Council met since its establishment. [More…]
1 ) (a) A report on radiation levels at Narbalek has been sent to the Uranium Advisory Council for its information. [More…]
1 ) Were the Government reports on (a) radiation levels at Narbalek and (b) changes in Government policies relating to foreign investment in uranium projects announced in June relating to the Yeelirrie project in Western Australia referred to the Uranium Advisory Council; if not, why not. [More…]
What action is proposed to ensure that the Uranium Advisory Council is placed in a position to advise the Government before decisions are made. [More…]
1 ) Did he state on 23 January 1 979 that the Government will study the feasibility of the establishment of a commercial uranium enrichment industry in Australia. [More…]
In the preliminary statement to the specifications is a statement that the reactor must be capable of being fuelled by natural uranium. [More…]
Natural uranium processed in an atomic reactor is the short cut to plutonium, which in its turn is the base of atomic weapons. [More…]
If Australia accedes to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty it will be cut off from the supplies of enriched uranium which arc the normal supplies being used by every advanced country in the world today. [More…]
The last two countries still adhering to the natural uranium type of reactor are Canada and France. [More…]
But even France is abandoning that type of reactor for the enriched uranium type of reactor. [More…]
It is true that following criticism by leading scientists in Australia the Government did modify its policy a little when it added a rider and invited suggestions as to how methods of enriching uranium could be supplied. [More…]
Today we have not very substantial supplies of uranium in Australia. [More…]
Canada has substantial supplies and it can afford to take the short cut and use the natural uranium type of reactor. [More…]
It is noteworthy that less than 18 months ago a certain gentleman named Cunningham, who is the V ice-Chairman of the British Atomic Energy Commission, came to this country and warned it that there had been a breakthrough by the combined experiments of Britain, West Germany and Holland in the use of the gas centrifuge, which was a much cheaper method of enriching uranium. [More…]
Natural uranium ore, when it is charged into a reactor, is uranium 238. [More…]
There is 0.07% of uranium 235, which is the main component of the reaction. [More…]
If it is enriched one can get four times as much uranium 235. [More…]
But in the process one comes to what are called the trans-uranic elements, and the first of these is uranium 239, which is plutonium. [More…]
Any country that is bent upon securing plutonium for atomic weapons by this purpose has to interrupt the atomic cycle of reaction, because when one goes beyond uranium 239 one comes to other trans-uranic elements, namely, neptunium and americium. [More…]
Nuclear power stations using natural or enriched uranium produce isotopes of plutonium during their operation. [More…]
It states that while the reactors we are looking at now will use natural uranium, certain countries which have used such reactors have now made a change and will not use natural uranium in their nuclear reactors in the future. [More…]
that Canadian nuclear power experts are claiming that the only tender for the nuclear power station at Jervis Bay which can be costed accurately is the tender submitted by Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd for a CANDU type reactor using natural uranium? [More…]
Are all the other lenders still under consideration for re actors which would require slightly enriched or enriched uranium? [More…]
Did the invitation to tender specify a reactor using natural uranium? [More…]
Is natural uranium still the fuel which the Government prefers? [More…]
ls the Minister aware that the United Kingdom, West Germany and Sweden have discarded the use of natural uranium for future reactors? [More…]
On the question of Australian fuel, it was not expressed in the tenders that this should be natural uranium. [More…]
A condition relating to tendering was that Australian uranium should be used. [More…]
This does not mean of course that the initial charge in the first reactor which we install would necessarily be fuel from Australian uranium. [More…]
However tenders must bc related to the use of fuel from Australian uranium in the future. [More…]
This does not mean that the reactor contract will be restricted to the use of natural uranium. [More…]
Australian uranium could be processed either here or overseas dependent on the type of fuel required. [More…]
But there is a condition with which all tenderers will have to comply, and that is that they use Australian uranium in the future, whether it be in the form of natural uranium, partly enriched uranium or enriched uranium. [More…]
I refer to the announcement that a private company - Queensland Mines Ltd - has found on an Aboriginal reserve in Arnhem Land what the media have described as the world’s richest uranium deposit. [More…]
I certainly welcome the discovery of this bonanza of uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
If they were alive today they would have been handed SOc a week each extra for 1970-71 in this Australia that they both fought to build in war and in peace, this Australia of the mineral boom of Hamersley and Gove, and today of uranium in the Northern Territory: this Australia of record growth rates, of security and peace which is the envy of the world. [More…]
Is it true that the radio active wastes produced from a natural uranium nuclear reactor pose a far greater disposal problem than the waste produced from an enriched uranium reactor? [More…]
Is it true also that the replacement frequency of spent fuel elements in an ‘on line’ natura] uranium reactor introduces a hazard factor that is not present to the same extent in an enriched uranium reactor where the fuel elements are replaced only once every few years when the reactor is taken ‘off live’ for the operation? [More…]
Bearing these factors in mind, and also the fact that nuclear wastes must be stored for 1,000 years, why did the tender specifications for the Jervis Bay project express a preference for a reactor type using natural uranium fuel which, of course, loads the specifications in favour of the Canadian tenderer? [More…]
1 turn to the question regarding natural uranium. [More…]
Perhaps the honourable member has in mind the fact that we did include in the tender specifications a reference to the fact that Australia would require a reactor and that in the future we would use Australian uranium. [More…]
But we did not indicate that it was to be natural uranium or whether it was to be processed to the enrichment stage. [More…]
My understanding is that the charge with natural uranium lasts approximately 2 years and that, in fact certain types of partly enriched and enriched uranium would have about :h same period. [More…]
When it comes to the question of the disposal of waste material, the situation differs between the waste that is produced from enriched uranium and from natural uranium. [More…]
So, the amount of waste from the use of natural uranium and enriched uranium is practically identical. [More…]
Has he seen the reports that some of the great uranium deposits in the Northern Territory may be the subject of a foreign takeover bid? [More…]
I am not in possession of all the facts on this matter but I understand that there is some ground for believing that the great uranium deposit recently discovered in the Northern Territory by Queensland Mines Ltd may become the subject of a takeover bid. [More…]
With Australia on the threshold of entering the field of nuclear power and in the light of the recent discovery of high grade uranium ore at the Nabarlek prospect in the Northern Territory, the time is opportune, I believe, for the Government to adopt a standard policy for the exploration and utilisation of our uranium deposits. [More…]
Nabarlek, with its indicated reserves of 55,000 tons of uranium with ore grades averaging as high as 540 lb to a ton, puts Australia in a unique position as we have a supply of high grade uranium oxide that could be realised for something around one-fifth of the cost of uranium oxide produced overseas. [More…]
Queensland Mines Ltd, the holder of the Nabarlek leases, could out-compete any mine overseas for the supply of uranium oxide and in fact could disastrously undercut its nearest competitor and still secure a handsome profit. [More…]
Already the pressures have been applied for the export of Nabarlek uranium. [More…]
Sir Phillip Baxter, the Chairman of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, is reported to have already discussed the Nabarlek find with representatives of the Japanese Science Technology Agency who no doubt see the Nabarlek strike as a reliable source for the massive uranium needs of Japan’s nuclear power programme. [More…]
The Atomic Energy Act 1953-1966 confers on Sir Phillip Baxter, as Chairman of the AAEC, power to negotiate for the exploration, treatment and sale of uranium. [More…]
To date there has not been any accurate assessment of Australia’s uranium needs nor a reconciliation of those needs with our proven reserves. [More…]
Uranium is the key to the world’s power supply and with the serious depletion of fossil fuel reserves I believe the Government should exercise such controls as would guarantee all our future needs. [More…]
The Government’s present uranium export policy is atrociously weak as there is no statutory export limit. [More…]
Only recently permission was given for the export of 2,700 tons by Mary Kathleen Uranium. [More…]
The principle should be that Australia’s natural wealth belongs to the people of Australia and not to the shareholders of uranium exploration companies. [More…]
At the moment quite a number of exploration companies are prospecting for uranium in Australia - Queensland Mines Ltd, Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd, PekoWallsend, E.Z. [More…]
Industries, Westmoreland, Exoil-Transoil, Petomin and United Uranium, to name but a few. [More…]
The Australian Atomic Energy Commission under the powers conferred on it by the Atomic Energy Act could prospect for uranium itself if the Government would grant it the necessary finance. [More…]
Queensland Mines is a company owned and controlled by Australians and I would not like to see this company fall prey to any foreign company including the Rio Tinto Zinc group, which controls most of the uranium sales in the western world. [More…]
Rio Tinto-Zinc Corporation Limited of the United Kingdom which is itself owned by the European-based Rothschild banking organisation owns 83.6 per cent of Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Limited, commonly known as CRA, which in turn owns 51 per cent of Mary Kathleen Uranium, the company that recently secured permission from the Government for the export of 2,700 short tons of uranium. [More…]
Rio Tinto-Zinc Corporation Limited owns the Rio Algom mine in Canada, one of the world’s major uranium suppliers. [More…]
It also owns Riofinex, its South African Uranium subsidiary. [More…]
Rio Tinto-Zinc’s boardroom policy, which, of course, is decided overseas, has already had a decisive impact upon the production of uranium in Australia. [More…]
Kathleen Investments also holds 35 per cent of Mary Kathleen Uranium which is now jointly owned and controlled, as I said before, by CRA. [More…]
Even in the short time since the Queensland Mine discovery the value of Mary Kathleen Uranium shares have been depressed from $3.80 to something approximating $2.50 and this company does have a production contract. [More…]
In 1958 Rio Tinto went to the High Court in an endeavour to stop an Australian Company, Australian Oil Exploration Ltd, from selling its holdings in Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd to Kathleen Investments Ltd, then known as Mary Kathleen Investments. [More…]
Fortunately the High Court ruled against Rio Tinto, and Kathleen Investments took up the Australian Oil Exploration shareholding in Mary Kathleen Uranium. [More…]
If the Prime Minister fails ‘to fire’ this time then we may lose control of this important uranium deposit. [More…]
I believe the following should be done: Firstly, the Government to take immediate action to see that Queensland Mines be not taken over by any foreign group; secondly, the Government closely control all uranium exports ensuring at all times that Australia has adequate deposits in reserve; thirdly, the Government to convene a conference of all State Attorneys-General to amend the company laws to ensure that [More…]
Australian resources remain in the control of Australians; fourthly, the Atomic Energy Commission, in conjunction with the Bureau of Mineral Resources, to actively engage itself in the exploration and mining of uranium; and, fifthly, the Government to investigate and report to Parliament on the activities of the Rothchild’s backed Rio Tinto Zinc Group and its subsidiaries and its attempts to gain control of our uranium resources. [More…]
But at this time I can only say that I know that at least one company is considering obtaining overseas contracts for the export of uranium from the new deposits and I would expect in the fairly near future - within a matter of the next few months - that some submissions would be made for consideration. [More…]
There has recently been a discovery of uranium deposits by a company called Queensland Mines Ltd, in the Northern Territory at Nabarlek. [More…]
The estimates made by the Chairman of the Company are that the ore body is so large, and the grade of ore so rich that it would be possible to supply the free world’s requirements of uranium at a price considerably below that now ruling. [More…]
We have therefore decided that it would not be in the national interest for control of these uranium deposits to pass into other than Australian hands. [More…]
Will he, for this purpose, acquire the necessary technology to upgrade exports of Australian uranium by its enrichment, thereby quadrupling its value? [More…]
How does he justify his insistence on the use of natural uranium in an obsolescent process for the proposed nuclear reactor at Jervis Bay and the slanting of specifications accordingly? [More…]
Does his insistence prevent Australia’s achievement of world status in uranium utilisation and supply? [More…]
The honourable member then went on to ask, in effect, whether we should put in an enrichment plant for uranium. [More…]
I think that the honourable member would know that the cost of an enrichment plantisextremelyhigh indeed andI would not think that when he had considered all the facts that he would think that it was a reasonable thing for Australia at this stage to put in an enrichment plant for uranium. [More…]
The fourth question was: Were we in some way retarding the progress of technology by suggesting that natural uranium should be used and the answer to that, I believe, is quite simply no. [More…]
Is the Mr E. R. Hudson who recently approached the Prime Minister to prevent foreign control of Australian uranium fields identical with the Mr E. R. Hudson who is the chairman of Glass Containers Ltd, a company incorporated on 12th June 1969 for the purpose of manufacturing glass containers? [More…]
If this is the case, would it be correct to say that Mr Hudson believes in Australian ownership of uranium and overseas control of the manufacture of glass containers? [More…]
Thanks to the recent Nabarlek discoveries of uranium, we have world ranking resources. [More…]
Then the necessary technology will be made available to him and to this country to enable us to upgrade our supplies of uranium. [More…]
It will pay us even to use the gaseous diffusion process for the purpose of upgrading uranium. [More…]
This would mean that our resources would be quadrupled because uranium is the most important element in the world today. [More…]
In dealing with the estimates of the Department of National Development and the role the Department plays in regard to Australia’s uranium resources, I would like to avail myself of this opportunity to mention some of the aspects which I raised on 16th September of ibis year in a debate on the motion for the adjournment of this chamber. [More…]
I refer to the possible takeover of Queensland Mines Ltd, the company which made the massive uranium find at Nabarlek in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Harking back to my speech concerning the Nabarlek uranium on 16th September, on that occasion I named Conzinc Rio Tinto of Australia Limited as the company most . [More…]
It was pointed out to me that the chairman of Rio Tinto Zinc, Sir Val Duncan, said recently at the annual general meeting of Rio Algom Mines Ltd, its Canadian uranium company, that the Rothschilds’ interests in Rio Tinto Zinc were insignificant. [More…]
I deal now with the subject of uranium in relation to Australia’s future nuclear power needs and to the selection of the reactor type for the Jervis Bay installation. [More…]
The discovery of the giant uranium deposit at Nabarlek, with its concentration of uranium oxide as high as 540 lb per ton, opens up a number of questions in relation to reactor type selection and fuel policy. [More…]
Firstly, would it be an economic proposition for Australia to install her own enriching plant with a view to becoming an exporter of enriched uranium and a supplier for our own stations? [More…]
Fifthly what impact will fast breeder reactor technology have upon our uranium reserves? [More…]
The advantages are these: Firstly, national uranium fuel independence from overseas supplies; secondly, high plutonium production which can atd either a nuclear bomb project or the installation of fast breeder reactors; thirdly, partly proven design; fourthly, low fuel inventory and replacement, allowing a small interest burden on stockpiles if overseas fuel is used; fifthly, it is not necessary to reprocess fuel elements to extract unused uranium 235 to achieve good fuel economy. [More…]
Some of the disadvantages he lists are these: Firstly, higher unit cost to provide electricity, perhaps 10 per cent higher in some circumstances; secondly, possible reductions in cost of enriched uranium with the introduction of centrifuge enrichment could make this type of plant even less economic; thirdly, on stream replacement of fuel elements; fourthly, as with any reactor type to produce weapons grade plutonium it is extremely uneconomic in terms of the cost of electricity produced. [More…]
I think it has been fairly well canvassed that the CANDU reactor using natural uranium fuel produces quite an amount of plutonium 239 which is the material used to make a very basic dirty bomb. [More…]
I preface the question by referring to his stated intention to introduce legislation preventing a takeover of Queensland Mines Limited, the uranium prospector. [More…]
Enrichment of uranium in the United States of America is performed in facilities owned by the United States Atomic Energy Commission and operated under contract to the Commission. [More…]
Studies are being undertaken by the USAEC to review uranium enrichment costs. [More…]
What are the respective (a) advantages and (b) disadvantages to Ausatralia if (i) natural uranium or GO enriched uranium is adopted as the fuel for our nuclear power stations. [More…]
Under Australian conditions, the costs of nuclear power derived from natural uranium and enriched uranium may not be very different. [More…]
Natural uranium power ‘ stations generally have higher capital costs than enriched fuel stations. [More…]
This is offset by the fact that natural uranium fuel is cheaper than enriched uranium fuel, and this effect persists throughout the life of the station. [More…]
Part of the extra cost of natural uranium stations is the cost of heavy water, in the cases where it is used. [More…]
Australia has adequate resources of natural uranium to sustain a nuclear power programme. [More…]
The manufacture of natural uranium fuel could be carried out in Australia and this could constitute significant savings of foreign exhange. [More…]
Although Australia may one day be able to enrich its own uranium, that day is some way off and it is not yet certain what the cost of that operation would be. [More…]
We object to the reactor also on the grounds that the Government, because of its failure to ratify the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons, will be committed to the use of either natural uranium or slightly enriched uranium - in either case, Australia’s resources of what in the future will be the world’s most valuable element. [More…]
A person can pick up even some items concerning uranium enrichment in South Africa in a recent magazine. [More…]
I imagine that the same situation will occur at Oenpelli where a uranium deposit has been located. [More…]
The British-German-Dutch centrifuge consortium has staled that if a British or German tender for an enriched uranium fuelled plant is chosen for the Jervis Bay project the consortium would make arrangements whereby Australian uranium might be enriched in Australian plants. [More…]
I would add that Australia has also been engaged for some years in independent experimental work towards producing enriched uranium by the centrifuge process. [More…]
Can the Minister say whether ‘.the Commission favours a power station using natural or enriched uranium? [More…]
Will he also supply, in a tabular form similar to that provided to the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (Victorian Branch) Annual Conference in 1970 by ‘officers of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, the demand by each main reactor tyPe under consideration each year for (i) uranium, (it) heavy water, (iii) zirconium and (iv) fabricated -fuel elements. [More…]
Uranium (Question No. [More…]
Has any agreement been reached with any of the three governments who are parties to the agreement for collaboration in the development and exploitation of the gas centrifuge for enriching uranium (Great’ Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands) regarding the supply of centrifuge technology to Australia if Australia should accept a lender for the nuclear power station at Jervis Bay from either the Nuclear Power Group of Great Britain or KraftwerkeUnion of West Germany. [More…]
Arc the economic factors associated with uranium enrichment and nuclear reactor fuel element fabrication such that large plants have a considerable cost advantage. [More…]
Will the recent Nabarlek uranium discoveries make co-operative Government activity more desirable. [More…]
The economics of reactor fuel fabrication and proven uranium enrichment processes depend on a number of factors but in general the production costs decrease as the size of the plant increases. [More…]
The Government has no plans for a cooperative programme in uranium enrichment and would not consider such a move until Australia’s long-term future requirement for enriched uranium is known. [More…]
Naturally, this discovery and any future discoveries which increase Australia’s proven reserves of uranium could lead to initiatives towards a co-operative enrichment programme lo meet local demand and for export purposes. [More…]
Has his attention been drawn to a statement by Mr Yasuhiro Nakasone, the Director of the Japanese Self-Defence Agency, that Australia might be interested in co-operating with Japan and other countries in establishing a uranium enrichment organisation. [More…]
The Government has not received and consequently has not discussed any oiler to collaborate wilh Japan in establishing a uranium enrichment organisation. [More…]
to promote the search for and mining and treatment of uranium in Australia, with power to buy and sell uranium on behalf of the Commonwealth. [More…]
to collect and distribute information relating to uranium and atomic energy. [More…]
In the case of natural uranium fuelled reactors the component could exceed 2/ 3 ids of the total cost. [More…]
Has he considered lifting the Queensland Mines Uranium Company Ordinance to allow a reconstruction of the debt position of Mineral Securities Australia Ltd by a consortium of which Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Ltd is a prominent financial member? [More…]
Will he give an assurance to the House that under no circumstances will he allow CRA or its parent company Rio-Tinto-Zinc Corporation Ltd. Britain, or any other foreign company to secure control over the rich Nabarlek Qld Mines uranium deposit? [More…]
by leave - Following a review by the Commonwealth of policy relating to the export of uranium the then Minister for National Development on 10th April 1967, announced a new policy designed to stimulate explora tion for this mineral and at the same time ensure that Australia’s future requirements of uranium would be met front domestic resources. [More…]
In recent years the search for uranium has increased. [More…]
It is clear, however, that these reserves will put Australia amongst the leading uranium producers in the world, and it is not over-optimisticto expect that further discoveries will continue to be made. [More…]
Uranium is not only a valuable mineral and the probable future source of much of the world’s future industrial power, but it is also a material of strategic importance. [More…]
The Government has decided, in common with the Governments of practically all other uranium exporting countries, to maintain a system of export control. [More…]
As with previous policy, all contracts for the export of uranium will be subjected to the approval of the Minister for National Development. [More…]
This will ensure that the price negotiated for the sale of the uranium is satisfactory. [More…]
Uranium Export Policy - and move: [More…]
The principal objective of the speech of the Minister of National Development (Mr Swartz) today is to inform the House of the relaxation of the selective embargo on the export of uranium oxide. [More…]
In September last year the Prime Minister (Mr Gorton) made a rather dramatic statement in this House in which he guaranteed on behalf of the Commonwealth Government that the rich Nabarlek uranium deposits would not fall into foreign hands. [More…]
There was no mention of uranium. [More…]
The selective embargo was applied on the assumption that the total reserves of uranium oxide in Australia, were only approximately 20,000 tons. [More…]
This rather large and latest find of Nabarlek shows reserves which are estimated to be at least 55,000 tons of very high grade uranium oxide yielding 540 lb to the short ton. [More…]
This, of course, shows not only the value of it but also the relatively low cost of producing it in terms of world figures.In many countries the cost of mining uranium oxide is around$5 per short ton. [More…]
The total supply in Australia now is such that Australia must be recognised as a major source of uranium oxide. [More…]
Australia is in a position definitely to influence the price as well as the supply and demand of uranium oxide. [More…]
I believe the Parliament is entitled to know in more detail the Government’s policy with respect to mines and the reserves of uranium oxide and particularly its policy in regard to Queensland Mines, a subject which is in the news from day to day, and the uranium reserve at Nabarlek in the Northern Terrritory. [More…]
I do not know whether the Minister has deliberately not clone this but at some future date he should inform the House in more detail of the Government’s policy and attitude towards uranium deposits in Australia, the ownership of those deposits and these safeguards on export levels which he states he will watch closely, particularly with regardto importing countries. [More…]
For example, to what countries does the Government believe the uranium should be sold? [More…]
There are countries which by reason of their industrial capacity and industrial energy will need uranium oxide. [More…]
Japan is one country with which this Government must foster not only uranium markets but also reciprocal trade agreements. [More…]
In regard to the United KingdomI do not think there is any argument, but there is some doubt about the United States and for what it uses its uranium oxide. [More…]
We want to know these points and hear the Government’s policy and attitude towards uranium exports. [More…]
On reading policy statements which are put out from time to time there does not seem to be any clear cut policy, particularly in relation to mineral exports of strategic importance such as uranium. [More…]
We also want to know the Government’s attitude and beliefs about the price of uranium. [More…]
Will the price of uranium rise or fall? [More…]
If there are to be no quantitative restrictions on the export of uranium it could cause a reduction in price. [More…]
We want to know also whether the Government has done any work on the demand for uranium-, lt is expected that the demand will increase in future. [More…]
The European Nuclear Energy Agency and the international Atomic Energy Agency have both predicted a steady increase in the demand for uranium which could in 10 years time slow clown because apparently there are tremendous innovations in the development of fast breeding reactors which I am told use only approximately half the fuel or energy requirements .of conventional reactors operating at the present lime. [More…]
He stopped the takeover of Nabarlek uranium. [More…]
Commonwealth, State, semi-government and corporate power supplies based on coal, water, oil, uranium and natural gas. [More…]
Is the generating cost of enriched reactors considerably lower than those of natural uranium reactors. [More…]
Will he supply a table showing the comparative generating costs of (a) enriched uranium and (b) natural uranium reactors. [More…]
As explained in the answer to Question 1288 the fuel cost of enriched uranium fuelled reactors is normally higher than that of natural uranium fuelled reactors. [More…]
This difference, however, is roughly counterbalanced by the higher capital costs of natural uranium reactors. [More…]
If, nevertheless, we were to consider costs of two hypothetical reactors to be constructed in Australia on the one site, of identical sizes and having the same interest rates, one being designed for enriched and the other designed for natural uranium fuel, it is thought that the difference in generating costs would not be considerable unless there was a marked difference in the keenness of the competitive attitudes of the tenderers. [More…]
NABARLEK URANIUM deposits [More…]
Queensland Mines Lid substantially downgrading its first estimates of uranium oxide in the Nabarlek deposit, can the Minister indicate the overall position now regarding the uranium deposits in the Northern Territory? [More…]
The second point which 1 think is of vital importance to Australia - I stand by my previous statement- - is that the uranium province in the Northern Territory is a significant one by world standards. [More…]
It has stated that it can substantiate the known quantity of uranium oxide, U308 or yellow coke - call it what you like - in the province of the Northern Territory as amounting to at least 100,000 tons. [More…]
1 would not like the international Press to pick up anything resulting from reports that have appeared following a statement by one company which would affect our credibility overseas in relation to the future development of this uranium province. [More…]
I conclude by saying that other opportunities exist in Australia for finding substantial deposits of uranium. [More…]
I can only repeat that in the future Australia will be a major world producerin the uranium field. [More…]
Can he say whether New Zealand authorities on nuclear power were of the opinion that the use of natural uranium fuel makes the most economic sense. [More…]
Can he yet say what the estimated cost per kilowatt hour of nuclear generated electricity in Australia will be using (a) natural uranium and (b) enriched uranium. [More…]
It is true that as a result of the assessment of the tenders received for the proposed Jervis Bay nuclear power station we now have a better knowledge of the relative costs of electricity generated from reactors using natural uranium and those using enriched uranium. [More…]
Did the tender documents for the proposed nuclear reactor at Jervis Bay stipulate the use of indigenous natural uranium after 5 years of operation. [More…]
Reactors which could be built today with reasonable confidence in their safety, reliability and performance - although they could not be considered as fully proved - would be Magnox Reactors, Advanced Gas Reactors, Boiling Water Reactors, Pressurised Water Reactors, Steam Generating Heavy Water Reactors and the Canadian Heavy Water Natural Uranium Reactor (CANDU). [More…]
2840, a copy of the answer to which I received about 24th June and which appears in yesterday’s Hansard, I asked the Minister about the generating cost of electricity in Australia using natural uranium and enriched uranium and about supplying a comparative statement showing these costs in relation to electricity generated by conventional plants in Australia. [More…]
During the discussions on the calling of tenders for this power station it was learned that the power so generated would be generated from beneficiated uranium. [More…]
Honourable members would know that the uranium ore obtained from mines in Australia would have to be sent overseas before it could be used in a nuclear power station at Jervis Bay. [More…]
My question is directed to the Minister for the Interior and refers to reports of miscalculation of estimates of the reserves of the Nabarlek uranium operation in Arnhem Land and the effect this could have on other uranium mines in the area. [More…]
Prospecting in the area does indicate that in the Arnhem Land region there is a major uranium province of world significance and, although there is some uncertainty about the level of deposits at Nabarlek, nevertheless we understand there are sufficient quantities there for a viable undertaking. [More…]
There have been discussions with Japanese authorities on the general subject of the market for nuclear fuel including enriched uranium but they have been of an exploratory nature only. [More…]
During the discussions associated with tenders for the Jervis Bay project the tripartite consortium (United Kingdom, Holland and West Germany) indicated its possible interest in participation in a centrifugal uranium enrichment plant in Australia at some future time. [More…]
Uranium enrichment was discussed with the Canadian Government Mission led by the Honourable J. J. Greene, Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. [More…]
and (7) In view of the current world emphasis on energy expansion, particularly in the nuclear field, together with the recent important discoveries of uranium in Australia, the Government has been actively pursuing preliminary studies regarding likely markets available to an Australian uranium enrichment industry. [More…]
The Australian Atomic Energy Commission in the course of its normal responsibilities carries out continuing surveys of current and future supply and demand for nuclear materials and in recent months senior personnel from the Commission have had discussions with several overseas countries on enriched uranium markets and the market which might be available to Australia should it become involved in this technology. [More…]
But the AAEC for some years has been conducting laboratory scale experiments in centrifugal technology of uranium enrichment. [More…]
The Australian Capital Territory Life Insurance Holding Companies Ordinance of 1968, the Australian Capital Territory Companies (Uranium Mining Companies) Ordiance of 1970 and the proposals made by the former Prime Minister to the President of the Australian Associated Stock Exchanges on Sth December 1968 - all matters designed to safeguard Australian companies from overseas takeovers - have not been followed up. [More…]
The fact now is that, if we approve of the method, we can ensure that the same methods applying to the uranium company and the MLC can be applied to any companies in Australia. [More…]
Despite these trends, the long term prospects for the export of minerals, including uranium, which I have not time to discuss in detail tonight, indicate a growing rate of contribution to our national economy. [More…]
The uranium result at Nabarlek is not as good as we thought. [More…]
the 100 MW enriched uranium unit at Winfrith in the United Kingdom; and [More…]
the 250 MW natural uranium CANDU BLW at Gentilly in Canada. [More…]
Has the Government noted that the JapanCanada ministerial committee agreed on 14 September 1971 to establish a sub-committee on resources and energy matters to be composed of senior government officials and to maintain continuous review of trade in copper, coal, iron, uranium and other mineral commodities and further processing in Canada for the international market. [More…]
According to this morning’s Press the Americans are now participating in Australian uranium through Queensland Mines Limited. [More…]
We have now lost control of uranium and other resources. [More…]
I refer to the increasing number of discoveries of uranium and the growing interest in uranium exploration in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Can the Minister advise what progress has been made in discussions with the United States of America relating to the enrichment of uranium? [More…]
I appreciate the interest which the honourable member shows in an industry which will be of vital importance to Australia in the future, particularly as the major uranium deposits that have so far been discovered in Australia are in the Northern Territory. [More…]
So there will be an increase in demand for enriched uranium fuel for the remainder of this century. [More…]
As a result of the discussions in the United States, and also in Canada, an agreement was reached with the United States, because in the early 1980s the United States will reach saturation point as far as supplies of enriched uranium fuel to the free world from her own sources are concerned. [More…]
The nub of the whole problem is whether this Government is prepared not merely to sign but also to ratify the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, because unless and until it does so it will not have available to it the means of uranium enrichment. [More…]
The attitude of the United States Pentagon is quite clear: It is opposed to the United States opening its secrets of the gaseous diffusion process for converting raw uranium into uranium 235 because it might make it easier for Japan to join the nuclear club. [More…]
The process of uranium enrichment by gaseous diffusion is available not only for enriching uranium but also for enabling a country having access to that technology to make weapons-grade uranium for thermonuclear weapons. [More…]
Labor will stimulate the growth of nuclear technology, particularly by the earliest possible Commonwealth initiative to establish nuclear power stations using enriched uranium in reactors of basically similar design. [More…]
I doubt whether we would have discovers 1 uranium which the honourable member hai talked about. [More…]
My conclusion is that Australia should have a broadly expressed national energy policy aimed at ensuring adequate supplies of energy at the lowest possible price, subject to the most effective use of indigenous sources of energy - coal, gas, oil, water, uranium, and the best way of ensuring this would be to set up a National Energy Commission with powers and functions similar to those at the National Energy Board of Canada. [More…]
Labor will stimulate the growth of nuclear technology, particularly by the earliest possible Commonwealth initiative to establish nuclear power stations using enriched uranium in reactors of basically similar design. [More…]
Labor will work for the enrichment of Australian uranium resources in plants which are located in Australia and which have at least a majority Australian control of equity and policy. [More…]
Labor appreciates that the Constitution prevents Commonwealth control of our oil, natural gas, coal, uranium and other natural fuel and energy resources. [More…]
Nothing has been said about the extension of our fuel and energy resources in the years to come or of the uranium discoveries in Australia. [More…]
Is this not the position with uranium? [More…]
We would love to see ourselves with a natural resource of uranium under our control. [More…]
It now appears that by some default and because of the activities of a liquidator we could well be losing control of the uranium resources. [More…]
lt now appears that they might give us some of their knowledge on enriching uranium because they want to be part of the power proposition here. [More…]
When it comes to our resources of uranium we should look around the world to find what would be the best way for us to develop them for ourselves. [More…]
The role of the new authority would be to set guidelines for atomic research at the Lucas Heights atomic research establishment; to make recommendations on the development of atomic power plants; to formulate a nuclear fuel policy; to give advice about Australia’s role in the world uranium enrichment industry; and to examine the relationship of atomic research to Australia’s defence requirements. [More…]
It is an unusual fuel cycle involving uranium 233 and thorium. [More…]
The tender specifications called for a reactor using natural uranium, and indicated that an enrichment plant would be established in Australia to supply local enriched fuel. [More…]
Now there is talk about a uranium enrichment plant in Australia, with the United States of America or France supplying the technology, Japan supplying the market and Australia supplying the uranium. [More…]
In view of our earlier fiascos this matter needs a lot of careful examination and, as the member for the electorate in which the Lucas Heights atomic research establishment is located, I want the Committee to know that people in very high, eminent and responsible positions at the reactor are saying precisely what I have already said, and they are very anxious to ensure that the proposed uranium enrichment project is not undertaken without proper consideration, because enormous public expenditure is involved. [More…]
The number of potential suppliers of enriched uranium is increasing to such an extent that we could be creating the greatest white elephant the scientific age has ever known. [More…]
If we are sitting on the best pile of uranium in the world then of course we realise that a tremendous amount of capital outlay is required to develop and produce it. [More…]
So really, the sort of assessment that it is practical to make of a country’s resources of any mineral fuel - be it coal, petroleum or uranium - can tell us a quantity which we know we possess but cannot tell us how much more we may have which we do not know about. [More…]
Only a year ago we believed that our uranium resources might be barely sufficient for our own modest local needs: now we know that we are likely to be a major world supplier. [More…]
Recently a statement was made by the Minister for National Development (Mr Swartz) to the effect that the Government is to provide $4m for a road to the East Alligator River area of the Northern Territory to serve the new uranium province east of Darwin. [More…]
This income will increase substantially as a result of the uranium mining at Nabarlek in the near future for the benefit of 22,000 Aborigines. [More…]
Let somebody try to dig for uranium or aluminium under the Melbourne Cricket Ground. [More…]
As far as Australia is concerned, an important feature of the agreement is that it opens the way to export our uranium to Japan within our policy that such exports will be used only for peaceful purposes, this to be verified by application of an international safeguards system. [More…]
Such a programme will require significant quantities of uranium, about 400,000 tons of U308 cumulative to the end of the century. [More…]
by leave - On 1 5th March 1972, the AttorneyGeneral (Senator Greenwood) and 1 issued a Press statement indicating that certain amendments would be made to the Companies (Uranium Mining Companies) Ordinance 1970 of the Australian Capital Teritory. [More…]
Those amendments have nOW been made by the Companies (Uranium Mining Companies) Ordinance 1972, which was notified in the Gazette on 17th March 1972 and tabled today. [More…]
On 17th September 1970 the then Prime Minister made a statement in this House concerning action that the Government would take to ensure that control of the development of the uranium discovery at Nabarlek by Queensland Mines Limited and Kathleen Investments (Australia) Limited would remain in the hands of Australian companies for the benefit of Australian shareholders and Australia generally. [More…]
Subsequently, in December 1970, the Australian Capital Territory Companies (Uranium Mining Companies) Ordinance 1970 was made giving effect to the Government decisions. [More…]
The amendment applies equally to all persons who had acquired shares in either of the two uranium companies before the announcement. [More…]
The Australian Capital Territory Companies (Uranium Mining Companies) [More…]
It arose from action taken by the right honourable member for Higgins (Mr Gorton) with respect to the Government’s policy of ensuring that the development of uranium deposits at Nabarlek remained in the hands of Australian companies for the benefit of Australian shareholders and Australia generally. [More…]
It is quite clear that uranium is now becoming a major mineral in terms of export income for this nation. [More…]
In May 1967 restrictions were placed on the export of uranium, principally to conserve known deposits which at that time were exceedingly small. [More…]
Since then Queensland Mines Ltd has discovered uranium at Westmoreland, and this was followed by the discovery ot uranium at Nabarlek. [More…]
The Peko-Wallsend Ltd and EZ Industries Ltd have discovered uranium at Ranger and, Noranda Australia Ltd has control of the uranium deposits at Jim Jim in the Northern Territory. [More…]
It is significant that Noranda is the same company which now has considerable share interests in Queensland Mines uranium deposits at Nabarlek. [More…]
So, within a space of, say, 4 years Australia has emerged as a major potential exporter of uranium ore. [More…]
There are the discoveries of uranium by Pancontinental in the Jim Jim field in the East Alligator Creek area. [More…]
The bitterness arises from the fact that there is higher foreign ownership in these uranium deposits than was originally intended and in my view this is regrettable. [More…]
In fact the companies that are holding shares in either of these 2 companies - Queensland Mines Ltd and Kathleen Investments Australia Ltd - would not be prone to sell the shares considering the fact that the whole situation in regard to the sale of uranium in Australia is in a very fluid position. [More…]
With the Government talking about enrichment plants, agreements with Japan and possible sales of uranium to Japan, these companies would not be selling any of their shares to bring down their level of holdings below IS per cent. [More…]
What was done in the case of the Nabarlek uranium find? [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister: Is it a fact that arising from the Mineral Securities Australia Ltd debt reconstruction the Government recently amended the Companies (Uranium Mining Companies) Ordinance 1970 of the Australian Capital Territory to allow foreign companies to hold 21 per cent equity in Queensland Mines Ltd and Kathleen Investments (Australia Limited - that is, 6 per cent in excess of the figure stipulated by the Ordinance? [More…]
The main objective of this road is to serve this property and a number of other properties, but to serve particularly the new uranium mining project which is about to begin at Ranger, close to the proposed road. [More…]
The Public Works Committee agreed without a dissentient voice that the construction of this road, which already has reached the Mary River, should reach right across to the South Alligator River to tap the uranium potential in the East Alligator area. [More…]
As is well known, that body has progressed to the stage where Australia is currently looking at the establishment of a nuclear generation plant and also the possible introduction of enrichment of uranium fuel in Australia. [More…]
Did Queensland Mines Limited confer with the Government or the Department of National Development before entering into a provisional contract with Japan for the supply of 2,230 short tons of uranium oxide? [More…]
Did the Peko-EZ Industries partnership secure Government permission before tendering for contracts to supply 10,000 short tons of uranium oxide to Japan? [More…]
In view of Australia’s interest in a centrifuge uranium enrichment plant, is the supply of uranium oxide to foreign countries considered to be justified and sensible? [More…]
-Perhaps 1 could answer the last part of the question first simply by saying yes, we must seek, where possible, markets for uranium in various forms and that is exactly what the producing companies are doing at the present time. [More…]
The question gives me the opportunity to indicate to the House that there is in the uranium industry a building up of a greater degree of co-operation both on the production side - in the field of the provision of infrastructure - and in the field of marketing than perhaps in any other industry in Australia at the present time. [More…]
The letters of intent which have been reported to have been signed by Queensland Mines Ltd and the endeavours by the Peko-Wallsend company to obtain contracts overseas for uranium in some form - in the form of uranium oxide, U308, or in some other form - will, of course, be actively supported and encouraged by this Government. [More…]
Equally, I believe that when we come to the development of natural resources, such as iron ore in the case of Western Australian and coal, uranium, copper and so on in the case of Queensland, the States have let off very lightly those who wanted to exploit the development of the minerals. [More…]
It underlines the need for a national price for coal, as is the case with iron ore, uranium, woodchip and certain primary industries. [More…]
Only 2 years ago we believed that our uranium resources were very small, but with the huge discoveries that have been made Australia in the future will be a major world supplier. [More…]
Is the Prime Minister aware that a spokesman for PekoWallsend Ltd recently announced his company’s intention to secure overseas uranium markets by disposing of equity in Australian uranium mines to overseas interests? [More…]
I have seen some public statements which have been attributed to Peko-Wallsend Ltd, which, of course, is associated with the Electrolytic Zinc Co. (A/ Asia) Ltd in the field of uranium marketing and the problems associated with it. [More…]
The Peko area in the uranium province in the Northern Territory is perhaps the most substantial uranium area in Australia. [More…]
At present all the companies that are concerned with uranium - the 3 companies in the Northern Territory, one in Western Australia and a possible one in South Australia - are examining the market situation. [More…]
Is it in the public interest that during the recess uranium deposits to our north will be signed away to foreign interests? [More…]
Has consideration yet been given to establishing a joint committee with Japan, similar to that which the Japan-Canada ministerial committee agreed to establish on 14th September 1971, to be composed of senior government officials and to maintain continuous review of trade in copper, coal, iron, uranium and other mineral commodities and further processing in Australia for the [More…]
The future role of the Committee will also, I am sure, include assessments of safety factors in the development of a uranium industry in Australia. [More…]
What has been the result of discussions held with uranium mining companies with the object of facilitating the promotion by the companies of the most effective marketing of uranium produced in Australia. [More…]
Have these Government/industry discussions included consideration of the publicly declared intention of one uranium mining company to secure overseas uranium markets by disposing of Australian equity in its uranium interests to overseas companies and authorities. [More…]
Exploratory discussions have been held with uranium mining companies. [More…]
The companies have been encouraged to have discussions with a view to their developing an effective marketing scheme, and I understand that prospective producers of uranium have engaged in discussions on these matters. [More…]
In contrast this nation’s most valuable asset is its vast, nonrenewable fuel resources of natural gas and uranium which are conservatively valued at $ 19,000m. [More…]
Dealing with the second part, which related to the industries associated with the production of petroleum gas, often termed natural gas, and uranium, these 2 industries have a tremendous importance to our future economy. [More…]
To deal with the question of uranium in the depth with which one should deal with an industry of such importance would take a considerable time. [More…]
The interesting fact - I think that the Leader of the Opposition also will be pleased to know - is that the present uranium province in the Northern Territory, the discoveries in Western Australia and the anticipated proving of areas in South Australia show that the bulk of the exploration work and also the results that have been achieved so far are largely in Australian hands. [More…]
We will be a significant source for energy materials of all kinds - coal, gas and uranium - and their development will need expertise and finance on a scale at present little realised. [More…]
Similarly, in respect of uranium development and uranium enrichment there is need for a national viewpoint to be taken and for a national authority to handle the national resources of Australia, which are the birthright of the Australian people. [More…]
If this Government’s policies continue, uranium deposits in the Northern Territory will share the same fate. [More…]
On 1st August 1 sent a telegram to the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Foreign Ownership and Control requesting an immediate investigation of the alienation and foreign control of our vast and rich uranium deposits. [More…]
Our prospects for both uranium and liquefied natural gas exports are excellent. [More…]
Already Australia has entered into contracts to export uranium and discussions have taken place in relation to the export of liquefied natural gas. [More…]
I now refer to nuclear power and uranium. [More…]
Based on current United States estimates it will not be in a position to export enriched uranium beyond 1977. [More…]
Sir Phillip Baxter is on record as saying that we have about 200,000 short tons of uranium. [More…]
If one uses the recent selling price for uranium of $6.57 per lb, those reserves are valued at nearly $2,600m. [More…]
The deal proposed is this: The Japanese need fuel and enriched uranium. [More…]
proposal is that the Japanese for a period will purchase from the United States something of the order of $US1,000m worth of uranium, and Australia once more will be left out in the cold. [More…]
Again an Australian Capital Territory ordinance was introduced in December 1970 to prevent a takeover of uranium mining companies, and an amendment was made to that ordinance in March this year. [More…]
Let me tell the House shortly what the outlook of the Australian Labor Party is towards our natural resources, particularly primary energy resources - natural gas, oil, coal and uranium. [More…]
I would like to hear the other companies interested in the same uranium deposits state whether they would be prepared to take steps to preserve the flora and fauna, the natural bush and the Aboriginal artifacts which are in this area. [More…]
When we talk of power we talk of the primary energy resources - coal, uranium, natural gas and oil. [More…]
People are afraid of uranium and nuclear energy because of the safety hazards that they present and also because of the waste materials. [More…]
We have now what appears to be a uranium province of world significance in Arnhem Land in the East Alligator River area. [More…]
Has the Minister for Foreign Affairs seen reports that Australian scientists have worked closely with the French in research relating to nuclear weapons and that there is an agreement on a feasibility study to establish a joint uranium enrichment plant? [More…]
The question of the development of our uranium resources comes within the responsibility of the Minister for National Development. [More…]
The Department also determines the export policy on materials such as uranium, as it did in the earlier days with iron ore. [More…]
The disposal of Avonmouth to CRA has solved 3 basic problems for RTZ: Firstly, it has provided the additional capital required for the development of the uranium deposits in South West Africa; secondly, it has ensured a flow of funds from Australia without incurring withholding tax; and, thirdly, it has retained ownership of the smelter. [More…]
Secondly, is it a fact that this company has encountered financial difficulties resulting from the West German Govern ment’s decision to withdraw from a joint uranium venture in South West Africa? [More…]
Australia has a fair amount of equity in the tin industry and possibly in the uranium industry. [More…]
On this occasion it is to be an enrichment plant for uranium. [More…]
The honourable member for Cunningham mentioned a uranium enrichment plant. [More…]
There is a uranium province in the Alligator River area. [More…]
When looking at the uranium province in the Alligator River area, the Government should not lose sight of the conservation of the flora and fauna in the area. [More…]
Tn this significant uranium province there are also unique flora, fauna, scenery and artifacts. [More…]
I have had a series of 8 questions to the Minister for National Development on the notice paper dating as far back as 18th May asking the Government’s attitude and policies in relation to discussions with the French, German, Japanese and United States Governments on uranium enrichment. [More…]
The Minister knows that the Government will have to make up its mind as to what is to be its policy in regard to uranium enrichment. [More…]
I think the Minister knows that Australia would receive far more in terms of export income from enriched uranium than it would from liquefied natural gas. [More…]
The Minister knows that if Australia is to establish a uranium enrichment plant and natural gas is used as fuel, the amount of gas used over 20 years will be about 5 trillion cubic feet. [More…]
The proposal to set up a uranium enrichment plant in Australia is not anything new. [More…]
Therefore, it is essential that the use of our energy resources - coal, oil, natural gas, uranium - be planned. [More…]
Whilst we have uranium, nickel, metals and minerals of almost every description we have been content to permit the careless plunder of our resources disregarding the responsibilities of nation building and the establishment of a country that will live through the centuries and emerge in the Pacific and Indian oceans region as one of the great nations of all time. [More…]
I remember the first discovery of uranium in Australia and the effect it had on the nation, particularly the north. [More…]
All the above wastes were slightly contaminated with a mixture of radioisotopes, consisting mainly of fission products, natural uranium and a very small amount of actinide elements. [More…]
The actinide elements have half lives ranging up to 3.8 X 10* years and the radioactivity in natural uranium has a half life of 4.5 X 10” years. [More…]
Have there been any discussions between the Commonwealth and United States Governments regarding the effect on uranium prices resulting from the United States decision to release 50,000 tons of uranium in the form of yellowcake from its national stockpile. [More…]
Has the German industrial group, Studiengesellschaft Fur Uranisotoedntrennverfahren, set up to study enrichment technologies, been approached by the Commonwealth to assist in the formulation of Australian policies towards uranium enrichment. [More…]
Is the Enrichment Study Group in the Japanese Central Electric Power Research Institute of the Japanese Government intending to assess the possibility of a uranium enrichment plant in Australia; if so, what aid has been given to them by the Australian Government. [More…]
Was a correct assessment made by Sir Philip Baxter when he stated on Monday Conference recently that Australia’s uranium reserves are in excess of 200,000 tons; if not, what are Australia’s uranium reserves. [More…]
Can he say whether (a) the Spanish Government intends to set up a Government owned national uranium company, (b) uranium resources in Sweden are under the control of A.B. [More…]
The United States Government has decided not to proceed with the release, but rather to use the material in pre-production of enriched uranium for stockpiling against later demand. [More…]
The new company will be government cotrolled, but is likely to include Spanish and overseas groups involved in uranium supply, processing and fuel manufacture, (b) Uranium mining in Sweden is controlled by A.B. [More…]
The Swedish Government is setting up a nuclear fuel corporation to co-ordinate purchases of uranium from overseas and also to undertake and promote studies of uranium enrichment possibilities in Sweden. [More…]
Then, for the future, he said the world would be dependent upon coal resources, uranium and solar energy. [More…]
It is estimated that the value of mineral production will be $200m by 1980, most of which will be earned by bauxite, manganese and uranium. [More…]
If Australia is to become self-sufficient in the near future - by the year 2000, at least - one thing it cannot tolerate is having its oil, natural gas and uranium dominated by the big 7 or the multi-national corporations. [More…]
Who is to control our oil, our gas and our uranium? [More…]
Fuel in the United States - whether it be gas, oil, uranium or coal - is controlled by multi-national corporations. [More…]
Uranium Consolidated No Liability by Metals Miniere Ltd [More…]
It encouraged the search for uranium and the production of uranium. [More…]
The revised policy which I introduced when I was a Minister in 1967, led to a very considerable increase in the discovery of uranium. [More…]
The Minister still had to agree to the exportation, it had to be exported under safeguards and there had to be adequate availability of uranium in Australia. [More…]
I hope that in the not too distant future Australia will have its first generator, making nuclear power from uranium. [More…]
It is only because of the pressure of the Australian Labor Party, which opposed the construction of a natural fueled uranium reactor on the south coast of New South Wales, that there is not available to people like the honourable member, if ever in office again, weapons-grade plutonium. [More…]
In 1972 the gimmick was to offer each of the States in turn the possibility of providing a site on which could be established a uranium enrichment plant. [More…]
Let us have a look at the general question of uranium enrichment. [More…]
In the world today the only known and viable method of uranium enrichment is gaseout diffusion. [More…]
On the general question of uranium I would say this: In a fuel-hungry world Australia is in a very happy position. [More…]
We possess possibly 40 per cent of the free world’s uranium reserves outside those which are held by the United States of America. [More…]
Those contracts in total represent some 11,000 tons of uranium. [More…]
For the information of the House I may say that a ton of uranium in a fast breeder reactor has an energy equivalent of 2 million tons of black coal. [More…]
We are now confronted with a further proposal for the export of some 9,760 tons of uranium. [More…]
Again, most of the uranium is to be sold under contracts written in terms of United States dollars. [More…]
We understand the financial problems of some of the uranium miners. [More…]
The other field to which I want to make some reference because I think it is apposite to a matter that was raised this morning is the question of uranium. [More…]
If one talks in terms of uranium of which we have about 200,000 short tons, it has been estimated that the United States will not be in a position to export enriched uranium after 1980. [More…]
Already the West Germans are negotiating with the Russian Government to import enriched uranium into West Germany. [More…]
The important factor is that the fuel reserves of uranium will be vital by 1985, and it must be a national Government that controls these reserves. [More…]
I would like to make the humble observation that whilst 1 agree that there is a world energy crisis, if one takes the time to analyse the situation in the United States one finds that a high proportion of oil, gas uranium and fossil fuel is owned and controlled by multi-national corporations. [More…]
I conclude on this point: When the people of Australia realise just how important it is for a nation to control its resources, whether they be oil, gas, uranium or fossil fuel, in the national interest and in terms of the world energy crisis, the Government must be in the position to act in the national interest and, more importantly, in the international interest. [More…]
It could also have been of assistance in the uranium province which is close to the Darwin area. [More…]
We rank among the world’s 5 main producers of bauxite, iron ore, tin, nickel, silver, lead, zinc, manganese and uranium. [More…]
After all, as the Commission points out, uranium is expected to become the basic fuel for man’s energy needs in the latter part of this century, both for power and for nuclear powered ships. [More…]
It has effectively increased taxes by 9i per cent for Australian copper, nickel, tin, bauxite and uranium miners. [More…]
A consortium of Ministers has tied up its business to such an extent that its uranium province cannot be worked. [More…]
The company cannot meet its contracts because no one is saying anything about what is to happen out at its uranium province which is west of Arnhem Land. [More…]
Prospectors have been responsible for the discovery of 3 nickel mines in Western Australia as well as for the discovery of large deposits of uranium, manganese, copper, bauxite and probably a number of other minerals. [More…]
We will honour the uranium contracts that were entered into by the former Government. [More…]
Australia’s uranium resources are world ranking. [More…]
When we export uranium it will be enriched, and we will be getting the proper price for it, not the give away prices which some of the uranium companies want to flog it for on the world market at present. [More…]
All these departments have a finger in the Northern Territory uranium province. [More…]
In his book published in 1969 he emphasised the need for a co-ordinated energy policy, which took into account all major energy sources - coal, oil, natural gas and uranium. [More…]
Oil and uranium have been discovered in relatively significant quantities. [More…]
There will be increasing pressures upon Australia in future years to sell gas, coal and uranium. [More…]
Have any feasibility studies been made of the manner in which uranium contracts that have been entered into by potential or current Australian producers of uranium are to be filled? [More…]
Have any feasibility studies been made by the Government as to the potential for future markets for Australian production of uranium? [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition can be very certain that the Government is most familiar with the current world prices for uranium. [More…]
I cite the advice of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission which is of the considered opinion that until 1980 there will not be a true market for uranium. [More…]
The United States of America is desperately seeking to obtain more uranium. [More…]
In the last 3 years it has spent more than $100m searching for uranium within its own boundaries. [More…]
In the meantime, when the Opposition’s censure motion is moved next Tuesday the Government will be giving the further details of the proposals it has to give relief to Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd and to the other associated producers in respect of the preelection contracts, which the Government will honour. [More…]
In fact with a weighted average of the first year deliveries of uranium oxide under all approved contracts the price was US$7.02, which is equivalent to $A4.72. [More…]
The Australian Government recognises the value of foreign investment and technology in assisting development, but it would wish to see a higher level of Australian ownership, both by Australian companies and the Australian public, and by the Australian Government through the Australian Industry Development Corporation, especially in uranium, oil, natural gas and coal. [More…]
An assessment of various statements made by both the Minister for Overseas Trade and the Minister for Minerals and Energy indicates that the provisions of clause 7 will be used in the following principal areas - oil and natural gas development, uranium mining and enrichment, the national pipeline grid, and the manufacture of government cars by the Government Aircraft Factories. [More…]
It may involve the enrichment of uranium. [More…]
We have enormous uranium deposits. [More…]
I have already talked about a uranium enrichment plant. [More…]
That applies not only to uranium but also to a number of other national development projects. [More…]
These projects could be vast development schemes such as enriching uranium, or relatively minor matters such as assisting farmers to develop a processing co-operative. [More…]
The answer is because they control in effect 84 per cent of all refining capacity in the United States, 72 per cent of natural gas resources, 20 per cent of coal and 50 per cent of uranium. [More…]
ENI is also prospecting in various areas around the world for uranium. [More…]
Secondly, the Minister said that I had said that all existing contracts for uranium export were written in Australian dollars. [More…]
This makes nonsense of the Minister’s claim last week that uranium contracts which were entered into prior to the recent elections had unsatisfactory prices, the best of which was US$7.25. [More…]
I think the great majority of the Australian people would be much happier if we had a public interest in the great national resources of this country; if we had a public interest in uranium and the eventual setting up of- - The CHAIRMAN - I ask the Minister to come back to the clause, otherwise he will be opening the matter much wider. [More…]
He will be aware of the fact that, unless Queensland Mines Ltd is granted mining titles to its areas in the Northern Territory and is permitted to develop its uranium reserves, it will lose its areas at the end of this year and will be unable to fulfil its contracts. [More…]
There is no conflict between myself and my colleagues who have an interest in the uranium affairs of the Northern Territory. [More…]
I have made my position very clear and that is that I want to see the uranium mined. [More…]
He has visions of a national pipeline grid, visions of a uranium enrichment plant, visions of this and visions of something else which have an ideological framework and no practical bases. [More…]
There is the uranium leases affair involving Queensland Mines and EZPeko. [More…]
But I come to the uranium leases. [More…]
Secondly, he said that the price for the uranium was not high enough now and that we should wait until it gets higher, which surely will happen later according to him. [More…]
Thirdly, we will only export enriched uranium which is more valuable. [More…]
Uranium contracts which were entered into prior to the recent elections had unsatisfactory prices, the best of which was US$7.25. [More…]
I will show him the United States Atomic Energy Commission’s assessment which shows quite clearly that where the Minister said that America anticipated a shortfall of 850,000 tons of uranium by 1985, this figure is at variance with what the United States Atomic Energy Commission said, which set the anticipated shortfall in 1985 at 174,000 tons, not 850,000 tons as the Minister said. [More…]
His third excuse for not granting the leases was that we will export only enriched uranium. [More…]
We know that we cannot enrich uranium or have an enrichment plant, which will cost $2,700m. [More…]
Does the Minister intend to prevent any company from exporting uranium until that time? [More…]
I refer now to uranium. [More…]
I had hoped to make a full statement on uranium. [More…]
However, what the honourable member for Farrer has said has been an absolute tissue of misrepresentation and I will refer to my prepared speech concerning uranium in refutation of the nonsense of the honourable member for Farrer. [More…]
In a recent report in the ‘Australian Financial Review’ it was stated that I was considering a plan for uranium contracts to be fulfilled from the Mary Kathleen uranium mine, which has been closed for some years- [More…]
Their company-stated resources of uranium are 10,700 short tons. [More…]
I hope that, when you decide on the appropriate national uranium sales policy, we will have an opportunity to suggest some practical rationalisation of the industry, designed to meet the objectives of both the Australian Government and the companies involved. [More…]
On 17 August last, I saw, at their request, Mr Carnegie and Mr Espie, Chairman of Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. [More…]
In the light of the June discussion, I inquired whether there would be any scope for Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd to help out other firms with approved contracts. [More…]
You said that you were seeking a way in which Mary Kathleen Uranium could participate in a rationalisation of the industry. [More…]
Possibly, Mary Kathleen Uranium could reopen and, in negotiation with other potential producers, arrange to provide a product which could satisfy their contracts. [More…]
I want to reaffirm that at all times I have pressed and will continue to press for the fullest mining of all uranium in the Northern Territory, with due regard to environmental restoration, and other interests, such as Aboriginal rights. [More…]
No Labor administration will be responsible for denying to the respective discoveries of uranium in any areas, the subject of the Woodward Committee’s terms of reference, proper rights under the Northern Territory mining ordinances for their ultimate development. [More…]
The Australian Atomic Energy Commission reports that in the Northern Territory where all our richest uranium deposits are, excepting Yeelirrie, the total expenditure for uranium prospecting during 1973 is expected to be $2.6 lm in 29,600 square miles held under prospecting rights. [More…]
Our predecessors in office operated export controls on uranium. [More…]
Australia, Sir, has world-ranking resources of uranium oxide. [More…]
I believe that the Japanese and Australian Governments should agree jointly to commence a feasibility study of establishing in Australia a uranium enrichment facility, utilising Japanese technology and finance, which will be owned by the Australian Government, and which will enrich a proportion of our uranium reserves for the Japanese market under a long-term contract. [More…]
Our forthcoming ministerial visit to Japan is therefore of vital importance to our future uranium policy and discussions there will be on the basis of high national interest. [More…]
The various uranium producing interests in Australia have been told specifically to await our return from Japan. [More…]
Equally, we will maximise Australia’s financial returns from uranium while providing full energy security in this resource from Japan. [More…]
We seek to strike a balance between the national interest on the medium and long term policy bases, while also ensuring a reasonable return to local uranium interests and their shareholders in the shorter term. [More…]
Uranium is a strategic material of great significance and is the most highly concentrated naturally recurring energy material in commercial use today. [More…]
He made it quite plain that he was trying to find ways and means of getting Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd to fulfil the uranium contracts of other companies. [More…]
He said he would fulfil and honour the agreements with other companies, but at the same time he has made it plain that he is looking for ways in which Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd might be able to fulfil those contracts which would in fact be a denial of the agreement and a denial of the letter written by the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Barnard) before Christmas last year. [More…]
He admitted that the Government would wish to see a high level of Australian ownership, especially in uranium, oil, gas and coal. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) defends action which prevents the securing of long term contracts for uranium exports from the Northern Territory to Japan. [More…]
Honourable members will note that we have also agreed to enter into 2 further agreements with Japan - a cultural agreement and an agreement on the protection of migratory and other birds - as well as to conduct wideranging official discussions on a number of issues including access for agricultural products, tariffs, and minerals and energy matters, including uranium. [More…]
It was the President of Royal Dutch Petroleum, Mr Wagner, who said that for the next couple of generations the world will depend on black coal and uranium. [More…]
The Government has forced the withdrawal of uranium offers. [More…]
Sales of uranium have been lost for all time. [More…]
In the utilisation of Australia’s worldranking reserves of uranium we also know that there must be a special relationship between Australia and Japan in enrichment technology. [More…]
We have the necessary uranium not only to supply our own and Japan’s foreseeable needs but also to make provision for other major trading partners, such as West Germany and Italy. [More…]
Thus, while Australia’s reserves of coal, natural gas and uranium are sufficient for our reasonable requirements for some considerable time to come, the urgent need is to step up dramatically the search for oil. [More…]
This is necessary because coal will be the bridge to the future - the bridge between the rapidly dwindling oil supplies and the ultimate world energy sources which will be uranium and solar energy. [More…]
With complacent reliance on unlimited oil supplies, nations have ignored research and development of alternative energy sources, such as natural gas, coal and, ultimately, uranium and solar energy. [More…]
I have spoken in the House at length on previous occasions about the hydrogenation of coal and about future developments in uranium. [More…]
Uranium is one of these energy sources and we have an objective of full Australian ownership in development projects involving uranium. [More…]
In the uranium field in particular, and desirably also in oil, we aim to adopt the same sort of approach in exploration as I have already outlined for development of these minerals. [More…]
Current world developments on the pricing of uranium oxide fully vindicate the stand that has been taken by the Government on the advice of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. [More…]
The proof of it is this: The Tennessee Valley Authority of the United States of America recently invited tenders from 53 firms for the supply of 81 million lb of uranium oxide. [More…]
The remainder chose to hold on to their uranium. [More…]
The point is this: We have been besieged by certain interests in Australia who want to flog off Australia’s uranium as quickly as they can without thought for the future. [More…]
It is considered that with escalation uranium can go as high as $25 or $26 in the United States. [More…]
Foreign Investment in Australia’, said that in future we would have 100 per cent local ownership of oil, gas, coal and uranium. [More…]
He mentioned the joint venture by Peko-Wallsend Ltd and EZ Industries Ltd in uranium exploration. [More…]
Uranium is another energy source which this Government wants to preserve. [More…]
Now it criticises us for conserving uranium because we believe that a decent market has not been developed. [More…]
Minister answered a question in the House about the Tennessee Valley Authority in the United States letting contracts for the supply of uranium. [More…]
Of the 56 uranium producers in the world only 3 offered tender prices, because producers realised that they would be selling on a depressed market. [More…]
Under the previous Government, contracts were signed by Sir Reginald Swartz as Minister for National Development - I believe criminally signed - 3 weeks before the last election to sell uranium at $6 per lb. [More…]
But all we are doing is winning contracts that the smart uranium producers will not bid for. [More…]
Labor will work for the enrichment of Australian uranium resources in plants which are located in Australia and which have at least a majority Australian control of equity and policy. [More…]
We find that 84 per cent of the United States refinery capacity, 72 per cent of its natural gas capacity, 20 per cent of its coal production and 50 per cent of its uranium reserves are controlled by multinational corporations in the United States. [More…]
I have read that the Australian Labor Party is forming a party of ten to visit uranium leases. [More…]
Why the uranium leases? [More…]
Pechiney - senior staff returned to France; remainder on uranium only. [More…]
In those cases small exploration companies have found uranium, gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc. [More…]
Major oil companies view their future as being major energy suppliers in all this range of hydrocarbons, and also uranium - both as ‘yellowcake’ and enriched. [More…]
It has the richest uranium deposits in the world. [More…]
It is in no small measure due to the quadrupling of oil prices that a threat is posed to the economic viability and foreign exchange reserves of some of the world’s major industrial powers, which have complacently relied on unlimited cheap oil imports, and have ignored research and development of alternative energy sources, such as natural gas, coal, and ultimately uranium and solar energy. [More…]
There is also the enrichment of uranium. [More…]
In addition to world ranking deposits of uranium, we have significant deposits of other minerals. [More…]
The specific cases are uranium, crude oil, natural gas and black coal. [More…]
A similar situation exists in relation to uranium. [More…]
The industry does not seem to be able to get a policy out of the Government on so many issues related to energy, uranium and to the pipeline system. [More…]
We have developed and are developing a uranium policy to guarantee the proper development of uranium in this country. [More…]
In the 18 months that we have been in office we as a Government have seen the price of uranium doubled and the contracts that were written and hailed by the Opposition as being of great achievement in 1972 look rather puny against the prices which are being paid on the world market today. [More…]
Just leaving the subject of oil for a moment, I would point out that there is a crying need for uranium throughout the world at the moment. [More…]
I ask the Minister how much uranium we have sold over the last 12 months. [More…]
Have we sold one ounce of uranium? [More…]
I ask the Minister to deny that or at least get one of the Government speakers to deny that the Government will not permit any company in Australia even to extract a bulk specimen of uranium ore. [More…]
Management Consultants Pty Ltd. to assist in the assessment of an environmental impact statement prepared by a uranium mining consortium. [More…]
Uranium supplies are available for internal use and export. [More…]
The uranium industry is undoubtedly suffering from the bloody-mindedness of the Senate. [More…]
I will be recommending to Cabinet that the Australian Atomic Energy Commission should establish its own milling plant in the Northern Territory, and we will proceed on a government to government basis in respect of the sale of uranium. [More…]
We are in a position, from existing stockpiles of milled uranium oxide to meet the full commitments from the Northern Territory of uranium oxide exports to Japan up until 1980. [More…]
In addition, we have taken steps to revive the undertaking at Mary Kathleen, where there are some 10,700 short tons of uranium with certain existing contracts. [More…]
The forthcoming report of the Atomic Energy Commission will show that we have in Australia, recoverable and reasonably recoverable, and adding the recent Pancontinental Mining Ltd discoveries, some 300,000 short tons of uranium. [More…]
In answer to that question the Minister gave the first notification of the Government’s intention to nationalise the uranium resources of the Northern Territory. [More…]
I ask the Minister: Will he present a White Paper or make a policy statement to the House on the development of uranium in Australia? [More…]
Under his administration, our exploration languishes, our uranium industry stagnates and Australians are the losers. [More…]
To commence, let me stress one fact: By section 35 of the Atomic Energy Act the title to all uranium in the Northern Territory is vested in the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
In addition, we have control over uranium in the States by virtue of the defence power. [More…]
There again our overriding consideration, of course, will be to ensure that uranium, when exported, will go only to countries which are fully accessories to and have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [More…]
The uranium being the property of the Commonwealth, naturally the Commonwealth- if my recommendation is accepted- will establish its own milling plant. [More…]
The figure which I quoted happened to be the figure which was also quoted by Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd. [More…]
It is in the best interests of uranium that it be milled through one plant; otherwise we would have three or four smaller and relatively inefficient plants in operation. [More…]
He blocks all new exports of uranium, while he dribbles out bits and pieces of policy ideas in this House in response to questions from his own back benchers- policy proposals that have not even been before his own Party or his own Cabinet. [More…]
Uranium is one of the world’s key strategic resources. [More…]
Australia is relatively well endowed with uranium ore. [More…]
These reserves make Australia one of the world’s major potential sources of uranium ore. [More…]
This is a relatively small low grade deposit owned by Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd and the existing mill there is to be upgraded with Government financial support through the Atomic Energy Commission. [More…]
-Before the suspension of the sitting for lunch I was mentioning that the cream of the uranium ore is in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Consequently the theoretical market value for our uranium has escalated. [More…]
But it is more accurate to say that Australia is simply being denied the fruits of the world price boom for uranium ore. [More…]
The Minister’s intentions for uranium have never been properly spelt out. [More…]
As far as I can gather, the following seems to be the situation: The Government, through the Atomic Energy Commission, is to establish a mill in the Northern Territory to process uranium ore from all sources into yellowcake. [More…]
From then on, only enriched uranium will be exported by Australia. [More…]
Uranium developers do not know whether the Minister plans to acquire their ore compulsorily. [More…]
They do not know to what extent they will be allowed to realise the considerable returns to be made from uranium processing and export. [More…]
The developers of the large Yeelirrie uranium deposits in Western Australia and at Lake Frome in South Australia do not know what their future is. [More…]
To debate the Minister’s uranium policy is to spar at shadows. [More…]
All major nuclear countries except Japan have assured supplies of uranium until 1985. [More…]
It would therefore seem at this stage that the major potential market for enriched uranium will be Japan. [More…]
A lot of international work is being done on fast breeder reactors, which would greatly reduce the demand for enriched uranium in relation to the relatively inefficient light-water reactors in use today. [More…]
As a reasonable guess then, our large deposits of uranium will probably have a peak market period for the next 15 to 20 years, when advances in nuclear development or other energy sources, such as solar energy, or even the conversion of sea water, are unknown factors. [More…]
Over that period it would consume some 80,000 to 360,000 short tons of uranium ore, depending on its size. [More…]
Above all, we need now a publicly announced uranium policy so that investors and customers know where we are going. [More…]
Since uranium is a strategic reserve, there are grave foreign affairs implications in blockading exports of such a vital commodity. [More…]
From the domestic viewpoint, we should be integrating uranium policy with a national energy policy. [More…]
What are to be our requirements for uranium? [More…]
The point I am making is that you cannot have a uranium policy in complete isolation not only from a foreign affairs approach, but also from a national energy policy point of view. [More…]
It is a ludicrous situation when the Prime Minister speaks to the world and the Minister for Minerals and Energy refuses to reveal to this Parliament, his own Caucus or his own Resources Committee, what his attitude is to uranium or any other energy resources in this country. [More…]
But it conveniently forgets that until 7 May last Judge Woodward as a royal commissioner had not delivered his report in relation to the Nabarlek uranium deposits. [More…]
I have already said that we have lost 6 good months in the development of uranium. [More…]
The purpose of the Atomic Energy Act is the establishment of an Atomic Energy Commission to control all aspects of atomic energy in Australia from the mining of uranium to the final disposal of the fissionable material. [More…]
Section 35 of the Atomic Energy Act clearly states that uranium and kindred substances on land in a territory of the Commonwealth, whether alienated from the Crown or not and, if alienated, whether alienated before or after the commencement of the Act are declared to become the property of the Commonwealth. [More…]
Over 70 per cent of Australia’s recoverable reserves of uranium are in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The Australian Atomic Energy Commission advised me last July that in its next annual report it will show that the total reserves of uranium reasonably assured and estimated up to a price category of $15 would be 270,000 tons. [More…]
We heard a diatribe from the Leader of the Country Party about Government delays and Government restraints in regard to uranium. [More…]
Thus there is no urgent need to bring into production new uranium sources within the next decade. [More…]
The cost of establishing uranium production relative to the sale value of the product is possibly the lowest of any mineral so that two matters follow: [More…]
That to develop its own uranium resources is comfortably within the capacity of Australia’s domestic capital resources. [More…]
URANIUM MARKETING AND THE CURRENT BELIEF THAT A NEED EXISTS FOR A NATIONAL URANIUM POLICY [More…]
The principles enunciated in this letter were raised in Sydney on 7 August when the Secretary of your Department and other officers together with the Secretary of the Department of the Interior were good enough to meet with potential uranium producers to discuss matters of common interest. [More…]
There are two specific matters which the industry wishes to place before you which are now stated under the respective heads of marketing policy and uranium resource policy. [More…]
The Australian Government has asked the Australian producers to come to an arrangement which will ensure orderly marketing of uranium and will maintain the price of uranium at a reasonable level during the market surplus. [More…]
The six companies which presently intend to produce uranium in Australia (Peko-Wallsend, E Z Industries, Noranda Australia Limited, Queeensland Mines Limited. [More…]
Mary Kathleen Uranium Limited, and Western Mining Corporation Limited ) are now parties to an arrangement which would meet the Government’s wishes. [More…]
The world uranium market will be in substantial oversupply until the early 1980s. [More…]
It is believed that the demand/ supply situation will be in balance in the mid-1980s and that there might be a shortage of uranium towards the end of the 1980s. [More…]
The greatest danger to maintaining the world marketing arrangement while there is a market surplus is that further substantial uranium deposits may be discovered and brought into production (or come under consumer control) by companies not a party to the arrangement. [More…]
As the Government has expressed its strong wish to have orderly marketing of uranium, the Government might consider whether it should be prepared to take action to prevent new discoveries from upsetting such an arrangement. [More…]
The minimum position would be for the Federal Government to decide that it will not grant export permits for uranium to other than the previously named producers from already known deposits, until such time as the world market situation improves. [More…]
In the Northern Territory the Federal Government could also refuse to issue any further exploration licences for uranium until the market situation improves. [More…]
URANIUM RESOURCES POLICY [More…]
The uranium discoveries in Northern Territory and Western Australia in recent years have given Australia world ranking as a potential producer of uranium. [More…]
The markets for Australia’s uranium are overseas. [More…]
Because of uranium’s strategic importance as the main source of energy in the future, all consuming countries are dealing with uranium on a national policy level. [More…]
Producing countries, specifically Canada, are recognising the need for a national policy regarding uranium and in this respect we attach a letter of 22 June 1972 from Mr O. J. C. Runnalls, Senior Adviser, Uranium and Nuclear Energy to the Government of Canada, setting out the position in that country. [More…]
We believe Australia should also have a national policy regarding uranium. [More…]
Uranium is expected to be an increasingly important fuel resource of the future and in view of the Canadian experience of overseas ownership of its mineral resources and indeed our Australian experience in the alienation of our major mineral resources to overseas ownership and control, there is yet time to follow the Canadian example of securing to Australian ownership and control this new important energy source. [More…]
Uranium as a strategic mineral. [More…]
The Commonwealth Government could enforce such a policy by announcing that export permits for uranium will not be granted to any future projects with less than the requisite major Australian equity. [More…]
In this connection exploration for uranium is being undertaken by a number of overseas companies, none of which is a party to the world producers arrangements. [More…]
It would appear reasonable for the Government to decide that all future uranium finds in Australia should be under Australian control, i.e. [More…]
The best estimate of the uncommitted uranium market through to 1980 is 75,000 tons U308 and for sales emerging in the 1980s there is already in Australia adequate proven uranium to maintain Australia’s competitive position with the world suppliers. [More…]
Thus there is no urgent need to bring into production new uranium sources within the next decade. [More…]
The cost of establishing uranium production relative to the sale value of the product is possibly the lowest of any mineral so that two matters follow: - [More…]
That to develop its own uranium resources is comfortably within the capacity of Australia’s domestic capital resources, [More…]
The above is submitted as matters which it is believed merit serious Government consideration and in view of the splendid relationship which is emerging between Government and the uranium industry we are encouraged to believe that such consideration will be generously given. [More…]
Much has been said about how much it costs to mine and to find uranium. [More…]
In the letter of Mr Proud it is stated quite distinctly that uranium is the cheapest of all minerals to find and to exploit. [More…]
In most cases uranium can be exploited in the Northern Territory by open cut mining. [More…]
He said that within the next decade there will be a 4 to 6-fold increase in the annual demand for uranium within and outside Canada. [More…]
I am equally interested in his uranium reserves policy so far as it is applicable to Australia. [More…]
The Australian Government is prepared and determined to control the destiny of Australia’s wealth of uranium in the interests of the Australian people and with due consideration for explorations made to date. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam) in Tokyo last October spelled out with the utmost clarity our determination to ensure that uranium, because of its importance as the world’s most potent energy source, should be under full Australian ownership and control. [More…]
We are determined to see that the vagaries of the share market no longer afflict the investors in uranium companies. [More…]
It has not the uranium to fuel the additional 3 plants. [More…]
So it is understandable that Japan should be interested in not only securing supplies of uranium but also advancing its own technology in this field. [More…]
But what we have to do for Australia is to establish now our national program for development of the uranium industry and, in the future, the nuclear energy field. [More…]
One of the key subjects which we discussed was uranium and nuclear energy. [More…]
He gave me a copy of the statement that he had issued, together with his background paper on Canada’s uranium policy and also the policy statements and Press releases of the Government of Canada on uranium for the last 10 years. [More…]
What a tragedy it is for Australia that we do not have a Minister who will issue a statement on the Australian Government’s policy on uranium. [More…]
The Opposition asks that this Minister does his homework and that this Government does its homework in the field of uranium and nuclear energy, and that this Minister and this Government give a prepared statement which the Opposition, the industry and the people can study. [More…]
I know from my own knowledge that there have been inquiries by correspondence and verbally of the Minister asking him what the Government’s policy is in the field of uranium. [More…]
He has been asked whether he will allow export of uranium and whether he will allow feasibility studies into the establishment of a uranium enrichment plant to be carried on. [More…]
How can any foreign country, how can any participant in the uranium industry of other countries, how can any participant in the domestic uranium industry, carry on its business and conduct its affairs if the Minister will not even speak to it? [More…]
When the Minister talks of a uranium enrichment plant, I would like to know where he is to get the technology from. [More…]
Unless we build the base within the industry itself, we will not be able to compete in the world energy scene and, in particular, on the world nuclear energy scene because uranium enrichment will become an international industry. [More…]
What are so often forgotten are the tremendous lead times that are involved in developing the technologies in this field and building the plants, whether they be nuclear reactors or uranium enrichment plants. [More…]
Secondly, there was a 3Vi hour debate last Wednesday night by the resources committee of the Caucus on uranium. [More…]
In the last 2 years we have heard bleatings from the Leader of the Country Party and all the other lobbyists opposite that the Government has not spelt out a policy on uranium. [More…]
Then there was the gazettal of the uranium regulations under the Atomic Energy Act. [More…]
The premise upon which the Leader of the Country Party bases his argument is that we should be exporting uranium and capturing what markets are available. [More…]
He refuses to recognise that for 20 years the Liberal-Country Party Government of which he was a member at one part had an embargo on the export of all uranium from this country. [More…]
There was one in the ‘Australian Financial Review’ of 11 July 1974 that overseas interests in uranium stockpiles may be on the wane. [More…]
At the same time as we have had these persistent stories about how our uranium is going to be worthless the price of crude oil in the world has been climbing dramatically. [More…]
It must be common sense to anyone that an equivalent amount of BTUs, whether it comes from uranium or any other energy resource, must be as valuable and must be inflating in price at the same rate or something near it as the price of oil is inflating. [More…]
There is the additional value that uranium is able to be stored and stockpiled, which cannot be done with lots of other fuels. [More…]
I wish to labour the point on a couple of paragraphs of the letter which was written by that gentleman to illustrate the fallacy and the phoneyness of the Opposition’s approach to the subject of uranium. [More…]
The Australian Government has asked the Australian producers to come to an arrangement which will ensure orderly marketing of uranium and will maintain the price of uranium at a reasonable level during the market surplus. [More…]
The six companies which presently intend to produce uranium in Australia (Peko-Wallsend, EZ Industries, Noranda Australia Limited, Queensland Mines Limited, Mary Kathleen Uranium Limited, and Western Mining Corporation Limited) are now parties to an arrangement which would meet the Government’s wishes. [More…]
The world uranium market will be in substantial oversupply until the early 1980s. [More…]
It is believed that the demand/ supply situation will be in balance in the mid-1980s and that there might be a shortage of uranium towards the end of the 1980s. [More…]
The greatest danger to maintaining the world marketing arrangement while there is a market surplus is that further substantial uranium deposits may be discovered and brought into production by companies not a party to the arrangement. [More…]
In paragraph 8 on the subject of a uranium resources policy the letter states: [More…]
It would appear reasonable for the Government to decide that all future uranium finds in Australia - [More…]
The cost of establishing uranium production relative to the sale value of the product is possibly the lowest of any mineral so that 2 matters follow: [More…]
That to develop its own uranium resources is comfortably within the capacity of Australia’s domestic capital resources. [More…]
Taking up the point made in the letter, the Minister has said that the Australian Government will set up its own mill to refine uranium with a throughput to meet the demands at the time. [More…]
The point is that the uranium producers are going to be treated fairly. [More…]
There is no reason why the price of uranium will not keep escalating and there is no reason why this Government will not allow a maximum return to the people of Australia and the uranium producers of Australia. [More…]
I thought the Minister for Minerals and Energy (Mr Connor) slaughtered the Opposition this morning in the debate on uranium. [More…]
The Opposition wants uranium to be under the control of private enterprise. [More…]
This is what free enterprise would do if it had the whole and sole control of Australia ‘s uranium. [More…]
Particularly at this time in the world’s history the export of uranium should not be taken from the control of the Australian Government. [More…]
I believe that the Australian Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam, said in the United Nations that Australia would not export uranium to any country that had not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. [More…]
Some honourable members laugh when these serious things are raised and when one mentions that uranium should be controlled. [More…]
The previous Government made provision in that Act, as was so effectively pointed out by the Minister for Minerals and Energy this morning, that uranium shall remain the property of the Commonwealth. [More…]
But as I said, the Opposition is under the pressure of big business and the mining companies who want to reef uranium out of the ground and get an exorbitant profit irrespective of what is done with it or what it could be worth after 1980. [More…]
We know that the price of uranium will treble or quadruple. [More…]
I believe that it is the proper attitude of the Minister for Minerals and Energy to intend to recommend to Cabinet that we set up a uranium enrichment plant in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The Minister pointed out that in their search for uranium the mining companies spent a mere $12m and that the success of their search undoubtedly would have depended on the preliminary research done by the Bureau of Mineral Resources of Australia which is controlled by this Parliament and paid for by the Australian taxpayer.But on the other hand the estimated value of the uranium on present world prices is $7,000m. [More…]
We know that the mining companies use this argument in the ears of those who are not knowledgeable in politics and they get a very patient hearing when they say that they had spent $12m searching for uranium and that the Government will not let them develop it. [More…]
That sounds very good but when it is pointed out to them, as some of us do point out when we go to other parts of Australia, it is a mere bagatelle when the value of uranium is$7,000m. [More…]
I sat here listening to his incoherent waffle, listening to him lurching from point to point like a rubber duck and trying to fill out the time to the end of his speech by talking about uranium. [More…]
Two weeks ago I described the serious effects of this Government’s non-policies as far as uranium is concerned. [More…]
He said that in addition to quite substantial reserves of crude oil there were major reserves of natural gas, even greater reserves of coal and of course uranium in abundance. [More…]
He said before he came here that he wanted to enter an agreement with you over uranium but he could not do so because you do not have a policy. [More…]
He wanted to talk with you about uranium and start negotiations for member countries of the European Economic Community, but he could not do so because you do not have a policy. [More…]
It’s been sold for more money than it has before- so I just don’t understand this claim that he is keeping minerals underground, unless it refers to uranium. ‘ [More…]
They are controlling about 50 per cent of their uranium but that is just by the way. [More…]
I want to return tonight to the debate on uranium policy. [More…]
I do not intend to debate the details of uranium policy in this adjournment debate because it is not the occasion to do so. [More…]
I do not claim to have spoken to the same people in high places as the Prime Minister, but I spoke to a good cross-section of officers of the United States and Canadian Governments and to leading men in the nuclear and uranium industry in the United States in particular. [More…]
The clear, unmistakable message which I received from within both government and industry was, firstly, that Australia was missing the boat in the world uranium trade and, secondly, that the economic nationalism of the Minister for Minerals and Energy was against the foreign policy interests of Australia. [More…]
What was being advised to Mr Whitlam was, firstly, that world market trends made it imperative that if Australia was to take advantage of a unique sellers’ market developing in uranium it should act immediately to enter that market and should not delay the entry and, secondly, that if Australian foreign policy was to fit into the desired foreign policy of the Western world for a sharing of the uranium resource Australia had to play its part as a supplier of that resource to the developed countries of the Western world, more particularly when Australia had, by any standards, at least 25 per cent of the known world reserves of uranium. [More…]
In order to establish that the Prime Minister’s advice, which he received in both the United States of America and Canada, was accurate one has only to have recourse to any reputable assessment of the supply and demand pattern in uranium use in the decade of the 1980s and beyond. [More…]
Every reputable assessment of that pattern shows that the combination of the nuclear reactors to be commenced in the decade of the 1980s and in particular the number of uranium enrichment plants required in the Western world to satisfy enriched uranium demand has compelled the international uranium industry to reassess that demand in the 1980s. [More…]
Therefore, once the projected demand for enriched uranium is appreciated, looking at it from a conservative view and looking at the more accelerated nuclear growth patterns for that decade, it is quite clear that by 1990 the Western world will require between six and nine new enrichment plants. [More…]
An immense amount of money is required; an immense amount of investment will need to be marshalled in order to supply the free world with its enriched uranium needs. [More…]
That means that now is the time for Australia to make its firm policy decision on how it is to enter the international market for uranium either in yellowcake form or enriched form. [More…]
However it is not about any one of those particular headings that I want to talk, it is about 3 items that come under the heading ‘Adminstrative’, namely, the Redcliffs petto-chemical industry, the uranium industry and solar energy. [More…]
But what we are complaining about is, firstly, that the present climate is such that exploration in the mining and petroleum industries has been discouraged to such an extent that it is dropping alarmingly; and, secondly, that the Government has prevented Australian firms from writing contracts for the sale of uranium overseas despite the fact that we have some hundreds of thousands of tons more than we can possibly use ourselves this century. [More…]
But where is this steady, secure access to uranium? [More…]
Not one pound of uranium has been sold overseas by a contract approved by the present Minister. [More…]
So these sales are going to our overseas competitors while our uranium lies in the ground. [More…]
He said his policy is to allow the export of enriched uranium only because this will be worth 5 times as much as natural uranium. [More…]
Even here he is in error as usual, as industry sources claim that the figure is only two and a half times greater for enriched uranium But an enrichment plant, as we know, would cost $2,000m to $3,000m and could’ not possibly operate before the mid 1980s. [More…]
In the meantime, we are losing sales to Japan, Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi in Italy, Centrales Nucleares S.A. in Spain, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Finland and Belgium, all of whom want to get our uranium. [More…]
Yet the same Country Party members now call for the Government to screw Prime Minister Tanaka’s arm by threatening to withhold uranium unless beef contracts are granted to us. [More…]
That is, he is trying to say that this is the Government’s total attitude to minerals because we are not breaking our necks to give away uranium, which is our most valuable strategic resourse to any bidder. [More…]
It is true that we have had problems with uranium, but a policy has been formulated. [More…]
As secretary of the Government Members Resources Committee, I have been heavily lobbied over the last few weeks by members of the uranium industry. [More…]
Yet the Government just blunders along without any sound policies on oil exploration, oil and gas development, uranium or coal liquefaction. [More…]
It takes a visit from the Japanese Prime Minister to shake the Government up and to get some sort of cohesive policy on uranium. [More…]
As the honourable member for Farrer (Mr Fairbairn) has already pointed out, the Australian uranium industry has been halted for the last 2 years and no new contracts have been permitted by the Government, despite the fact that between 1975 and 1990 Japan is expected to require 170,000 short tons of uranium oxide. [More…]
The Minister told this chamber on 1 October that we will sell uranium only to countries which are full accessories to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. [More…]
Are we going to sell uranium to Japan? [More…]
In fact, what is the Government’s uranium policy? [More…]
Most recent of all we have had the halfbaked proposition to establish a uranium enrichment plant in Australia. [More…]
On that occasion, the Government offered the Japanese joint participation in a uranium enrichment plant using their technology and finance. [More…]
1 turn now to uranium and, here again, we were faced with some last minute what one might call death bed repentance contracts- contracts rushed into at miserable prices. [More…]
We have in reserve 2,250 tons of uranium oxide, which is more than sufficient to meet the delivery dates under those contracts up to the year 1 980. [More…]
Long before that we will be producing uranium oxide from our own milling plant. [More…]
There are very valid reasons for doing this and it was done on the advice of the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Mary Kathleen is not merely a uranium mine. [More…]
We have only to consider the suggestion of uranium as an energy source to realise that we are beset with enormous problems associated with nuclear reactors, problems of leakage and the transport of uranium and associated material. [More…]
-I ask the Prime Minister: Has the Government been able to resolve its position on uranium policy, and will he tell the Parliament what this policy is? [More…]
The House is of the opinion that the Minister for Minerals and Energy should make a statement orally so that the House, instead of merely having presented to it a paper on the matter of Northern Territory uranium, should be able to debate it. [More…]
We have also seen in the last few months the United States making the decision to supply technology and uranium reactors to both the United Arab Republic and to Israel. [More…]
For instance, the Treasurer participated in the decisions that were made a couple of months ago in relation to uranium. [More…]
I think the Japanese gained considerable advantage out of those discussions by obtaining access to Australian uranium- which I would never want to hold back from them- but I would think that we are deserving of special consideration in relation to our beef exports to Japan. [More…]
I would have thought that if there had been preliminary discussions at an official level on this whole mutual trade arrangement between Japan and Australia, with special reference to uranium and beef, which were the 2 big questions when the Japanese Prime Minister came here- apart from the motor car industry, and even the problems there are small compared with those of the beef industry of Australia- that a satisfactory solution should have been found. [More…]
It just did not have any policy relating to uranium and it left it right until the eve of the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit here, desperately working until the early hours of the morning, to try to devise a policy. [More…]
There were no great discoveries of nickel or uranium in Germany or in Italy or in France. [More…]
-The Mary Kathleen uranium mine is to be re-opened. [More…]
From the residue- a matter of another 2,500 short tons of uranium- there will be a further yield of $50m. [More…]
There will be an unexpected bonus also in respect of the operations because Mary Kathleen, to quote the words of Dr Fisher, the former Director of the Bureau of Mineral Resources, is even more a rare earths mine than a uranium mine. [More…]
I refer to his announcement yesterday concerning Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. [More…]
Does the Minister consider that he has been guilty of a practice amounting to insider trading by withholding vital information from the market during the recent share issue of Mary Kathleen Uranium? [More…]
When were the details of the new uranium prices available to him? [More…]
I understand that the Australian Associated Stock Exchanges have in fact suspended Mary Kathleen Uranium pending clarification of the position. [More…]
May I quote, in answer to the honourable member, the old saying: ‘Evil to him who evil thinks’: The re-negotiation of the pricing of uranium was conducted in the normal way as a normal commercial transaction. [More…]
The management and control of Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd are still in the hands of the directors of that company. [More…]
I made that clear in a statement recently in respect of uranium and an arrangement which has been entered into with the Peko-EZ interests. [More…]
Again, the Minister for Minerals and Energy told the House yesterday of the decision to permit the Atomic Energy Commission to take a substantial equity holding in Mary Kathleen uranium. [More…]
This matter, because of the Minister’s complete ineptitude and mishandling, has led to the suspension of Mary Kathleen uranium shares. [More…]
Australia’s Prime Minister said that the guidelines were a development of the policy he had outlined in Tokyo last year and should be read in conjunction with the recent statement by the Australian Minister for Minerals and Energy (Mr Connor) on the Government’s program for the development of the uranium resources in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Australia’s Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam, said the guidelines were a development of the policy he had outlined in Tokyo last October and should be read in conjunction with the recent statement by the Australian Minister for Minerals and Energy, Mr Connor, on the Government’s program for the development of the uranium resources in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The next Minister could say: ‘To hell with the magpie, geese and to hell with fauna and flora; we want the coal, the gold, the uranium or whatever it might be ‘. [More…]
Perhaps when we do an environmental impact study on this form of energy production we should look at coal production, the side effects of uranium, the problems with fuel oil and all the rest of it. [More…]
More of the moment is the Mary Kathleen uranium affair. [More…]
The Commonwealth claims that it can then take up the bulk of the shares, but in this case we found that new contracts had been negotiated for the sale of uranium overseas, making it a much more successful venture. [More…]
The EEC- Uranium [More…]
It became apparent as my visit to the 7 EEC countries progressed that Western Europe’s demand for uranium in the late 70s and the 80s will be very substantial. [More…]
Our role as a potential major supplier of uranium means that Australia’s importance to these countries will increase. [More…]
In Brussels, London, The Hague, Paris, Rome and Bonn, as well as in Moscow, I consistently asserted Australia’s wish to develop her own enrichment capability so that as much uranium as possible should be exported in an enriched form. [More…]
There are important policy issues to be resolved, such as the choice of enrichment technology, the capital investment required and the extent to which we may be prepared to sell unenriched uranium both before and after we have our own enrichment capability. [More…]
I am convinced that my visit, and the fact that the head of the Department of Minerals and Energy, Sir Lenox Hewitt, accompanied me, has greatly facilitated the Government’s consideration of the total uranium supply and demand situation over the next decade. [More…]
The obvious interest shown throughout Europe in Australia as a supplier of uranium suggests that we shall exercise considerable influence in this important area. [More…]
I also believe that the strong stand which I took on this matter and the interest ofthe European countries in Australian uranium will make it much less likely that such restrictive actions will be taken against Australian commodities again. [More…]
The Prime Minister spoke a lot at odd places- not in this Parliament- about uranium. [More…]
Apparently he talked about uranium in Europe. [More…]
Why can the people of Australia not be told what the policy of the Government is in relation to uranium? [More…]
He did not go to the point of saying that as Australia is a supplier of uranium and as Europe is short of uranium a growing influence will be exerted by Australia over European affairs. [More…]
Where are the contracts on uranium? [More…]
What must be the attitude of Japan towards the statement by and activities of the Prime Minister in Europe in relation to uranium. [More…]
They then said: ‘What about your uranium. [More…]
As I said earlier, more space was devoted to denigrating the media for their criticism of his visit than to such matters as the European Economic Community, uranium and energy and the Middle East, as was developed by my leader. [More…]
Much has been made of the possible sales of uranium. [More…]
But at the present moment, with the state of the energy crisis, blind Freddy could sell uranium to the Europeans. [More…]
Did he in any way plead Australia’s case for trade in all those other significant commodities with which we persistently have trade difficulties- wool, and minerals other than uranium? [More…]
With regard to uranium, somebody thought to mention to him that it is not the only alternative energy source. [More…]
They spoke about minerals such as uranium and coal but failed to do anything about beef. [More…]
What about the issue of shares in Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd? [More…]
But, of course, that was done as a device by the Government to buy its way into a section of private enterprise- in that case, uranium. [More…]
Also, the opening up of the uranium province at Ranger, which is only 100 or so miles away, would assist in Darwin’s rehabilitation. [More…]
As far as the uranium project is concerned, all of its personnel and supplies would pass through Darwin. [More…]
Nevertheless it can be said that with Australia on the verge of not merely mining and milling uranium but also enriching it, we will be able to face and to match the consortiums overseas which are interested in selling us this type of technology. [More…]
Does the statement by the Minister that he has a reputation for honouring contracts previously entered into apply also to the 8863 tonnes of uranium contracted for sale by Australian companies? [More…]
Since the delivery date for these contracts begins in 1977-1 exclude the earlier deliveries by Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd which will have to be met from the Atomic Energy Commission stockpilewhen will development of the Northern Territory uranium deposits commence so that these companies can honour their contracts? [More…]
-My question to the Minister for Minerals and Energy is a follow-up on the question I asked of him yesterday regarding the honouring of uranium contracts. [More…]
Will the Minister inform the House how it is possible for the development of the Northern Territory uranium deposits to take place within 2 years in order to enable Queensland Mines Ltd and Peko-EZ to meet their 5 contracts for the supply of yellowcake to 4 different Japanese power companies? [More…]
I would recall that when this Government came into office, there was no law requiring authorisation by any Federal Minister for the exportation of any minerals other than uranium and iron ore. [More…]
There were no requirements that the exportation of uranium and iron ore should depend upon environmental factors. [More…]
Most uranium is to be found in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Will he tell the House through what instrumentality the funds to be raised are to be spent and whether they are to finance a uranium enrichment plant? [More…]
If he looks out the windows he will see that there are people concerned with uranium. [More…]
I refer to recent demonstrations inside and outside Parliament House by young people objecting to the export of uranium. [More…]
Will the Prime Minister explain, for the benefit of the House and of the young people concerned, why it is that there are no double standards involved in his Government’s taking this strong stand whilst permitting the export of uranium to countries in circumstances in which the minerals could be used for the production of nuclear weapons. [More…]
-The Government has been scrupulous to ensure that no negotiations for the export of uranium from Australia will take place with any country which has not subscribed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or which has not undertaken to observe the safeguards laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency. [More…]
He will recall telling the honourable member for Wentworth yesterday that Australia will not export uranium to any country which has not subscribed to the Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty. [More…]
As I understood the implication of the question put to me yesterday by the honourable member for Wentworth, it was that Australia should not export uranium, that Australia should allow uranium to remain in the ground. [More…]
The right honourable gentleman asks a question now- of course he has constantly asked questions and made interjections with this implication previously- implying that he wants Australia to export uranium. [More…]
The Government has been scrupulous to ensure that no negotiations for the export of uranium from Australia will take place with any country which has not subscribed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or which has not undertaken to observe the safeguards laid down by the International Atomic Energy Agency. [More…]
I told the people in the 1972 election campaign and in the 1974 election campaign that the Australian Government, which has of course complete power within the Northern Territory in such matters- largely, I am happy to acknowledge, due to the legislation introduced by the Menzies Government over 20 years ago- will not allow mining, including mining for uranium, to take place on lands to which the Aboriginal people of Australia have a legitimate claim. [More…]
Those uranium deposits which do not concern Aboriginal lands and the mining of which complies with proper environmental conditions into which public inquiries are about to take place will of course be available for export or in due course for processing within Australia. [More…]
Take the issue of uranium. [More…]
Japan is desperate to obtain long term supplies of uranium. [More…]
The Government attempted to placate the former Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Tanaka, when he was here last November by coming up with a plait to develop the Ranger uranium deposit in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The Minister has conducted a campaign against the Ranger partners with the objective, I believe, of sending both companies into bankruptcy so that he can obtain control over the uranium resources at Ranger. [More…]
The Minister states that contracts between Australian companies and Japanese power companies for the supply of uranium will be met initially out of the Atomic Energy Commission’s stockpile. [More…]
By cutting off this source of uranium to Japan the Minister for Minerals and Energy is threatening to bring considerable hardship and dislocation to Japan’s energy plans for the rest of this century. [More…]
His latest grandiose talk of developing uranium enrichment alone must be seen by the Japanese as shunning them. [More…]
This Government has consistently and unscrupulously used every opportunity to squeeze the Japanese, to hinder their access to development projects in Australia and to impede their access to Australian uranium- the basic ingredient of their energy needs for the future. [More…]
As soon as the session of Parliament concludes, I will be going to Japan to pay the return visit to that country pursuant to the understanding that we have for a joint feasibility study in respect of uranium enrichment and coal hydrogenation. [More…]
In respect of uranium enrichment, it will be a troika. [More…]
I may as well be very frank about the situation in respect of uranium. [More…]
In addition to that, it was clearly understood that the Government, because of the nature of uranium- after all, it is a weapons source as much as being a source of energy- wanted to have some say in the sale of uranium. [More…]
The companies wanted to sell the uranium as it was produced. [More…]
But in the meantime as I have already said, we have a stockpile of uranium inherited from the Menzies Administration which had produced it for weapons purposes. [More…]
Our contracts for the delivery of uranium to Japan are phased over a considerable period of years. [More…]
We have seen the effect of what the Government has done with its interference in the trade in iron ore and in coal, in denying to the Japanese the opportunity to import Australian natural gas and in its interference with the making of contracts for the sale of uranium. [More…]
So when we look at the actions of this Minister in relation to the pricing of iron ore exports, of coal exports, in the denial of vital energy sources such as natural gas and in inhibiting the export of uranium to Japan, we wonder whether in the pursuit of the attitude expressed by him in 1 970 he is seeking to inhibit seriously Japan’s ability to trade with the world. [More…]
The Opposition’s shadow minister for trade and resources has referred to the difficulties which uranium explorers have had in reaching agreement with the Government and in fulfilling their uranium contracts with Japan. [More…]
We wonder also what has happened to the statement of joint co-operation on investigating technology and uranium enrichment. [More…]
We know that Japan is looking to Australia as a source of uranium. [More…]
We know it would like to look to Australia as a source of enriched uranium, but we hear nothing from this Minister as to the progress of this exercise in cooperation between the 2 countries. [More…]
Rather, the Minister now speaks proudly of Australia’s achievement in uranium enrichment technology. [More…]
Uranium prices will move up until they are somewhat equivalent to oil prices and the same applies to coal prices. [More…]
We are prepared to do what we can with regard to uranium. [More…]
We have honoured the contracts entered into by the former Government to supply uranium to Japan at the time that the Japanese want it. [More…]
The honourable member for Stirling (Mr Viner) talked about uranium enrichment. [More…]
There is an agreement between the Japanese and ourselves to look at feasibility studies in coal hydrogenation, that is to get petroleum products from coal, and also uranium enrichment. [More…]
But with regard to uranium enrichment, it is true to say that the Japanese have been wary; they have held out. [More…]
The point is that we have the technology now and we have found a lot of uranium ourselves. [More…]
My question which is addressed to the Minister for Minerals and Energy concerns the Minister’s interpretation of clause 5 of the agreement dated 30 October 1974 relating to the development of the Ranger uranium deposit. [More…]
It is being allowed to mine in the Northern Territory uranium which is the property of the Commonwealth of Australia. [More…]
In view of the fact that the Government is not entering into any equity arrangement with the Ranger consortium but wants to confiscate 50 per cent of the production from the mines on the ground that the Australian Government owns the mining resources of the Northern Territory, I ask: Is it now the policy of the Government to acquire 50 per cent of the production of any new uranium project in the Northern Territory? [More…]
-Our policy in relation to uranium mining in the Northern Territory was made very clear by a very long statement that I issued at a comprehensive Press conference immediately after the agreement was signed. [More…]
It was made quite clear there that, in respect of any company or individual which had found uranium up to that date, the rights of that company or individual would be honoured and that companies which still had permits to explore would continue to do so. [More…]
The ultimate situation, of course, is one in which the Australian Atomic Energy Commission itself will be conducting all exploration for and mining of uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
One of the main income earners at the moment is the production of uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The double dealings and shifty talk of the Minister for Minerals and Energy (Mr Connor) about the uranium leases in the area close to Arnhem Land have disadvantaged tremendously not only the companies involved there but also the Northern Territory as uranium exports would be a great source of income to the Northern Territory and of great assistance to the rehabilitation of Darwin. [More…]
Regrettably, I have to use the word ‘potential’ because not one sod of earth has been uncovered to release the wealth of uranium deposits in the Territory, and the prospects of this happening in the near future are extremely remote. [More…]
These are the reasons that the Bill presented by the honourable member for the Northern Territory time and again and his insistence that the people of the Northern Territory be given a voice in a referendum are extremely, critically, important not only to the people of the Territory but also to the people of this nation, because fundamental matters are at stake- such matters as the export of uranium and changes to the electoral system. [More…]
The nation, every State and Territory would benefit from the development of our uranium, our natural gas, our coalour immense natural resources of energy. [More…]
Australia’s wealth of uranium resources offers vast opportunities for the establishment of an enrichment plant. [More…]
The cost of 3 uranium mining and milling plants in the Northern Territory and assistance to the Cooper Basin natural gas consortium, in which the Australian Government is now a partner, was included, and also the cost of the plans to economise in diesel fuel consumption by electrification of the heavy freight rail areas in New South Wales and Victoria. [More…]
There are enormous uranium deposits and great new coalfields in Queensland to be opened up and offshore gas fields in north-western Australia to be developed, yet nothing has happened. [More…]
I was the one who discovered Mr Karidis and if it had not been for me finding Mr Karidis the Government would never have got near the point of being able to raise enough money to give Australia ownership of its own natural gas, ownership of its own uranium enrichment plants, the right to own its petrochemical industry and the right to put a pipeline from west to east across this continent. [More…]
There is no criticism of the amount of money because nobody can deny that $4,000m is needed if we are to set up our own petro-chemical industries, instal a trans-continental gas pipeline, have an uranium enrichment plant or exploit our natural resources as we ought to do. [More…]
Uranium enrichment, the development of gas reserves on the North- West Shelf, the construction of a trans-continental gas pipeline and the establishment of an Australian owned petrochemical industry were some of the projects that the Minister for Minerals and Energy had mentioned at various times. [More…]
Yet today that is regarded as one of the largest and richest uranium fields in the world. [More…]
It permits the export of uranium to non-parties, but requires that specific International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards apply to such exports and that such uranium be not used in nuclear explosive devices, including those for peaceful purposes. [More…]
As evidence of this I give the following examples: We would have abandoned the uranium exploration of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. [More…]
The following savings will be effected: Disposal of the pipeline proposals, $200m; the withdrawal of funds from the Australian Industry Development Corporation, $75m; reduction in new housing lending, $20m; cut in the Treasurer’s Advance- he is guilty so they Will cut off his pocket money- $75m; abandonment of uranium exploration- I do not know who is going to explore for uranium but the Leader of the Opposition said that he would abandon it- a saving of $4m; suspension of growth centres- every thinking person in this country would agree with the establishment of growth centres- a maximum of $10Om; sale of the Pharmaceutical Corporation- a very profitable enterprise- $8. [More…]
We say that we will cut out uranium exploration, cut back urban and regional development, wind back national capital expenditure and abolish the Australian Government Insurance Corporation, which if it ever comes to life will destroy this economy and will open up the way for an authoritarian form of government. [More…]
The Northern Territory covers about one-sixth of Australia, mind you, with tremendous potential in uranium, iron ore, gold, copper, oil and gas. [More…]
In the area of other expenditure economies for which the Leader of the Opposition gave no costing, the Treasury estimated the items pointed to by the Leader of the Opposition- that is, the cessation of uranium exploration, suspending growth centre expenditure and making special economies in the urban rehabilitation and area improvement programs- would save only $1 15m, and that assumes the complete cessation of expenditure on those programs. [More…]
Who forced the uranium companies to negotiate contracts at a reasonable price? [More…]
Need I remind the House that when we came to power we said that we would honour some of the indifferent and very poor contracts in relation to uranium which were rushed through by the then Government in its declining days of office. [More…]
It is in that field and possibly at a later stage in the field of uranium also that we will be able to meet Australia’s future energy requirements. [More…]
Even taking in all the cutbacks that Mr Fraser is advocating, such as the capital advance to the Australian Industry Development Corporation, suspension of the Australian Housing Corporation, adandonment of uranium exploration, suspension of growth centres and program and area improvements, the selling of the pharmaceutical company which the Government has not even bought yet and the abolition of the Australian Government Insurance Office, not as much money as he suggests will be saved. [More…]
The same goes for coal, uranium, and now for wheat. [More…]
The country possesses important domestic resources in coal, petrol, gas and uranium which will probably protect it over a long period from the direct repercussions of the world energy crisis. [More…]
The Minister similarly attempted to gain control of Australia’s uranium reserves by trying to force the companies which held leases into bankruptcy. [More…]
This has extremely serious consequences for Australia because there is a real possibility that we will miss the world market for uranium if we do not make contracts soon. [More…]
Two areas which come to mind immediately where development could be given the go-ahead are coal in the Bowen basin and uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Apart from causing severe economic dislocation to our trading partners, this approach also runs the risk of missing the market altogether as the Minister knows he has done in regard to our uranium resources. [More…]
Thanks to the Australian Labor Party Government we have delayed the development of uranium, and for very good reasons. [More…]
The uranium industry also has suffered the blight of this Government. [More…]
We have uranium at Yeelering in Western Australia and whilst there is a great deal of talk of what is being done and what ought to be done about Northern Territory uranium. [More…]
I should like the Minister, one day, to tell the House and all members of Parliament from Western Australia, what his policy proposals are for development of Western Australian uranium. [More…]
In no way would Australia’s future energy requirements be jeopardised if export of uranium was allowed. [More…]
As I have mentioned, uranium and north-west shelf gas are areas in which we would establish clear guidelines to let the industry know where it stands. [More…]
Uranium policy was left to the Department of National Development which regarded it as purely another mining activity and nuclear policy as such was framed and pursued by the scientists of the Atomic Energy Commission. [More…]
The Opposition referred to uranium. [More…]
For 14 years before this Government was elected a total embargo on the export of uranium was imposed by the Liberal-Country Party Government in the 14 years to 1972. [More…]
That is the murky depth at which uranium policy was administered by the Liberal-Country Party Government. [More…]
Now the Opposition berates us because uranium is not being ripped out of the ground and sold at bargain basement prices. [More…]
An agreement has been signed between the Australian Government and the Northern Territory producers to produce uranium and to refine it in a process which will be operated by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. [More…]
It so happens that there has been an inquiry into the national parks in the Northern Territory and another inquiry into the environmental effects of uranium. [More…]
When we came to office uranium was at SUS6.50 a lb on the world market because there was no marketing. [More…]
If the Minister had his way and were able to effect the pokey immediately we would be enriching the uranium, which would multiply its value by a factor of five. [More…]
They include 5 uranium projects, 3 coal projects, 3 bauxitealumina projects and a number of others. [More…]
This is the world authority on uranium. [More…]
This is more than the price at which the Opposition, when in government, contracted to sell our uranium. [More…]
In the uranium field alone a total of at least 5 projects were deferred or cancelled in that period. [More…]
We have at least 200 000 tons of uranium known in Australia. [More…]
So we have this vast amount of uranium which could be sold for the use of the world and for the profit to . [More…]
Look at them all- not one new major contract has been written in either iron ore or uranium. [More…]
The Italians wanted a 10 per cent interest in one of our uranium fields. [More…]
They said at the beginning of this year that we should use our coal and uranium to blackmail Japan into taking our beef. [More…]
The development of one of the world’s richest uranium deposits is being frustrated because the Government is not content that it will control a sufficiently large share of the project. [More…]
Above all there were hopes of bringing billions of dollars into the Northern Territory through uranium production. [More…]
Now the Australian Council of Trade Unions is putting a ban on the export of uranium. [More…]
Two areas which come to mind immediately where development could be given the go-ahead are coal in the Bowen basin and uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The honourable member for Kennedy is now trotting out arguments about uranium. [More…]
The Opposition parties in government had a direct embargo on the export of uranium for 1 4 years up to 1972. [More…]
There were no exports of uranium until 3 weeks before the 1972 election when the then Minister for National Development, Sir Reginald Swartz, foolishly signed an agreement allowing the export of uranium to Japan because his Government apparently wanted for election purposes some quid pro quo with the companies involved. [More…]
Since we have taken over the administration of the policy in this area, particularly in respect of uranium, we have said that we intend to export as much of it as we can. [More…]
Uranium oxide was selling on the world market at $6.50 per lb, a hopelessly low price when it was obvious that there were going to be massive increases in the price of petroleum. [More…]
Yet we hear the nonsense of the likes of the honourable member for Kennedy and the Leader of the National Country Party (Mr Anthony) asking: ‘Why do you not export uranium?’ [More…]
When they were in government they had an embargo on the export of uranium for 14 years. [More…]
Since 1972 the Minister for Minerals and Energy (Mr Connor) has asserted that a market will develop in uranium as people look for alternative sources of energy supply and that as the new enriched uranium reactors come on line contracts will be set up to supply these reactors towards the end of the 1970s. [More…]
Today uranium is trafficking on a world parity rate of $25 per lb, compared with $6.50 per lb just 2 years ago. [More…]
We have entered into agreements with Peko-Wallsend Ltd for the refining, processing and mining of uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
But the clear intention of the Government was that it was to continue with the export of uranium. [More…]
We have seen in the Northern Territory within the uranium industry a threat to their title to what was discovered so that they do not know when they expend millions of dollars and make a discovery whether the Government is going to give them a title to develop. [More…]
If you go to Europe the first thing the Europeans want to know is whether they can have the opportunity to buy into the area where uranium is found. [More…]
Let me remind the House that the contract for uranium which was let some 3 or 4 weeks before the election in 1972 was not a fair and honest proposition because it gave an opportunity for a speculative group to make a small fortune. [More…]
These examples and (our) rough estimates of the possible savings involved are listed below: abandon uranium exploration by AAEC (maximum savings of $4m) suspension of growth centres, economies in urban rehabilitation and area improvement programs (it is not clear what is meant here out even complete abandonment of these programs would produce savings of little more than $ 100m) sale of pharmacuetical corporation (this would increase savings by $8. [More…]
Australia’s policies in terms of production, output and national policies in respect of wheat, wool, lead, zinc, iron ore, uranium, bauxite and mineral sands are quite simply not identical with the interests of the United States. [More…]
Let us look at uranium. [More…]
Members might have noticed in the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday a letter from Sir Philip Baxter in which he deplored the fact that the present Australian Government is prepared to let private investment, including overseas private investment, back into the Northern Territory uranium business. [More…]
What we need is a properly planned uranium policy with the Government in the chair. [More…]
The capital in some of the companies has come from overseas people to whom the companies would be subsequently selling uranium. [More…]
Of course that was in connection with the incessant competition for energy resources in the United States and he was able to indicate that uranium would be available at bargain basement prices after the election which he predicted 5 weeks prior to it occurring. [More…]
It was about the untold millions of dollars worth of uranium- probably the world’s largest deposit- which was being demanded at bargain basement prices by the United States of America. [More…]
Discussions on minerals covered a wide range of subjects including coking coal and steaming coal, iron ore, uranium, liquid natural gas, liquid petroleum gas, salt and bauxite- alumina. [More…]
This is being reinforced by the proposed uranium trading. [More…]
Even the governments of countries like France and Germany have no hesitation in being involved in the exploitation of their wealth in respect of uranium and other minerals, but this is not the case with our country. [More…]
The exploitation of uranium, that crucial energy resource, is one issue which starkly reveals the total bankruptcy of this Government to grasp its national responsibilities. [More…]
Just how valuable are these uranium resources? [More…]
In many countries uranium may be only owned by government [More…]
In 19S3 Mr Menzies, in passing the Atomic Energy Act, took possession for the Crown of uranium in Australia. [More…]
I draw the attention of the House to a very important issue, namely the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
Not only is uranium a unique and a valuable energy source but also the immediate wealth it will bring to Australia should be closely noted. [More…]
Present indications are that the extent of Australia’s uranium resources are as yet unknown. [More…]
I think it is important that we develop uranium markets as soon as possible. [More…]
Let there be no mistake, the world wants Australia’s uranium and it is prepared to pay vast amounts for it. [More…]
Secondly, there is every possibility that the boom in uranium prices is only short term. [More…]
The development of advanced conversion and enrichment processes, as well as fast breeder reactors, could produce a uranium glut by the 1980s. [More…]
A great deal of research is going into the development of fusion processes which will not require uranium as the base product and that is to say nothing of the long term development of solar energy. [More…]
Unless we act now to utilise our uranium resources to the maximum it could well be that a valuable national resource will eventually become worthless and the monetary return to Australia will be lost forever. [More…]
For example there is considerable doubt as to how long the world’s needs for uranium will exist. [More…]
Therefore there is a case for the development of Australia’s uranium resources as soon as possible because there is nothing so pointless as having a resource in the ground of little value. [More…]
The second is uranium, for which Japan will be a major market by 1985. [More…]
At least one cannot be unaware of the powerful economic forces that are now in operation in some of the areas that are supposed to be the land areas of the Aboriginal population and the problems such as whether we will take uranium, whether we will take bauxite, whether we will take some other minerals without consideration for the rights of these people. [More…]
I have seen newspaper reports about the French Atomic Energy Commission seeking a permit to explore for uranium north of the Broken Hill area in New South Wales. [More…]
With regard to an export permit, I am afraid that there is quite a gap between a permit to explore for uranium and a permit to export uranium. [More…]
Firstly the uranium has to be found, then developed before it can be exported. [More…]
Then the company concerned will have to have permission to export the uranium. [More…]
It has been reported that Japan is anxious to purchase Australian uranium and that an early meeting with uranium producers is being sought by that country. [More…]
Can the Minister state the Government ‘s policy on the export of uranium to Japan and where the meeting with Japanese officials will take place? [More…]
Are supplies of uranium in this country required for power generating and industry purposes? [More…]
-Prospective uranium project developers are free to talk with prospective purchasers of uranium around the world but nothing can be finalised until the Fox committee reports on its environmental inquiry. [More…]
If Australia’s uranium projects are developed those demand figures mean that the projects would need to be conducted in an orderly manner so that the world market would not be oversupplied. [More…]
At the moment the price of uranium is considerably higher than it was a few years ago. [More…]
How does he reconcile his answer to the honourable member for Paterson with the statement which he made last night apprehending aggression in respect of the sale of Australian resources of uranium? [More…]
Has he considered the inhibiting effect that such a craven, low-postured approach will have in the future marketing of uranium on Australia’s ability to secure proper world parity prices on proper conditions? [More…]
My statement last night related to Australia’s huge resources of raw materials, particularly uranium. [More…]
I am not talking about today or tomorrow but, in the case of uranium, I am talking about a decade or two from now. [More…]
We know that by the year 2000 more than 50 per cent of the world’s power generation will come from uranium fuel unless other sources of energy are found. [More…]
Therefore we have a responsibility to see that uranium is developed sensibly and responsibly, meeting all the safeguard requirements and not allowing it to get into the hands of people with no regard for the proprieties of developing a strategic raw material which can be used for military purposes. [More…]
There may be good arguments for mining and selling Australia’s uranium. [More…]
The scare-mongering engaged in by Mr Anthony on uranium exports is extraordinary behaviour for Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister. [More…]
How could Australia negotiate a price when the Government believes we should sell our uranium at break-neck speed to save ourselves from armed attack? [More…]
In respect of uranium, Mr Anthony said on Monday that there is no place for the Government in uranium development; yet he claimed that there was the question of security involved in Australia’s resources, particularly uranium. [More…]
In the 1950s the Menzies Government considered uranium to be a strategic resource and controlled all development and sales of it. [More…]
Mr Anthony’s backers among the uranium industry tried to pressure the Labor Government into signing long term contracts in 1973. [More…]
In 1972, in the last 3 weeks of its term of office, the Liberal-Country Party Government agreed to long term uranium contracts at prices as low as $6.50 per lb. [More…]
The previous Liberal Government introduced export controls on an ad hoc basis, namely with a view to preserving what it considered to be Australia’s inadequate reserves of iron ore, uranium, natural gas and mineral sands, because, basically, the controls at that time were a conservation mechanism. [More…]
The first thing that should be pointed out is that my comments on Monday night referred not just to uranium but to all our vast mineral resources. [More…]
No doubt the media and the Opposition have concentrated their remarks on uranium because to do so makes a better story. [More…]
Another mineral that I referred to particularly in my discussions in Japan, Mr President, was uranium. [More…]
I made it clear that the Government wishes to see the early development of the nation’s uranium resources. [More…]
Subject to these factors, we envisage that the development of our uranium will be in the hands of private enterprise. [More…]
In this latter respect, I stress that the Government’s policy in this area will have regard to the findings of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
We wish to see uranium processed to the maximum extent practicable in Australia. [More…]
The Government would want to see private enterprise participate as fully as is possible in the development of uranium hexafluoride and enrichment industries in Australia. [More…]
Perhaps I should go on to say a little more about uranium. [More…]
In uranium, we have a relatively new source of energy of tremendous potential. [More…]
Australia possesses almost a quarter of the western world’s known uranium. [More…]
Some people say our responsibility is to leave that uranium in the ground. [More…]
Others, including me, see our responsibility as being to make that uranium available as a source of the energy the world so much needs, and will need so much more as time passes. [More…]
If we do not develop our uranium deposits- and I believe they could be far larger than they appear to be at presentthen I predict that Australia one day will have to face the judgment of a world that cried out for the energy it needed to feed, clothe and house its people, and which we denied it. [More…]
We possess great mineral riches, including vast deposits of uranium. [More…]
I don’t think it is stretching things too far to say that our uranium reserves will give us a position of tremendous influence, even power, in the world economy. [More…]
Do they question my assertion that our possession of almost a quarter, perhaps more, of the world’s known uranium reserves gives us a tremendous responsibility? [More…]
Yesterday at question time there were 5 questions on uranium and they came from both sides of the House. [More…]
We possess great mineral riches, including vast deposits of uranium. [More…]
Is it to be wondered at that with the Deputy Prime Minister speaking the following night people should put one and one together and draw conclusions, because Baxter said that senior Japanese officials had threatened him on this very issue of uranium supplies. [More…]
I want to put this matter in perspective by saying something about Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
In other words, Australia’s resources of uranium are to be measured not in hundreds of thousands of tons but in millions of tons from that one field alone. [More…]
As I have said, the uranium can be produced quickly. [More…]
The bottleneck is not in the mines; the bottleneck is in the erection of a treatment plant and the processing of the uranium. [More…]
As far as we can see in the future, the energy will come from uranium. [More…]
At present in the uranium field, Australia is pre-eminent throughout the world. [More…]
‘Australia has a responsibility to develop this uranium and to make it available quickly to the world at the time when the world will need it’. [More…]
As I have said, uranium is not only a great resourcea tremendous resource- but it is a resource which can be developed very quickly indeed. [More…]
Another mineral that I referred to particularly in my discussions in Japan, Mr President, was uranium. [More…]
Uranium did arise in the Japanese context as did every other mineral that the right honourable gentleman mentioned in his speech. [More…]
I knew the value of uranium. [More…]
I was not prepared to allow the multinationals to come in to get the uranium. [More…]
The Labor Government inherited a lousy set of contracts, rushed through in the final days of the former Liberal Government, providing for prices of $6 and $7 per pound for uranium oxide. [More…]
The world reliance on uranium as a power source in the year 2000 will be of the order of between 20 per cent and 25 per cent, and not 50 per cent as they have stated. [More…]
We are a little short of crude oil but in respect of natural gas, uranium and, above all, coal we have enormous quantities. [More…]
In the case of uranium our policy is for exactly 100 per cent ownership. [More…]
As the honourable member for Mackellar said, it is very easy to mine uranium; it is very easy to find it. [More…]
Despite the aspersions of the Deputy Prime Minister yesterday in answer to questions when he alleged government incompetence in respect of the search for uranium, the Bureau of Mineral Resources was responsible for and was able to identify and to inform intending explorers where they could find uranium or where it had already been found. [More…]
During my term as Minister I was told repeatedly by foreign representatives that they received information about Australia’s mineral resources, particularly uranium resources, which would have been classified in other countries. [More…]
This Minister has the uranium lobby breathing down his neck because he cannot give the uranium to them as quickly as they want it. [More…]
What is the Minister going to do about the Atomic Energy Act 1953- which was introduced by his own coalition government and supported by the then Labor Opposition- which vested in the Commonwealth of Australia the sole ownership of uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Japan is only one of the many possible users of our resources, and in particular of uranium. [More…]
It is remarkable that in the debate so far not one member of the Opposition has discussed who are the potential buyers of our uranium. [More…]
On present indications, the main customers for Australian uranium are the western European countries. [More…]
Western Europe will presumably and probably buy 55 per cent of Australia’s uranium production. [More…]
International assurances have been provided by Ministers that Australia will meet the uranium requirements of our major trading partners . [More…]
That point has been made well and truly in a report on uranium by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in which it was pointed out that there is a growing shortage and that, in effect, the consequences of that shortage have been to prompt, to encourage, to hasten the development of fast breeder reactors in order to conserve uranium. [More…]
Such reactors do not use as much uranium. [More…]
I submit that the whole consequence of our determined and deliberate delay over the past 3 years, our deception, I believe, of the world market, has prompted the rush of technology into saving uranium so that in effect we will not have as good a market in coming years as we would have had had the Australian Government been a government which potential users of uranium regarded as honourable. [More…]
It forced the effective dishonouring of contracts for purchases of uranium. [More…]
It put a question mark over the whole future of the Australian uranium industry. [More…]
We will have a major impact on world prices because we will be providing a very large proportion of the uncommitted uranium around the world. [More…]
To talk this nonsense, as the Australian does, about our not being important because we provide only 15 per cent of the world’s resources displays a total misunderstanding of the reality of uranium. [More…]
I believe the future for uranium is now at last in safe hands in Australia. [More…]
While these guidelines, if adhered to, represent in many respects a reasonable approach to the problem of foreign equity in Australian projects- the uranium guidelines are excepted in that wide statement I have just made- the major working problem which will actually confront any new development project has virtually been ignored. [More…]
It envisaged a wide role for such instruments as the ill-fated, as it happened, National Investment Fund and, indeed, the Australian Industry Development Corporation in arranging government-backed capital raisings and a direct role for government in uranium production. [More…]
As far as the technical aspects of the guidelines are concerned, the Australian Labor Party of course regrets the attitude the Government has taken to the development of Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
The major shift in policy as announced by the Treasurer is in the area of uranium mining and mineral exploration and production. [More…]
In respect of uranium, the Government, like the Labor Government before it, has demanded a higher Australian equity than for other minerals. [More…]
Australia already has the largest tonnage of uncommitted uranium in the western world and it is of the utmost importance that its development and sale be under the strictest supervision. [More…]
The Labor Party’s view is that as all title to uranium in the Northern Territory is vested in the Commonwealth under the terms of the Menzies 1952 Atomic Energy Act, then only a Commonwealth agency such as the Atomic Energy Commission should be allowed to explore for it in the Northern Territory and any new deposits would then have the 100 per cent Australian equity. [More…]
If the Government makes the distinction with uranium and requires 75 per cent local equity, on what basis does it make the distinction? [More…]
The previous speaker, the honourable member for Blaxland (Mr Keating), referring to the uranium deposits in Australia, said that only Australian ownership would be able to control that particular industry. [More…]
Uranium is one particular commodity that we have in the ground which is of vital importance to Australia. [More…]
Would any sane Australian permit some foreign country to come into this nation and take over our uranium resources? [More…]
It cannot claim credit for our uranium policy because we above all had deep in our philosophy and in our policies the defence and security of this country which are very much tied up with uranium. [More…]
An article which appeared in the New York Times Weekly Review last January pointed out that 20 big oil companies control 94 per cent of United States oil reserves; the 18 largest oil companies produce 60 per cent of the natural gas supply; sixteen of the eighteen own oil shale interests; eleven possess huge coal reserves; sixteen have bought into uranium; three own solar energy companiesand the only geothermal lands in production in the United States are owned by one oil company. [More…]
It cannot be considered without looking closely at the stringent Treasury ruling that there must be a 75 per cent ownership in uranium and not less than 50 per cent in other minerals. [More…]
But here we would be dealing with assets that could be comparable only to those in respect of uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The requirement of a 50 per cent Australian equity in any foreign capital funded mining project- 75 per cent in the case of uranium- continues to reflect this preoccupation with and over-emphasis on the question of Australian control and ownership. [More…]
The only significant qualification concerns foreign investment in the field of uranium. [More…]
I believe that the requirement of the Australian Labor Party Government of 100 per cent equity in the development of uranium is a reasonable one, given the crucial nature of uranium as an ingredient in the development of probably the most devastating weapon of destruction that the world has ever known and conceivably will ever know. [More…]
In both cases- this is contrary to some of the observations made by Goverment supporters- while a requirement was stressed of a minimum of SO per cent Australian equity in mineral development, with the exception of uranium which I have mentioned, it was also stated that development would not be delayed unduly because problems might arise in relation to the aggregation of sufficient Australian capital to allow Australian investors to participate in a particular development project. [More…]
Our policy has provided for a minimum of 50 per cent Australian ownership except in regard to uranium. [More…]
My question, which is addressed to the Minister for National Resources, relates to the level of Australian equity in uranium. [More…]
I ask: Is it a fact that the Jabiluka uranium deposit is 52 per cent Australian owned? [More…]
In a statement to the House on foreign equity in Australian resources the Treasurer made special reference to uranium and the requirement that there be 75 per cent Australian ownership. [More…]
This will have an impact on three of our possible uranium development projects. [More…]
The whole question of Australia’s policy on the development of uranium or the processes of the nuclear cycle will depend largely upon the outcome of the present Ranger environmental inquiry. [More…]
Our aim is to give Australians the opportunity of at least 50 per cent participation in development projects, with the exception of uranium. [More…]
Its uranium reserves are of world significance, as also is the McArthur River lead-zinc deposit. [More…]
Yesterday people came here to express their views about uranium mining. [More…]
The Government has already announced that, in its view, there is no justification whatever for the Australian Atomic Energy Commission to continue field exploration for uranium. [More…]
It sickens me to see a union which is held in high esteem in Tasmania covered with shame and disgrace because of the action of 20 union bosses who decreed, without reference to the rank and file, that 50 000 members of the Australian Railways Union were going on strike because one man determined that he would not carry out his duty because of a view he held in relation to the mining of uranium. [More…]
I have no fixed view at this point on the mining of uranium. [More…]
The Australian Conservation Foundation is in everything, whether it is uranium mining, Newport power house, Concorde, green bans, Fraser Island, bauxite mining. [More…]
Another example is the yet to be resolved problem of the storage of radioactive material and other waste products, some of which remain toxic for thousands of years, generated by use of uranium and nuclear power as an energy source. [More…]
One of the other more startling actions of this Government in relation to the environment, and a matter which is indirectly related to the subject of the debate today, was its high-handed action in directing Mr Justice Fox to complete the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry by May this year. [More…]
The Territory is rich in copper, bauxite, alumina, manganese and uranium, to name but a few metals, as well as oil and gas reserves particularly offshore. [More…]
This might be followed by a meltdown of the uranium fuel elements, including their cladding, and a release of fission products into the reactor containment’. [More…]
Very shortly there will be one of the biggest news breaks of the year when the Department of Foreign Affairs leaks to the Press contacts which it apparently has that Dr Henry Kissinger has already made an official request to this Government to ban the export of uranium to Iran. [More…]
What does it propose to do if the unions decide that they will ban the export of uranium to all countries? [More…]
What now constitutes an ‘Australian uranium company’ having regard to his recent joint statement with the Treasurer on foreign investment guidelines which announced that individual portfolio holdings of less than 10 per cent in an Australian uranium company would be disregarded unless there were special circumstances to be taken into consideration in a particular case. [More…]
to (5) The Government’s foreign investment guidelines in respect of uranium development relate to specific projects rather than to companies. [More…]
In respect of the foreign investment aspects, proposals submitted to the Government for the development of uranium projects will be examined in the first instance by the Foreign Investment Review Board which is responsible for advising the Government on all foreign investment proposals. [More…]
-During the parliamentary recess I visited the Ranger uranium site at Jabiru and the Pancontinental uranium site at Jabiluka, both of which are in the Northern Territory. [More…]
It seems to me that world nuclear experience, from mining to power generation, has not changed so much in the last 10 years that the experience and the knowledge gained should not be available to mine uranium safely. [More…]
We act as though we are the only people in the world with uranium and other minerals for sale. [More…]
Let me quote some of the cuts: Aboriginal programs $33m; growth centres $39m; land councils $28m; sewerage $63m; migrant education $llm; Medibank hospital benefits $118m; unemployment benefits $34m; Regional Employment Development scheme $153m; area improvement $15m; shipping $46m; uranium exploration $9m; shipbuilding $16m; export incentives $5 5m; and natural disaster payments $37m. [More…]
I turn now to uranium. [More…]
In fact, we on this side of the House found the most important aspect of the honourable member’s speech to be his advocacy of uranium sales overseas because he did say that we should enrich uranium in Australia before selling it overseas. [More…]
The basic assumption behind that statement is that we should in fact be selling our uranium overseas. [More…]
It will affect coal mining, gold mining, aluminium, uranium, bauxite and iron. [More…]
He wanted to flog off meat, linked with sales of uranium and with sales of black coal. [More…]
Additionally, there is no doubt in my mind that the visit has been organised to give grace to the use of uranium powered vessels and uranium in general, having in mind the release of the Fox report. [More…]
Recently the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) came back from overseas saying he was very worried about what Germany thought of us because of our uranium policy. [More…]
The Germans are interested in uranium to make a profit. [More…]
They are holding up all uranium development. [More…]
Is the Minister aware of an announcement that an Australian company has won a contract to prospect for uranium in Iran? [More…]
I saw an announcement a couple of days ago and was informed that the Peko-Wallsend group received a contract with the Iranian Atomic Energy Commission to search for uranium in Iran. [More…]
It is a matter of considerable interest that, whether or not Australia goes ahead with the development of uranium, there are countries around the world which are keen to look for uranium and possibly will find it and develop it. [More…]
There could be circumstances in which Australian companies actually were invited to go and help in the development of uranium in those countries. [More…]
Yes, uranium. [More…]
The present and correct pre-occupation is with efforts to get off the ground discovered large projects based as they are on known deposits of gas, iron ore, other minerals and uranium. [More…]
-In speaking to the estimates for the Department of National Resources, my remarks are predicated on 4 assumptions: Firstly, Australia will mine its uranium; secondly, we will export it; thirdly, we ought not to export it just as yellow cake or hexafluoride but we ought to pursue a policy of maximising the added value by enrichment. [More…]
In general terms, the Redcliff site has all the prerequisites for an economic uranium processing activity. [More…]
The site is centrally placed in relation to Australia’s uranium resources and probably more secure by virtue of its inland seaboard location. [More…]
This has been reflected in the deliberate theft of people’s rights in the sell-out of their shares in Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. [More…]
The Government has removed the Australian Atomic Energy Commission from uranium mining at a time when the importance to Australia of close control of uranium export policies is essential for orderly marketing and the structure of marketing is going to be crucial. [More…]
The action of the former Minister for Minerals and Energy in preventing the sale of Australian uranium at sell-out prices has contributed to the present escalation in the value of Australian resources overseas. [More…]
In spite of frantic exploration for uranium in the west, suitable high grade ore is not being discovered in anything like the quantities needed. [More…]
As uranium is strategically, politically and economically important, it ought to call for total government control. [More…]
The Australian Government- this Governmentmust be the only government in the world which is disengaging itself from the uranium supply situation. [More…]
Since the present Government is unlikely to be persuaded to buy into the uranium industry or to dominate exploration, its intended role, if any, will be in marketing. [More…]
It seems obvious to me that insufficient thought has been given to setting up a compulsory government-to-government marketing structure, and surely uranium justifies this control. [More…]
At present the royalty on uranium produced in the Northern Territory stands at Vh per cent. [More…]
Given that the present Government is pulling out of direct equity in uranium, there is a good case for a very large royalty- by Australian standards -to be applied. [More…]
It does not need uranium for some time to come. [More…]
But as an energy commodity uranium is sought by many nations, and this Government has the responsibility to supply on terms of what is economically best, what is best for posterity and what is best for Australia’s international relations. [More…]
The uranium industry has the potential to contribute to the Australian economy on a scale which probably exceeds that of any other single development. [More…]
This leads to the concern that Australians must have for setting up the uranium industry on sound development lines if we are to gain the benefits from its full exploitation. [More…]
In South Australia interest in uranium has persisted from the Second World War, when the first call was made by the United Kingdom Government. [More…]
That led to the setting up in my State of AMDEL, which played a major role in developing all subsequent uranium treatment plants of the 1950s and 1960s. [More…]
It led to the setting up in 1953 of the Atomic Energy Commission, after the South Australian Government and the Commonwealth had agreed to export uranium so that Australia would have the best technical expertise available to co-operate with the States and allow Australia to move, if needed,- into nuclear power generation. [More…]
Its interest in uranium is still profound. [More…]
South Australia needs priority consideration as a site for an Australian uranium processing centre and for the enrichment of our mined uranium. [More…]
It should be an essential part of Australian uranium mining industry policy, and the Minister is strongly advised to study in depth the reports submitted to him by the South Australian Premier’s Department. [More…]
In my view, uranium is too important to this country not to develop it now to the fullest possible extent as a need for energy deficient countries and as a source of wealth and an insurance for Australia’s future. [More…]
In conclusion, let me impress upon the Minister that the establishment of a uranium treatment centre in South Australia, particularly at Redcliff, will secure an industrial and employment base for South Australia and, in so doing, will extend the base of South Australian manufacturing industry. [More…]
The development of our uranium resources is of vital importance to Australia and will be to our economy what petroleum has meant to the Arab nations. [More…]
We have a valuable mineral ore in this country in uranium, which can solve our energy problem and at the same time provide valuable export earnings. [More…]
There is considerable opposition to the rnining of uranium. [More…]
If we look at the record in Australia we find that uranium mining was carried out successfully and safely in Australia from 1954 to 1971. [More…]
The figures were: Rum Jungle, 863 000 tonnes; United Uranium, 128 000 tonnes; South Alligator, 13 000 tonnes; Mary Kathleen, 2 947 000 tonnes- that mine is now operating again; and Radium Hill and Port Pirie, 970 000 tonnes. [More…]
The question to be asked is: Why should uranium mining be less safe now than it was then? [More…]
We must realise that uranium is being mined on an increasing scale in overseas countries, including the United States, Canada, South Africa, Niger, France, Gabon, and the Soviet Union. [More…]
All nations have access to uranium ores from the ever growing mining industry or from sea water. [More…]
The denying of access to Australian uranium therefore can have no effect on the spread of nuclear weapons. [More…]
Many people in politics and in the community in Australia may be of the opinion that a few overseas shareholders would benefit from Australian uranium mining. [More…]
Nations such as Australia which have far more uranium than is required for their own energy needs have a duty to sell the excess to those less fortunate nations. [More…]
If we do not sell our uranium we could be classed as being selfish and this could add to international tensions. [More…]
By 1985 the Australian uranium industry will be capable of satisfying 20 per cent of the world market This could earn for Australia $3, 000m a year. [More…]
Between 1976 and 1985 the uranium industry will spend $l,800m- that is on present-day values- and most of this money will be spent in Australia in providing employment and development particularly in our sparsely populated north. [More…]
As a member of the Government trade and resources committee I had the pleasure recently of visiting the uranium resource in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. [More…]
By 1985 nearly 10 000 employees could be working in the uranium industry and an estimated wage bill of $2m would be fed into the economy each week. [More…]
For the benefit of Australia let us get on with the job of developing, mining and selling uranium to the great benefit of this nation and its work force. [More…]
The mining of uranium in Australia will provide employment particularly in the sparsely populated areas, and this will create decentralisation. [More…]
He espoused uranium mining, enrichment and export. [More…]
He said that uranium is too important for its development to be neglected. [More…]
The Government will not take any decisions regarding the development of Australian uranium until it has received and considered the report of the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry. [More…]
The honourable member for Paterson (Mr O ‘Keefe) raised a number of matters concerning uranium. [More…]
I have already explained to the Committee the Government’s position in regard to uranium development. [More…]
The Liberal and National Country Parties are very interested in uranium enrichment but they will have nothing to do with cultural enrichment, in ensuring consistent and secure development of the cultural fabric of our nation, in the provision and consolidation of arts for the people. [More…]
For that reason they quite deliberately acquire coal mining interests and uranium interests where they can. [More…]
In Saskatchewan while I was there a provincial government devised a similar system to apply to uranium. [More…]
He will know that last Thursday his Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development issued a statement that the Government ‘will be looking very closely at the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry and will be announcing its decisions’. [More…]
Has a special task force been established under the Permanent Heads Committee, servicing the Economic Committee of Cabinet, to set out uranium mining and export policy? [More…]
There is no doubt in my mind that in the immediate future the prophecy will be fulfilled that Ehrlich is here for one reason only: He is here to try to destroy the Australian uranium industry. [More…]
As to the uranium question, there has already been many opportunities for all interested groups within the community to put their views. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister In view of the contradiction between his views and the final recommendation of the Fox report which calls for further debate on the uranium issue before any decision is made, is there any significance in his meeting Mr Justice Fox in his office this morning. [More…]
He is interested in the mining companies- the iron ore, the coal, the uranium, the oil and all the rest. [More…]
Another and more important example is the statement of the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development immediately after the Fox report became public that the green light had been given for uranium mining to take place in this country. [More…]
His colleague, the Minister for Transport, in his capacity as Acting Minister for National Resources, did exactly the same thing only last Thursday when he stated that uranium mining could now proceed. [More…]
As to the uranium question, there has already been many opportunities for all interested groups within the community to put their views . [More…]
The Government may not have the same commitment to the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry chaired by Mr Justice Fox. [More…]
Is the same attitude going to be taken in regard to the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry? [More…]
by leave- The Government has received the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry which comprised His Honour Mr Justice Fox, Professor C. B. Kerr and Mr G. G. Kelleher as the Commission of Inquiry. [More…]
The principal findings and recommendations of the inquiry, which relate to the development and export of Australia’s uranium resources, have been considered by the Government and their thrust is broadly acceptable and provides a basis for future decisions on the industry. [More…]
In particular the Government strongly supports the inquiry’s view on the need for the fullest and most effective safeguards on uranium exports and the strict regulation and control of uranium mining and milling. [More…]
The Government will take decisions on the further development of the Australian uranium industry in the light of public discussion and that debate. [More…]
The second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry should further illuminate particular issues. [More…]
The preparation of environmental impact statements for uranium mining projects outside of the Northern Territory may now proceed but the Government will not make final decisions until the Commission of Inquiry has made its second report. [More…]
This Government had decided that no exports of uranium from Australia would be made until the first report of the inquiry had been received. [More…]
Mary Kathleen Uranium, the only mine now producing uranium in Australia, is stockpiling production and contract obligations have been met by borrowing uranium from the United Kingdom. [More…]
The Government is most concerned that rigid control and safeguards be applied to uranium exports, along with the lines of the recommendations of the inquiry. [More…]
It will not permit the export of uranium unless it is satisfied that there are adequate and proper safeguards on the handling, transport and processing en route and in respect of the ultimate consignee. [More…]
Export permits necessary to allow Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd to export its production; and [More…]
Export arrangements, on an appropriate basis, for the Government’s uranium stockpile in respect of export contracts of Peko-Ez and Queensland Mines Ltd. [More…]
The Government believes that a strong national safeguards policy for uranium exports should be complemented, at the international level, by Australia continuing to contribute actively to constructive multilateral efforts to strengthen safeguards and restraints on nuclear weapons proliferation. [More…]
The Government will now be carrying forward more detailed consideration of safeguards in order to further develop Australia’s national policy on the safeguards to apply to any future contracts for uranium exports. [More…]
If not, will the Minister tell the House how a speaker at the demonstration had a copy of his statement on the Ranger uranium environmental study approximately VA hours prior to its being delivered in this House? [More…]
Has he made any inquiries into the sources of detailed information available in the Sydney Stock Exchange on Thursday morning relating to the Government’s decisions of the previous night on the future policies on uranium? [More…]
I had heard- I had not read- that Cabinet had considered its response to the Fox inquiry on the Ranger uranium proposal the previous night and had made a decision. [More…]
That situation will also apply in the case of the Ranger project where the Government is morally bound by an arrangement entered into by the previous Government, so that if the Ranger uranium deposits are developed in the light of the second report of the Fox Commission of Inquiry then the Ranger companies will be obliged by the Act to reach agreement with the Aborigines concerned if their pending Aboriginal land claim over part of the Ranger project area is successful. [More…]
But tonight I understand that the Adelaide News carried a headline ‘Shadow Cabinet in Switch on Uranium’ written by Mr Kavanough. [More…]
The article indicates, according to him, that the policy put by the shadow Minister, Mr Keating, was defeated and ‘represents a major victory for the Caucus left wing’- whatever that may be- ‘and for the anti-uranium lobby’. [More…]
That it is the opinion of the Parliamentary Labor Party following the publication of the Fox Report on uranium mining and the Fraser Government’s decision of 1 1 November 1976 [More…]
That existing contracts for uranium mining should be honoured, provided that no new mining developments are permitted to take place; [More…]
That if, in Government, the Labor Party is satisfied that the hazards associated with nuclear power have been eliminated and satisfactory methods of waste disposal developed the question of uranium mining be re-considered in the context of full public debate; and [More…]
That the Fraser Government deserves the utmost condemnation for its haste in announcing decisions on the mining of uranium without giving the Australian community dme in which to debate this highly important subject, thereby disregarding the Commission of Inquiry’s final recommendation. [More…]
-I draw the attention of the Attorney-General to my questions on notice relating to alleged uranium price fixing and action being taken under the United States antitrust laws. [More…]
Can the Minister state what effects the action being taken under the United States anti-trust laws will have on his Government’s uranium policies? [More…]
There has been, I understand, what is called a letter of request filed in the Supreme Court of New South Wales which seeks evidence, including documents and oral evidence, from Australian companies which are interested in uranium mining. [More…]
Another question arises out of the fact that the Australian Government does have considerable power to fix, under the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations, the terms and conditions upon which uranium, if it were exported from this country, would be so exported. [More…]
The only point I do make is that it was particularly hypocritical, coming from the honourable member for Kennedy, who very strongly supports the rnining and use of uranium, in relation to which the same sort of allegations at least have much more scientific basis than the allegation about marihuana. [More…]
The United States proceedings relate to arrangements alleged to have been made for the marketing of uranium in 1972. [More…]
Secondly, civil proceedings claiming treble damages- which could be of the order of some $7 billion- have been instituted by Westinghouse Electric Corporation against 29 United States and foreign uranium producers including 4 Australian companies. [More…]
Thirdly, proceedings have been instituted against the Westinghouse Corporation by 16 United States utilities in respect of the non-supply of uranium under contracts entered into with Westinghouse, and Westinghouse is resisting those claims on grounds that involve allegations of contraventions of the anti-trust laws by the uranium producers. [More…]
In connection with the present dispute concerning uranium, Canada has recently made a regulation indicating that it rejects the jurisdiction being asserted by the United States authorities as an unjustified invasion of its sovereignty. [More…]
The Bill is not confined to documents or evidence relating to uranium, but the legislation will be available to be used whenever the need for it may arise in other contexts. [More…]
Insofar as the current United States proceedings relating to uranium are concerned, I can inform the House that I am satisfied there is a need to make orders under the proposed legislation and I will be taking actionin this regard as soon as the legislation has been passed. [More…]
blow to Canadian uranium’, which reads: [More…]
The Americans have decided to continue to bar foreign uranium for domestic use, despite earlier indications that the restrictions would be lifted by 1 973. [More…]
At the same time, the commission said it would dispose of U.S. stockpiles of uranium- a move that would overload an already saturated world market and further depress prices. [More…]
During the early 1970s the Canadian Government tried to elicit consumer nation support for the uranium industry and its dependent mining communities which were suffering from an over-supply and low price situation. [More…]
The problems were compounded by the United States policies, which closed the large United States market to foreign uranium and at the same time moved uranium from the United States Government’s stockpile into the international market through conditions imposed on foreign uses of United States uranium enrichment facilities. [More…]
I want to pay a tribute to the honourable member for Cunningham (Mr Connor) about the issue of uranium. [More…]
While supporting this legislation, I ask the Attorney-General in addition to impress upon the Government that if immunity and complete national sovereignty are to be given effect, then the real way to do so is to ensure that any marketing of uranium in the future, or any other material for that matter but particuarly uranium, is done on the basis of a government to government contract. [More…]
This matter concerns a most important thing, that is uranium, and it concerns the courts of New South Wales. [More…]
relation to uranium which may be exported. [More…]
Anyway, 70 per cent are in favour of Northern Territory uranium mining; 50 per cent are in favour of encouraging the sale of Australian uranium overseas; and 71 per cent are in favour of Australia developing nuclear power for peaceful purposes. [More…]
I think they have made up their minds pretty conclusively to back what I think will be the Government’s decision- I am’ not supposed to be speaking about uranium mines- to go ahead and develop nuclear power plants. [More…]
It was suggested that I had supported an amendment moved in relation to the usage of uranium by the honourable member for Prospect (Dr Klugman). [More…]
where an export industry is involved, the ability of that industry, for example the uranium industry, to contribute towards the balance of trade and the balance of payments has been evaluated; and [More…]
Since I gave that answer it has been brought to my notice that in 1973, at a joint ministerial meeting in Tokyo, Australia proposed to Japan a joint feasibility study on the establishment of a uranium enrichment plant in Australia. [More…]
Nothing demonstrates more tragically the inadequacy of the Fraser Government’s response to the report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry than its obvious determination to evade and misrepresent the findings of the inquiry. [More…]
It will complete their work and should give the Parliament and the Australian people a comprehensive insight into the uranium question and the grave issues it raises. [More…]
The great public debate on uranium, which the commissioners recommend and which democracy and commonsense demand, is only now beginning. [More…]
The Minister mentioned the first finding of the commission, namely, that the hazards of mining and milling uranium, if properly regulated and controlled, are: ‘Not such as to justify a decision not to develop Australian uranium mines’. [More…]
Then he mentioned the second finding, again misleadingly characterised as a ‘recommendation’, that the hazards involved in the operation of nuclear power reactors, if properly regulated and controlled, are: Not such as to justify a decision not to mine and sell Australian uranium ‘. [More…]
Mr Justice Fox and his two fellow commissioners are known to be concerned that their report on the Ranger inquiry is being widely interpreted as the go-ahead for the mining and export of uranium, subject to strict control. [More…]
The Fox commissioners are further concerned that the Government has used the report to support its stated policy for uranium development. [More…]
relate to the development and export of Australia’s uranium resources’. [More…]
suggest that, whether or not Australia supplies uranium, it endeavours to have some internationally acceptable system established for the disposal of high-level wastes and international supervision of what is done. [More…]
It is possessed of relatively large uranium reserves which by now have attracted world-wide attention . [More…]
The Government believes that a strong national safeguards policy for uranium exports should be complemented, at the international level, by Australia’s continuing to contribute actively to constructive multilateral efforts. [More…]
-My perception may be keener than that of most people but the soundings that I perceive emanating from the Fox report are all in tune with the establishment of a uranium export industry, subject only to adequate safeguards. [More…]
Much debate has raged on the uranium question. [More…]
The scare tactics being used by those committed to stopping the development of an Australian uranium industry have already been seen through and rejected by the American public in a recent series of referendums. [More…]
Placing this question of uranium development in a global context, the first point I make to the House is that the world has no short term alternative to the use of uranium as an energy source. [More…]
It is often suggested that coal could be used as a practical alternative to uranium in meeting the world ‘s energy needs for the rest of this century. [More…]
The first thing we must face in this debate is that uranium and the development of nuclear energy represent the only solution to the world ‘s immediate energy problems. [More…]
Turning to some substantive questions about the nuclear industry, the first recommendation of the Fox report indicates that the mining and milling of uranium in Australia is a safe process. [More…]
In informed debates there is agreement, on both sides of the nuclear power issue, that uranium mining carried out under today’s tight regulations is neither an environmental problem nor a health hazard. [More…]
People are prone to forget that uranium mining was carried out in Australia from 1954 to 1971 successfully and safely. [More…]
All Australians can rest content that their own Federal Department of Health, after consultation with federal and State government departments, trade unions, trades and labour councils, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and mining companies, has developed the world’s most stringent code to govern the mining and milling of our uranium. [More…]
I turn now to the question of the benefit to Australians of a uranium export industry. [More…]
The Fox report at page 83 indicated that foreign exchange earned by uranium exports would rise to a maximum of about 5 per cent of total export earnings by the early 1990s. [More…]
It must also be noted that uranium prices will slide as time goes by. [More…]
If they were in Government Australia’s uranium would grow steadily worthless while they argued with one another. [More…]
Australia with a large share of the world’s uranium reserves must also look to its international responsibilities. [More…]
The peoples of the world, poor and wealthy, want more and more power to improve standards of living and Australia has a moral obligation to contribute to that improvement by the supply of uranium. [More…]
I ask the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to bear that in mind next time he pontificates on the morality of the uranium issue. [More…]
The only authority which has a mandate to make policy on the export of uranium is the democratically elected Parliament. [More…]
Denying the world access to Australia’s uranium reserves will not help to alleviate this most serious problem. [More…]
Clearly, the development of nuclear power in the rest of the world can continue whether or not Australian uranium is made available. [More…]
All nations have access to uranium ores from the ever-growing milling industry or from sea water. [More…]
Of course it is common sense that any country hell bent on building a nuclear bomb would hardly be deterred by having to obtain uranium at a high price from sources other than Australia. [More…]
I think it is important that we develop uranium markets as soon as possible. [More…]
Let there be no mistake, the world wants Australia’s uranium and it is prepared to pay vast amounts for it. [More…]
Since that time interest in the uranium issue has certainly been increased, but nothing has occurred to change my firm conviction on this issue. [More…]
Let us then proceed with the development of a full- scale uranium export industry from which all Australians of this great nation can benefit. [More…]
I will not subscribe to the view being put by the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development (Mr Newman) and the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) that the Ranger inquiry itself constitutes a full examination by the people of the uranium and nuclear industry issue. [More…]
My Party has joined with many concerned groups in the community- trade unions, Aboriginal people, church groups, women’s groups, environmentalists and groups of citizens concerned with the preservation of democractic rights- in condemning the haste of the Government in making its 11 November statement, its disregard of the final recommendation of the Fox report and its general stance on the issue of uranium mining development. [More…]
The Government has taken a major decision to export over 16 000 tonnes of Australia’s uranium from sources that are insufficient to meet export contracts involved. [More…]
Implicit in this decision is that new uranium mines must be opened; that uranium mining development will go ahead. [More…]
It only pays lip service to matters of safeguard requirements, the control of Australia’s uranium exports after they leave the shores and, most importantly, nuclear weapons proliferation. [More…]
It made public statements about not doing anything before the outcome of the inquiry was known but privately it has gone ahead encouraging mining companies to enter into long term contracts for supplying uranium, including the supply to such dangerous regimes as the government of Iran. [More…]
Members of this Government have gone themselves and sent their bureaucrats to solicit foreign investment for uranium mining projects. [More…]
Earlier this year the Government provided a special guarantee of an Australia and New Zealand Bank loan that it arranged for Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. [More…]
It guaranteed that Australia’s uranium would be exported to the United Kingdom to replace in kind uranium borrowed by MKU. [More…]
If the Fox findings were truly to provide a basis for the decisions on mining and export of uranium how in heaven’s name can the Government have proceeded in this manner? [More…]
The Fox report at page 83 shows clearly that the large capital investors are the only ones who will benefit substantially from uranium mining development. [More…]
The drive for profit is the only motivation of the uranium producers’ forum in [More…]
Their empty statements on safeguards, controls and concerns about nuclear war do nothing to mask their basic concerns with advancing the interests of uranium mining companies, regardless of the social and environmental costs that ordinary Australians may have to pay. [More…]
It is clear that time is the enemy of the Government and the pro-uranium lobby. [More…]
It has acted now to crush the union bans on uranium exports as part of its overall attack on the unions. [More…]
Secondly, the decision has been taken in this way because of the disastrous financial position of Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. [More…]
Rio-Tinto Zinc controls 1 5 per cent of the known uranium deposits of the western world and it completely monopolises the uranium deposits of South Africa. [More…]
The newspapers tell us that some Government backbenchers see uranium mining development as the source of the much hoped for economic recovery. [More…]
If the Government’s backbenchers look closely at the mining lobby’s claim of vast economic benefits to Australia from uranium mining development, they will see that the claims are empty. [More…]
Optimal development of all Australia’s uranium, it states: [More…]
Uranium mining offers not even a partial solution to the unemployment situation. [More…]
After a 2-year construction phase, 250 men will be required to produce 3000 tonnes of uranium per annum. [More…]
The supposed sequential development of the uranium mines means that the total workforce will remain small. [More…]
In setting this course for a massive structural change in the Australian economy, of which uranium mining development is a major part, this Government has acted contrary to the best interests of the working population and the large number of small and medium size industrial enterprises in our country. [More…]
Trade unions have stated that they will prevent the resumption of uranium exports until public discussion has taken place and the people decide on the issue. [More…]
That the following words be added to the motion: and that the House is of the opinion that there should be a two year moratorium on the mining and exporting of uranium as mentioned in the Fox report to allow sufficient time for public debate as recommended by the Fox Committee and for further research into the risks involved and possible alternative energy sources’. [More…]
The question posed to me is: Should Australia mine and mill its uranium deposits? [More…]
I should have thought that uranium is a very special metal. [More…]
The question is: Is it safe, is it prudent and is it responsible for this Parliament, such as it is assembled now, to respond to the challenge given directly in the Fox report by agreeing to allow Australia’s uranium to be used at this stage to add to the world’s nuclear proliferation? [More…]
Let me make it perfectly clear that I am not saying that uranium should never be mined or that nations of the world should never use nuclear energy. [More…]
What I am saying is that this time man’s knowledge, or lack of knowledge, of the proper regulation and control of the production of uranium and the hideous dangers inherent in its use or misuse is such that we as a Parliament should follow the advice of such expert commissions as the Fox inquiry in Australia and the Flowers Royal Commission in the United Kingdom. [More…]
Firstly, Australia has 25 per cent of the world’s known reserves of uranium. [More…]
Any nation that wants to buy uranium, enrich it, use it or sell it must indulge in a massive capital outlay. [More…]
If Australia withheld, even temporarily, its reserves, world prices of uranium would escalate and influence nations to opt for cheaper sources of power. [More…]
Therefore, what we do with our uranium could have and probably will have a direct effect on the course of the world ‘s nuclear proliferation. [More…]
If we do not sell our uranium someone else will sell theirs. ‘ [More…]
Before any responsible government proceeds with the mining and milling of uranium it must, I suggest, after the warnings and constraints of the Fox Commission completely satisfy the conditions of proper regulations and control, particularly in the light of the following sentences contained on page 152 of the report: . [More…]
If this sentence is read literally and acted upon sincerely it means that no uranium, if we are genuine about this matter, could be or should be sold under the present conditions. [More…]
Sir Philip Baxter says: Let us sell uranium to Japan; let it make nuclear bombs; therefore, because we might be enemies with Japan one day, we must also make nuclear bombs to protect ourselves from Japan. [More…]
Sir, the communists will support the banning of uranium. [More…]
They will ask Australia not to mine uranium, while preserving a thunderous silence about Russia and China doing it. [More…]
-Mr Deputy Speaker, this debate encompasses the contents of two documents, the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry and the Ministerial statement by the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development (Mr Newman) in respect to the supply of Australian uranium under existing international contracts. [More…]
In fact the debate should only be upon the first report of the Ranger Inquiry but in its indecent haste the Government, within days of the presentation of this report, made a statement of policy indicating its intention to supply uranium under the existing contracts. [More…]
For instance, why could there not have been firm recommendations on uranium supply in relation to existing contracts. [More…]
The Government, I believe, made a decision a long time ago to mine and export Australian uranium on a large scale basis. [More…]
This is what the debate is all about- whether Australia moves into wholesale uranium exports or not. [More…]
In making his statement on existing contracts, the Minister failed to mention that the supply of uranium currently available in Australia from mining and stockpiles fails to meet the totality of the existing contracts. [More…]
While the Prime Minister at question time today said that he will wait upon the presentation of the second report and preaches a wait and see policy, in fact, unless I am badly mistaken, he and his Government are determined to press ahead with large scale uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
The Prime Minister’s crude attempt to jam the Opposition into a premature debate on the uranium issue last Tuesday week by his announcement the previous Thursday of the Government’s decision on the existing contracts failed when the Opposition took the challenge and determined an attitude to that particular question. [More…]
Honourable members will be aware now that the Opposition has determined that in government it would prohibit the export of uranium from new uranium mines for an indefinite period and indicated that it will not honour any new contracts that were signed by the Fraser Government or any other future conservative government. [More…]
If I am correct and the Government presses ahead with new uranium mining in Australia, it will do so in disregard of the notice of caution articulated in the Fox report. [More…]
Policy respecting Australian uranium exports, for the time being at least, should be based on a full recognition of the hazards, dangers and problems of and associated with the production of nuclear energy, and should therefore seek to limit or restrict expansion of that production. [More…]
His original statement and his subsequent statement have been interpreted by the mining industry and by the investing public as a clear endorsement by the Government of uranium mining. [More…]
The Australian stock exchange responded to the Government’s statement and the media broadly interpreted the Commission’s report and the subsequent ministerial statement as a green light for uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
The Government has engaged and is engaging in a massive deception, and the Fraser Island decision in respect of the dishonouring of contracts following the environmental report is but a throw-away to the environmentalists in Australia to gain some ground for the Government to move rapidly into the development of uranium resources. [More…]
Let it be made perfectly clear that the Opposition does not support the establishment of new uranium mining capacity in Australia until the nuclear industry has put its house in order. [More…]
A future Labor government will not be bound by decisions taken by the Fraser Government or any other conservative government, in relation to uranium. [More…]
Whether Australia supplies uranium to the world or not it should not abrogate its responsibilities in developing new energy technology. [More…]
In conclusion, I urge the Government to take heed of the Fox Commission’s call for a full public debate before a decision is taken in respect of the establishment of new uranium mines and not to commit Australia to a role in the expansion of nuclear power which its citizens and their children may regret. [More…]
I state that we should mine and sell uranium. [More…]
We have heard a lot about the dangers of mining and processing uranium. [More…]
We have been inundated with alarmist calls about the dangers of using uranium for the generation of power. [More…]
The truth is that the mining of the relatively low grade deposits of uranium in Australia, principally by open pit mining methods, by safety conscious people is no more dangerous than any other mining operation and is far less injurious to health than the underground mining of many other minerals. [More…]
This has nothing to do with uranium. [More…]
Because of the specific care which will be exercised in mining uranium and because it appears that the known deposits will be mined by open pit mining methods, the incidence of mining illness will be considerably less than in the mining of other materials. [More…]
A study paper prepared by the brilliant Mr William Wright and Mr John Silver of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission has stated that the immediate setting up of a uranium industry, with the aid of scientists, could result in earnings of $3,000m a year by 1985. [More…]
In the report the director of the unit claims that by the mid or late 1 980s uranium could be one of Australia’s most important mineral exports in terms of overseas earnings and could be earning considerably more than the wheat or wool industries. [More…]
Australia has about 19 per cent of the West’s reasonably assured lowgrade low-cost resources of uranium. [More…]
Although it makes little difference to the rest of the world if Australia exports its uranium, it could deny Australia real benefits in foreign currency earnings, employment and national development if we do not do so. [More…]
The alternative policy of development of resources would make it financially beneficial to install plants immediately for the conversion of yellowcake into enriched uranium. [More…]
The use of uranium in nuclear reactors is the safest method of generating power at a reasonable cost. [More…]
The dangers from uranium-fuelled reactors is minimal. [More…]
The information which I have goes on to illustrate the safety aspects of using uranium. [More…]
It is significant that the main opponents of the mining of uranium in Australia and its export are being mobilised and financed by sources and people who are communist-inspired and some of those sit opposite in this House. [More…]
If we do not mine and sell our uranium do honourable members think that this decision will have any effect on the world ‘s generation of nuclear power? [More…]
If uranium cannot be gained from this source it can always be obtained from sea water. [More…]
It we do not mine and export uranium for the world market subject to the most stringent conditions possible the users will get their supplies elsewhere. [More…]
We are not the only country in the world that has uranium. [More…]
We do not have the only uranium deposits that can be mined viably. [More…]
We will only penalise the Australian people and Australia as a country if we do not utilise this immense wealth and our immense resources of uranium. [More…]
I would like to quote one part of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry Report which the honourable member for Blaxland (Mr Keating) was not game to quote. [More…]
It was not contended that, if properly regulated and controlled, hazards associated only with the mining and milling of uranium were of such a magnitude that those operations should not be allowed. [More…]
Therefore a lot of nonsense is being spoken about uranium at the present time. [More…]
We mentioned earlier an argument that Australia should permanently refuse to supply uranium, or should at least postpone supply, with a view to persuading other countries, by our example, from entering upon or further developing nuclear power production. [More…]
These matters might not have been of any concern at all had we not advanced our preparations for uranium mining to the stage they have now reached, so that our readiness and ability to supply within a few years are now obvious. [More…]
On the evidence available to us no country with an expressed intention to buy Australian uranium will in the meantime be dependent on Australia, in the sense that supplies at reasonable cost could not be obtained elsewhere. [More…]
It is nonsense to think that any action which we in Australia might take in the mining and export of uranium will have any significant effect on the world’s nuclear power generating stations. [More…]
Let us be clear about the choices open to us in this debate on uranium. [More…]
It is not a question of whether to mine uranium. [More…]
The changeover to uranium power will make it possible to extend the lifetime of fossil fuels and reserve these for uses for which they are unique. [More…]
Chapter 9 investigates the benefits and costs of exporting and not exporting Australian uranium. [More…]
Australians need to consider the ramifications of a policy of steaming coal exports replacing uranium exports. [More…]
Whereas by 1985 Australia will easily be able to export 15 000 tonnes of uranium oxide a year, the equivalent in black steaming coal amounts to approximately 200 million tonnes a year. [More…]
One thing that uranium can give us is a source of income so that we can put money into those areas if we want to replace fission power by the end of this century. [More…]
He is adopting the same attitude in the alleged dispute about whether we should export uranium. [More…]
Morality is supposed to be the business of the churches; but not the morality of whether we should export uranium ore. Let the churches take a close look at the State of South Australia to see some of the licence abroad there. [More…]
Let us look at the huge wealth of uranium ore that exists in this country. [More…]
Australia has precisely 30 per cent of the known deposits of uranium ore in the world today. [More…]
We find that South Australia, which has some uranium ore apart from its activated philosophies, has 15 875 tonnes. [More…]
All these represent about 30 per cent of the known uranium deposits in the world. [More…]
The fact is that 70 per cent of the world’s uranium ore is being worked and is providing jobs for hundreds of thousands of nonAustralians. [More…]
With all due respect to Mr Justice Fox, we never required that inquiry to be aware of the safeguards that must be applied in the mining and export of uranium ore. [More…]
Ask any common worker, any unionist, any executive in the mining companies, anyone in the community involved, even the smallest child, and he can tell you that the safeguards required for the mining of uranium are well known and that we did not require a costly report to bring them to our notice. [More…]
So I hope, and there is not much argument in the House, that we will support the export of uranium ore with the safeguards- I will not say ‘as suggested by the Fox report’ although they were suggested by itwhich are so obvious to everyone associated with the industry. [More…]
I ought to point out first of all that in common with many people in the community I once felt and expressed the view that we should mine and export uranium. [More…]
If nuclear weapons were not associated inextricably with the production of nuclear power I would have no worry, but nuclear weapons are inextricably associated with the production of nuclear power and I find myself quite uneasy about proposals to mine and export uranium and about the use of uranium energy in the world. [More…]
I also believe that if in government the Labor Party is satisfied that the hazards associated with nuclear power can be eliminated and satisfactory methods of waste disposal developed the question of uranium mining could be reconsidered in the context of full public debate. [More…]
The last factor is important only in the context that it rebuts many of the rather exaggerated assertions about the Eldorado that uranium is supposed to represent for Australia. [More…]
It might be argued that in Australia’s case we will mine and mill for export uranium but will do not much more than that. [More…]
So a real problem is potentially involved in our association with commercial sales of uranium. [More…]
In those circumstances I think any reasonable person is justified in expressing caution about our commitment to anything that smacks of wholesale mining and export of uranium. [More…]
I think that honourable members could well meditate on this before rushing off and suggesting, as did the honourable member for Kennedy (Mr Katter) that people are disloyal or wanting in patriotism for feeling uneasy about proposals for the wholesale extraction and export of uranium. [More…]
In relation to the so-called social and economic benefits of uranium mining the report makes it clear that no more than 250 people would be employed at any time in a mining project. [More…]
It goes on to point out that in the case of the Ranger project over the period 1976-77 to 1989-90 the return in real current terms will be no more than $197m and that uranium exports will add no more than 4 per cent to the national income. [More…]
My visit to Britain also allowed me to inform myself of the latest developments in the fields of offshore gas production and uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel processing. [More…]
Since those recommendations and the second findings or recommendations appear to be the main basis upon which the Government has decided to proceed with uranium exports and subsequent uranium development, does he still consider the first recommendations in the Fox report to be the major recommendations? [More…]
-The Government’s position on the mining and export of uranium is perfectly clear. [More…]
He was referring to the export of uranium, and said that the trade union movement must stop the export of uranium. [More…]
The more people study the Green report and this Bill, the more obvious it is that the Government is misrepresenting and undercutting the Green inquiry, just as it is misrepresenting and evading the Fox report on uranium. [More…]
So we shall rely increasingly on mining and in the years ahead we shall rely to a very significant extent on uranium, if those standards of living are to be maintained and if imports are to be paid for. [More…]
I did not rise tonight to talk about that matter, but I think what he has said brings to the attention of the House the very sane policy of the Government, of which I am a member, of ensuring that the whole matter of nuclear power and uranium is looked at very carefully and also in ensuring that the problem of the disposal of waste is carefully considered before the Government makes its final decision. [More…]
to three conservation groups to be represented by counsel at the final stages of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry; [More…]
The House will recall that the original Bill was introduced as a matter of urgency on the evening of Thursday,18 November last, because of certain proceedings instituted in the Supreme Court of New South Wales by Westinghouse Electric Corporation in respect of uranium contract litigation. [More…]
Obviously that order was made on the basis that the evidence would perhaps be used to declare that Westinghouse need not comply with contracts which it had already entered into over a period of years for the supply of uranium. [More…]
In the context of what I am saying about urgency, the fact that it is uranium creates a climate as to whether the legislation has been effectively drawn. [More…]
Iri the process it promised the people who bought the reactors a supply of uranium at a price which was in the vicinity of $6 to $8 per lb. [More…]
It has taken proceedings against 29 uranium producers, of which we understand four could be Australian companies. [More…]
In 1972, with the United States Government’s blessing obviously, the United States Atomic Energy Commission authorised the release of SO 000 tons of stockpiled uranium. [More…]
The Government of the United States certainly must be put on notice that Westinghouse must have gained immensely from the fact that a climate was created in which this uranium could be obtained relatively cheaply. [More…]
It prevented anybody else from selling uranium to the United States domestic market. [More…]
Is it any wonder that uranium producers such as Canada and others said that something had to be done to give an orderly marketing concept? [More…]
We could well now find that in what is deemed to be in the national interest a form of appeal could be made to the Privy Council which could well create evidence which would destroy Australian companies operating in the uranium field. [More…]
Because the emotional issue of uranium is involved, naturally there are opinions which question whether this legislation will affect cartels or orderly marketing by supporting certain companies in this field. [More…]
In relation to this being emergency legislation, I placed on the notice paper, as far back as 8 September, a question relating to uranium cartels in 7 parts. [More…]
1) Is the World Uranium Producers’ Cartel, which was formed on the initiative of the Rio Tinto Zinc Corporation (RTZ), still in existence following the withdrawal of this company from the cartel earlier this year. [More…]
5 ) Does the current United States of America inquiry into alleged uranium price-fixing or other breaches of the United States anti-trust laws relate to the activities of these organisations; if so, which organisations? [More…]
If not, what is the basis for charges which have been made in the United States against Australian uranium companies for alleged price-fixing. [More…]
Have any companies made representations to the Government to pass legislation to validate uranium price-fixing agreements which would otherwise contravene (a) the Trade Practices Act, (b) Article 83 of the Chaner of the European Economic Community and (c) United States of America anti-trust laws; if so, which companies. [More…]
I draw the attention of the Attorney-General to my questions on notice relating to alleged uranium price-fixing and action being taken under the United States anti-trust laws. [More…]
Can the Minister state what effects the action being taken under the United States anti-trust laws will have on his Government’s uranium policies? [More…]
I do not want to canvass at length the excellent speech made by the honourable member for Kingsford-Smith, but I suggest to the Attorney-General not only that people should peruse the statement made by the Canadian Minister for Mines last September but also that they should take the trouble to read the background paper to that statement, which is headed ‘Background Paper on the Canadian Uranium Industry’s Activities in the International Uranium Market’. [More…]
I well recall that at the height of the uranium debate in 1973 it was the Labor Government’s policy that uranium ought to be marketed through a government marketing authority. [More…]
That was repugnant to the then Opposition and it was repugnant to the uranium producers, but I noted in the Press recently that the uranium producers have changed their tack on this matter now. [More…]
Again I impress upon the Attorney-General and the Government the need to establish as quickly as possible a government marketing authority, particularly for uranium, not only to protect the people or companies which the Government seeks to protect under this legislation but, above all, to allow for an orderly marketing of uranium and to ensure that any returns from the marketing of uranium will be maximised in the best interests of the people. [More…]
His party wanted to take over the mining and marketing of uranium through the Petroleum and Minerals Authority. [More…]
There has been no clear time to consider the ramifications of the legislation and the underlying emotional issue of uranium contracts, the prices and the difficulties faced by producers. [More…]
I want to draw the attention of the Attorney-General (Mr Ellicott) to the question of what, I suppose, could be termed the validation of uranium prices. [More…]
Potential Australian uranium producers are lobbying the Federal Government to move to frustrate the US Administration’s attempts to ensure a free international market for uranium. [More…]
raising the possibility of an Australian uranium marketing authority supervised by the government, a move which would effectively protect local uranium producers from US anti-trust moves. [More…]
The U.S. Administration is anxious to avoid the formation of producer cartels that can fix prices and market shares for uranium on an OPEC model. [More…]
It is a pity he did not read that on 10 November- to the U.S. Justice Department’s investigation of uranium producers and he also recommends that the marketing be undertaken by a government backed agency which would help protect Australian companies from U.S. laws. [More…]
Whether the cliche is nationalisation or socialism, it is obvious that the uranium producers in Australia regard the formulation of a national policy as sound, and I continue to press it. [More…]
This legislation is concerned with the rights of Australia in relation to this matter and the intrusion of anti-trust laws in the United States of America into what basically is Australia’s concern, namely, the price at which we will fix our uranium. [More…]
The article was about uranium. [More…]
The headline in the article concerned stated that the Caucus had made a decision regarding uranium. [More…]
It was the shadow Cabinet which made the decision regarding uranium. [More…]
The matters to be discussed will encompass the preliminary thinking of the government in this area as outlined to the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, the measures proposed in the first report of that inquiry and recent international developments both in this field and in relation to other initiatives for the strengthening of the international non-proliferation regime. [More…]
Is the world uranium producers’ cartel, which was formed on the initiative of the Rio Tinto Zinc Corporation (RTZ), still in existence following the withdrawal of this company from the cartel earlier this year. [More…]
Is the Uranium Institute, another group formed on the initiative of RTZ, still in existence; if so, does the Institute’s charter specifically exclude price negotiations. [More…]
Are any Australian rnining companies members of any other local or international uranium producers’ associations; if so, what are these associations, and what is their main function. [More…]
Does the current United States of America inquiry into alleged uranium price fixing or other breaches of United States anti-trust laws relate to the activities of these organisations; if so, which organisations. [More…]
If not, what is the basis for charges which have been made in the United States against Australian uranium companies for alleged price fixing. [More…]
What marketing arrangements exist for the sale of uranium in (a) the United States, (b) the United Kingdom, (c) South Africa and (d) the rest of the world. [More…]
The Uranium Institute was set up in June 1 975 by sixteen of the world’s leading uranium producers. [More…]
The headquarters of the Uranium Institute are in London, United Kingdom, where it is incorporated as a limited company. [More…]
The Articles of Association of the Uranium Institute were revised in January 1976 to admit consumers of uranium as members. [More…]
The Memorandum of Association of the Uranium Institute states that its objects are: [More…]
to promote the development of the use of uranium for peaceful purposes, in order to assist in safeguarding the future availability of world energy supplies. [More…]
to conduct research and to do investigations concerning the world’s requirements of uranium, the world’s uranium resources and the productive capacity of uranium producers. [More…]
to provide a forum for the exchange of information concerning the use of uranium for peaceful purposes, the world’s requirements and resources of uranium, the productive capacity of uranium producers and all matters connected therewith. [More…]
The Australian companies which are currently members of Uranium Institute are Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Limited, Noranda Australia Limited, Pancontinental Mining Limited, Peko- Wallsend Limited and Western Mining Corporation Limited. [More…]
I am not aware of any Australian mining companies being members of any international uranium producers’ associations. [More…]
However, I am aware that some are members of the Australian Uranium Producers’ Forum, the stated objectives of which are: [More…]
To act as a co-ordinating body for the Australian uranium industry as a whole in discussions with, or representations to, various Australian Government Departments or Authorities concerned with the industry; [More…]
To co-ordinate the participation of member companies in any international organisations or forums for promoting the use of uranium for peaceful purposes; [More…]
Generally, to promote the development of a viable Australian uranium mining industry including research into uranium production, supply/demand and other statistical data on a world basis. [More…]
No marketing arrangements exist for the sale of Austraiian uranium overseas, other than arrangements being put in hand for the export of uranium in respect of contracts the main terms of which were approved prior to December 1972. [More…]
Apart from the measures announced on 1 1 November 1976 by the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development, the Government’s attitude is that policy decisions in relation to the further development of the Australian uranium industry will have to await the outcome of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
Have any companies made representations to the Government to pass legislation to validate uranium price fixing agreements which could otherwise contravene: [More…]
The Government has received no representations for legislation to validate uranium price fixing agreements. [More…]
However, it did receive representations from the Australian Uranium Producers’ Forum and Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd for action to prevent the obtaining of evidence for the purpose of certain legal proceedings in the United States of America based on the anti-trust laws of that country. [More…]
Will the Minister make experts from the Australian Atomic Energy Commission and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation available to participate in the public debate on the mining of uranium to help fulfil the recommendation in the Fox Report. [More…]
I wonder also what Japanese students think when they look at our energy resources, both of fossil fuels and uranium, when they know that they have virtually no internal sources of energy themselves and that their country has to import 98 per cent of her oil requirements. [More…]
We have a near monopoly of titanium ore, one quarter of the noncommunist bloc’s uranium, and plentiful supplies of coal, iron, copper, bauxite, silver, lead and zinc. [More…]
Paul Keating has made private appeals to mining company leaders for a more forceful publicity and promotional program in support of an Austraiian uranium industry. [More…]
He has said he fears that if the pro nuclear campaign loses momentum he and other moderates will have a difficult task in preventing the Perth conference from agreeing to a resolution banning all uranium mining. ‘ [More…]
I have never spoken to International Public Relations about uranium. [More…]
I certainly do not need any help in this issue and help from the uranium companies is the kind of help I can well do without. [More…]
It could do me a great deal of personal harm as from a long way back I have been an opponent of uranium mining. [More…]
I am opposed to uranium mining but the inference in this publication is that I adopt the opposite attitude. [More…]
I simply want to say that with other members of Party committees I met representatives of the Australian Uranium Producers Forum. [More…]
Of course the Government has been silent on the information which we should have gained on what commitments it made with the Japanese on uranium. [More…]
I will speak gently because the honourable member for Hawker always speaks with a lot of good sense and he has spoken tonight in many ways with the good sense that he displayed in the debate on uranium. [More…]
Put simply, we have bountiful coal, uranium and natural gas resources but quite inadequate oil reserves. [More…]
Our coal reserves are on the east coast and our natural gas reserves are predominantly on the north-west shelf while our uranium is predominantly in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The shadow of the uranium issue has been allowed to fall too much on this Parliament. [More…]
In many ways the uranium debate is a gigantic smokescreen which should be dispersed as quickly as possible. [More…]
Australia, with its vast coal and uranium deposits, is not facing any shortage of electrical energy. [More…]
I have heard it said about uranium. [More…]
The country possesses important domestic resources in coal, petrol, gas and uranium, which will probably protect it over a long period from the direct repercussions of the world energy crises. [More…]
However, where an excess of any energy resource exists, such as coal, uranium and natural gas, these could be exported to balance the costs of our imports. [More…]
Apart from our general commitment to non-proliferation Australia’s particular interest- and perhaps our scope in future to exert influence on international developmentsrelates to our potential as a supplier of uranium. [More…]
Australia would certainly want nuclear material deriving from any uranium it may supply to be subject to stringent control. [More…]
You may be aware that the Australian Government does not intend to take final decisions on the issue of future marketing of Australian uranium until it has received the final report of the Environmental Inquiry which is currently being conducted in Australia. [More…]
The first report of the Environmental Inquiry, which dealt with the more general issues involved in uranium export and nuclear power, stressed the need to ensure that effective restraints exist against nuclear weapons proliferation and it stressed also the need for the fullest and most effective safeguards on uranium exported by Australia. [More…]
As you noted in your letter, Australia ‘s potential as a major supplier of uranium gives you a particular interest in this aspect of the subject. [More…]
If the U.S., Australia, Canada and other likeminded countries collaborate on policies for the supply of natural uranium, we can play a vital role in reducing the threat of proliferation. [More…]
The first was the uncertainty surrounding the development of Australia’s uranium resources pending the outcome of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
In regard to the first point, it is well known that the Government’s attitude is that there will be no decision on any uranium policy until the Ranger report has been presented. [More…]
As regards the Government’s attitude to the approved export contracts, I repeat what I said in a statement in this House on 25 February 1976, namely, that the Government would wish to see honoured those contracts for the supply of uranium entered into before December 1972. [More…]
I have been grossly disappointed with the attitude of the Government on uranium mining. [More…]
The last straw on this issue was the action of the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) in launching a pro-uranium book simultaneously with a statement by the Ambassador of Japan advocating the mining of Australian uranium. [More…]
1 ) and (2)I thank the honourable member for sending a copy of a leaflet published by the body known as the Uranium Moratorium which contains an appeal for funds and states that if’made payable to the Australian Conservation Foundation and marked Movement Against Uranium Mining’ donations will be tax deductible. [More…]
The basic legal position is that donations to the Australian Conservation Foundation are specifically tax deductible under section 78 ( 1 ) (a) (xliv) of the Income Tax Assessment Act, but donations to the Movement Against Uranium Mining fund are not deductible. [More…]
That the House take note of the Ministerial Statement relating to uranium exports made by the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development on 1 1 November 1976. [More…]
The Fraser Government’s efforts to pre-empt and distort the uranium debate. [More…]
More than the number of members required by the Standing Orders having risen in their placesMr E. G. WHITLAM (Werriwa-Leader of the Opposition) (3.15 )- The Fraser Government is continuing to mislead and confuse the Australian people on the issue of uranium mining and export. [More…]
It is in favour of uranium mining; it is in favour of uranium exports; it wants to go ahead with them whatever happens. [More…]
Twice last week he signalled the Government’s intention to go ahead with uranium mining. [More…]
there will be no decision on any uranium policy until the Ranger report has been presented. [More…]
I believe it is in the best interests of Australia to develop uranium . [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister not only spoke in favour of mining at the National Press Club; earlier in the week, in a staggering indiscretion, he launched a book on uranium which puts the case for mining in Australia. [More…]
Just 5 months ago, the first report of the Ranger Uranium Inquiry was made public. [More…]
Instead the Government has ranged itself publicly and gratuitously with the uranium lobby. [More…]
It is clear that the Fraser Government will proceed to establish new uranium mines in Australia and to export Australian uranium before any adequate international safeguards have been developed and irrespective of what public debate takes place in Australia on the final findings of the Fox Commission. [More…]
On 4 November it was revealed that a special task force had been established to advise the economic committee of Cabinet on uranium mining and export policy. [More…]
It is possessed of relatively large uranium reserves which by now have attracted world-wide attention. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister told the National Press Club that ‘a refusal to supply uranium would cause tensions- perhaps serious tensions’. [More…]
He then exonerated the Ambassador of Japan for some public comments by the Ambassador which had been eagerly taken up by the uranium lobby. [More…]
Nowhere did the Deputy Prime Minister show any concern for the fundamental issues that uranium and nuclear materials uniquely raise. [More…]
He followed the Fraser principle of deception we saw at question time the Prime Minister’s regard for truth and accuracy- by his plainly ludicrous insistence that in spite of all he had said ‘there will be no decision on any uranium policy until the Ranger Report has been presented’. [More…]
What is inevitable about uranium mining? [More…]
These are, of course, the right words; but the representatives of those Governments in Australia and elsewhere will not have failed to see and to report to their Governments that they are mere words- words that seek to mask the fundamental intention of the Australian coalition Government to open up new uranium mines and to proceed to export uranium in advance of the development of any such effective regime. [More…]
Like Australia, it controls a significant portion of the world’s available uranium. [More…]
On 2 1 March one Dr Arthur Matheson, an American scientist brought to Australia by the Australian Uranium Producers Forum, made the startling suggestion that Ayers Rock be used as a repository for nuclear wastes. [More…]
It is neither safe nor responsible for Australia to export uranium with the present gaps in the NPT and the present uncertainties m waste disposal. [More…]
Any new export of Australian uranium should take place only after the Government has developed clear and uncompromising policies towards nuclear safeguards. [More…]
Together they hold the dominant share of the world ‘s available uranium. [More…]
Such an Australian export policy would, at the very least, include the following features: Firstly, Australia should make its uranium available only to countries which have signed and ratified the NPT. [More…]
First, I would like to repeat some of the remarks I made when I tabled the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry on 11 November 1976. [More…]
The Government will take decisions on the further development of the Australian uranium industry in the light of public discussion and that debate. [More…]
The second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry should further illuminate particular issues. [More…]
The Government is most concerned that rigid control and safeguards be applied to uranium exports, along the lines of the recommendations of the inquiry. [More…]
It will not permit the export of uranium unless it is satisfied that there are adequate and proper safeguards on the handling, transport and processing en route and in respect of the ultimate consignee. [More…]
He has said repeatedly, both in this House and outside, that the Government’s policy is that no further decision in relation to the mining of uranium will be taken until after the receipt of the second Ranger report. [More…]
He said last night: all Australians await with keen interest the policy decisions the Government has yet to take concerning future uranium development. [More…]
The First Fox Report is a comprehensive document and without it, I for one, would feel poorly equipped to consider the major issues that uranium development poses for this or any other Government. [More…]
While it awaits the final report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, the Government has conducted a most thorough preliminary investigation on the whole question of nuclear safeguards, both as they apply in Australia itself and overseas. [More…]
If Australia does become a major exporter of uranium, she will do so with a comprehensive and stringent national policy on the safeguards to apply to her exports. [More…]
He is calling for a blanket ban on uranium mining. [More…]
It has made up its mind against uranium mining and has announced its decision before the public debate which was recommended in the first Fox report has taken place. [More…]
-The only thing that the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development (Mr Newman) has done in a public debate in this Parliament has been to re-introduce on the Notice Paper the uranium debate. [More…]
There can be no doubt that the Government has now dropped its mask of pretence about uranium mining. [More…]
In this House last Thursday morning, the Deputy Prime Minister gave us the standard Government line on uranium miningthat the Government was waiting for the final Fox report. [More…]
A few hours later the Deputy Prime Minister bluntly indicated to the National Press Club that uranium mining would go ahead. [More…]
The Government has already made the decision to allow uranium mining. [More…]
The Government has always had an understanding with the uranium lobby that mining would go ahead. [More…]
First, if they were fully implemented, uranium mining in Australia would be so difficult as to be impossible. [More…]
It would be difficult or near impossible to carry out uranium mining. [More…]
What about recommendation 9, which calls for a Uranium Advisory Council to include adequate representation of the people? [More…]
Recommendation 8 says that no sales of uranium should take place to any country not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [More…]
The NonProliferation Treaty does not prevent the sale of uranium to those who have not signed the Treaty. [More…]
Australia could easily sell uranium to West Germany or France, which could sell it to Brazil or Iran, or any other country where there is an unstable government. [More…]
The Fraser Government wants to honour its commitments to the uranium lobby before the second report comes out. [More…]
There are 3 reasons why we are strongly opposed to opening up Australia’s uranium reserves to foreign mining interests. [More…]
The first is the damage to the economy that would be caused by unrestricted uranium mining and uranium export. [More…]
Uranium mining would have little or no impact in creating new jobs. [More…]
Uranium mining is immensely capital intensive and employs very few people. [More…]
The development stage of uranium mining would require immense capital investment and this would drain capital investment away from manufacturing industry where much of the work force is engaged. [More…]
Once uranium reaches the export stage, the harmful impact on other sections of the Australian economy continues. [More…]
The mining lobby predicts that uranium exports will exceed exports of both iron ore and coal by the early 1980s. [More…]
The uranium mineowners would earn high export income, and this would bring pressures from our trading partners for Australia to raise imports to maintain our trade balance. [More…]
The third reason for rejecting the case for uranium mining at this stage is the stimulus it would give to the spread of nuclear weapons. [More…]
The spread of the nuclear industry fed by putting more uranium supplies onto the world market would greatly increase the hazards of nuclear war. [More…]
For all these reasons we reject uranium mining and the stimulus it would bring to nuclear industry, the spread of nuclear technology and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. [More…]
The subject of the matter of public importance does not concern the pros and cons of the mining of uranium. [More…]
It refers to ‘the Fraser Government’s efforts to pre-empt and distort the uranium debate ‘. [More…]
If ever I have heard a distortion of the uranium debate I heard it in the irrational remarks of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. [More…]
At least the Government has always been consistent in its approach to the rnining of uranium. [More…]
Mr Tanaka expressed his appreciation of the confirmation of supply by Australia to Japan of the contracted 9000 short tons of uranium- [More…]
In particular, we will ensure that our major trading partners- Japan, Italy and West Germany- obtain an equitable share of the uranium we have to export. [More…]
International assurances have been provided by Ministers that Australia will meet the uranium requirements of our major trading partners, which could amount to a total of about 100 000 tonnes of uranium . [More…]
Government with pre-empting and distorting the uranium debate. [More…]
The preparation of environmental impact statements for uranium mining projects outside of the Northern Territory may now proceed but the Government will not make final decisions until the Commission of Inquiry has made its second report. [More…]
Certainly, with uranium, the questions of waste disposal and nuclear safeguards must be adequately dealt with. [More…]
But, as well, I think we need to ask questions about the economic implications for Australia of whatever decision is made about uranium mining and export. [More…]
Is there going to be a nuclear power industry around the world regardless of whether Australian exports uranium? [More…]
And there are wider questions which apply in some degree to most minerals, but certainly to uranium. [More…]
The Government’s approach to the whole question of the uranium debate is an even-handed one and is always within the context of its decision to await the second Fox report. [More…]
It has been at pains to point out that it will not permit the export and mining of uranium. [More…]
Whenever there is to be mining development, particularly in uranium, the Government calls for an environmental impact study. [More…]
Speaking about prosperity and uranium, he said: [More…]
In purely material terms there is no greater economic potential in any area of activity in Australia than is inherent in our uranium resources. [More…]
The demands of so many of our major trading partners for uranium are real and valid. [More…]
We must keep a balance in the uranium debate. [More…]
Firstly, when it was in office it said that it could not condemn proposals to extract, process or export uranium. [More…]
I completely reject the contention that the Fraser Government has tried to pre-empt and distort the uranium debate. [More…]
The Government said that there would be no decision on uranium export policy until the total report of the Fox inquiry had been evaluated. [More…]
The issue is this: The Government decided that it would agree to uranium exports before it ever received the first report of the Fox inquiry. [More…]
It is the one which talks about uranium mining in the broad and export, not just mining in the Northern Territory as the second report does. [More…]
The Government pledged on that occasion that it ‘will not permit the export of uranium unless it is satisfied that there are adequate and proper safeguards on the handling, transport and processing en route and in respect of the ultimate consignee’. [More…]
Right through all of the utterances by Ministers and supporters of this Government is the one consistent line, that is, that Australian mineral uranium deposits should be exported. [More…]
We can go back to the speech to the Australian Mining Industry Council, not of yesterday but of 12 months ago, when the Deputy Prime Minister came out with a jingoistic speech saying that Japan would come and get it if we did not export it, and relying upon those old phobias to try to sell the question of uranium exports. [More…]
Certainly, with uranium, the questions of waste disposal and nuclear safeguards must be adequately dealt with. [More…]
But, as well, I think we need to ask questions about the economic implications for Australia of whatever decision is made about uranium mining and export. [More…]
Is there going to be a nuclear power industry around the world regardless of whether Australia exports uranium? [More…]
Is the Australian economy so strong that we can deny ourselves the clear economic benefits that would flow from the mining and export of uranium? [More…]
Are the economies of local regions so well-based that these regions can turn their backs on the benefits that the mining of uranium or something else can bring? [More…]
Is our balance of payments so secure that we can forgo the considerable boost which uranium exports would bring? [More…]
The whole tenor of the discussion was that he supported the export of uranium. [More…]
The Government has generally bypassed most of the considerations in this uranium debate. [More…]
We on this side of the House are determined- and I stress the word determined ‘-that there will be a national consensus before there is any export of uranium from this country. [More…]
The consequence of that is that until there is satisfaction by the international banking community that cash flows will not be interrupted by the use of the Commonwealth’s export power to interrupt payments to companies to service debts, money will not be advanced to small Australian uranium miners to establish plants of the order of $200m to $225m. [More…]
We will force the Government to adopt a decent and responsible attitude on the uranium issue. [More…]
Otherwise, the Opposition is determined that forever there will be no uranium exports from new mines. [More…]
The honourable member for Blaxland (Mr Keating) stated that the Labor Party policy with regard to uranium mining and export is that a national consensus would have to be reached before any uranium exporting was contemplated. [More…]
In conjunction with Mr Tanaka, the present Leader of the Opposition stated that there was a confirmation of a contract for the supply of 9000 short tons of uranium. [More…]
The former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Mr Les Johnson, also stated that there would be an export of 100 000 tons of uranium and that international assurances had been provided by Ministers of the day. [More…]
The strongest advocate, of course, in the Opposition for the blocking of mining and sale of uranium is the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, (Mr Uren). [More…]
In view of those previous statements by the former Government in favour of the mining and sale of uranium, why is the Leader of the Opposition now strongly taking this attitude aided, I take it, by some of his supporters in the coming struggle for leadership of the Australian Labor Party? [More…]
With regard to the wording of this matter of public importance concerning the Fraser Government’s alleged efforts to pre-empt and distort the uranium debate, I would say that there has been much opportunity in this place, in another place and outside to debate this issue but the Labor Party has not taken that opportunity to bring this matter before the House. [More…]
It was subsequently stated in the Sydney Morning Herald of 26 March that the uranium debate seems in danger of fizzling out. [More…]
The Opposition has been objecting to the mining and export of uranium, yet it is not really mounting any major argument. [More…]
Since the time that this debate was initiated by the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development (Mr Newman), the Government has adopted a steady and evenhanded approach to the debate and to the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
It has said that there will be no export of uranium, whereas we on this side of the House are awaiting that report before reaching any decisions. [More…]
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition mentioned Kakadu National Park and said that this tremendous national park would be disadvantaged by being surrounded by uranium mining. [More…]
He would know as well as I do that the waters that run into the Arafura Sea and the Alligator River and its tributaries are loaded with uranium and that no one seems to be suffering from that at the moment. [More…]
I am certain that most of the people in the Northern Territory would support the arguments put forward for the mining and the export of uranium because I think that they look at things in a somewhat more down-to-earth way than many people in the south, such as the Deputy [More…]
Instead of putting on the notice paper the subject of uranium, important as it is, the Labor Party draws attention to the Government’s efforts to ‘pre-empt and distort the uranium debate’. [More…]
But at the same time the Labor Party has shown no inclination to have the subject of uranium debated in this House. [More…]
We are talking about something which I believe and which Mr Justice Fox and his Commission think is the most important issue ever faced in this country, because it is not only a question of what the high level or low level wastes might do to Australians in the mining, milling and enriching of uranium but also a question that can affect the whole of the human race and life on this planet. [More…]
In fact, the Fox report says that the radio-toxic properties of uranium and its by-products do cause cancer and may cause gene mutations in future generations. [More…]
Have we, the members of this Parliament and this generation, got the moral right to commit an act, namely to allow our uranium to be sold and enriched which may affect future generations, according to the Fox report? [More…]
I am not defending the Labor Party; I am just saying that the honourable member for the Northern Territory said that the policy of the Labor Party is that there will be no export of uranium. [More…]
I wish that some political party would come out with that view- no export of uranium until we can answer the points made in the Fox report. [More…]
On every occasion that I have appeared on a platform- I have been on them with distinguished scientists who have spoken in favour of mining uranium- I simply say: ‘Do you have an answer to that section of the Fox report which says that there is at present no generally accepted means by which high level wastes can be permanently isolated from the environment?’ [More…]
I am not necessarily against the selling of uranium. [More…]
As far as I am concerned, I am the only member of this Parliament who is prepared to say: ‘No mining of uranium, no export of uranium, until the scientists can give us some sort of guarantee of controlling all the wastes, some guarantee in relation to the nonproliferation treaty, and so on ‘. [More…]
But I am indebted to my friend, the honourable member for Denison (Mr Hodgman), who tells me that a friend of his, a Mr Des Shield, in Hobart put this suggestion to him: Why does not the Government hand out a small booklet which puts the pros and cons of the uranium debate? [More…]
Why does it not spend as much money on such a booklet and disseminating it to the people- such a booklet would carry the ‘yes’ case and the ‘no’ case- as we spend on issues which are of far less importance than that of uranium? [More…]
If we are prepared to spend millions of dollars on booklets about the retiring ages of judges or simultaneous elections, important issues though they may be, why cannot we spend similar amounts on the uranium question? [More…]
I do not think there is a person in this House who would think that the question of uranium which we are discussing today is not more important than those other matters. [More…]
I now give informal notice that when it is, if given the opportunity, I shall test the members of this House by moving an amendment to the motion before the chair that there be a moratorium on mining and milling Australian uranium. [More…]
As a lawyer one might have hoped to amend this piece of legislation to ensure that the Australian people could express an opinion on any number of matters that the Government may from time to time decide; for example, the mining of uranium and matters of that nature could well have been encompassed in what might be called a general purpose provision. [More…]
My question, which is directed to the Minister for National Resources, relates to the wide publicity given to the debate sponsored by the Leader of the Opposition in the House yesterday on uranium and refers in particular to safeguards. [More…]
In fact the only other statement of recent times was one towards the end of last year when he said that a Labor government of the future would not honour any contracts entered into for the sale of uranium. [More…]
He was virtually saying that there would be no development of uranium in Australia, thereby closing the debate which the Opposition has accused us of not having. [More…]
We gave it our indicative thinking of what stringent safeguards there should be for the sale and export of uranium. [More…]
The following is indicative of the Government’s thinking with regard to safeguards to apply to exports of Australian uranium. [More…]
The Government intends, in addition, that the Government of any country wishing to import Australian uranium will be asked to conclude with the Australian Government a prior bilateral agreement. [More…]
I read a rather extraordinary report in a newspaper today that the Premier of South Australia is, like his federal colleague, pre-empting the debate on the uranium question prior to the presentation of the final Fox report. [More…]
The Premier has said that South Australia will not support the mining or the enrichment of uranium in that State. [More…]
While the committee will continue its study on the locution of a plant in South Australia no firm negotiations of any kind will be entered into until the final report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry has been made public. [More…]
But this report presented by the South Australian Government accepts the mining of uranium and the development of a hexafluoride plant in South Australia as well as an enrichment plant. [More…]
I think that those people who have been exploring for uranium in South Australia and who have discovered some very good deposits, one at Lake Frome and the other recently at Roxbury Downs- in conjunction with a very extensive copper body- must be somewhat disappointed. [More…]
In the case of Roxbury Downs the copper cannot be mined unless the uranium also is mined. [More…]
What is obvious is that the Australian Labor Party is completely confused on the question of uranium. [More…]
That is the report to which I have referred- the Government has had, there is a grave community concern about the dangers of radio-activity in the mining and milling of uranium. [More…]
Apparently the Leader has not studied the history of uranium in South Australia, which was a major producer of uranium. [More…]
Where was the great difficulty about the danger of radioactivity in the mining and milling of uranium then, and what case can the Leader cite of lack of care or medical problems that arose out of that mining and treatment project? [More…]
I do not think one should take lightly the statement made by the Premier of South Australia, because it will have a tremendous bearing on the economy of South Australia, on whether an enrichment plant, if one is to be developed, should be developed in South Australia and on whether the mining of uranium should be allowed in South Australia. [More…]
I must confess that I have been concerned about 2 recent suggestions in the Press by public figures that the area around the national park should be a repository for radioactive uranium waste. [More…]
The honourable member was busy preparing his speech on uranium for the debate that is to follow. [More…]
That the House take note of the ministerial statement relating to uranium exports made by the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development on 1 1 November 1976. [More…]
The subject matter was ‘the Fraser Government’s efforts to pre-empt and distort the uranium debate’. [More…]
On a small point of a technical nature let me say that during that debate the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Uren) made the assertion that the only thing that the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development has done in a public debate in this Parliament has been to reintroduce on the notice paper the uranium debate, that it has been put back on the notice paper only because of the matter of public importance submitted by the Leader of the Opposition. [More…]
The Government is well aware that it has not honoured the recommendation of the Fox report that the fullest possible public debate be held before a decision is made on uranium mining. [More…]
The response of the Minister in Tuesday’s debate on the matter of public importance to criticism of the Government’s total apathy to a uranium debate was pathetic. [More…]
It is common knowledge also that the Minister refused to be briefed on uranium mining by his own Department. [More…]
In fact the Deputy Prime Minister has made no statement on this question of uranium in this House. [More…]
This strain on scarce resources has been accepted by the Labor Party because the uranium issue dominates every other part of public policy. [More…]
What Australia does in relation to uranium will influence every decision it makes on the economy, on defence and foreign affairs, on equity and on the distribution of income. [More…]
It is spending a considerable amount of time on referendum issues, which are important but which are much less vital to our national survival that is the uranium question. [More…]
As soon as the Fox recommendations become available the Government should have accepted its charge to involve the people in the uranium debate. [More…]
It can sit tight and do nothing because the uranium lobby has launched on its behalf a vast campaign to put the case for mining. [More…]
The Sydney Morning Herald last week published 2 long extracts from a pro-uranium book. [More…]
The articles were headed ‘Uranium Debate’ and Uranium on Trial’. [More…]
The case for the mine owners, as outlined in the book Uranium on Trial written by 3 authors, was accepted without comment. [More…]
The book Uranium on Trial was launched by the Deputy Prime Minister- a staggering act of indiscretion, as the honourable member for Hotham (Mr Chipp) pointed out. [More…]
The launching of that book was only the first shot in the barrage of media support for uranium mining which will build up in the next few months. [More…]
The promotion of the book Uranium on Trial has not been confined to the printed media. [More…]
Last week a 90-minute television program called Uranium on Trial was shown in Sydney to chime in with the promotion campaign for the book. [More…]
It was a blatantly pro-uranium program. [More…]
At no stage did he tell me that he was in favour of uranium mining. [More…]
In fact, he gave me the impression that he was against the mining of uranium. [More…]
That is yet another example of the way in which the uranium lobby is linking in with the media to present a case overwhelmingly favourable to mining. [More…]
International spokesmen for the uranium lobby will be brought to Australia to push its case. [More…]
Already there have been disturbing suggestions that Professor Johns of the Newcastle University has been paid to write pro-uranium articles. [More…]
To her credit, Dr Ray seems to have baulked at a private junket sponsored by the uranium lobby. [More…]
Furthermore, it is claimed that the International Public Relations Company has been paid $100,000 a year to mount a political lobbying campaign for the uranium miners. [More…]
It also points to the size and the nature of the unlimited funds that will be at the disposal of the pro-uranium lobby. [More…]
In particular, the merger of the General Electric Company with the Utah Mining Company has very important implications for uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
As far as we know at the moment, Utah has no direct interest in uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
The flowthrough from uranium mining to the manufacturers of nuclear reactors is obvious. [More…]
The powerful vested interests of General Electric in nuclear reactors will put pressure for uranium mining on the Government through its links with Utah. [More…]
What we are talking about is the mining, the milling, the export and possibly the processing of uranium. [More…]
As for the resources of energy, if the fast breeder reactors are successfuland they will improve the effective use of uranium by a factor of about 30- the energy content of known uranium reserves will exceed that of known fossil fuel reserves. [More…]
(Quorum formed) Despite the protestations of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition it is obvious that he is more concerned to stifle debate on the uranium issue than he is to encourage it. [More…]
I think we should consider whether we should not have a special levy on uranium exports to be used for the development of solar energy. [More…]
What are the advantages for Australia of developing her uranium resources? [More…]
It has been assessed that by 1985 the uranium industry could be earning between $ 1,100m and $l,500m per year on 1976 money values. [More…]
Also the uranium industry could be employing about 2000 people directly and probably supporting some 8000 more. [More…]
The yellow cake itself is only slightly radioactive as nearly all the uranium decayed products are removed from the ore during milling. [More…]
The main hazards with yellow cake arise from the tailings left over after the uranium is extracted from the ore. [More…]
This contains all the radioactive decayed products of the uranium which is responsible for most of the radioactivity in the original ore. [More…]
The handling and disposal of radioactive waste resulting from nuclear power generation lies with the countries which receive uranium from us. [More…]
Provided we are satisfied that uranium is not going to be misused, we have no moral right to impose our judgment on other countries. [More…]
They must make their own assessment of the economic value of the uranium against the risk, if any. [More…]
They must make their own assessments of the economic value of our uranium. [More…]
Countries must make their own decisions about the economic value of our uranium against any risks the use of uranium may impose on their communities. [More…]
On 24 March 1977, in response to a question I asked concerning the supply by Peko-EZ and Queensland Mines Ltd of uranium to Japan, the Minister advised the House that he hoped that negotiations proceeding with the Australian companies for access to the Government’s uranium stockpile would be finalised very soon. [More…]
The Commonwealth Government and Peko-EZ have completed negotiations on arrangements for the Government’s stockpile to be made available to Peko-EZ to meet early deliveries under its existing approved uranium export contracts and an agreement has been initialled. [More…]
Is the Treasurer aware that in a recent publication published by the Movement Against Uranium Mining of 5 1 Nicholson Street, Carlton, Victoria, it is stated that any donation over $2 can be claimed as a tax deduction? [More…]
All donations over $2 will be tax deductible if your cheque is made out to the Australian Conservation Foundation, 206 Clarendon Street, East Melbourne, 3002, and marked ‘Movement Against Uranium Mining’. [More…]
I am informed that the basic legal position is that donations made to the Australian Conservation Foundation are specifically tax deductible under section 78(1) (a) of the Income Tax Assessment Act but that donations to the Movement Against Uranium Mining fund are not deductible. [More…]
-One finds it curious that this motion should appear in the name of the Acting Minister for National Resources (Mr Nixon) when previously the Government had nominated the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development (Mr Newman) as the Minister responsible for the management of the uranium debate within the Parliament. [More…]
The reason probably is simply that, now the Government has unofficially and quietly decided to support wholesale uranium mining and export, it feels the issue should be managed in the Parliament by one of its more senior Ministers, one of the more accomplished hatchet men of the coalition, in this case, the Acting Minister for National Resources. [More…]
That in the opinion of this House the question of further development of the Australian uranium industry, other than to meet export arrangements entered into before December 1972, and the safeguards to be applied to exports under any future contracts should be the subject of further public debate. [More…]
I take it that it means that in the opinion of the House the question of further development of the Australian uranium industry and the safeguards to be applied to exports under future contracts should be the subject of further debate- that is, with the exclusion of ‘other than to meet export arrangements entered into before 1972’. [More…]
In other words, that the House debate the question of the further development of the uranium industry and the safeguards to be applied to any future exports. [More…]
That existing contracts for uranium mining should be honoured, provided that no new mining developments are permitted to take place. [More…]
That if, in Government, the Labor Party is satisfied that the hazards associated with nuclear power have been eliminated and satisfactory methods of waste disposal developed the question of uranium mining, be re-considered in the context of full public debate. [More…]
At this point in time it is opposed to the fabrication of any new uranium mining and milling capacity and any exports which may arise as a consequence of such a development. [More…]
That is, the Labor Party will press for stricter international safeguards and controls over the handling of nuclear waste materials and if in government the Labor Party is satisfied that the hazards of the nuclear industry have been eliminated and satisfactory methods of waste disposal developed, the question of new uranium mining activity would then be reconsidered in the context of full public debate . [More…]
The danger, however, with the public debate on uranium in Australia is that to a very large degree a rigid polarisation is becoming apparent. [More…]
On the one hand, uranium mining supporters want to export large quantities or uranium forthwith without first exacting new proliferation safeguard development from the international nuclear community and before any satisfactory resolution of the nuclear waste disposal problem takes place. [More…]
On the other hand, some people in the anti-uranium camp are opposed to the mining of uranium in Australia in perpetuity. [More…]
That is, to close their minds and leave uranium in the ground forever. [More…]
Such polarisation will do little to resolve the problem which Australia faces by virtue of its large natural uranium endowments. [More…]
It is important to refer to what I believe is the central thesis of the Fox Commission of Inquiry report on the question of uranium exports. [More…]
This should be the central aim of Australian uranium policy. [More…]
The United States of America, Canada and Australia control over 80 per cent of the western world’s marketable uranium. [More…]
It will never succeed if Australia falls over itself to supply uranium in the immediate future, conscious as it is that the nuclear community is in no position to deal with waste disposal adequately and has not yet had the time or the inclination to develop a sound system of safeguards against the proliferation of nuclear weapons from access to nuclear materials. [More…]
This is why Australia must delay any decision to develop new uranium mines. [More…]
What is interesting about President Carter’s initiative is that it has taken place with the knowledge and support of the Canadian Government which recently halted all its uranium exports until a new regime of proliferation safeguards are developed to which the major uranium rich countries may subscribe. [More…]
The House will recall that recently a group of United States nuclear power utility representatives visited Australia to study the uranium position. [More…]
They made some telling points about U.S. uranium self sufficiency. [More…]
The group said that the total U.S. demand for uranium in the early 1980s would be 35 000 tons, whereas domestic production in that period will be only 25 000 tons. [More…]
Last year U.S. uranium production was only 1 1 600 tons. [More…]
This is indicative of the general uranium shortfall that exists. [More…]
These countries are now searching desperately for an assured uranium supply into the 1980s and 1990s. [More…]
If these countries are to give up the option of fast breeder reactors and rely primarily on conventional thermal reactor programs then uranium supply will assume an even greater magnitude in their thinking. [More…]
But the Australian Labor Party is determined that this opportunity will not be jeopardised or thrown away by any subserviance and compliance on the part of the Fraser Government in wanting to please these countries or to curry favour with our own domestic uranium producers. [More…]
The Opposition is committed to a policy of opposition to new mining development and the witholding of new uranium exports until it is satisfied that the hazards associated with nuclear industry have been overcome and the important question of waste disposal satisfactorily resolved. [More…]
If necessary- and I place emphasis on the words ‘if necessary ‘-the Opposition will take the management of the Government’s uranium policy into its own hands by stressing the prerogatives available to a future Labor Government to restrict any export arrangements that have been entered into by the present Liberal-Country Party Government. [More…]
The effect of such a move would jeopardise cash flows and endanger the commercial viability of any such uranium mining project. [More…]
It is a responsible attitude that makes it clear to the Australian uranium mining industry that any initiatives that the Fraser Government may take on uranium development do not necessarily lock a future Labor Government into such arrangements. [More…]
I have indicated to these groups that uranium mining ventures of up to $250m in capital value could be at risk in the event that the conditions of clause 4 of the Labor policy are not met. [More…]
It reflects the growing concern of the Australian community towards the nuclear industry and the heavy responsibilties that weigh upon Australia with its abundant uranium reserves. [More…]
In this whole scene what is the place of uranium? [More…]
In the face of growing shortages where does uranium as a fuel fit in to the total capacity of the world and its energy demands? [More…]
There seems to be some basic agreement on and some expression of concern for the future use of nuclear power between the 3 nations producing uranium- Australia, Canada and the United States of America. [More…]
I think Australia has a very great challenge to take up the guidelines that were presented by the Government to the Ranger inquiry, the guidelines which expressed the Government’s concern about the future of uranium and the future of its control. [More…]
At the same time it indicated the importance of uranium as a fuel source in the world ‘s overall supply. [More…]
I put it to the Australian people that the use of uranium may be a short term need in the total scene of the world ‘s energy requirements. [More…]
The Commission had referred in Chapter 16 of its report, to the regulations and controls which should be applied strictly to the development of Australian uranium mines and to the export of Australian uranium. [More…]
On 29 March, the Opposition was obliged to move an urgency motion on the Fraser Government’s efforts to pre-empt and distort the uranium debate. [More…]
In the statement I made on that occasion I set forth 5 basic features of an Australian uranium export policy. [More…]
Those 5 features constituted an outline of the safeguards which must apply in order to ensure that the future export of Australian uranium would not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. [More…]
He claimed that Mr Larkin ‘s statementthat is, the statement of a public servantgave the Government’s ‘indicative thinking of what stringent safeguards there should be for the sale and export of uranium.’ [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister’s statements when he addressed the National Press Club and when he launched the book Uranium on Trial gave the clearest indication of the staggering extent to which he fails to understand the significance of the uranium question and has sought to subvert the findings of the Fox Commission. [More…]
We are strongly of the view that, if the mining and selling of uranium proceeds, it should be on a strictly controlled and regulated basis. [More…]
We see uranium as a highly strategic material … [More…]
Uranium is unique amongst the sources of energy. [More…]
The ability of uranium to breed plutonium for future electricity generation, while it is itself producing electricity, makes it particularly attractive to countries which anticipate energy supply problems in the coming decades. [More…]
Just as it leads uniquely from current power generation to the source material for future power generation, the production of plutonium from uranium brings into existence nuclear weapons grade material and one of the most toxic substances known to humankind. [More…]
The major threat to nuclear non-proliferation is posed by the reprocessing of spent uranium reactor fuels and the breeding of plutonium. [More…]
This poses a significant policy challenge for Australiado we refuse to supply Australian uranium to countries where it would be used to increase the availability of plutonium? [More…]
First, on the technical level, Australia must join other countries in the development of safeguards agreements and safeguards systems which will ensure that uranium is not diverted, at any stage in the nuclear fuel cycle, to the manufacture of plutonium. [More…]
It is sometimes suggested that the only safe way of dealing with Australian uranium is to leave it in the ground. [More…]
The decision taken by the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party on 17 November last, that is when the Government could not itself reach any decision on uranium export policy, involved a fundamental acceptance of Australia’s international role. [More…]
The meaning of that decision and my statement on 29 March, and of this present statement, is to urge the Fraser Government and the people of Australia to recognise the great responsibility that our control over 20 per cent of the world’s uranium imposes upon us. [More…]
The fact that Australia’s uranium is needed for future energy generation in other countries allows us to bring about the conditions under which uranium everywhere could be safety handled. [More…]
We must join our allies- in this case principally Canada and the United States- in councils of the world and in direct negotiations with potential customers to insist that the only circumstances under which Australia’s uranium can be supplied are those I have outlined. [More…]
I need only mention, in order to dismiss, the ingenuous and far-fetched argument that even if it proves safe to export Australian uranium it would be economically harmful to us to do so. [More…]
It should be made clear beyond any doubt that Australian uranium will not be supplied until safeguards against its diversion from peaceful to military uses are established. [More…]
We know, for example, that Japan hopes to obtain uranium from Australia for its electricity generation program later in this century. [More…]
The Fraser Government must make it clear now that the only conditions under which Australian uranium will be supplied to Japan, in the future, are those we have outlined. [More…]
Deception, obfuscation and uranium do not sit well together. [More…]
I have spoken twice on the subject of uranium. [More…]
That the following words be added to the motion: ‘and that the House is of the opinion that there should be a moratorium of at least 2 years on the mining and exporting of uranium as mentioned in the Fox report to allow sufficient time for public debate as recommended by the Fox report and for further research into the risks involved and possible future energy sources ‘. [More…]
The mining, export and processing of uranium raises the most vital question facing humanity. [More…]
Normally in the case of uranium this question arises because of the dangers of radiation when uranium is used, the dangers of nuclear explosions and breakdowns caused deliberately or by accident when nuclear power is being produced, the dangers of radiation from nuclear waste, especially plutonium, which so far as present knowledge goes cannot ever be eliminated, and the fact that peaceful uses of uranium cannot be separated from the production of nuclear bombs. [More…]
The mining and export of uranium from Australia will inevitably increase the number of nuclear bombs produced and the number of countries which will produce those bombs. [More…]
Each one alone presents a reason why in present circumstances uranium should not be mined, exported or processed. [More…]
In the case of radiation from the normal processing of uranium, it is assumed that in setting radiation protection standards any exposure to radiation involves some risk of injury. [More…]
Processing of uranium in the foreseeable future, no matter what the standard of protection, will involve some addition to background radiation and, if there is no threshold, it will involve people in radiation sickness in some significant numbers. [More…]
In the case of Australia, it is easy for those who believe that as owners of industries, or as workers, they will benefit in money from the mining and export of uranium to say, in effect: ‘It won’t be processed here; there’s no immediate risk for us. [More…]
These risks will be exported with the uranium’. [More…]
There is nothing Australia can do to reduce the risk of explosion or pollution in other countries, in a nuclear plant, or in transport of radioactive materials by accident or design, but there is something Australia can do to share the costs of radioactive contamination from plutonium wastes- that is to take back the radioactive wastes of the processing of Australian uranium and try to store them away safely for the next 25 000 years. [More…]
Such a proposal may yet be put to Australia and it would at least test the integrity of those who are anxious to export both uranium and the risks of uranium, and bring the issues home to the public much more vividly. [More…]
The last of the 4 points I have mentioned is the impossibility of separating peaceful uses of uranium from the proliferation and production of nuclear bombs. [More…]
At any rate, to believe that uranium should be mined, exported and processed because it will give a higher level of happiness from a high level of consumption of material goods is a delusion, and it is a delusion which sooner or later will have terrible consequences. [More…]
-I welcome the statement by the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development (Mr Newman) as it has given us yet another opportunity to debate whether or not our uranium resources should be developed. [More…]
In pointing up the shortages and the shortfalls, in fact he made a good case for the development of new energy sources, particularly uranium. [More…]
We are willing to keep open minds on the subject, and my Government has consistently said that no firm decision will be made before the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry is received. [More…]
When the time does come after the receipt of the second Fox report, the elected Government will make a decision on whether or not we will mine and process our uranium. [More…]
I should like to speak about the possible development of the mining of uranium in Australia should the Government desire that the industry proceed. [More…]
Clearly, the development of nuclear power in the rest of the world can continue whether or not Australian uranium is made available. [More…]
The evidence indicates that, if nuclear power programs proceed at the rate projected in 1976, additional uranium production capacity will have to be established in other countries to meet projected demands in the 1980s. [More…]
Consequently, the unavailability of Australian supplies in this period would not make an appreciable difference to the average price of uranium. [More…]
It would seem that the availability of Australian uranium will have little or no effect on the ultimate development of power generation by nuclear means. [More…]
These matters might not have been of any concern at all had we not advanced our preparations for uranium mining to the stage they have now reached, so that our readiness and ability to supply within a few years are now obvious. [More…]
On the evidence available to us no country with an expressed intention to buy Australian uranium will in the meantime be dependent on Australia, in the sense that supplies at reasonable cost could not be obtained elsewhere. [More…]
Japan is perhaps the country most likely to need Australian uranium and it has already contracted for supply of all its requirements until 1985, almost entirely with countries other than Australia. [More…]
But I am so far only talking about the possible mining and export of uranium subject to acceptable safeguards and only after the Government has reached a decision following the receipt of the second Fox report But even from mining and exporting of uranium the benefits to Australia are immense. [More…]
The main point, however, is that irrespective of the assumptions used the mining and export of uranium could make a substantial contribution to Australia’s future economic well-being. [More…]
The uranium industry could be earning about $3,000m per annum at projected prices or about $ 1,000m per annum in 1975 money values. [More…]
The uranium industry could be employing about 2300 people directly and probably supporting a similar number of people in the provision of consumables and operating services; [More…]
The mining, milling and export of our low grade uranium deposits, principally by open pit methods of mining and a leaching process of upgrading is entirely safe. [More…]
I know of an area where kangaroos and birds are constantly drinking water direct from an open pit in an uranium ore body with no ill effects. [More…]
I also know that people have been drawing water from bores that have been sunk in uranium bearing ore for over 50 years with still no ill effect. [More…]
But in any case honourable members can rest assured that the Federal Department of Health, after consultation with Federal and State government departments, trade unions, trades and labour councils, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and mining Companies, has developed the world’s most stringent code to govern the mining and milling of uraniumshould the Government give permission for mining to commence- subject to receiving the second Fox report. [More…]
We hear so much from highly emotional but uninformed members of the public putting forward views that mining of our uranium will lead to genetic mutations and all sorts of strange illness. [More…]
The uranium debate has been going on now for over 30 years in Australia and the expert knowledge available in Australia is second to none in the world. [More…]
Secondly, all that has been talked about to date is the possibility of mining, milling and exporting uranium subject to the receival of the second Fox report. [More…]
Nor will any conversion or enrichment of uranium in Australia create any nuclear wastes within Australia. [More…]
The responsibility for the disposal of nuclear wastes resulting from nuclear power generation lies with the countries which might purchase our uranium. [More…]
Conceding that there are proven reasons which would preclude our mining and exporting of uranium, I ask: Will there be a nuclear power industry around the world, including in Russia and China, regardless of whether Australia mines and exports uranium? [More…]
Over 30 countries are already committed to nuclear power generation programs irrespective of Australian uranium. [More…]
Is the Aus.tralian economy so strong that we could deny ourselves the clear economic benefits that would flow from the mining and export of uranium? [More…]
Are the economies of local remote regions so well based that these regions can turn away from the benefits that the mining or uranium or some other mineral can bring? [More…]
Is our employment situation so good that we can ignore the new jobs which a mining and export go-ahead on uranium would create? [More…]
Finally, with the mining and export of uranium in Australia we have the opportunity to delay the development of the fast breeder reactor and the plutonium society with all its attendant dangers. [More…]
By the devlopment of our uranium, we may be able to safeguard significantly the welfare of mankind. [More…]
On the other hand, it could well be argued that there are some members of the anti-uranium lobby whose motives are dramatically suspect. [More…]
There is no doubt that the group which will benefit most from the strong anti-uranium activity in the world are the Arab oil producers, who have managed, because of the energy shortage, to hold the rest of the world to ransom with their energy source. [More…]
It seems to me unfortunate that large sections of the anti-uranium lobby appear to be identified with the same people who take very strong pro-Arab positions on other matters. [More…]
To that extent I would say that there is a degree of risk that sections of the anti-uranium campaign may well be tainted. [More…]
My only worry is that some of them may be misled, some of them may be misinformed, and some of them may in fact be deceived- I put that point as strongly as I can- by people with a vested interest, people who are working in Australia’s worst interests and who are trying to keep Australian uranium in the ground in order to maintain the international price of oil which is owned by the Arab producing nations. [More…]
I believe at the moment in the absence of that evidence and in the face of the clear evidence of the risk to our survival as a world as a result of the increasing burning of fossil fuels that there is a desperate and urgent need to develop uranium which is a far cleaner fuel, with far fewer dangers, than any of those that are clearly established to be evident from the burning of fossil fuels at the rate which appears to be likely. [More…]
That is not the only problem, I believe, that emerges from taking a position against uranium. [More…]
I believe that in a misguided way- in most cases, it is genuine but misguided- conservationists who are opposing the development of Australian uranium are forcing the world into the plutonium age. [More…]
If we refuse to supply the energy hungry nations of this world with our uranium at reasonable prices, what are the alteratives? [More…]
In the first place the simple thing to do, of course, is what the Japanese are doing, and that is to produce, at a cost, uranium from sea water. [More…]
It is extraordinary that the uranium debate in this nation appears to be based on the fact that if we do not provide uranium the consumers will not be able to get it. [More…]
I cannot understand the logic which suggests that because we have a cheaper form of uranium we should therefore keep it because it will not be available otherwise. [More…]
Not only will it be available otherwise, but also will users be forced to look seriously at plutonium and to move towards the plutonium age where in fact hardly any uranium is used at all. [More…]
I point out to the people who are so opposed to uranium what will happen if they pursue the perhaps’ proposition. [More…]
In pursuing that proposition, all they will achieve is the denial to this nation of export income because the uranium age will be a shorter age if users are forced instead into the use of plutonium. [More…]
Heavens above, who knows what the motivation would be for the consumers of energy consuming nations to spend millions of dollars pursuing the plutonium age if nations like Australia refuse to supply them with uranium for their present reactors. [More…]
There is something even more disgraceful than that if we refuse to allow our uranium to be made available. [More…]
In conclusion, I believe that Australia, a major potential supplier of uranium, has a major role to play in policing the use of this mineral. [More…]
If we do not make our supplies of uranium available I believe that other nations will avoid using our uranium and will either go to other sources or other alternatives such as sea-water, or, as is the case in South Africa, to the production of uranium as a byproduct of gold rnining. [More…]
We have a moral duty to develop and export our uranium. [More…]
The debate on uranium mining and export has reached the stage where the recommendations of the Fox inquiry have been reduced to a farcical level by the Government. [More…]
It is obvious that the Government acted with indecent haste and, while it protested that it had not reached any conclusion on future mining of unanium resources, it is clear that there are strong proponents of unrestricted uranium mining among influential members of the Government. [More…]
They want to move in as quickly as possible and exploit Australia’s uranium resources purely and simply from the motive of profit, despite uranium’s potential as a pollutant, as a killer, as a danger to the environment and to the lives and future well being of human beings, born and unborn. [More…]
The Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development dashed into the media as soon as the Fox report was released with a statement that the report had given the green light to the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
Policy respecting Australian uranium exports, for the time being at least, should be based on a full recognition of the hazards, dangers and problems of and associated with the production of nuclear energy, and should therefore seek to limit or restrict expansion of that production. [More…]
Then we have the Deputy Prime Minister throwing proper caution to the winds and launching a book entitled Uranium on Trial- a. publication that supports the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
welcomes the open and honest discussion of the serious risks and disadvantages associated with the various operations of the nuclear power industry in the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry first report. [More…]
The Fox report gives anything but the green light to uranium mining and export. [More…]
The report also rightly sounds other warnings which are ignored by those in the pro-nuclear lobby who, heedless of the future, would mine uranium on an unlimited scale for the enrichment of a few at the expense of the overwhelming majority. [More…]
It is a frightening prospect, standing on the edge of the unknown darkness, yet there are those honourable members opposite who would push civilisation into that black void to satisfy the financial interests of the few who stand to make huge amounts of money out of the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
Secondly, known uranium reserves economically suitable at current planned development rate of nuclear power would last about 30 years. [More…]
If some people have their way Australia would become a super-parking lot for all the world ‘s nuclear waste in exchange for the very short term and extremely dubious advantage of income from the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
While we do not think that the waste situation is at present such as to justify Australia wholly refusing to export uranium, it is plain that the situation demands careful watching, and, depending on development, regular and frequent assessment. [More…]
This Government cannot make any decision on the future of mining and export of uranium until the second report of the inquiry is tabled. [More…]
I have been hailed in the Press as a supporter of the export of uranium. [More…]
The only thing that it is really sure about is that at this time Australia should not commit itself to withholding for all time its uranium supplies. [More…]
We support the development of uranium mining in Australia and the export of uranium. [More…]
The latest gallup poll showed that 70 per cent of Australians were in favour of developing uranium mines in Australia; 17 per cent were against and 13 per cent did not know. [More…]
Seventy-one per cent of Australians interviewed in this gallup poll were shown to be in favour of the export of uranium from Australia; 2 1 per cent were against it and 8 per cent did not know. [More…]
I venture to say that when the people of Australia are acquainted with the facts about uranium mining those who did not know will certainly make up their minds and will be in favour of the export and development of Australian uranium. [More…]
Surely they must realise what a great benefit uranium will be to Australia. [More…]
Australia has the largest uncommitted resources of uranium but substantial deposits exist in the United States of America, Canada and indeed in Africa. [More…]
Australia possesses 25 per cent of the presently known high grade uranium reserves in the Western world, but low grade reserves of a much greater percentage exist. [More…]
Indeed in Australia there would be many more uranium fields yet to be discovered. [More…]
The uranium industry is a large potential industry. [More…]
The uranium industry would be in low income areas of Australia. [More…]
Most of the uranium finds are in the sparsely populated areas of Australia and would provide employment for approximately 3000 people in these areas when developed. [More…]
The Fox Uranium Inquiry found that mining and milling of uranium, properly controlled as it is in Australia, presents hazards no worse than those incurred in any other mining operation. [More…]
It believes uranium mining can be developed. [More…]
The mining of uranium in Australia is a perfectly safe operationpossibly the safest of any mining in this country. [More…]
It is sheer nonsense to say that uranium mining is more dangerous than other mining. [More…]
If we look at the record in Australia we find that uranium mining was carried out successfully and safely in Australia from 1954 to 1971. [More…]
The figures were: Rum Jungle, 863 000 tonnes; United Uranium, 128 000 tonnes; South Alligator, 13 000 tonnes; Mary Kathleen, 2 947 000 tonnes- that mine is now operating again- Radium Hill and Port Pirie, 970 000 tonnes. [More…]
The question to be asked is: Why should uranium mining be less safe now than it was then? [More…]
We must realise that uranium is being mined on an increasing scale in overseas countries including the United States of America, [More…]
If uranium mining is unsafe, why do these nations do it? [More…]
Uranium is a harmless mineral in its natural state. [More…]
Even in the great nuclear power stations throughout the world where enriched uranium is used the safety record is unsurpassed. [More…]
As we have abundant supplies of the raw material- uranium ore- we should be developing the mining and marketing of it immediately. [More…]
Even when these mines are developed it will take some years before they will be in a position to supply the world market with uranium. [More…]
All nations have access to uranium ore from the ever-growing mining industry or from sea water. [More…]
The honourable member for Macarthur (Mr Baume) mentioned tonight that the Japanese are devising a method and the technological knowhow to obtain uranium from sea water. [More…]
In the Press today there is a report from Japan that the Japanese are experimenting with producing uranium from phosphate rock. [More…]
So how stupid would we be not to get on the job and get our uranium moving. [More…]
If the Japanese develop these methods of producing uranium from sea water and phosphate rock we will be stuck with a useless commodity in the ground whereas now we can sell it. [More…]
The denying of access to Aus.tralian uranium therefore can have no effect on the spread of nuclear weapons. [More…]
A nation such as Australia which has far more uranium than is required for its own energy needs, has a duty to sell the excess to these less fortunate nations. [More…]
If we do not sell our uranium, we could be classed as being selfish and this could lead to international tensions. [More…]
We will not need to use uranium in this country because we have ample supplies of fossil fuel to provide the electrical energy we need here. [More…]
So let us get on with the job and export the uranium. [More…]
By 1985 the Australian uranium industry will be capable of satisfying 20 per cent of the world market. [More…]
All that has been talked about to date is the possibility of the mining of uranium ore and its export from Australia. [More…]
These activities do not create any nuclear waste in this country nor will any conversion and enrichment of uranium create any nuclear wastes here. [More…]
I may have time later to quote from a letter by Senator Mulvihill which was published in the Australian Financial Review which implied that wastes from uranium mining and wastes from nuclear power stations are the same. [More…]
The Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development (Mr Newman), who is at the table, when speaking on 1 1 November last in respect of approved sales of uranium said that the handling and disposal of radioactive waste resulting from nuclear power generation lies with the countries concerned, that is, the countries to which Australia exports uranium for electric power generation. [More…]
Some concern has been expressed from time to time about radon gas in uranium mining and milling. [More…]
But it is not such a problem in open cut mining of the type carried out and envisaged in Australian uranium mining. [More…]
As a member of the Government Members Trade and Resources Committee, with colleagues I have visited many of the uranium mines in this country. [More…]
Trees are planted and, in many circumstances, the environment is left in a far better state than prior to the extraction of the uranium from the ground. [More…]
We support the uranium industry, its development in this country and the export of uranium overseas. [More…]
The world does face a uranium problem in the coming decades; there is no question about that. [More…]
Before we can reasonably decide whether or not we should export uranium, we should be aware of the world’s energy position, particularly in Western Europe, Japan and- as recently revealed- in the United State of America. [More…]
The Minister may recall that some weeks ago, in replying to a question of mine, he informed the House that officers of his Department were monitoring the public debate on uranium. [More…]
They will be given to the Government when it comes time to consider the second and final Ranger report on the uranium question. [More…]
-Has the attention of the Minister for Foreign Affairs been drawn to that section of the first Ranger Uranium Inquiry report which refers to The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter? [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Inquiry report states that Australia is not a party to The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter. [More…]
I wanted briefly to express some concern at the apparent inactivity of the Government on a matter of immense seriousness; that is, its inability to provide sufficient information to exporters of uranium so that they could in fact guarantee to export that material. [More…]
The major interest of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission in the field of waste management is concerned with wastes from mining and milling of uranium ores. [More…]
There is the whole question of uranium. [More…]
It has already been dealt with in Queensland by railway workers there and will be dealt with by other workers if those sitting on the other side of this House think that it is simply a matter of mining and selling uranium with profit as the motive and saying: The people be damned’. [More…]
He will remember the different accounts that were given last November and December by the Minister who represents him in the Senate about the letter which Mr Justice Fox gave to him concerning the interpretation that had been placed on the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry’s first report. [More…]
These are issues of major international importance in their own right, but they have an added significance for Australia because of our potential as a supplier of uranium. [More…]
This will remain the case whether or not Australia is ultimately to become a major exporter of uranium. [More…]
The safeguards policy which we will follow is, in our view, appropriate for any country to follow whether it be a uranium supplier or consumer. [More…]
The Government fully accepts that, if it were in future to permit new uranium export from Australia, this would carry with it added responsibilities. [More…]
Against the background of these international responsibilities the Government accepts that uranium is a special commodity, the export of which would involve important considerations of a kind not involved in the export of other commodities. [More…]
We view adequate safeguards as a fundamental prerequisite of any uranium export which we would also expect responsible customer countries for Australian uranium readily to accept. [More…]
It will be recalled that, following the release of the First Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, the Government announced in the House on 1 1 November 1976 that it supported the Inquiry’s view on the need for the fullest and most effective safeguards on uranium exports. [More…]
The announcement of a policy at this stage, of course, in no way preempts a decision on the question whether any such new contracts for the export of uranium will be permitted. [More…]
As the Government has repeatedly emphasised, this remains a matter for consideration following receipt of the final report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
That the Government has taken certain decisions on safeguards policy at this stage reflects its determination to make sure that an established framework of policy exists so that any new uranium exports take place under the most carefully considered and responsible conditions possible. [More…]
The Government wishes to avoid a situation in which decisions may be required on new uranium marketing at some point in the future without the benefit of a clear policy on the ground rules to apply so far as safeguards are concerned. [More…]
Australia is a potentially significant supplier of uranium, but if we are to play the part which this potential gives us the opportunity to play of contributing effectively to international efforts to strengthen the non-proliferation regime, it is desirable that uranium importing countries and other nuclear supplier countries alike know where Australia stands on the matter of safeguards. [More…]
In a broader sense, safeguards for future Australian uranium exports would comprise, as well as the application of international safeguards in this strict sense, the securing from importing countries of adequate assurances regarding the use and control of supplied nuclear material and the conclusion of binding arrangements to give effect to such assurances. [More…]
The need to keep policy under review; careful selection of eligible customers for uranium; the application of effective International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards; bilateral agreements with customer countries; fallback safeguards; prior Australian Government consent in relation to re-export, enrichment and reprocessing; physical security; safeguards provisions in contracts; and international and multilateral efforts to strengthen safeguards. [More…]
Second, should the Government approve further development of the Australian uranium industry it will retain the right to be selective in the countries to whom uranium export will be permitted. [More…]
The following minimum criteria for eligibility to receive Australian uranium will apply. [More…]
The Government emphasises that these represent minimum conditions for countries to be eligible to receive Australian uranium. [More…]
We will therefore export only to nuclear weapon states which give Australia this assurance and accept that the uranium we supply be covered by International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. [More…]
In this respect the Government’s policy introduces a requirement additional to those recommended by the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry in its first report. [More…]
Third, the Government wishes to ensure that if a decision is taken to permit new uranium export, the uranium will be covered by International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards from the time it leaves Australian ownership. [More…]
Accordingly, it will be the Government’s policy that any future sales arrangements for exports of Australian uranium should be such that the uranium will be in a form which attracts full International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards by the time it leaves Australian ownership. [More…]
Fourth, Australia will require the prior conclusion of bilateral agreements between the Australian Government and countries wishing to import Australian uranium under any future contracts. [More…]
These bilateral agreements will provide a framework for direct and binding assurances by importing countries to the Australian Government in relation to the use and control of uranium supplied by Australia or nuclear material derived from its use. [More…]
The fundamental undertakings the Government will wish to obtain from uranium importing countries in such bilateral agreements are that nuclear material supplied by Australia for peaceful purposes or nuclear material derived from its use will not be diverted to military or explosive purposes and that International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards will apply to verify compliance with this undertaking. [More…]
Australia would seek to arrange with uranium importing countries regular expertlevel consultations to satisfy ourselves of the implementation of the provisions of bilateral agreements. [More…]
In line with the positions taken by the United States and Canada Australia would retain the right to cease supply of uranium to any country which breached safeguards undertakings. [More…]
I have already made clear that Australia would not be prepared to export uranium to such countries in the absence of International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards applied under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. [More…]
Sixth, the Government considers that it would be an unsatisfactory situation for uranium supplied by Australia to one country, or nuclear material derived from its use, to be able to be reexported to a third country without the opportunity for Australia to satisfy itself that adequate controls would apply to the transferred material and that the ultimate destination is acceptable to us. [More…]
For this reason the Government has decided that bilateral agreements with uranium importing countries should make any transfer of supplied material to a third party contingent on a prior consent of the Australian Government. [More…]
This provision will give Australia the means of making sure that our safeguards requirements are met despite any onward transfers of the uranium we supply or nuclear material derived from it. [More…]
Seventh, we would require that Australian uranium supplied to other countries for peaceful uses not be enriched beyond 20 per cent uranium-235 without prior Australian consent. [More…]
In respect of this requirement also, the Government’s policy extends beyond the recommendations made by the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry in its first report. [More…]
In order to reserve effectively Australia’s position on this matter for the time being we would wish to make provision in bilateral agreements with countries importing Australian uranium that any reprocessing of nuclear material supplied by Australia may only take place with the prior consent of the Australian Government. [More…]
This requirement is additional to those recommended by the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry in its first report and reflects similar concerns to those expressed by the inquiry in relation to reprocessing. [More…]
Ninth, the Government would require in future bilateral agreements the assurance from uranium importing countries that adequate physical security will be maintained on their nuclear industries. [More…]
These requirements also translate into concrete policy measures concerns expressed by the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry. [More…]
For this reason, although the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry in its first report did not make a recommendation on this matter, the Government has decided that it is desirable that, as a standard practice, a clause should be included in any future contracts for the export of uranium from Australia noting that the transaction is subject to safeguards as agreed between the importing country and the Australian Government. [More…]
It builds on the preliminary thinking of the Government described in testimony to the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry last year, as well as the recommendations of” the First Report of the Inquiry itself. [More…]
The policy has been the subject of detailed exchanges of views with other countries- both uranium importers and major nuclear exporters- and relevant international organisations including the International Atomic Energy Agency. [More…]
As a result the Government is satisfied that the policy it has decided upon represents a practical, reasonable and effective package of safeguards measures to seek from countries wishing to import uranium from Australia under any future contracts. [More…]
reflects its determination to make sure that an established framework of policy exists so that any new uranium exports take place under the most carefully considered and responsible conditions possible. [More…]
As a result the Government is satisfied that the policy it has decided upon represents a practical, reasonable and effective package of safeguards measures to seek from countries wishing to import uranium from Australia under any future contracts. [More…]
The point is that the Government now regards this statement as a complete policy on safeguards to usher in a policy of uranium exports. [More…]
The basic implication behind the statement is that Australia will export its uranium, and pretty soon. [More…]
The Opposition has always believed that the Liberals would export uranium irrespective of what the Opposition or the public might wish. [More…]
At that time the Deputy Prime Minister softened up the Carter Administration and made it perfectly clear that Australia would do all that it could to export its uranium. [More…]
It is now obvious that the Liberal and National Country Parties want, as some wag put it, a ‘Cart it to Carter’ policy on the question of uranium. [More…]
4 of the Prime Minister’s address which deals with bilateral agreements between the Australian Government and countries wishing to import Australian uranium. [More…]
If the Government wants an example of the failure of such bilateral agreements on uranium, the case of Canadian uranium and nuclear technology being sold to India is a good example. [More…]
The Parliamentary Labor Party has made it quite clear where it stands on the question of uranium exports. [More…]
That existing contracts for uranium mining should be honoured, provided that no new mining developments are permitted to take place. [More…]
That if, in Government, the Labor Party is satisfied that the hazards associated with nuclear power have been eliminated and satisfactory methods of waste disposal developed the question of uranium mining be reconsidered in the context of full public debate. [More…]
This is not a capricious policy; it is a responsible attitude that makes it clear to the Australian uranium mining industry that any initiatives that the Fraser Government may take on uranium development do not necessarily lock a future Labor Government into such arrangements. [More…]
I have stressed these provisions to international finance groups and to the mining industry and, I hope, to the Carter Administration so that they understand that the Government cannot lock a future Labor Government into a premature uranium development policy. [More…]
Perhaps the Government’s uranium policy will join the long list of the Prime Minister’s recent failures- the wage-price freeze blowout, the airline strike provocation, the Industrial Relations Bureau backtrack, the first referendum failure and now a broken down uranium policy to follow. [More…]
As well as that, the plants will not be fabricated by the Australian trade union movement until the Government is able genuinely to come to a consensus about uranium policy. [More…]
Whilst the Opposition does not disparage all the provisions of it, it does not support the spirit of it which is the beginning of a premature uranium policy for Australia. [More…]
The issues in the whole energy area, whether they be uranium or other aspects of energy, of course are probably the most important that this country will face this century. [More…]
The question of Australia’s potential to supply energy- both coal and uranium- surfaced as a very real European concern. [More…]
In the United States also, there was considerable interest in Australia as a future uranium supplier. [More…]
In a wide range of discussions we covered American attitudes to nuclear safeguards, nuclear waste products and uranium enrichment. [More…]
Australia has 20 per cent of the world’s uncommitted low cost uranium. [More…]
Both the Americans and Europeans stressed that uranium is essential to provide the energy necessary to further world growth. [More…]
We have vast energy resources- even excluding uranium. [More…]
The picketing of a company for mining uranium is another example. [More…]
1 ) Did he or officers of his Department have discussions with representatives of the Uranium Producers Forum and other uranium producers on Tuesday, 8 March 1977. [More…]
Did the producers call for the establishment of a government marketing authority for uranium. [More…]
1 ) Has his attention been drawn to a report in the Australian Financial Review of 28 February 1977 that the United States Department of Justice has asked the Australian Government for a meeting to discuss Australia’s refusal to co-operate with its inquiry into alleged uranium price fixing. [More…]
It is true that we have very large deposits of uranium in this country. [More…]
This would give Australia a unique position if it were to be an exporter of uranium. [More…]
Another aspect on which I have made publiccomment is the objectives of President Carter’s policy for peaceful use of uranium. [More…]
His objectives are hinged on the development of the uranium cycle and the avoidance of any further progress with plutonium until alternative advanced forms of energy can be considered. [More…]
The American Administration, indeed most conservation groups around the world, are very fearful of the proliferation of plutonium and therefore would like to concentrate merely on the present light water reactors using uranium fuel and avoid the question of reprocessing. [More…]
On the question of enrichment, during my discussions with Dr Schlesinger in the United States he gave me a firm indication that the American Administration would welcome Australia going into enrichment should we become an exporter of uranium. [More…]
If we went into the enrichment of uranium, he saw advantage- this coincided with my point of view- in there being an inter-nation arrangement, with the countries which would be consumers of uranium and also suppliers of technology all participating. [More…]
However, these answers that I give are somewhat hypothetical at this stage because the uranium question still has to be decided by the Government. [More…]
His concern was principally with coal and uranium and he felt that this would be of advantage to Australia. [More…]
-Did the Acting Prime Minister tell a conference of the Country-Liberal Party in Alice Springs last weekend that the Government would decide to authorise the Ranger Uranium mining and export project? [More…]
If so, what then is the purpose of the debate on the 2 Fox reports that the Prime Minister has indicated will take place during the forthcoming Budget session of the Parliament and prior to any Government decisions on uranium mining and export? [More…]
1 ) Did he state in reply to a question without notice on 10 March 1977 that his Department has, under his orders, set up a task force to monitor the public debate on uranium between the release of the First Ranger Report and the release of the second. [More…]
Will he make these reports available to further the debate, inform the public and demonstrate that his Government is prepared to stimulate the uranium debate in accordance with the spirit of the First Ranger Report which stated that the final decisions on uranium rest with the ordinary man. [More…]
It is concerned with all aspects of uranium policy, not only monitoring the debate. [More…]
For instance, the Community Relations Section provides transcripts of the major television and radio debates; references to items on uranium in learned journals and other magazines are obtained from the Media Relations Section and the departmental library. [More…]
However, the Government’s decision in relation to the recommendations of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry will be made in the light of knowledge of the issues of major concern to the Australian community. [More…]
Because the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) said earlier in the life of this Parliament that there would be a wide ranging debate on the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry during the Budget session, I prepared myself only for a speech on the ministerial statement about the nuclear safeguards policy. [More…]
The second is to bolster the Government’s case for an early acceptance of the need to go ahead with uranium mining and export before the full implications of the Fox report sink in with the Australian people. [More…]
Past coalition governments have approved export contracts for uranium without showing the slightest interest in safeguards. [More…]
In the intervening months the Government will continue by stealth with the preparations for the export of the uranium. [More…]
The miners and the mining companies will gear up as rapidly as they can for an early start to getting uranium out of the ground and out of the country. [More…]
The Prime Minister made it quite plain that the new safeguards are needed because the present ones are not strong enough to cover Australia’s enhanced status as a uranium producer. [More…]
When Canada withdrew its supplies from India the gesture proved futile because the United States and later the Soviet Union kept up supplies of enriched uranium to the Indian Government. [More…]
We cannot expect Australia to be any more successful than Canada in dictating the end use of its uranium supplies. [More…]
Even with the tightest controls, supplies of enriched uranium and plutonium can go amiss. [More…]
For example, the Federal General Accounting Office of the United States has just revealed that up to 9 tonnes of enriched plutonium and enriched uranium could not be accounted for at privately owned nuclear facilities. [More…]
Uranium cannot be located, cannot be accounted for and cannot be assured of not getting into the wrong hands. [More…]
The Government is being extremely naive to suppose that if it moves to mine and export it will be able to account for every ounce of uranium supplied. [More…]
The so-called safeguard here is a bilateral agreement that Australian uranium will not be used for offensive purposes. [More…]
That cannot prevent our uranium from replacing uranium supplied by other sources. [More…]
Australian uranium would permit the diversion of uranium from other suppliers who might not have insisted on a bilateral agreement on safeguards and whose conditions are not as strong as ours. [More…]
We know that if we continue to mine uranium we will accelerate the development of nuclear weapons not only by those nations which already have them but also by other nations which wish to get them. [More…]
Under the bilateral agreements, reexport of Australian uranium by an approved client would be conditional on Australian Government approval. [More…]
In total, these provisions provide no safeguards for the peaceful use of any Australian exports of uranium. [More…]
A decision to mine and sell uranium should not be made unless the Commonwealth Government ensures that the Commonwealth can, at any time, on the basis of considerations of the nature discussed in this report, immediately terminate those activities, permanently, indefinitely or for a specified period. [More…]
Until safeguards covering the disposal of Australian uranium can be assured there is only one course open to the Australian Government- it must stop the mining and export of Australian uranium. [More…]
It wants to earn money by exporting uranium. [More…]
The conference expressed its support for a motion that the mining of uranium go ahead as quickly as possible. [More…]
This motion was justified by the cold cash ethic that if Australia does not get its uranium out and sell it as quickly as possible it will miss out. [More…]
I remind honourable members opposite that the Australian Labor Party will not honour contracts to export uranium entered into by this Government. [More…]
The future of uranium development and Australia’s policy on nuclear safeguards and nuclear nonproliferation are among the most important issues facing the Government, the Parliament and the people of Australia today. [More…]
The Parliament now has before it the final report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
Australia has vast resources of coal and we have vast resources of uranium. [More…]
The use of uranium for nuclear electricity generation raises very special problems. [More…]
These were, of course, very clearly recognised in the reports of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
The importance of uranium in the world scene is wellrecognised. [More…]
In spite of the minimal exploration effort compared with that of other countries, the Alligator Rivers area, the subject of the inquiry, already accounts for nearly 20 per cent of the worlds known low-cost uranium reserves. [More…]
More importantly in the world energy scene, the Alligator Rivers area is the worlds largest uncommitted uranium province. [More…]
Naturally, development of these uranium resources would have a much greater impact on the economy of the Northern Territory. [More…]
The Fox Inquiry identified 5 problems associated with uranium development. [More…]
Surely there can be no doubt that, if Australia were to make its uranium resources available, the strengthening of nuclear safeguards would be greatly enhanced. [More…]
It wants to withhold uranium from the world thereby contributing to a situation which, in the view of the Leader of the Opposition, can only lead to an increase in global tension. [More…]
I draw attention to the section entitled Conclusions in chapter 13 of the First Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry which states: [More…]
It requires conditions of control and use of Australian uranium over and above just the application of IAEA safeguards, the task of which is to verify that nuclear material is not diverted from peaceful uses. [More…]
These cover: Careful selection of eligible customers for uranium; bilateral agreements with customer countries; fallback safeguards; prior Australian Government consent in relation to re-export, enrichment, and reprocessing; and physical security. [More…]
The policy put forward in the Government’s statement represents a practical, reasonable and effective safeguards regime to seek from countries wishing to import uranium from Australia under any future contracts. [More…]
It incorporates and builds on the findings of the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
It incorporates the kinds of ideas in relation to safeguards being put forward by the Leader of the Opposition, who, of course, was quite keen to see uranium developed during his period as Prime Minister. [More…]
Like the Government, the Labor Party has said that existing uranium contracts should be honoured. [More…]
I ask: How on earth does the Labor Party expect contracts to be honoured when there is not enough uranium at the existing mine at Mary Kathleen and in the Government’s stockpile? [More…]
I remind the Opposition that its platform says that Labor will work for enrichment of Australian uranium resources in plants which are located in Australia. [More…]
How do you enrich uranium if you are not going to mine it? [More…]
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Uren) has alleged that this Government was intent on committing Australia to a supplier role in the Western world ‘s nuclear energy industry and that it has encouraged mining companies to enter longterm contracts for the supply of uranium, including to such countries as Iran. [More…]
Mr Tanaka expressed his appreciation of the confirmation of supply by Australia to Japan of the contracted 9000 short tons of uranium . [More…]
Just 2 days earlier, the then Minister for Minerals and Energy, the honourable member for Cunningham (Mr Connor) had the following to say in a statement entitled Northern Territory Uranium, which he tabled in this House: [More…]
In particular, we will ensure that our major trading partners-Japan, Italy and West Germany-obtain an equitable share of the uranium we have for export. [More…]
Not long after these 2 statements were madeabout 2 months- the then Prime Minister, now Leader of the Opposition, went on a long tour of Europe where he talked about uranium, among other things. [More…]
He was virtually peddling Australian uranium to all the interested governments of Europe. [More…]
Presumably he found what we have found- that one of the first things foreign governments, companies and individuals want to talk to us about is Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
International assurances have been provided by Ministers that Australia will meet the uranium requirements of our major trading partners, which could amount to a total of about 100 000 tonnes of uranium . [More…]
In the second reading speech on that Bill, Labor committed us to supplying 100 000 tonnes of uranium. [More…]
I deny that this Government has encouraged mining companies to enter into long-term contracts for supplying uranium to Iran or any other country. [More…]
The Australian Ministers agreed that Iran would be given access to supplies of uranium from Australia under favourable conditions. [More…]
In office, the Labor Government committed Australia to supply 100000 tonnes of uranium. [More…]
It wants Australia to abrogate Labor’s commitment to supply 100 000 tonnes of uranium to our trading partners. [More…]
Is the Australian economy so strong that we can deny ourselves the clear economic benefits that would flow from the mining and export of uranium? [More…]
Is our balance of payments so secure that we can forgo the considerable boost which uranium exports will bring? [More…]
For example, will there be a nuclear power industry around the world regardless of whether Australian exports uranium? [More…]
Would a refusal to supply uranium to countries which need it adversely affect our relationships with those countries? [More…]
Would we be in a better position to influence the course of the world uranium industry, especially in regard to waste disposal, to safeguards and to control of materials, instead of being right out of the industry? [More…]
It is about time that the Government came clean on the question of uranium exports. [More…]
I quoted as the basis for the last major speech I made on this subject in the House of Representatives 2 extracts from the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquirythe Fox report. [More…]
At that stage there will be a larger market for uranium to fuel conventional nuclear reactors. [More…]
The Government had no idea what to do with Australia’s uranium policy. [More…]
Obviously Japan is in the process now of stockpiling uranium but only at reasonable prices. [More…]
Yet he had the temerity to stand up and tell us what our platform on uranium is. [More…]
Well, the parliamentary Labor Party just happens to have the right under our Federal rules to determine between conferences what the policy should be, and we have opted for a delay in the development of Australian uranium. [More…]
Japan is perhaps the country most likely to need Australian uranium and it has already contracted for supply of all its requirements until 198S, almost entirely with countries other than Australia. [More…]
Discussing the economic effects of delaying the start of new uranium mining in Australia, the Commission said: [More…]
A 2-year delay in the development of a national uranium industry accompanied by an equivalent delay in the incidence of benefits and costs would cause a loss of approximately 1 7 per cent of the present worth of estimated net economic benefits. [More…]
It was purely and simply because it believed that three or four mines each with a throughput capacity of 3000 tonnes a year would depress the current uranium market. [More…]
Does anybody in the Government seriously suggest that there is at present a market for uranium in the world with spot sales at $30, $36 and $40 a lb? [More…]
There will not be a real market for uranium until the middle 1980s because the world did not move into nuclear power policy until the Arab oil boycott in 1 972 forced countries to rethink their energy policies. [More…]
So there probably will be some firming of the market in uranium in the middle 1 980s. [More…]
If the market starts to improve in about 1985 or 1986 a decision on Australian uranium would need to be made in about 1980 or 1981 in order to get the benefit of that market. [More…]
The European Economic Community and the Japanese will certainly buy uranium. [More…]
The United States is self sufficient in uranium until about 1987. [More…]
Japan is self sufficient in uranium until 1990. [More…]
He will offer Australian uranium to accommodate that policy. [More…]
That country knows damn well that, if the world moves as President Carter wants it to move on the basis of conventional reactors, it will pay through the nose for uranium. [More…]
The Opposition is determined that the Government will not get its grubby hands upon the returns from Australian uranium until those conditions are fulfilled. [More…]
I have stressed in the Parliament over and over again that a Labor Government will exercise the prerogatives available to it through export controls by interrupting cash flows for these developments if it must, so that a national consensus on uranium policy is reached. [More…]
This debate is about whether Australia should develop and export its uranium resources. [More…]
Australia has the greatest known resources of cheap uranium in the world. [More…]
It is not just a case of whether the world will have uranium because plenty of uranium is available in other countries. [More…]
It is a case of whether there will be a world shortage of uranium. [More…]
The weakness of the argument is that the danger will exist irrespective of whether Australia develops and exports uranium. [More…]
Exports of uranium from Australia will do nothing to add to the dangers. [More…]
I return to the fact that it is Australia’s responsibility to the world to mine and make available uranium as quickly as possible. [More…]
I say in passing- it is obviously true- that if we deny ample supplies of uranium to the world we will immensely increase, in Japan and Italy and elsewhere- as the honourable member for Blaxland said a few moments ago- the drive towards the fast breeder reactor. [More…]
Those who think that there are special dangers in the fast breeder reactor in present circumstances might well consider that by denying uranium to the world they are making the development of that fast breeder reactor inevitable. [More…]
Firstly, the development of uranium would add tremendously to our budget revenues. [More…]
Let those who want to delay the development of our uranium remember that they are opting for permanent petrol shortages for the whole of the Australian community. [More…]
Speed is of the essence in this because there is a long inbuilt delay between the decision to develop and the actual mining and export of the uranium. [More…]
Those who want to delay our development of uranium bear a dreadful responsibility not only to the Australian people but also to the people who in decades to come will be starving because we did not do things now. [More…]
The first 2 recommendations of the first report are identical in wording after each defines the area of recommendation; in other words, for mining and milling of uranium and for the ordinary operation of nuclear power reactors. [More…]
That is, the hazards for any of these activities- if properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify a decision not to mine and sell Australian uranium. [More…]
From this, in my view it depends on one’s interpretation of ‘hazard’ as to whether one takes the simplistic view that uranium mining is safe or whether the anxieties surrounding all that flows from such mining, and in essence discussed in the bulk of the report and the subject of the remaining 13 recommendations, mean that the total hazards preclude mining. [More…]
They say that this risk of terrorism alone does not constitute a sufficient reason for Australia declining to supply uranium but it is an added reason for stringent controls. [More…]
We mentioned earlier an argument that Australia should permanently refuse to supply uranium . [More…]
They go on to suggest that in their view this threat to never supply uranium may not succeed in achieving the objective of cautioning the world and encouraging it to be more careful. [More…]
The Commissioners, whilst concluding that Australia ‘should take the course which is determined to be the most effective and most practical in order to bring a favourable response from other states in relation to the proliferation problem’, insist that ‘if the mining and selling of uranium proceeds, it should be on a strictly controlled and regulated basis’. [More…]
These hazards associated with the nuclear industry may, singly, not be sufficient to suggest uranium should not be mined or exported, but taken together, as they must, they present an overwhelming case at least for postponement of these operations. [More…]
In no way can recommendation 3 or any of the following recommendations be seen as either unrelated to the first 2 recommendations, or supporting the contention that the first 2 recommendations mean mining and export of uranium by Australia should proceed without a full community debate on all the implications of nuclear power. [More…]
He said: ‘I think that it is technically possible to construct safe power stations and it is obviously technically safe to mine uranium if you engage in all the appropriate precautions’. [More…]
He went on to say: ‘But that does not mean that I would recommend the mining of uranium. [More…]
We are debating whether we should mine and export uranium and, if so, under what conditions and safeguards. [More…]
The information we have before us is the first report of the Ranger Uranium- Environmental Inquiry- the Fox report- which deals with the export of uranium and which really comes under 5 headings, namely, the dangers associated with mining and milling, the dangers associated with the operation of nuclear reactors, the dangers associated with the safe disposal of nuclear waste and the 2 key questions of terrorist activities and nuclear proliferation. [More…]
We also have before us a statement by the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) on the safeguards that the Australian Government proposes to apply if we decide to export uranium. [More…]
Before I look at the disadvantages of exporting uranium I will look at some of the advantages. [More…]
According to the safeguards proposed by the Prime Minister, India would not be supplied with uranium by this country. [More…]
The second danger mentioned is the danger of mining and milling uranium. [More…]
No one has made any very substantial suggestions as to the danger of the open cut mining of uranium and the subsequent milling and export of yellowcake. [More…]
In the planned uranium mining area in the Alligator River zone there are about 1000 Aborigines. [More…]
In particular, we must see that State and Federal environmental laws for uranium mining and export are coincidental. [More…]
If the government of a country, knowing the risks, such as there are, of nuclear power stations, decides that it is in the economic and social interests of its people to import uranium for a nuclear power generation system, have we the right to deny that government the uranium? [More…]
Australia has 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the easily accessible world uranium sources. [More…]
If, by denying our uranium to the world, we succeed in creating an artificial shortage of uranium, we will surely accelerate the introduction of a plutonium economy- fast breeder reactors and reprocessing. [More…]
The fast breeder reactor uses uranium about 30 times as efficiently as an existing reactor. [More…]
Countries denied uranium will surely look for other ways to use what they have more economically. [More…]
I fear that many people who campaign against the export of uranium will achieve exactly the opposite of what they hope to achieve. [More…]
A responsible government must make the decision to make our uranium available to the world. [More…]
Therefore, I strongly recommend that we should mine and export our uranium. [More…]
There is no one in a greater hurry than the Leader of the National Country Party to get stuck into using up our uranium resources. [More…]
But the people of this country are entitled to know and to be exposed to the pros and cons of the many matters that have been the subject of deliberation by the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
Criteria for uranium supply were laid out for our consideration. [More…]
Australia was to be selective about the countries to which uranium was exported. [More…]
Uranium would be supplied to them only if they were parties to the NonProliferation Treaty. [More…]
Uranium would be supplied to nuclear weapon states only if they gave assurances that the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards standards would be maintained. [More…]
Then there was a provision that once uranium left Australia it had to be covered by the Agency’s safeguards in agreements to export. [More…]
There were to be bilateral agreements with countries wishing to import Australian uranium to ensure no diversification to military purposes and to allow Australia to cease supply if the Agency safeguards were breached. [More…]
New uranium exports will take place under carefully considered and responsible conditions. [More…]
There is no point in being enthusiastic about the production of uranium for power and the resultant benefits to the world if we do not tie up the non-proliferation factor. [More…]
Do we refuse to export uranium? [More…]
If we fulfil safeguards and do not export to countries which have dealt with non-signatories to the non-proliferation Treaty and which are developing plutonium economies, we must bypass the United States of America which has sold enriched uranium to India, and also Japan which, through its Australian Ambassador this week called on Australia to ignore the policy of the Carter Administration against fast breeder reactors which Japan is rapidly developing. [More…]
Even if bilateral agreements are made and if importing nations use Australian uranium for peaceful purposes, Australia has no guarantee that this will not simply replace uranium diverted to explosive weapon making. [More…]
In other words, we could be supplying uranium for bona fide and non-belligerent purposes but that uranium could be taking the place of uranium which could be used for those undesirable purposes. [More…]
The decision of the Nixon administration in 1973 to allow private enterprise to take over from the Atomic Energy Commission meant that in 1974, when the United States Atomic Energy Commission announced it was to cease selling uranium, it artifically forced prices to skyrocket. [More…]
The safeguard issue appears to be a cover for the clash between the 2 commercial interests which stand to gain or to lose the most, that is, the uranium miners and the reactor manufacturers. [More…]
To do this they must first maintain low prices for enriched uranium and, secondly, they must stop the development of fast breeder technology which cuts into their market. [More…]
We advocate that until the questions that I have asked, and many others which I could ask if there were more time, are answered there ought to be a moratorium over the exploitation of uranium. [More…]
-Mr Deputy Speaker, I have only one thing to say about uranium and that is: Dig it up and sell it as soon as possible. [More…]
The honourable member for Blaxland (Mr Keating) offered only one assertion, that is, that Labor had led the field in the marketing and safeguarding of uranium. [More…]
The Opposition held up uranium mining for no real purpose at all. [More…]
The Opposition when in Government was able to find a lifebelt in the Fox inquiry to stop a row within its own Party about the marketing of uranium. [More…]
I have seen one or two disrespectful accounts of the Fox inquiry and one of them seems to sum up the 2 volumes of the Fox report in one simple sentence: Your attitude to uranium mining depends on what sort of person you are. [More…]
Certainly the report went into a lot of detail, technicalities and so on, but I do not think it has really advanced the argument on whether or not we should dig up and sell uranium any further than if it had never been published. [More…]
In any case, the Fox inquiry does not seem to have found any real reason why we should not go on with uranium mining and I think that the Opposition is really wasting its time trying to hold up the exercise. [More…]
The first 3 honourable - members to whom I referred went to Japan and saw there the need of the Japanese people to acquire uranium in order to provide necessary power. [More…]
The fundamental point today is whether we should dig and sell uranium. [More…]
As I said before, the only difference between us is in who should dig and sell uranium. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) has advanced strict- perhaps too strict- safeguards for the export of uranium, so there is no need to hesitate on the digging and selling. [More…]
That fuel is thorium, an element somewhat lighter than uranium. [More…]
Uranium is needed to prime the pump and start the process. [More…]
Australia has 2 1 per cent of the world’s proven uranium reserves and probably a lot more than that. [More…]
In any case, a few decades from now nobody will need uranium because we will be using thorium reactors. [More…]
But for the next 2 or 3 decades uranium can and will save people from starvation which would otherwise be inevitable. [More…]
That is the basic argument for digging and selling uranium, I suppose, but part of today’s debate certainly involves arguments for and against nuclear power. [More…]
As far as I am concerned, there are no moral arguments against uranium, just as there are no moral arguments against coal, electricity or rubber. [More…]
They do not need to starve to death if we can help to solve the energy problem by the export of our uranium. [More…]
He says that uranium is much safer than hydro-electric power because the collapse of dams in various parts of the world has killed thousands. [More…]
We begin this long track of going somewhere by digging up our uranium and selling it for the benefit of Australia and for the benefit of the underprivileged people of this world. [More…]
-The release of the Government’s safeguards policy and the second Ranger uranium inquiry report have enabled the Parliament to discuss in depth the conditions under which Australian uranium is to be mined and whether it is to be exported. [More…]
In my view the issues have been largely oversimplified and polarised by the minority groups which are emotionally or financially involved so that the Australian public, in effect, has been asked to choose between 2 extremes- unlimited nuclear power for the world or bans on uranium mining. [More…]
The first Ranger report expressed the view that total renunciation of the intention to supply uranium is undesirable. [More…]
The commissioners simply could not convince themselves that the serious problem of nuclear weapons proliferation could be assisted materially by leaving Australian uranium permanently in the ground. [More…]
In spite of this, there are still some who believe that uranium bans will help to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and that the world must now give up the option of nuclear power. [More…]
This means to other countries an increased input of about 45 per cent; thirdly, if recycling of plutonium and uranium is reduced, ample enrichment facilities will be needed; and fourthly, a system of international waste disposal centres probably will be required. [More…]
An important assumption of the new American policy is that the majority of world uranium resources is held and can be controlled conjointly by Australia, Canada and the United States. [More…]
A moratorium on Australian uranium exports would isolate Australia from the world councils. [More…]
It would encourage the proliferation of fast breeder reactors and reprocessing plants and would lead to accelerated uranium exploration and development all over the world. [More…]
For those countries which do not have large deposits of uranium this independence will come only with the breeder reactor. [More…]
For example, the message should be made even clearer to uranium buyers that any nuclear explosion set off by countries other than the recognised nuclear powers- that is, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, China and France- will result in immediate and permanent cessation of uranium supplies from Canada, Australia and the United States. [More…]
This would cover a situation where, for instance, a uranium buyer ceased to be a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [More…]
There seems no reason, however, for Australia to contemplate selling uranium to any present nonsignatories of the NPT, although loopholes exist in the new policy for both France and China, while new safeguards for other non-signatories are foreshadowed. [More…]
Compulsory membership of the NPT by uranium consumers should be agreed to without delay by Canada, Australia and the United States. [More…]
This country’s greatest influence as a major potential supplier of uranium is not with small nuclear powers such as Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan and Korea but with important customers such as West Germany, Italy and Great Britain. [More…]
Small countries conceivably could obtain uranium outside Canada, the United States or Australia for nuclear weapons manufacture. [More…]
The role of South Africa as a possible willing supplier of uranium for nuclear weapons manufacture cannot and ought not to be ruled out in any evaluation of Australian and United States safeguards policy. [More…]
This consideration alone makes total bans on Australian uranium rather futile. [More…]
Will the export of Australian uranium free other largely unsafeguarded supplies? [More…]
Unlike the policies of the United States and Canada, the current Australian policy is not pressing future uranium customers to renounce plutonium recycling via reprocessing or breeder reactors. [More…]
The world cannot yet afford to discard a large proportion of its uranium which would be used as plutonium in breeders. [More…]
Clearly they are not since the United States is expected to use 50 per cent of the world ‘s uranium production as well as export a much smaller proportion of it. [More…]
Available literature indicates that United States uranium reserves appear more expensive to develop than those of Canada and Australia, so an underlying United States aim maybe to keep the world yellowcake prices as low as possible. [More…]
The danger for Australia in the Carter policy is that the United States will encourage excess foreign uranium production, such as the developing of the Pancontinental and Ranger mines simultaneously, for the purpose of delaying reprocessing for plutonium. [More…]
At the same time, however, the fall in world demand will lead to excess uranium, the price of which then may once again slip down to $10 to $15 a lb yellowcake for a long-term contract. [More…]
The United States would dearly like to stockpile cheap Australian uranium for future use against the market and possibly this can be averted by strict sequential development. [More…]
I conclude on this note: The other danger of being too closely aligned with American policy is that some pressure may be exerted on Australia to export uranium to those smaller countries threatening to set up their own reprocessing plants. [More…]
President Carter believes that an assurance of uranium supply will deter reprocessing. [More…]
This can best be approached by Australia exporting uranium mainly to technological countries, as I described them earlier. [More…]
We also know that the major nuclear nations generally need uranium for power production. [More…]
-This is the second debate which we have had on uranium in the past 2 months. [More…]
The honourable member for Hughes (Mr Les Johnson) accused the Acting Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) of wanting to rush into the export of Australian uranium. [More…]
Australia is in the fortunate position of having 2 1 per cent of the world ‘s known uranium reserves. [More…]
As a member of the Government Parties Trade and Resources Committee it has been possible for me to visit many of the uranium mining projects in this country. [More…]
The development of the uranium industry will provide expansion of employment in these areas. [More…]
Markets for Australian uranium exist in the United States of America, Canada, West Germany, Japan and, possibly, Great Britain. [More…]
If we do not get on with the job of digging the uranium out of our earth and marketing it, great opportunities in this field could be lost. [More…]
Already, while we are discussing this subject in Canberra, uranium producers from South Africa are in the United States of America endeavouring to sell their uranium to that country. [More…]
Many Opposition members have put forward the great dangers which exist in the mining and marketing of uranium. [More…]
The honourable member for Swan (Mr Martyr) said that the United States has been using uranium for power purposes for many years. [More…]
We in Australia do not have to fear loss of life from the mining of uranium. [More…]
We came away very impressed with what mining companies are doing in the restoration of the earth which they have uncovered to mine minerals and uranium. [More…]
One matter which concerns me if we do not get busy and market this product is the fact that experiments are being conducted in countries overseas to produce uranium from sea water. [More…]
Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry has announced what it calls ‘a great scientific feat’ in recovering uranium from sea-water. [More…]
The power body in Japan- over the past 2 years and now claim the first successful experiments whereby uranium has been recovered. [More…]
A total of 149 milligrams of yellowcake have been recovered from SO tons of sea-water based on a uranium absorption method developed by the companies using titanic acid in the process. [More…]
We could lose sales of uranium which is available in Australia. [More…]
We should get on with the job, get uranium out of the ground and market it. [More…]
Therefore, it is essential that we get on with the marketing of uranium so that we can offset the balance of trade which will occur in those years. [More…]
A lot has been said about the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
It says explicitly that large scale uranium mining would be highly profitable for Australia. [More…]
It recommends government participation in the marketing of uranium and offers a number of options in the form of statutory controls, noting at the same time the value of freely operating competitive market forces. [More…]
The worst feature of it is that it condones delay and states that we could defer the mining of uranium from two to five years. [More…]
We are going to market uranium. [More…]
The Government will impose strict conditions on the overseas use of Australian uranium and will carefully screen importers before releasing it. [More…]
These conditions will cover the entire civil nuclear industries of the importing countries and ensure that uranium meant for peaceful uses is not diverted to military or explosive purposes. [More…]
Let us dig our uranium out of the ground. [More…]
That the following words be added to the motion: and that the House is of the opinion that there should be a moratorium of at least 2 years on the mining and exporting of uranium, as mentioned in the Fox Report, to allow sufficient time for public debate, as recommended by the Fox Report, and for further research into the risks involved and possible future energy sources. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party, because of its structure, as I understand it, has a policy on the mining of uranium which would preclude any parliamentary members of the Labor Party from now voting for such an amendment, although by the speeches one hears from members of the Labor Party there is obviously a great number of them- perhaps half or more- who would not only agree with the thrust of my amendment but who would want to go a lot further. [More…]
I am not against the mining, milling or selling of uranium. [More…]
I am not against nuclear energy being used in the world; what I am against is its being used now and our uranium being sold until the proper safeguards and control of wastes have been demonstrated to us by scientists and by the technologists, and until proper control and regulation can take place. [More…]
If we are going to discuss safeguards, I think it is well to bear in mind that the honourable gentlemen on the Government side who are advocating open slather on uranium might be pure, might be altruistic and might be trusting in this particular area; but, having been a student of international relations for some time, I say that some of those countries do not merit my trust to have the most dangerous weapon in the hands of man ever since man came to this planet. [More…]
So uranium is a dangerous substance even to mine. [More…]
I turn now to tailings, the low level wastes which one gets not from making bombs or plutonium but simply from mining uranium. [More…]
On paper, if one were feeling disparaged, one could possibly get some consolation from them and say: ‘Well, we are not going to sell our uranium unless we have got those safeguards’. [More…]
If someone wants uranium and that someone will pay a high enough price for it, if someone wants plutonium and is prepared to pay a high enough price for it, there will be some means by which the almighty dollar will be satisfied and that sale will take place. [More…]
No matter how honourable we might be, no matter how sincere we are in saying that we have these safeguards and therefore we can wash our hands and sell our uranium, I wonder whether there is any member of the House who genuinely believes that these safeguards mean more than the paper they are written on. [More…]
While Australian uranium remains in the ground we have a tremendously powerful force to exercise in lifting the world on to a safe and sane energy plane. [More…]
I am not against the use of nuclear energy but I am against selling our uranium now. [More…]
Let us retard nuclear poliferation for as long as we can until we can ensure that there are adequate safeguards, until we can make absolutely sure that the wastes are safe, that they will not cause cancer and gene mutations in future generations and the other hideous dangers inherent in the use of uranium. [More…]
-Unlike the honourable member for Hotham (Mr Chipp), who preceded me in this debate, this is the first time that I have spoken in a debate in this House on uranium. [More…]
He appeared to me after listening to him to be really explaining why there is absolutely no point in Australia keeping its uranium in the ground and why the report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry- the Fox report- is quite correct in stating that no matter what we do in Australia or what we recommend it is not going to make an ounce of difference to what happens in the world. [More…]
So I cannot follow his argument that we should leave our uranium in the ground for a short period or a number of years while certain things are clarified and certain safeguards are introduced. [More…]
No matter what we do, if uranium is a curse it is a curse that will be with us. [More…]
I accept the point of view, of course, that if it is proved that uranium is a curse, perhaps we should not on moral grounds encourage something that is bad. [More…]
I think that I should be careful to ensure that the people who are listening to this debate this afternoon know exactly where we are at in the uranium debate. [More…]
The second Fox report contains conclusions which I think it is already agreed throughout the community will enable uranium mining and export to proceed. [More…]
The thread throughout the first inquiry was mainly that there was nothing that one could really say that made the mining and export of uranium absolutely irresponsible. [More…]
It is stated throughout the first 4 recommendations that if activities are properly regulated and controlled there is nothing to justify uranium mining not proceeding. [More…]
Does that mean that we in this Parliament can now rush headlong into a decision to mine and export uranium? [More…]
The committee has taken evidence from prominent people on all sides of the uranium debate. [More…]
If the Government makes a decision to proceed with uranium mining- I personally think that it should- the real crunch, I suppose, for the uranium industry over the next few months will come when it tries to get through the mine fields of recommendations and administration that have been laid down in the second Fox report. [More…]
He did not have to fit the uranium situation into the development of Australia as a whole. [More…]
It will have to make judgments as to whether sequential development of the mines is necessary or whether in fact there are other ways of going about the development of uranium resources which have not been put to Fox or which Fox has not thought of and which may enable work to get under way more quickly without any risk to the environment or the Aboriginal population in the areas concerned. [More…]
I was elected to this place at a time when the development of our uranium resources was such a burning issue for Australia. [More…]
I would be alarmed enormously if the decision on uranium had had to be taken at a time when the government of the country was not in such good hands. [More…]
When we read what Justice Fox has to say about the Non-Proliferation Treaty we realise that honourable members who are speaking here against the export of Australian uranium ore should have second thoughts. [More…]
By objecting to the export of uranium they are putting in jeopardy Australia’s international reputation which has been gained from the ratification of this treaty. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry second report stated: [More…]
If it cannot, we will face great trouble in the future whether or not the people of Australia are in favour of exporting uranium. [More…]
-This is the first time that I have entered the uranium debate, although that has not been due to any lack of attention or study on my part. [More…]
But on uranium the Party’s policy, although restrictive, is still equivocal. [More…]
The honourable member for Isaacs (Mr Hamer) commented earlier that the debate was about the mining of uranium and not energy production through power plants, weapons etc. [More…]
The other matter which interested me was that at least one honourable member believed that anyone who opposed the mining of uranium was a ‘Com’. [More…]
I have been distressed also by the attitude of some honourable members who say that other countries which have uranium as a resource are going to mine it and supply it and therefore we should do the same. [More…]
I reject that sort of argument as a reason why Australia should be involved in the supply of uranium. [More…]
I do not argue with the proposition describing the enormous economic benefit which would accrue to Australia through the mining of uranium. [More…]
By that I mean that if we will mine and supply uranium we will also get markets in other areas. [More…]
The claim has been made that the largesse from uranium mining would allow Australia to do so much more for our inhabitants in the way of social service benefits and so on. [More…]
We are also told that by depriving the world of uranium we are depriving needy and developing countries of a ready source of energy. [More…]
It is headed: ‘Uranium: The Israeli connection’, and states: [More…]
Its strategic cargo- 200 tons of uranium, worth $3. [More…]
The disappearance of the uranium was first disclosed last month by Paul Leventhal, a former counsel to the Senate Committee on Government Operations, at a conference in Salzburg. [More…]
Who had the uranium? [More…]
The purpose was to disguise a secret Israeli purchase of much needed uranium for its French built nuclear reactor. [More…]
It is suggested that assurances were given by the West German Government to allow the purchase to be disguised and that Israel promised West Germany access to its advanced uranium separation process that can be used to produce nuclear weapons. [More…]
The cover purchaser of this uranium was a Casablanca pharmaceutical supply company named Chimagar. [More…]
It had never bought uranium before. [More…]
-The House is debating matters relating to the mining and exporting of uranium. [More…]
By saying that, he was also by implication attacking his own Leader who announced a safeguards policy on 29 March in this House on behalf of the Australian Labor Party in respect of the export of uranium. [More…]
I have been following the uranium debate with some interest. [More…]
I have studied the first report of the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry and now I am studying the second report with some interest. [More…]
It is interesting to read the 2 reports in view of many of the public statements by the protagonists and opponents of uranium mining. [More…]
I shall refer to page 1 8 1 of the first Fox report where it deals with the matter of whether there should be some delay or postponement in supply of uranium to other countries. [More…]
What we do conclude is that at present Australia should not commit itself to withholding for all time its uranium supplies, and that it should take the course which is determined to be the most effective and most practical in order to bring a favourable response from other states in relation to the proliferation problem. [More…]
On the other hand, I have also objected to a number of the statements that have been made in support of uranium mining and export. [More…]
Those arguments have been along the lines of let us dig up all that we can and flog it off for the money that is available, or have been along the lines that if we do not export uranium some other countries will come and get it. [More…]
If a decision by Australia not to supply uranium would halt nuclear developments throughout the world I would probably be in favour of a moratorium on mining and exporting in order to resolve existing problems. [More…]
Several countries less politically stable and responsible than Australia have uranium supplies or are searching for them. [More…]
Japan has contracts for the supply of uranium from Canada and South Africa until 1985. [More…]
We were told in Japan that Japan is assisting Mali in its search for uranium. [More…]
So it is clear that a number of countries in areas of the world that are less stable than Australia’s area, countries which face potential conflicts and do not have such strict scruples about the supply of uranium as Australia has, are very active in the mining and exporting of uranium. [More…]
I believe that Australia’s most constructive role is to become known as a responsible and reliable supplier of uranium to countries prepared to observe strict international safeguards. [More…]
This is the real option facing us, not the option of taking a high moral stand by not mining and exporting our uranium and hoping that, in some respect, that will prevent the rest of the world going nuclear. [More…]
It is assumed by those opposed to the mining and utilisation of uranium that the Fox reports suggest fairly strongly that Australia should not mine and export uranium. [More…]
Those who wish to mine uranium can find parts of the report which make a different proposition. [More…]
The present policy of the Australian Labor Party, that decided by the caucus, is based on the fact that confusion exists as to the future safe use of uranium and the capacity of the purchasers of that product to guarantee the safeguards which are necessary in the use of that product. [More…]
This Parliament is responsible for the export policies of a nation which is estimated to have 25 per cent of the world’s known supplies of uranium. [More…]
That may be a high estimate or a low estimate but the facts are that we are responsible for a major proportion of the world ‘s uranium. [More…]
Uranium is the basis of a vast source of energy. [More…]
At this stage I suggest that we should not be going into the mining and development of uranium but if delay can make certain that our decisions are correct I think delay is highly desirable. [More…]
This Parliament is debating uranium, I think for the third time in about three or four months. [More…]
I hope that the Government will delay any firm decision on the export and mining of uranium until such time as it is absolutely sure that such a decision is the correct one. [More…]
-This is a cognate debate on nuclear safeguards policy, the uranium industry and the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
I suppose I can claim with some justification that I have more than a normal interest in the decisions, the attitudes and the final debate- this is not it- which will produce our ultimate policy in relation to the export of uranium. [More…]
My more than normal interest is stimulated by the fact that the only active mine in Australia producing and exporting uranium oxide is at Mary Kathleen, which is not only in the electorate of Kennedy but also very close to both of my home towns. [More…]
I suppose we might well refer to the remarks of my Leader, the Acting Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) earlier in the day when he pointed out that the then Prime Minister, the present Leader of the Opposition (Mr E. G. Whitlam) had canvassed the countries of the world in an all out endeavour to interest them in buying what is one of our major resources, uranium. [More…]
From examination of the attitudes of the people on our right here-philosophically on our left- I do not think they have changed a great deal but they have become subject to the fringe of environmentalists who attract nothing but discredit on to the genuine, thoughtful, responsible people who have concern in relation not only to this matter of uranium but also to other matters. [More…]
That refers to the safeguards for the export of uranium or its by-products- in the near future in the context of formulating a national Australian policy on nuclear safeguards. [More…]
If Australia does not mine uranium and export it with proper safeguards and assurances, then world demand will turn to other suppliers such as South Africa and South [More…]
For we people who are close to the uranium scene and for we people who confer from time to time with the people who are practically associated with the uranium situation there is nothing new in the Fox report. [More…]
I repeat that the Prime Minister canvassed our uranium all around the world and hoped to get great sales of this product. [More…]
Let us cast our minds back to the advertisements about uranium that appeared in 1972. [More…]
careful selection of eligible customers for uranium; the application of effective International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards- [More…]
When we talk about re-export and reprocessing, we should stop to realise and to appreciate one particular fact: That if we are not going to export natural uranium we are going to stimulate the production of plutonium and other enrichment processes which will create a great hazard. [More…]
I now turn to the human element of the uranium industry. [More…]
I suppose I could also include the third subject of this debate, the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, under that heading. [More…]
When I commenced my address to the House I said that I had in my electorate the only uranium mine which is actively operating in this country at present. [More…]
It may interest honourable members to know that since the Mary Kathleen uranium mine went back into operation there have been a number of job vacancies. [More…]
I say to them that it would be a decidely dangerous operation for them to appear physically on the Mary Kathleen uranium field. [More…]
-I think that it ill becomes the honourable member for Kennedy (Mr Katter) to describe the people who demonstrate against the mining of uranium as professional bludgers. [More…]
Atomic weapons are becoming the growing concern of more and more people as they learn about and interest themselves in the mining of uranium and the purposes for which some countries may ultimately use the uranium. [More…]
There is no cause for describing those who express their concern as to what might happen with the reckless, indifferent mining of uranium, which they do not want to see take place, as professional bludgers, as the honourable member for Kennedy did. [More…]
I have some degree of respect for the Women’s Electoral Lobby, which has dedicated itself to expressing concern about the reckless mining of uranium being allowed to continue. [More…]
I applaud that organisation for its enthusiasm and enlightenment of society in general as to the effects of the mining of uranium if it is allowed to be done recklessly. [More…]
Occasionally we hear the argument being put by supporters of the Government that we could become one of the richest countries in the Western world and that our foreign exchange earnings would be improved markedly if we produced enriched uranium and exported it. [More…]
A similar argument is being put up here today by those who believe in the non-curtailment of the production of uranium. [More…]
Only a few hundred jobs are involved in uranium mining. [More…]
The Acting Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) at one time believed in stricter controls for the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
I sincerely hope that the Australian people will take a greater interest in the mining and export of uranium because it is of major interest to the people of the world. [More…]
-She was referring to uranium, too. [More…]
If honourable members opposite do not protect future generations with the normal and tight safeguards in respect of the mining and export of uranium they do not deserve to occupy the government benches of this country. [More…]
This debate which flows from the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry and now encompasses the recommendations of the second Fox report and the statements of the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) on safeguards policy is an important element in the Government’s consideration of the technically complex, diverse and internationally significant issues associated with uranium mining. [More…]
But whatever the tone of the debate, whatever arguments are put, however long the debate should last, at some stage the Government must accept its responsibility to decide the future of uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
The Government has stated time and again that it would not make its decision until the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry had been received. [More…]
But we are now in a position to take further our consideration of uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
The 2 Fox reports have emphasised the complexity of the issues confronting Australia over uranium mining. [More…]
Australia has extensive deposits of uranium at a time when the world faces the need to make fundamental changes in its supply and use of energy resources, when there is growing concern for the environment in which we live, and when there is anxiety over the proliferation of nuclear weapons. [More…]
Thus it is not merely a question of digging uranium out of the ground. [More…]
The very mention of uranium propels us into an international arena and confronts us with a wide range of issues. [More…]
I must say that speakers in this debate from both sides of the House have comprehended many of these issues, drawing them together in a consideration of nuclear safeguard policies, the potentiality of the uranium industry itself and the reports of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
While I am on the subject of the inquiry I think I have to say that the Parliament is indeed fortunate to have available to it the 2 reports on the Ranger uranium problem. [More…]
The 2 reports taken together represent a major contribution not only to Australia but also to international understanding of the environmental consequences of the uranium industry in the broadest terms as it affects mankind. [More…]
In particular, we strongly supported the inquiry’s view on the need for the fullest and most effective safeguards on uranium exports. [More…]
The Prime Minister’s statement on uranium exports last week was the culmination of a long study by the Government of this significant aspect of the uranium mining question. [More…]
For its part, the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry helped crystallise many of the issues and enabled the Government to take that issue further. [More…]
The announcement of that policy in no way pre-empted the decisions which the Government must take on whether to mine or export uranium. [More…]
I refer here to the question of whether we should decide to export uranium. [More…]
Since the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry the Government, in formulating a policy in this matter, has taken into account the report of the Australian Safeguards Mission which was made late last year, the Prime Minister’s correspondence with President Carter and Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada and the recent visit to North America by the Acting Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) and several other Australian Government officials. [More…]
As set out in the Government’s statement of 1 1 November following the First Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, the Government is satisfied that appropriate controls would apply to the shipments under these contracts which will be used for electric power generation in Japan, the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany, all of which are parties to the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons. [More…]
The material will be processed to uranium hexafluoride in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States which are parties to the nuclear non-proliferation Treaty and which require stringent safeguards on the material processed. [More…]
Furthermore, in this regard as Australian uranium will be finally processed into enriched uranium in the United States, it will attract the full force of the safeguards policy recently announced by President Carter. [More…]
If Australia proceeds with further development of its uranium resources, and safeguards agreements of the kind outlined in the policy statement are concluded, these will govern all subsequent shipments to those countries with which agreements are concluded. [More…]
The motion before the House is, in essence, whether a decision on the further development of the uranium industry- that is, whether to permit the development of new uranium mines and the export of their products- should be the subject of further debate. [More…]
Of course, it should not be thought that the debate commenced with the first report of the uranium inquiry. [More…]
The very existence of diverse views on mining and the export of uranium was one of the reasons which led the former Government to have the commission of inquiry implemented. [More…]
Having said all that, I say bluntly to the House that on the evidence gathered so far- it is a comprehensive analysis which I have before me- the majority of Australians are not opposed to the mining and export of uranium given adequate safeguards over the uses to which these exports may be put and the guaranteed protection of the environment, the conservation of nature and the highest consideration for the interests of the Aboriginal people. [More…]
I am sure that the proposals will be varied if only to take account of the fact that under the circumstances in which such a decision might be taken it will need to be recognised that uranium occurs widely throughout Australia. [More…]
For example, on the question of waste, a committee of my Party in this Parliament recently had before it Dr Hardy of the Atomic Energy Commission, who was said to be a pro-uranium man very strongly in favour of nuclear energy as a source of power, and I believe he is. [More…]
Dr Hardy also admitted that another proposal was floating around- I heard it first about a year ago coming from Japan and now it is coming from the United States- that those countries which sell uranium should control the sale and ensure that the plutonium is returned to them and buried in their own country. [More…]
The point I am making is that this person, who was pro-uranium, was advocating the waste being buried roughly 2000 feet below the ground in special formations such as granite and salt. [More…]
I believe that in making those submissions he strengthened the case against the sale of uranium for nuclear energy purposes. [More…]
That figure is based on the known resources of uranium in the world at this stage, and that is what we are talking about. [More…]
I am speaking on this issue tonight as a matter of conscience because I have a very strong and firm belief that we should be prepared to allow this debate to continue, and that the Government should be prepared to grant a moratorium on the mining and future sales of uranium. [More…]
It should do this instead of introducing into the Parliament papers such as the one presented by the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) on 24 May 1977 headed ‘Government policy on nuclear safeguards’, which is basically window dressing to give him an excuse for further mining and to allow Australia to enter into further contracts for the sale of uranium to countries for nuclear purposes. [More…]
Having made those points which I think are very important, I submit very sincerely that a moratorium should be placed on uranium mining. [More…]
It is now recognised as a useful emotional vote catching gimmick to discover suddenly that there are such serious risks in uranium mining in Australia that it should not take place. [More…]
In the halcyon days of their power all they were concerned about was getting the most money for uranium. [More…]
Professor Heinz Arndt made a couple of interesting points on this topic of the morality of the uranium debate in a recent speech. [More…]
He pointed to the comparisons between the long campaign against fluoridation of the water supply and the anti-uranium proposition. [More…]
Professor Arndt points out that the present antinuclear campaign, which in Australia concentrates on opposition to mining and export of uranium, is clearly in this tradition of conscience radicalism. [More…]
The alternative proposition with respect to uranium is that nuclear fuel is much safer and much cleaner, and that has been demonstrated very adequately to be the fact. [More…]
The other point I made at that time and I want to repeat it as quickly as possible, is that the failure to provide uranium to power users will force the earlier arrival of the plutonium economy, which is the dangerous economy. [More…]
It is fascinating that the people who are opposing the use of nuclear power and the mining of Australian uranium are by their very actions forcing the power hungry nations of this world into a technology which uses hardly any uranium at all but which is desperately dangerous. [More…]
There is no doubt that the provision of large quantities of uranium from Australia would help reduce the stranglehold that the Arab nations have on the fuel situation in this nation, and one does not have to breakfast with an Iraqi to understand that simple economic fact. [More…]
They deal with the question of risk which clearly is the crux of the anti-uranium debate. [More…]
The harsh commercial reality, as well as morality, forces us into supplying uranium without further delay. [More…]
Already there has been a 5-year delay in the development of this energy source in an energy hungry world, and even if the Government goes ahead as fast as it can it will be probably 1980 before we could see a reasonable level of uranium production in Australia going to meet the markets for energy in this world. [More…]
The general question of risk is raised by the anti-uranium people when they talk about terrorists. [More…]
Another question that arises from the anti-uranium position concerns moral suasion. [More…]
It is held out to us that if Australia does not develop its uranium resources, if we do not supply this fuel for nuclear power stations, it will dramatise the situation and encourage the rest of the world not to do likewise. [More…]
The Russians have no such scope for moral scruples even if one concedes that there is a moral point to be had in failing to use uranium. [More…]
The fact is that there is no real point anyway in Australia having a moratorium or refusing to supply uranium to the rest of the world. [More…]
As the Fox Commission has pointed out, if Australia were to stop uranium mining and exports further low cost supplies would become available from higher cost grade ore deposits in other countries to meet any deficiency created by Australia not exporting uranium. [More…]
Withholding Australian supplies would not appreciably affect United States uranium prices, at least until 1990. [More…]
The Fox uranium inquiry. [More…]
Australia exporting uranium oxide. [More…]
When we talk about uranium and nuclear fission and energy the immediate thought in the minds of many people is death and destruction. [More…]
-Having brought everybody’s mind to the time in which we are really living, I point out that we can see that the demand for uranium oxide will certainly increase. [More…]
One specific argument is worrying us about providing our own uranium. [More…]
There are scientists who say that the second generation reactor, the sodium reactor breeder, will not require uranium and will use only plutonium. [More…]
Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that we now have 25 per cent or more of the world’s reserves of uranium. [More…]
As a nation, we will not allow the export of our uranium to other countries unless we are quite satisfied that we will take full part in every international organisation in the whole of the nuclear energy field. [More…]
Will inspectors, for example, be able to observe our uranium arriving in other countries, being loaded into reactors and taken out? [More…]
It was just luck that 25 per cent of the world’s uranium was in their country. [More…]
Is it too far ahead for us to ask of our friends that we enrich the uranium in Australia ourselves and export it? [More…]
If a new science is developing concerning the recycling of waste, why should we not have the uranium back and go into the whole of the recycling science here? [More…]
1 ) How many copies of the First Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry (the Fox Report), were printed. [More…]
All this bears on the decision whether or not to mine and export Australian uranium, and the Government is currently concerning itself with all aspects of that very complex matter before it announces a decision. [More…]
While the Labor Party claims to have a monoply of concern for the morality of this matter, I wish to put this to the Australian public: Where would be the morality if this country, which has about .04 per cent of the world’s population, refused to make available the 20 to 25 per cent of the world’s high grade uranium reserves which it possesses to an increasingly energy hungry world? [More…]
We all come in here and get het up when there is a debate on Vietnam or on what we should or should not do with uranium. [More…]
We have heard about uranium for the creation of electricity to meet the energy needs but we have to look also at the other services that are required. [More…]
During the three days of discussions, the Philippines and Japan both raised the subject of uranium. [More…]
Both stressed the importance of nuclear power to meet their future energy needs and expressed the hope that Australia would be a future supplier of uranium to them. [More…]
What has been the total cost to the Australian taxpayer for the Commission which has conducted the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry? [More…]
Expenditure to 30 June 1977 in respect of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry is expected to he $1,110,000. [More…]
On 16 August, the Leader of the Opposition (Mr E. G. Whitlam) asked me if I would table cables and a letter of 8 November 1976 from Mr Justice Fox allegedly concerning media and stock exchange speculation on the Reports of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
He told his colleagues in 1972 that uranium, which was then $6 per lb would rise to $40 per lb by 1977 and to $100 per lb by 1980. [More…]
by leave- Since the tabling of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry’s first report on 1 1 November 1976, there has been a wide-ranging debate inside the Parliament and in the public arena. [More…]
During this time, the Government has given painstaking consideration to the Ranger Inquiry’s valuable and constructive reports and to all other information available to it on uranium mining and export. [More…]
This exhaustive consideration of the issues and evidence has led the Government to decide that there should be further development of uranium under strictly controlled conditions. [More…]
It looked at both the world-wide and the local regional environmental issues associated with the mining and export of uranium: the issues of nuclear weapons proliferation and nuclear safeguards; the contribution of nuclear power to world energy requirements; the economic implications of uranium export for Australia. [More…]
On uranium mining, the Inquiry concluded: [More…]
The hazards of mining and milling uranium, if those activities are properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify a decision not to develop Australian uranium mines. [More…]
The hazards involved in the ordinary operations of nuclear power reactors, if those operations are properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify a decision not to mine and sell Australian uranium. [More…]
While we do not think that the waste situation is at present such as to justify Australia wholly refusing to export uranium, it is plain that the situation demands careful watching, and depending on developments, regular and frequent reassessment. [More…]
We do not believe that this risk alone constitutes a sufficient reason for Australia declining to supply uranium. [More…]
It does, however, provide a further reason why the export of our uranium, including what is proposed to be done with it, and where, are matters which the Government should keep under constant scrutiny and control. [More…]
The export by Australia of uranium under stringent safeguards would give effect to our obligations under Articles III and IV of the Treaty. [More…]
Overall, the Inquiry concluded that the total renunciation of any intention to supply uranium was undesirable and most unlikely to produce any worthwhile outcome. [More…]
The Government, having considered the Inquiry’s report and all the other evidence before it, has decided that the goals of limiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and alleviating the world’s energy problems are best served by Australia agreeing now to the export of uranium. [More…]
I venture to say that were it not for that sense of responsibility, were it not for our wish to strengthen Australia’s voice in the moves against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, were it not for our obligation to provide energy to an energy deficient world, we would not have decided to export uranium. [More…]
Very ‘substantial quantities of uranium are required to fuel them. [More…]
There is a widespread concern about whether uranium will be available to satisfy these needs. [More…]
Because of their concern about uranium supplies, some countries are turning to those nuclear technologies involving reprocessing and the fast breeder reactor which would achieve the more effective use of available uranium but which would increase the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation. [More…]
Australia possesses 20 per cent of the Western world’s known reserves of low cost uranium. [More…]
In this situation we are in a special position of influence and have a corresponding moral responsibility to maximise protection against nuclear weapons proliferation by responding to the needs of many countries for adequate assurances of uranium supplies. [More…]
Australia has an obligation to the rest of the world to provide the energy resources- the coal, gas and uranium- that will be required to overcome the energy crisis. [More…]
By taking the decision to export uranium, Australia can supply: [More…]
By taking the decision to export uranium, Australia can slow the movement towards the use of plutonium as a nuclear fuel and lessen the attendant risks of nuclear weapons proliferation. [More…]
By taking the decision to export uranium, Australia’s ability to support more effective safeguards and minimise proliferation risks will be greatly strengthened. [More…]
by leave- The Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) has announced the Government’s decision to proceed with further expansion and development of Australia’s uranium industry. [More…]
Australia is presently a uranium producer. [More…]
Australia has had a long history of mining and export of uranium. [More…]
Uranium mining and milling began at Rum Jungle and in the Alligator Rivers Region in the Northern Territory, at Mary Kathleen in Queensland, and at Radium Hill in South Australia in the 1950s. [More…]
The total amount exported was 7,860 short tons of uranium oxide. [More…]
Although uranium mining at Radium Hill did not commence until 1954, mining for radium commenced there early this century. [More…]
Mining at Rum Jungle ceased in 1963, but treatment operations continued until 1971 and the output of about 2,250 short tons of uranium oxide was stockpiled by the Government. [More…]
Following improved market conditions for uranium early in the 1970s and discoveries of substantial new Australian deposits, export contracts were obtained by Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd, Peko/EZ and Queensland Mines Limited amounting to 1 1,757 short tons of uranium oxide for delivery over the period 1976 to 1986. [More…]
A feature of the uranium development policy of the Whitlam Government was direct Commonwealth participation. [More…]
The Whitlam Government obtained a 42 per cent shareholding in Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. On the basis of these arrangements re-commissioning of the mine began in 1974, and production commenced early in 1976. [More…]
Production and export of uranium is continuing at Mary Kathleen and to date 690 short tons of uranium oxide have been exported for electric power generation in Japan, the United States and West Germany. [More…]
Parliament on 31 October 1974 a statement announcing a program of large scale uranium development in the Northern Territory of Australia commencing with the exploitation of the Ranger deposit to be followed by development of the Nabarlek, Jabiluka and Koongarra deposits. [More…]
The Whitlam Government also announced in its uranium development policy statement of 3 1 October 1974 that the Government stockpile of uranium remaining from the earlier operations at Rum Jungle would be available to Peko/EZ and Queensland Mines Limited to allow early deliveries to be made under the approved export contracts of those companies prior to the mines at Ranger and Nabarlek coming into production. [More…]
It should be recalled that central considerations in the Whitlam Government’s policy of uranium development were the economic benefits to Australia which would accrue and the responsibility Australia has as an energy rich nation in meeting the energy needs of other countries. [More…]
The Whitlam Government’s statement on uranium development which I have already referred to and which was tabled in the Parliament on 31 October 1974 opened with the following words: . [More…]
this statement is to outline the Government’s program for the rational development of uranium resources in the Northern Territory; a program which will return substantial economic benefits to Australia from our supply of this vital energy resource to our overseas trading partners who face such grave difficulties in securing their energy requirements . [More…]
The Whitlam Government’s commitment of Australia, and Australian companies, to meeting the uranium requirements of our trading partners continued and reached the very substantial amount of 100,000 tonnes of uranium. [More…]
International assurances have been provided by Ministers that Australia will meet the uranium requirements of our major trading partners, which could amount to a total of about 100,000 tonnes of uranium by 1990. [More…]
Very substantial quantities of uranium are required to fuel the nuclear reactors in operation and in prospect. [More…]
The western world’s low cost uranium reserves are estimated to total about 1.9 million short tons, of which Australia’s reserves amount to 376,000 short tons- that is 20 per cent of the Western world ‘s known low cost reserves. [More…]
Annual uranium requirements necessary to satisfy the projected growth in nuclear power are about 90,000 short tons of uranium oxide in 1985, 140,000 short tons in 1990 and 200,000 short tons in the year 2000. [More…]
Clearly there has to be a substantial expansion in uranium production in the world if the requirements for nuclear fuel and energy are to be met. [More…]
The fact that nuclear energy usage for electric power generation has proceeded in other countries without access to Australian uranium, and will continue, in no way relieves Australia of its responsibilities as an energy rich nation. [More…]
It simply highlights the futility of leaving our uranium in the ground. [More…]
The Alligator Rivers Region is the world ‘s largest uncommitted uranium province. [More…]
The overall uranium resources of the Region could be as much as five to ten times the resources identified to date. [More…]
Australia has a clear international responsibility to develop further its uranium resources. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry Report stated that total renunciation of intention to supply Australian uranium was not justified and was undesirable. [More…]
Our Government recognises its responsibility to ensure that Australia’s uranium resources are further developed and we will proceed to do so on the basis recommended by the Ranger Inquiry. [More…]
In accepting the responsibility of further uranium development we will ensure that that development will be very strictly controlled, with the fullest and most effective protection for the environment and the welfare of the Aboriginal people as recommended by the Ranger Inquiry. [More…]
The vast uranium reserves of the Alligator Rivers Region are located in an area of environmental and Aboriginal significance. [More…]
The Report recommends most stringent measures of control and regulation over uranium development and the Ranger project. [More…]
The Government will be allowing further uranium development only where it is satisfied that strict regulation and control can properly protect the environment. [More…]
I will deal now with the administrative structure for control and regulation of uranium development. [More…]
We will establish a Uranium Marketing Authority or similar marketing arrangements to achieve the objective of orderly development; [More…]
We will establish a Uranium Advisory Council; and [More…]
We will establish a uniform code of practice for the uranium mining and milling industry. [More…]
The fourth element of administrative machinery is the establishment of a Uranium Marketing Authority. [More…]
However, we will not take a final decision on marketing arrangements for Australian uranium until the legal implications of foreign anti-trust laws have been fully examined by the Government. [More…]
It would ensure that the Government at all times has proper knowledge, oversight and control of the commercial arrangements under which Australian uranium was exported. [More…]
The Government attaches the greatest importance to orderly development of our uranium resources. [More…]
We will want to see our uranium industry develop as a stable and secure long term supplier of energy to other countries on fair and reasonable terms. [More…]
We will not allow the development of our uranium industry to be dictated by volatile events in markets abroad. [More…]
The Government will therefore always be in a position to move immediately to terminate uranium development, permanently, indefinitely or for a specified period as recommended by the Ranger Inquiry. [More…]
The fifth element in the administrative arrangements the Government will put in place is the rcommendation of the Ranger Inquiry to establish a Uranium Advisory Council, responsible to the Minister for National Resources. [More…]
This body will fulfil the recommendation of the Ranger Inquiry for the establishment of a body with adequate representation of the people to advise the Government and with a duty to report annually to the Parliament with regard to the export and use of Australian uranium. [More…]
The final element in the administrative arrangements is that the Government will move to establish by legislation, together with the States, a uniform code of practice to apply to all uranium mining and milling in Australia. [More…]
It is completely in accord with the recommendations of the Ranger Inquiry and will provide a proper and adequate basis on which uranium development will proceed so as to harmonise the interests of development, environmental protection, National Park values and Aboriginal welfare. [More…]
The Memorandum of Understanding provides for the Commonwealth, through the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, to engage in a joint venture with Peko/EZ for the mining of uranium at Ranger, beginning with the establishment of a mine of 3,300 short tons capacity. [More…]
The capital is to be provided in the proportions 72 Vi per cent by the Commonwealth and 27V4 per cent by Peko/EZ, with Peko/EZ receiving the net proceeds of sale of 50 per cent of the uranium produced. [More…]
In coming to this conclusion, the Government had regard to the view of the Ranger Inquiry that its concern over the appropriateness of the Atomic Energy Act would have less force if the Uranium Advisory Council recommendation of the Inquiry were adopted. [More…]
As I have already stated, the Government will adopt that recommendation of the Ranger Inquiry and establish a Uranium Advisory Council. [More…]
The decision to proceed with further uranium development will bring with it significant economic benefits for the Australian community. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry assumed that production and sales would begin in 1981-82 at a rate of 2,000 short tons of uranium oxide increasing to 10,000 short tons in 1985-86. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry’s forecasts of economic benefits concluded that, at a price level of SUS30 per lb, the addition to our national income resulting from further development of an Australian uranium industry could account for more than 1.3 per cent of projected levels of national income in the mid-1990s. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry concluded that, should the higher prices assumed in its analysis be achieved, namely a price of $US30 per lb, the export earnings of the uranium industry would eventually exceed the earnings in recent years of any of our other major export industries. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry’s forecasts also indicate that development of a national uranium industry will result in the creation of considerable direct employment opportunities. [More…]
Based on the assumption that construction of the first project would commence in 1977-78, with production and sales commencing in 1981-82 at an average rate of around 2,000 short tons of uranium oxide, increasing at about that rate until 1994-95 when total output would reach 27,300 short tons, the Ranger Inquiry forecast that a total work force of between 2,000 and 2,500 would probably be directly employed in the industry. [More…]
The employment opportunities created by the development of our uranium industry will not, of course, end at the mine site. [More…]
The employment prospects would, of course, be further enhanced should Australia at some future stage decide to upgrade and enrich uranium prior to export. [More…]
Consistent with this attitude we will study the feasibility of upgrading and enrichment of uranium in Australia, and preserve Australia’s options in this regard. [More…]
The joint uranium enrichment feasibility study between Australia and Japan, initiated by the Whitlam Government, will continue. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry did not forecast possible levels of employment that could result from a fully integrated uranium industry in Australia, but a recent authoritative study by the South Australian Government, which I have previously tabled in this House, did so. [More…]
Employment opportunities, on the statistical data for the already established North American uranium industry, would be such that a fully developed uranium industry in Australia could support directly and indirectly about 300,000 persons starting with a mining work force of about 5,000. [More…]
The economic benefits of uranium mining for the Northern Territory will be particularly significant. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry estimated that uranium mining operations would add between $65m and $ 105m to incomes in the Territory- an increase of between 16 per cent and 26 per cent. [More…]
a regional uranium industry producing up to 1 2,500 tonnes of uranium per year would substantially enlarge the Northern Territory’s economy and could provide the stimulus for a much faster rate of economic growth in the area than would otherwise occur. [More…]
The Government will wish to consider the accrual of an appropriate share of uranium profits to the public sector. [More…]
The Government will therefore initiate discussions with the industry on a possible framework for a secondary or resource-based tax on future earnings from uranium development. [More…]
The Government has also decided that, as resources flow from the further development of uranium, additional funds will be provided to increase substantially our national effort on solar energy research. [More…]
I have outlined in this statement the detailed basis on which further development of Australia’s uranium industry will proceed. [More…]
by leave- When it took its decision to proceed with uranium mining under the stringent safeguards already announced, the Government gave the most careful consideration to the views of Aboriginal leaders as recorded in the Second Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry and to the Inquiry’s recommendations on Aboriginal interests. [More…]
We are very worried that the results of this Inquiry will open the doors to other companies who want to dig up uranium on our sacred land . [More…]
by leave- The Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) has announced the Government’s decision on uranium mining and export. [More…]
In taking its decision on uranium mining, the national park, and Aboriginal land rights, the Government has been guided by the two reports of the Ranger Environmental Inquiry commissioned under the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act. [More…]
As I stated in the House of Representatives on 2 June 1977, ‘the two reports taken together represent a major contribution not only to Australia but also to international understanding of the environmental consequences of the uranium industry in the broadest terms as it affects mankind’. [More…]
The First Report of the Ranger Inquiry suggests, and the Second Report repeats, that the total renunciation of the intention to supply uranium was not justified. [More…]
To develop a uniform national code of practice to apply to all uranium mining and milling in Australia. [More…]
To adopt strict environmental controls and standards in relation to uranium mining in the Alligator Rivers Region. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry found that a decision on uranium mining in Australia must be based first and foremost on the adoption of a strategy which will achieve the best results in regard to proliferation. [More…]
The Government is firmly of the view that the non-proliferation objective identified by the Ranger Inquiry will be advanced by a decision now to export Australian uranium. [More…]
The First Report of the Ranger Inquiry recommended that uranium exports be subject to the fullest and most effective safeguards to ensure that nuclear materials are not misused. [More…]
My colleague, the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr Sinclair), today has made a further statement on the Government’s safeguards policy, which provides the basis for the Government’s decision to allow uranium exports to proceed. [More…]
In the first finding of the Ranger Inquiry the Commissioners took the view that the environmental effects of uranium mining could be adequately regulated and controlled. [More…]
The second finding of the Ranger Inquiry was that the hazards involved in the ordinary operations of nuclear power reactors, if properly controlled and regulated, are not such as to justify a decision not to mine and sell Australian uranium. [More…]
There can be no doubt that this finding clearly supports the Government’s decision in favour of allowing uranium exports to proceed. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry made it clear that it did not consider the present nuclear waste situation was such as to justify Australia wholly refusing to export uranium. [More…]
The Government has responded to this concern by deciding to establish, with the States, by appropriate legislation, a uniform national Code of Practice which will apply to all uranium activities in Australia. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry has noted the environmental problems that resulted from uranium mining at Rum Jungle. [More…]
The Government is confident that the measures which I have announced today will ensure that current and future uranium mining undertaken anywhere in Australia will be subject to adequate environment protection controls. [More…]
The establishment of a national park in this Region is central to the findings of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
The Second Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry recommended that environment protection of the Alligator Rivers Region could be accomplished in two ways, of which the establishment of a major national park was first. [More…]
The Government has decided to appoint an officer, to be known as the Supervising Scientist, to exercise a supervisory and integrating role over all research and monitoring programs associated with environmental protection from the hazards of uranium development in the Alligator Rivers Region and to advise on the specific environmental requirements for the Ranger project. [More…]
As recommended by the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry the Supervising Scientist will be responsible to myself as Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development and I hope to announce an appointment in the near future. [More…]
I am confident that the decisions announced by the Prime Minister which I have elaborated today will ensure effective regulation and control of all uranium activities in Australia. [More…]
by leave- The Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) has already announced the Government’s decision on uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
I now propose to give in some more detail the measures that will be taken to protect the health of those involved in uranium mining and milling and those people living within the proximity of mines who could be exposed to possible hazards. [More…]
My Department, in particular its Australian Radiation Laboratory, has for many years been aware of possible health hazards in uranium mining. [More…]
It must be remembered that my Department was involved in monitoring the health of those involved in uranium mining which commenced at Rum Jungle early in the 1950s and lasted until the 1960s. [More…]
The draft Code was circulated for comment to 94 recipients made up of appropriate Australian and State government departments and authorities, uranium mining and exploration companies and mining associations, and relevant trade unions and trade union councils. [More…]
The Code was accepted by both this and the previous Government and was submitted in the evidence my Department gave to the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
It studied papers presented to, and discussions at, an International Symposium on Radiation Protection in Mining and Milling of Uranium and Thorium arranged by the World Health Organisation, the International Labour Organisation and the International Atomic Energy Agency. [More…]
I have so far dealt with the possible effect on health of radiation but there are other factors that will need to be considered in respect of uranium mining in the Alligator Rivers Region. [More…]
I believe that by following the program that I have outlined, my Department will ensure that the mining and milling of uranium can be undertaken in Australia in such a way that the health of the public, including those actually employed in the mines, will be protected. [More…]
The decision to allow uranium mining to proceed is not only premature, it is also precipitate. [More…]
The decision commits Australia to the renewed export of uranium before any of the customer-countries have committed themselves to effective and verifiable safeguards on the use of Australia’s uranium. [More…]
The decision commits Australia to the renewed export of uranium regardless of the contribution of the nuclear power industry to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the risk of nuclear war. [More…]
It commits Australia to renewed export of uranium regardless of the absence of procedures for the storage and disposal of radio-active wastes to eliminate the danger to human life and health and the environment. [More…]
Yet the package- it was literally a packagepresented to the House failed utterly to deal with the central questions involved in uranium mining and the global nuclear industry- the questions raised by the Fox Commission; questions of immense gravity for Australia and the human race. [More…]
The Fox reports stress that Australia’s decision on renewed mining and exporting of uranium is a decision which affects the world. [More…]
The Commission thus identified the problem of the proliferation of nuclear weapons as the fundamental problem to be solved before, not after, any decision by Australia to renew the export of uranium. [More…]
That data and the Commission’s findings demonstrated that present international nuclear safeguards against the diversion of uranium supplied for peaceful purposes into military or explosive purposes are wholly inadequate. [More…]
The Prime Minister has said that he is satisfied that international safeguarding arrangements, supplemented by Australian bi-lateral arrangements, make it safe for Australia to export her uranium. [More…]
For the Government too a most important facet of the uranium issue has been need to translate Australia’s objective of restraining proliferation of nuclear weapons into a detailed policy for the marketing of uranium- [More…]
There is the reality- the Government’s uranium policy is a marketing policy and nothing else. [More…]
Where is the moral responsibility in making the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons secondary to- again I quote the Acting Foreign Minister-a detailed policy for the marketing of uranium? [More…]
One of the devices used by this Government to justify the dicisions announced today is the claim that Article IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty obliges Australia to export uranium. [More…]
The export of uranium without adequate safeguards against diversion would be utterly contrary to the whole purpose of the Treaty. [More…]
In any case, whatever specific obligations may be established in Article IV, they are secondary to the basic obligation of the Treaty as a whole- that no state should ever undertake any activity, including the export of uranium, under circumstances where that activity could contribute to proliferation of nuclear weapons. [More…]
The Acting Foreign Minister asserted that an Australian policy of exporting uranium now would provide ‘the incentive of uranium to encourage states who do not sign the NPT to become parties to the Treaty’. [More…]
Uranium can be said to be an incentive only if it is withheld until a state is prepared to accept the Treaty obligations. [More…]
The Acting Foreign Minister then went on to make a series of further claims about Australian safeguards policy in relation, for example, to the diversion of Australian uranium by nuclear weapon states, the ‘loopholes’ in existing safeguards agreements, the ease with which states can withdraw from the NPT, the absence of reliable sanctions to deter diversion of safeguarded material and, finally, the overall effectiveness of IAEA safeguards. [More…]
I must confess that one can quote from Hansard three or more years ago statements by me that we would sell our uranium subject to NPT arrangements or, in the case of states which had not signed or ratified the NPT, subject to IAEA safeguards arrangements. [More…]
This provides the ideal time in which Australia can use the influence that flows from her possession of so much uranium to ensure that the world community establishes an effective and verifiable safeguards regime. [More…]
This is just what the Government is doing in its rush to turn ‘its nonproliferation objectives into a detailed policy for the marketing of uranium’. [More…]
It is simply not credible to argue that other countries will be encouraged to meet increased obligations by making available Australian uranium before they have agreed to those obligations. [More…]
There is not a shred of evidence that the uranium market will decline in the years before it becomes safe to export Australia’s uranium. [More…]
The major customer countries for Australian uranium will not need new supplies until 1984 or 1985. [More…]
It was for this reason that the Labor Party, at its national conference in Perth two months ago, made the development of effective procedures for the storage and disposal of radioactive wastes a major condition upon which any decision to renew the export of Australian uranium should be based. [More…]
This has not yet led to an acceptable industrial scale process and under these circumstances the decision to renew the export of Australian uranium at this stage is wrong and irresponsible. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) attempted this afternoon to justify Australia’s export of uranium in terms of a ‘total energy policy for Australia’. [More…]
At its national conference in Perth last July the Australian Labor Party took a policy decision on uranium which was based upon the facts and also upon the reports of the Fox Commission. [More…]
The Labor Party’s policy was based on the recognition that existing safeguards and waste disposal procedures are not yet developed to the stage where Australian uranium can be used safely. [More…]
The time factor is crucial and the Labor Party’s policy decision recognised that essential work is now about to be undertaken by the world community to achieve safety and that new supplies of Australian uranium will not be needed until the middle 1980s. [More…]
The thousands of words spoken by Government Ministers this afternoon made not one dent in the reality of the questions of uranium and the global nuclear industry. [More…]
That all words after ‘that’ be deleted and the following words substituted: this House rejects the Government’s precipitate decision, without sufficient public debate in Australia and negotiation overseas, to renew the mining and export of uranium by Australia in the absence of: [More…]
1 ) commitments by customer countries to apply effective and verifiable safeguards against the diversion of Australian uranium from peaceful nuclear purposes to military nuclear purposes; [More…]
2 ) international safeguards which will ensure that the export of Australian uranium will not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the increased risk of nuclear war; [More…]
This House rejects the Government’s precipitate decision, without sufficient public debate in Australia and negotiation overseas, to renew the mining and export of uranium by Australia in the absence of: [More…]
1 ) commitments by customer countries to apply effective and verifiable safeguards against the diversion of Australian uranium from peaceful nuclear purposes to military nuclear purposes; [More…]
2 ) international safeguards which will ensure that the export of Australian uranium will not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the increased risk of nuclear war; [More…]
I want to begin by stating in the most positive terms what the policy of the Labor Party is on uranium mining and export. [More…]
The ALP has declared a moratorium on uranium mining, treatment and export for an indefinite period. [More…]
The moratorium will end only when the Labor Party is satisfied that all the problems of mining, treatment and export of uranium have been solved. [More…]
To this end we have declared that the Labor government will repudiate any commitment of a non-Labor government to the mining, processing or export of Australian uranium. [More…]
We say that there will be no commitment of Australian uranium to the nuclear fuel cycle until our conditions are satisfied. [More…]
We say that not a sod of earth shall be turned on any of the uranium sites until our conditions have been satisfied. [More…]
We warn the uranium mining companies that if they go ahead they do so at their own risk. [More…]
If the uranium mining companies want to go ahead and jeopardise their capital, the risk falls completely on them. [More…]
There is solidarity behind the policy within the ALP and within the broad anti-uranium movement across the nation. [More…]
This is that no commitment of Australian uranium be made until a reasonable time has elapsed for a full public debate. [More…]
A decision to mine and sell uranium should not be made unless the Commonwealth can at any time . [More…]
It means that if Labor ever accepts that uranium mining and export can be undertaken with safety, any commitment on uranium is made on a conditional basis. [More…]
Further, our policy refers to the unresolved problems associated with the mining of uranium and the development of nuclear power. [More…]
For example, the Minister for National Resources claims that stopping our uranium will contribute to the plutonium economy. [More…]
The reality is that by making our uranium available we will hasten the advent of fast breeder reactors. [More…]
Plutonium fast breeder reactors need uranium fuel reactors for their fuel supply. [More…]
By adding to world uranium supplies we will guarantee the advent of the next generation of fast breeder reactors. [More…]
It declares an indefinite moratorium on uranium mining and treatment. [More…]
It declares that Labor will repudiate any commitment made by a non-Labor government to the mining, processing or export of Australian uranium. [More…]
It declares that Labor will not permit the mining, processing or export of uranium under agreements which are contrary to ALP policy. [More…]
There is not the slightest doubt that uranium mining will destroy forever the unique environment of the Alligator River flood plains. [More…]
Vast capital investment is projected for these uranium mines. [More…]
The severe structural problems which face our economy will be worsened by a hasty rush into uranium development. [More…]
We have been big enough to admit that we were on the wrong track and we have changed our policy with regard to uranium and have acted accordingly. [More…]
We say to the uranium miners that if they go ahead and sink $250m or so into uranium mining in defiance of Labor’s policy they do so without a guarantee from the next government. [More…]
1 assume they were apologising as well for the fact that they were so anxious at that time to pursue the policy of developing our resources that they entered into agreements under which the Government was to provide 72 Vi per cent of the capital investment to develop a resource and was to allow a private corporation to join in that development by providing 27 Vi per cent of the capital, with the Government to get only 50 per cent of the net proceeds of the sale of the uranium produced and, presumably, the private corporation also to get 50 per cent for its 27% per cent investment. [More…]
We hear honourable members opposite attempting to argue that in the months in which the two Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry reports have been available there has been a lack of opportunity for debate. [More…]
More people lose their lives mining coal than are likely to be affected through mining uranium. [More…]
The series of statements by Ministers of the Fraser Government setting out the Government’s uranium policy this afternoon constitute one of the greatest propaganda exercises ever mounted in the national Parliament. [More…]
But the Fraser Government’s policy fails because it does not allay the fears of the Australian people as to the consequences of uranium mining in both the national and international sense. [More…]
The key to the Fraser Government’s uranium policy is haste- haste to sell it to the Americans, haste to sell it to Europe in exchange, hopefully, for more beef exports to the European market and haste to fulfil Mr Fraser ‘s election promises to the mining companies that his Government would fill their coffers once again. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party says, in accord with the second option of the Fox Report that we should delay the development of the Australian uranium industry. [More…]
The Labor Party national platform makes it clear that there should be no commitment of Australia’s uranium deposits to the world’s nuclear fuel cycle until the problems of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the disposal of highly radioactive wastes from nuclear power plants have been solved. [More…]
It is a policy of delay and a policy of using Australia’s uranium resources as a lever to ensure that uranium consuming countries develop adequate non-proliferation safeguards that will work and that the nuclear industry has in fact developed the technology to dispose of nuclear waste. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Anthony, makes continual references in his statement to the uranium initiatives of the Whitlam Government and in fact the Government has continued the Ranger arrangement even though, as he says, it goes against his philosophy. [More…]
The Fraser Government is prepared to export uranium now and hope that sometime in the future proper safeguards will be worked out. [More…]
The only way to ensure that problems of proliferation and waste disposal are solved is to delay the supply of uranium until the consuming countries provide adequate evidence that the problems are in fact solved. [More…]
Further evidence of the Fraser’s Government’s failure to come to grips with the immense problems associated with nuclear power development is contained in the policy with regard to the development of uranium mines. [More…]
The Commission had a sound basis for this recommendation, namely that the gradual development of the industry would allow Australia to take advantage of the increased demand for uranium from 1985 onwards and not create an oversupply situation. [More…]
But the Fraser Government has adopted a laissez faire approach in which every company with a uranium deposit can develop its mine whenever it wants to. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister talks vaguely- as he did in the crude oil announcement- about initiating discussions with the industry on a possible framework for a secondary or resource based tax on future earnings from uranium development. [More…]
One of the most extraordinary features of the statement by the Deputy Prime Minister is his attempt to justify the Government’s announced uranium policy in terms of a national energy policy as recommended by the Fox report. [More…]
We have only to look at the present ad hoc decisions on energy culminating in the uranium decision today to see that the Government has no comprehensive policy. [More…]
We had the crude oil price rise in the Budget without any requirement that the additional funds should be spent on new exploration for oil; the North West Shelf gas decision with only marginal reference to Australia’s long term energy needs; and now the uranium decision. [More…]
As uranium will be only a bridge between fossil fuels and new technologies, such as fusion power and solar power, it will be necessary for substantial funding in the coming years for research into new energy areas. [More…]
It is not good enough to wait for funds, as the Minister suggests, until resources flow from uranium development. [More…]
All that can be said about the Government’s uranium policy, if one can disregard the fact that it is premature, is that at least the Government has had the decency to adopt a number of the proposals as outlined in the Ranger Inquiry. [More…]
Tonight he was on his fourth policy in respect of uranium. [More…]
In fact the Deputy Leader of the Opposition addressed people outside Parliament House this evening and indicated that the fight had just begun over the decision announced by the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) to mine and export uranium. [More…]
In fact the Movement Against Uranium Mining had this to say about the Government’s announcement: ‘Today’s announcement is irrelevant; it is a minor and temporary setback’. [More…]
That organisation says that it was a minor and temporary setback despite the fact that two independent reports were commissioned and that this Government has almost followed them to the letter of the law in announcing the go-ahead for uranium mining. [More…]
Australia’s decision on uranium, announced today will help to secure the benefits of nuclear power for the nations of the world. [More…]
We need continuing and vigorous diplomatc initiatives overseas so that we can accelerate and influence world measures to prevent proliferation while uranium develops as a major world energy resource. [More…]
Over the next 25 years there will be no major alternative to fossil fuels- that is oil, gas and coal- except uranium. [More…]
Uranium mining and nuclear power generation are demonstrably safe by any reasonable standards. [More…]
Uranium mining was carried out successfully and safely in Australia from 1954 to 1971. [More…]
Uranium is being mined on an increasing scale in the United States of America, Canada, South Africa and other countries. [More…]
The Australian uranium industry is capable of satisfying 20 per cent of the world market by 1 985 and could be expected to earn, for the good of this nation, $3,000m a year at projected prices. [More…]
One hundred and sixty power stations fueled by uranium are now operating in 24 countries. [More…]
Australians will welcome the Fraser Government’s decision to develop and export uranium for peaceful purposes. [More…]
Australians are twotoone in favour of developing and exporting uranium for peaceful purposes. [More…]
Do you think Australia should or should not develop and export uranium for peaceful purposes? [More…]
Should the proposed uranium mining projects in Australia go ahead or be stopped? [More…]
The same people were reminded that recently an Australian Labor Party Conference in Perth had resolved to ban all future uranium mining in Australia indefinitely and also that the Conference had resolved that if the ALP became the Government- perish the thought- it would break and cancel all uranium contracts made by the existing Government. [More…]
When asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the ban on uranium mining, 60 per cent of the Australian people interviewed by the gallup poll said that they disagreed; 28 per cent said that they agreed; and 12 per cent were undecided. [More…]
The other ALP Conference decision on uranium- one of its four policies- to repudiate future contracts was disagreed with by 58 percent and agreed with by 27 per cent, with the other 15 per cent being undecided. [More…]
After careful consideration, almost painstaking consideration, the Government has decided that uranium mining may proceed. [More…]
I think that the timely export of Australian uranium will decrease the risk of further proliferation of nuclear weapons and will support and strengthen the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. [More…]
The Labor Party has declared a moratorium on uranium mining and the export of uranium. [More…]
This is not to be confused with a permanent prohibition against the development and mining of uranium. [More…]
It would be unwise for any group in the community not to recognise the clear and substantial economic advantages which can be achieved from the development of uranium mining and the export of uranium. [More…]
They are much more substantial than many of the dogmatic opponents to uranium mining have been prepared to accept to this point. [More…]
I feel that, given the enormity of the crisis, the complexities of the ingredients of the crisis and the daunting challenges which the crisis presents for the future, we should have had a debate on oil last week, on natural gas last night and a debate on uranium today with the promise of a debate on energy policy later, probably slightly after the arrival of Godot. [More…]
If the Government had prepared and presented an overall policy first into which this commitment to uranium mining and export was slotted I am sure that the community would have been better served and more wisely informed, not only on what the Government was intending but also on how what was being proposed fitted into the international energy crisis scene. [More…]
What I am saying succinctly is that I acknowledge the very real and important economic benefits which can come from the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
He has said today, as indeed have the Government and all spokesmen for the Government, that, in spite of the warnings which were firmly expressed in the first report of the Ranger Uranium Commission of Inquiry about the serious defectiveness in these international arrangements, the Government is going to proceed in terms of the existing structure of these international arrangements. [More…]
I appreciate the further time that I have had to study the uranium issue. [More…]
I strongly support the mining of uranium and realise that previously, as I said, I was not equipped with sufficient facts. [More…]
For these reasons I was being drawn towards a feeling that there should be no mining of uranium. [More…]
When I have had discussions on uranium with people in the street and at meetings I have found that once I supply some information they are only too ready to admit that they did not have sufficient information and they were really against mining uranium because of their ignorance. [More…]
One of course is the mining of uranium in Australia; one is the possible use of nuclear power in Australia; and the other is what happens if Australia is used for the storage of nuclear waste. [More…]
We are concerned only with the mining of uranium. [More…]
Those people who are against the mining of uranium differ very greatly in their opinions with those held in most other countries. [More…]
I guess that, in terms of the world’s reserves of uranium, although Australia is an important supplier of uranium, had we made a decision not to mine uranium, it would have had no effect whatsoever on the world’s use of and projection into nuclear power stations. [More…]
The stories that have been told in Australia would tend to form the opinion that Australia is the only country with uranium supplies. [More…]
Let us look at the uranium deposits of the world. [More…]
Admittedly, they will depend upon what price bracket the uranium to be mined is put into. [More…]
But looking at uranium mining as most people do, it can be mined for $30 per lb or less. [More…]
In that case, Australia has between 16 per cent and 20 per cent of the known world deposits of uranium. [More…]
If we accept that mining figure of $30 per lb of uranium, we find that Australia has about 16 per cent of known reserves, Canada has about 20 per cent, South Africa about 16 or 17 per cent, Sweden has roughly 20 per cent, the United States of America has roughly 22 per cent and there are considerable deposits in Niger in Africa and Gabon in Africa and in France. [More…]
Honourable members can see that if Australia were foolish enough to say that there would be no mining of uranium, it would make no difference on how the world would use uranium. [More…]
It is important also to bring into some relativity the amount of energy contained in uranium. [More…]
It is interesting to note that a single tonne of uranium has the same energy potential as 3,000,000 tonnes of coal or 12 million barrels of oil. [More…]
An egg cup full of uranium has about the same energy power as 10 semi-trailer loads of coal. [More…]
Alternatively, 4 oz of uranium will totally supply the energy requirements of a normal household for a 12-month period. [More…]
Honourable members can see the different in the potential of energy obtained from uranium and from other normal energy supplies such as coal and oil. [More…]
Members of the Opposition have said that the Government has not given enough time for the uranium debate. [More…]
As many previous speakers in the debate have said, the uranium issue really started in Australia in 1954. [More…]
Programs on uranium mining were well advanced in 1972. [More…]
It is obvious from the statement presented to Parliament today by the Deputy Prime Minister that the Whitlam Government, now the Opposition, always intended to develop uranium deposits. [More…]
I was rather staggered by the fact that the hundreds of people working there- top scientists, people who really know about uranium and nuclear energy, responsible people- just cannot understand what all the flap is about. [More…]
Daily we expose ourselves to hundreds of activities with far greater risk than uranium. [More…]
The strict guidelines brought into this Parliament by the Prime Minister last May add to all the safeguards and security that Australia is imposing on its exports of uranium. [More…]
Few people, even those who are opposed to the mining of uranium, prefer to walk to work rather than drive a car or go by public transport. [More…]
In conclusion, I point to one thing that comes from the economic advantages of mining uranium. [More…]
Uranium will not last forever. [More…]
It is important that we have a plan to direct some of the economic benefits into the future beyond Australia ‘s supply of uranium. [More…]
-The Government which led Australia into the disastrous position in Vietnam is now recklessly flirting with the dangers of uranium. [More…]
The honourable member for Barton (Mr Bradfield) has been contending the economic advantages of mining uranium. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party wants to satisfy itself that all the safeguards that are possible are taken before we move into the mining and utilisation of uranium. [More…]
I shall mention some of the problems already in evidence around the world in regard to uranium. [More…]
In chapter 1 the inquiry found that the traditional owners of the Ranger site and the Northern Land Council are opposed to the mining of uranium on that site. [More…]
The report also mentions that the Aboriginal population in this region that is affected by uranium mining numbers approximately 1,000 and that art works and important archaeological sites make the region one of the most valuable in Australia. [More…]
We are very worried that the results of this Inquiry will open the doors to other companies who also want to dig up uranium on our sacred land. [More…]
-I support the Government’s decision that the mining and export of uranium should proceed. [More…]
It is right that the Australian people should be concerned about this important issue- the mining and export of Australian uranium. [More…]
Nuclear power stations differ from conventional power stations only in this respect: The uranium reaction generates the heat which boils the water which provides the steam which drives the turbines which create the electricity. [More…]
What I want to make clear to the Australian people is that the compelling and overriding argument for the development of Australia’s uranium resources is to contribute to meeting the expanding energy needs of the whole world, and not least of the developing countries, in the context of the increasingly rapid depletion of finite fossil resources, especially oil. [More…]
I put this to the House and to the Australian people: Where would be the morality if Australia, with 0.04 per cent of the world ‘s population, refused to make available to an increasingly energy hungry world the 20 per cent of the world ‘s high grade uranium which we possess? [More…]
That, as I have said, is the essence of the case for mining and exporting our uranium. [More…]
Now uranium should prove to contribute to the same, or even to a larger, order. [More…]
It should be noted in passing that the Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd, jointly owned by Peko-Wallsend Ltd and the Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Ltd, is 100 per cent Australian owned. [More…]
What is submitted is that Australia’s ability to contribute to a minimising of proliferation risks and the devising and implementing of effective international safeguards will be enhanced and strengthened by our undertaking to export uranium. [More…]
In the context of this established global nuclear power industry Australia, as the possessor of 20 per cent of the world’s low grade uranium, has a manifest responsibility to contribute to the very substantial quantities of uranium needed to fuel the industry. [More…]
Yet because we want to keep an area unspoilt, because some people, some day, might suffer something from uranium mining, we are prepared to line the wharves and stop energy ‘s export. [More…]
Never mind the fact that many more people have been choked and poisoned by the effluents of affluence than will be harmed by uranium. [More…]
He said that Mr Justice Fox totally disagreed with the proposal to mine uranium and sell it overseas because of the ‘waste’ problem. [More…]
-The matter now before the House is the Government’s decision to give the go-ahead to uranium mining and development in Australia, as outlined to the nation in five ministerial statements in this House on 25 August. [More…]
I am referring to one of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry commissioners, Professor Kerr. [More…]
The case for delaying any decision on uranium mining and export was at least as strong as the Government’s case for making a decision now, one of the three Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry commissioners, Professor Charles Kerr said yesterday. [More…]
It had, for instance, said that there was a great need for uranium-‘ but we didn’t say that at all ‘. [More…]
Predicting a greater need than the commission saw for uranium- ‘in spite of the weight of evidence that estimates of need have been downgraded since our first report’; [More…]
The first Fox report made it absolutely clear that the key basis of concern that it had about uranium mining and export was the problem of nuclear proliferation. [More…]
The Government says that it will overcome this problem in respect of Australian uranium by a safeguards policy. [More…]
I refer the House to an article in the Australian Financial Review in April of this year headed ‘The Case of the Missing Uranium Fuel Rods’. [More…]
It is interesting to note that only a few months ago Tony Grey the head of Pancontinental Mining Limited, one of the companies very much involved in uranium mining, drew attention to similar shortcomings in the international safeguards through the ineffectiveness of the IAEA inspection. [More…]
Turning first to the international aspects and the questions of controlling nuclear weapons proliferation, the Government’s argument that this objective would be furthered by the export of Australian uranium seems to depend chiefly on the fact that this is in accord with the policy announced by President Carter on 7 April last. [More…]
The aim of this policy is to discourage countries from turning to reprocessing of spent fuel and the fast breeder reactor, that is to the plutonium economy, by providing adequate and timely supplies of uranium. [More…]
The economic aspects of uranium production in this country have been vastly overstated. [More…]
The fact is that the employment effect would be absolutely minimal despite the absurd claim by the Australian, the day after the Government’s announcement, that there would be 500,000 jobs created by the milling of uranium. [More…]
The mining of uranium is no solution for the nation’s unemployment problem, nor will there be any dramatic change in our economic status. [More…]
Uranium is not going to revolutionise this country and make us the Arabs of the southern hemisphere. [More…]
I want to refer finally and quickly to the fact that the Government also committed a major breach of the Fox Commission recommendations when it decided to base uranium mining on the Atomic Energy Act. [More…]
It is difficult to believe other than that the Government decided to base uranium mining on the Atomic Energy Act because of the measures that this would give to it to enable it to take action against unions and people who might be trying to obstruct uranium mining. [More…]
Under that Act, and therefore in relation to uranium mining at Ranger, a person can be fined $1,000 to $10,000 or gaoled for from six months to 12 months for doing anything that hinders or obstructs the uranium mining project if that mining is deemed to be under the Approved Defence Projects Protection Act. [More…]
Also, in terms of the Atomic Energy Act itself, there are many penalties provided against workers involved in uranium mining if they take any action such as a strike. [More…]
-This is the third uranium debate that we have had in this House during the past six months and this important subject has been well covered. [More…]
However this debate on Australia’s uranium decision has come about following production of the most enlightening and comprehensive papers brought into this House in my time and possibly for many years. [More…]
The importance of uranium can be gauged by the fact that every facet affecting the mining, milling, marketing and exporting of uranium has been well covered and researched. [More…]
It is extremely important to Australia that we should take at this time a definite stand and implement a sound policy for the export of uranium. [More…]
We have 20 per cent of the world’s known resources of uranium and possibly considerable deposits of this ore are yet to be found. [More…]
That Committee has travelled extensively in Western Australia and Queensland and I have no doubt that considerable quantities of uranium have yet to be found. [More…]
The Prime Minister has said that this Government has a high sense of moral responsibility to all Australians and to the community of nations in the development of our uranium under strictly controlled conditions. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry found that the mining and milling of uranium, if properly controlled, were not a deterrent to the development of Australian uranium mines. [More…]
In fact there has not been any loss of life in the mining of uranium in Australia. [More…]
I repeat that there has not been one life lost in the mining of uranium. [More…]
Most of the uranium in Australia will be mined by means of open cut operations. [More…]
Uranium mining is a perfectly safe operation, as was announced by the recently released Ranger Inquiry report. [More…]
Opponents of uranium mining enlarge upon the danger from radon gas given off from uranium ore. [More…]
I mentioned a short while ago that we traversed wide areas of the uranium fields in this country and we found that the mining companies were restoring the environment to the extent that it was better than prior to the mining operation taking place. [More…]
The uranium industry is to be found in the low income and sparsely populated areas of Australia. [More…]
Uranium mining was carried out successfully and safely in Australia from 1954 to 1971. [More…]
The amount of ore treated during that period can be analysed as follows- these are interesting figures: Rum Jungle, 863,000 tonnes; United Uranium, 128,000 tonnes; Mary Kathleen, 2,947,000 tonnes; Radium Hill and Port Pirie, 970,000 tonnes. [More…]
We visited Mary Kathleen only a few weeks ago and we saw the uranium being refined into yellow cake and cast ready for export. [More…]
The question to be asked is this: Why should uranium mining be less safe now than it was then? [More…]
We must realise that uranium is being mined on an increasing scale in overseas countries, including United States of America, Canada, South Africa, Nigeria, France, Gabon and the Soviet Union. [More…]
By providing uranium for export we will be providing jobs, heating homes and maintaining and improving the standard of living in those countries less fortunate than Australia. [More…]
This seems to be a most important item dealt with by the opponents of uranium mining. [More…]
In short, the long term hazard of waste burial is the same as from naturally occurring uranium and radium in the earth. [More…]
We should get on with the mining, milling and exporting of our uranium as soon as we possibly can. [More…]
On the morning of the day on which the statements were released the Government suddenly decided that there was a health problem associated with uranium and asked the Minister for Health (Mr Hunt) to make a statement also. [More…]
It can be seen from the original copies of the Government’s uranium kit that all the statements were printed except the statement by the Minister for Health which was roneod. [More…]
It thought about whether it would require soil to be put back, about whether uranium should be mined in the Northern Territory, about the effects on Aboriginal sacred sites, and so on. [More…]
I am not suggesting that those matters ought not to have been looked at, but what worries the Australian population at large is the potential effects of uranium, the potential effects of the byproducts of uranium mining, and the potential effects of the use of nuclear energy on the health of the people of this country and people overseas. [More…]
It is ridiculous for the Government to forget about the health aspects of uranium mining and then to include them in its statements on uranium mining as an afterthought. [More…]
The Government seems to think that because the Australian population at present is divided 60/40 in favour of uranium mining- those figures were achieved by people being approached in the street or at their homes and asked whether they believed in uranium mining- everything is all right and politically it is safe. [More…]
The feelings of the people who feel strongly on the question of uranium mining and who want delays in the use of uranium and a complete assurance are much stronger than the feelings of those who say that they support the mining of uranium. [More…]
They support the mining of uranium in the same way as we might answer a question on whether there ought to be a nudist beach at Lady Jane Beach or somewhere else. [More…]
Apart from people who have shares in uranium companies or who believe that they might be some of the few people who might get a job in an uranium mine, I can assure the Government that the people who support uranium mining do not feel very strongly about it. [More…]
The first major contradiction was disclosed by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition ( Mr Uren) yesterday when he showed that the Government was using the Atomic Energy Act and the associated Approved Defence Projects Protection Act 1947-73 in relation to uranium mining. [More…]
Is it not a contradiction for this Government to argue that we are mining uranium for nonmilitary purposes and that it will not be used by anybody else for military purposes when it intends using defence legislation in relation to the mining of uranium? [More…]
There are people not only on the other side of the House but also on our side who argue that nuclear industry will be too expensive and that we should not get involved in uranium mining. [More…]
I do not share the view that nuclear energy will become too expensive and impossible to use in view of the alternatives; but, if this were so and it turned out that nuclear industry would never get off the ground, that is an argument in favour of uranium mining because if it is a mineral that will never be used we might as well sell it now, if we are satisfied about the safety aspects, because it will be worthless in the future. [More…]
If nuclear energy is necessary for many countries in the world, and that is the argument of the Government, and if this energy form is to be successful, there is no reason not to delay the mining of uranium. [More…]
If the rest of the world wants our uranium and if we are confident that nuclear energy will be the energy form that will be used for the next 30 to 50 years, why should we not wait until we are completely satisfied about the safeguards associated with many aspects of uranium use? [More…]
If there really is going to be a shortage of uranium there would be an extra profit to us if we did delay. [More…]
I have not spoken previously in the debate or publicly about uranium. [More…]
We support the scientific conclusions that the problem of both short and long term safeguards in the use of uranium for power are being met with the development of science in relation to use and control of uranium. [More…]
We are not opposed to the use of uranium for peaceful purposes in industry and medicine. [More…]
We, therefore, support the mining of uranium providing this is done under strict, supervised controls and in accordance with the safety and health regulations applied by the World Health Organisation and the International Atomic Energy Agency. [More…]
So, it is silly for people to say that those who are opposed to uranium mining are communists or pro-communists. [More…]
-The House of Representatives is debating the Government’s decision which was announced on 25 August 1977 regarding the future development of Australia’s uranium reserves. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) has made it perfectly clear that Australia’s uranium may now be mined subject to the most stringent environmental and health conditions at home. [More…]
I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate on the uranium issue. [More…]
I thank those thousands of people who have helped me in consideration of the uranium question; particularly I thank those residents in the electorate of La Trobe who have written to me. [More…]
The recent decision made by this Government on uranium is in stark contrast to the position taken in 1974 by the Whitlam Government. [More…]
The Whitlam Government detailed its policy on the mining and exporting of Australian uranium in a major statement to Parliament on 31 October 1974. [More…]
This statement is to outline the Government’s program for the rational development of uranium resources in the Northern Territory; a program which will return substantial economic benefits to Australia from our supply of this vital energy resource to our overseas trading partners who face such grave difficulties in securing their energy requirements . [More…]
-The same Labor Government gave undertakings that 11,757 tonnes of Australian uranium would be exported to meet existing orders. [More…]
It signed an agreement with the Ranger consortium which committed the Australian taxpayer to finance 72 per cent of its operation and to take 50 per cent of the profit from uranium sales. [More…]
The Whitlam Government’s policy statement made it perfectly clear that that Government put the mighty dollar before the environmental and safeguard conditions which must now apply before Australian uranium can be mined or sold overseas. [More…]
That Government saw uranium as the great provider to finance its dream for Australia, its goal to make our people no more than the basic ingredients of the social laboratory. [More…]
It was to sell as hard as possible and to hell with the consequences for the misuse of Australia’s uranium. [More…]
Any decision on uranium taken before a thorough consideration of these reports would have been premature and inappropriate. [More…]
As the Prime Minister announced in the 1975 policy speech, no decision would be made on uranium until the Fox reports had been received, considered and debated in this Parliament. [More…]
This, I believe, is the sixth time that the subject of uranium has been debated in this House. [More…]
The purpose of those reports was to advise on the worldwide and local environmental issues associated with the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
It is the natural concern of every Australian that any uranium leaving our shores should never be used in the weapons system of another country. [More…]
Equally important is the concern that adequate provision is made for the storage or disposal of any waste materials from the peaceful use of our uranium. [More…]
Having weighed all this advice and after months of consideration and discussion the Government has decided to allow further development of Australia’s huge uranium resource. [More…]
Any sales of our uranium shall be for peaceful purposes only and then only under strictly controlled conditions? [More…]
On uranium mining the inquiry concluded: [More…]
The hazards of mining and milling uranium, if those activities are properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify a decision not to develop Australian uranium mines. [More…]
The hazards involved in the ordinary operations of nuclear power reactors, if those operations are properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify a decision not to mine and sell Australian uranium. [More…]
While we do not think that the waste situation is at present such as to justify Australia wholly refusing to export uranium, it is plain that the situation demands careful watching, and, depending on developments, regular and frequent reassessment. [More…]
We do not believe that this risk alone constitutes a sufficient reason why the export of our uranium, including what is proposed to be done with it, and where, are matters which the government should keep under constant scrutiny and control. [More…]
The export by Australia of uranium under stringent safeguards will give effect to our obligations under Articles III and IV of the Treaty. [More…]
The Fox inquiry concluded that to withhold our uranium from use as an energy source was undesirable and most unlikely to produce any worthwhile outcome. [More…]
We believe that the goal of limiting proliferation of nuclear weapons while at the same time easing the world’s energy crisis is best accomplished by Australia agreeing to provide uranium for peaceful purposes and under the most stringent conditions. [More…]
By deciding to allow sales of uranium for peaceful purposes Australia can reduce the movement towards the use of plutonium as a nuclear fuel and lessen the attendant increased risks of nuclear weapons proliferation. [More…]
With application of the best current techniques to ensure safety for the workers, environment protection, regard for Aboriginal land rights, and an obligation to rehabilitate areas damaged by mining, one can accept the (Fox) report’s conclusion that there is no adequate reason why Australian uranium should not be mined and supplied at the world price to those countries that have elected to develop nuclear power and can be trusted. [More…]
In fact it is only through our role as a major supplier of uranium for peaceful purposes that Australia ‘s voice on this most vital problem of international affairs, nuclear weapons proliferation, will be heard. [More…]
I should like to correct an impression that the honourable member for La Trobe (Mr Baillieu) may have made when he spoke about the Labor Government’s attitude to the mining and sale of uranium. [More…]
As far as I was concerned they were not to be because in my view everything that was being done in the search for uranium, in the development of the project, in the feasibility studies, was fraught with disadvantage and a threat to the Aboriginal people. [More…]
As far as I am concerned the advantage to the Aboriginal, people and the protection of their social advancement transcends any potential financial gain to the people of Australia from uranium. [More…]
I am not totally against the mining of uranium as such but I say that while the issue is in doubt we should leave it in the ground, and for the foreseeable future I think the issue is in doubt. [More…]
I want to place before the House and the people of this country the threat to the Aboriginal people that lies in the development of uranium resources in their areas. [More…]
How many will be needed to mine the volume of uranium that we want? [More…]
I support the amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr E. G. Whitlam) which states that this House rejects the Government’s precipitate decision and sets out our requirements: Commitments from customer countries, international safeguards to ensure that our uranium will not contribute to nuclear war, and an assurance that the Aboriginal people will not be disadvantaged. [More…]
-This is the first time that I have spoken in this House on the subject of uranium. [More…]
Of course, that was before the announcement of the Government’s decisions in relation to the mining and export of Australia’s uranium. [More…]
It is simply not true to assert, as our political opponents and some others do, that consideration of the public discussion on uranium is new and that the subject has not been sufficiently talked out or examined to enable governments to be in a position to make responsible decisions in relation to the development of Australia’s uranium reserves. [More…]
These debates are taking place also more than two decades after nuclear energy was first used commercially for the peaceful purpose of electricity generation and more than two decades after Australian uranium was first mined and exported. [More…]
It is very interesting to note, however, that the debate was temporarily silenced in 1974 and 1975 when the Whitlam Government signed an apparently legally binding agreement with the Ranger partners to permit the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
ensure that our major trading partners, Japan, Italy and West Germany, obtain an equitable share of the uranium we have for export. [More…]
Iran would be given access to supplies of uranium from Australia under favourable conditions. [More…]
At the Australian Labor Party Conference in Terrigal in February 1975 the late Mr Rex Connor received unanimous approval to go ahead with uranium mining and also to build a uranium enrichment plant. [More…]
The Conference totally rejected a motion to halt uranium development for 12 months while a full scale government inquiry into nuclear technology was conducted. [More…]
He was referring to Labor Ministers- that Australia will meet the uranium requirements of our major trading partners which could amount to 100,000 tons of uranium. [More…]
The recent Australian Council of Trade Unions executive decision on uranium also shows how hopelessly divided the Labor movement is over the issue. [More…]
But it is not hilarious; it is extremely serious, because it shows just how much the leadership of the Labor movement is under the influence of the forces on the Left, and not just in relation to uranium. [More…]
There is no way in the world that this situation will change in our lifetime or beyond, regardless of the decisions Australia may have made in respect of the development of its uranium reserves. [More…]
The decisions which the Government has taken are based in essence on the answers to the following questions: Firstly, is there a net overall benefit or loss to Australia and its people if we develop our uranium reserves? [More…]
We should bear in mind that the decisions which the Government has taken relate simply to the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
It is pretty well universally accepted now that the actual mining of uranium, particularly by the open cut method, as much of ours will be, does not pose any real health hazard to the miners. [More…]
It is accepted that the mining and milling of uranium, particularly given the location of the main known deposits, pose major issues to be resolved in relation to the physical environment and in relation to the Aborigines in the areas concerned. [More…]
There is no doubt in my mind that on the question of economics there will be very considerable benefit to Australia from the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
Some opponents of uranium development have pointed to the so-called Gregory thesis to support their arguments. [More…]
In the 1990s exports of Australian uranium will be likely to contribute one-half of the increase in Australia’s total exports during this period. [More…]
Uranium exports will make a useful contribution to our export income, I would hope, before the 1990s. [More…]
The mining and treatment of uranium in the Northern Territory will give tremendous impetus to the economy of the Territory. [More…]
Australia has had and will continue to have detailed involvement in working towards the strengthening of existing safeguards, although if we were to refuse to export our uranium we very likely would be left out in the cold on these discussions and so would lose our ability to play a constructive role in this major area. [More…]
That does not make the safeguards perfect or foolproof, but if Australia co-operates with other uranium producers and consumers there is every reason to believe that international safeguards will continue to strengthen even further. [More…]
Australia will do nothing to halt proliferation if it refuses to export its uranium. [More…]
That is precisely what we would be doing if we were to deny the supply of uranium for peaceful purposes to customer countries which have expressed both a wish and a need for our uranium resources- resources which in energy content are of the same order as the presently known oil reserves of Saudi Arabiaand which received a major blow from the 1973 oil crises, a repetition of which they are understandably at very great pains to avoid. [More…]
That clearly showed the philosophy of the present Government, which is to get in and export uranium at any cost at the best possible price at the moment but not to worry about the consequences. [More…]
People will recall that Connor was abused for his policy of leaving uranium in the ground, for hesitating, for wanting what was best for Australia. [More…]
It has been said to the Australian people that there is great economic benefit to be had from the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
In the main they are the ones who are very interested in nuclear power and our ability to supply uranium. [More…]
I do not know whether he will be trading in beef or uranium; the issue is not as simple as that. [More…]
The EEC is interested in taking our uranium but not our beef. [More…]
Germany says: ‘Let us have uranium because we want it.’ [More…]
Where does the program announced by the Government indicate that it will have inspectors to police the use of our uranium right throughout the world through all its processes? [More…]
The point is made that fast breeders are almost irresistible since they produce sixty times more energy from a given amount of uranium than conventional reactors. [More…]
The lesson is that if a country has uranium and if it intends to maximise its use, there is the problem of plutonium. [More…]
Let me go back to the Flowers report to the United Kingdom Parliament in September 1976 which said that this is the greatest danger which the world faces; yet if a country is short of power it should by all means maximise the production to 60 per cent instead of achieving the normal low usage from natural uranium. [More…]
Such things must be for the Commonwealth’s purposes of defence and these uranium contracts are in no way related to defence. [More…]
We strongly recommend against the use of that Act for the grant of an authority to Ranger to mine uranium. [More…]
The reality of the situation is that uranium has been mined in Australia since 1958 and for at least the last two decades uranium power has been a viable source of energy, particularly in western Europe, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. [More…]
The areas which are being covered by the Australian Government in terms of safeguards are the need to keep policy under constant review, a careful selection of eligible customers for uranium, the application of effective international atomic energy safeguards, bilateral agreements with customer countries, fall-back safeguards, prior Australian Government consent in relation to reexport, enrichment and reprocessing, constant physical security, safeguard provisions in contracts and international multi-lateral efforts to strengthen safeguards. [More…]
It is also worth noting, because it is of considerable importance, that as a result of the Australian Government’s decision to proceed with the mining and export of uranium Australia has been invited to join with the United States and other countries who are already in the nuclear fuel cycle program in the development of evaluation techniques which will be a further step towards ensuring that more adequate safeguards are constantly being developed. [More…]
There is no question in this House, that there are risks with uranium but I recall that at the turn of the century the people who first drove automobiles had men walking in front of those vehicles carrying red flags. [More…]
It is our primary responsibility to ensure that there are no more Hiroshimas and Nagasakis and that secondly, through the peaceful development of uranium, we will be able to see a more viable and happy mankind in the future. [More…]
In terms of the problems we face with energy needs, it is worth remembering that the future demand for uranium depends essentially on the rate of growth in electricity consumption throughout the world and upon the requirements of electricity which are to be supplied by nuclear plants. [More…]
One can perhaps ask this question: Why is it that in the Western countries we find this tendency to try to return us to the trees literally, when obviously the reality of failure to develop uranium at this stage is going to leave us within the next 20 years in a most serious predicament unless massive alternative sources of fossilised fuel are found. [More…]
I would like to make five other points which are of tremendous relevance to the development of the nuclear uranium industry in Australia. [More…]
I draw them from a report entitled ‘Uranium Resources and Requirements’ published by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission and written by Messrs Silver and Wright. [More…]
These are the main points made in the report: The uranium industry could be earning about $3,000m per year at projected prices or about $ 1,000m per year in current-that is, 1975- money values. [More…]
The uranium industry could be employing about 2,300 people directly and probably supporting a similar number of people in the provision of consumables and operating services. [More…]
Yet on 31 October 1974 the Whitlam Labor Government detailed its policy on the mining and exporting of uranium in a major statement made to the Parliament by the then Minister for Minerals and Energy, Mr Connor, That is what he said: [More…]
This statement is to outline the Government ‘s program for the rational development of uranium resources in the Northern Territory- a program which will return substantial benefits to Australia from our supply of this vital energy resource to our overseas trading partners who face such grave difficulties in securing their own energy requirements. [More…]
To enable the world to have at its disposal alternative sources of energy, we as a government are faced by the reality that if we had not made this decision, if we had not made our uranium reserves available to the world, the situation simply was that the advent of the fast breeder reactor, which regrettably I believe will come in due course, would undoubtedly be hastened. [More…]
Faced by that fundamental reality, by the knowledge that the development of the fast breeder reactor is imminent, the capacity of the NPT and IAEA or any other safeguards to regulate effectively the dissemination, and the risks associated with uranium, would obviously be out of normal control at that time. [More…]
I am also very pleased to see in the Government’s announcement that it is proposed that part of the revenues received from the resources tax on the development of uranium will be spent in looking for alternative sources of energy, including solar energy. [More…]
In the meantime mankind needs uranium. [More…]
-Much has been made by speakers on the Government side of the fact that the Labor Government, when it was in power, agreed to and sought to promote the export of uranium. [More…]
The facts of the early 1960s and the facts of the early 1970s about uranium and the nuclear power industry are no longer the facts in the late 1 970s. [More…]
After we had made those decisions, following upon the decisions made by the previous Liberal Government to allow the mining and export of uranium, we were activated by the growing concern expressed in many parts of the world and not just by the Australian community. [More…]
So we established the Ranger Uranium Inquiry to look into the matter. [More…]
Another point that has been made by honourable members on the other side is that it is all terribly necessary because the world will starve if we do not export uranium. [More…]
Are they suggesting that we are going to export this uranium to the underdeveloped countries? [More…]
Let us look at the claim that uranium is necessary for the starving world, that it will be a boon to the poor and developing countries. [More…]
Let me quote from a talk by Mr Kelleher, one of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry commissioners, to the Environmental Engineers Conference in June this year. [More…]
The May 1974 Indian nuclear explosion, the sale by West Germany of a uranium enrichment and a reprocessing plant to Brazil, and the sale by France of a reprocessing plant to Pakistan- [More…]
So, this uranium debate is wrongly connected to that argument. [More…]
I support the mining, milling and export of uranium insofar as this conforms with the Commonwealth’s agreed conditions and the requirements stated for the handling of waste and so on. [More…]
Mr Whitlam, who became Prime Minister when he lead his socialist Party into office in 1972, gave undertakings that export contracts which had been entered into by Peko-EZ, Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd and Queensland Mines Ltd would be honoured when the Labor Party came into office. [More…]
Recently we have seen the leaders of that Party and most of its speakers- certainly the parliamentary leader and the Party leader- twist 180 degrees from that original course when they said that the Labor Party would honour contracts already made and that it would enter into the development of uranium. [More…]
Now the Labor Party is dead against uranium mining and export. [More…]
But in those days when the Labor Party supported uranium, it used the taxpayers’ money to buy into uranium mining and export. [More…]
program for the rational development of uranium resources in the Northern Territory; a program which will return substantial economic benefits to Australia from our supply of this vital energy resource to our overseas trading partners who face such grave difficulties in securing their energy requirements, and recognise fully the part played by those who have successfully explored our uranium resources. [More…]
The annual report of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission for 1973-74 states that reasonably assured resources in Australia are presently estimated at 188,000 tonnes uranium forming a significant part of total estimated world resources . [More…]
I point out to those people who are damning South Africa for various reasons that its estimated tonnage of available uranium is 200,000 tonnes. [More…]
I say to many people on both sides of the House and especially to members of the Australian Labor Party that if people succeed in banning uranium mining and export they are helping those who appear to me to be their dreaded enemies in South Africa, the people who are standing against the communist penetration of that country. [More…]
The former Minister continued: … the Government is determined to ensure that the Northern Territory uranium resources are developed in a sensible manner. [More…]
How many ministers made statements to the House a fortnight ago about uranium? [More…]
Everyone was to be convinced by the professional way in which the uranium package was sold to us. [More…]
A story was leaked out that Justice Fox was not in favour of uranium mining. [More…]
That was the start of selling the uranium issue to the public of this country. [More…]
The Government will not be taking up the question of a referendum on the mining and export of uranium because the Government has looked carefully and exhaustively at the Fox reportsthe two Ranger inquiries- over a long period. [More…]
If he thinks a referendum in relation to uranium is a good way of resolving an issue, one would think such an election procedure would be a good way of making sure that the union movement gets the right President at reasonably regular intervals. [More…]
The first relates to what the Australian Council of Trade Unions has said in relation to uranium. [More…]
I want to continue the remarks I began last night concerning Labor’s action with regard to uranium policy when it was in government. [More…]
West Germany- obtain an equitable share of the uranium we have for export. [More…]
The Government’s policies that I have outlined today are based on the recognition of the economic and strategic importance of uranium and our obligations to the owners of the uranium, the Australian people, as well as to those members of the world community with limited access to energy resources. [More…]
This came, mind you, from members of a Party which now, out of sheer political expediency, states that it will not honour contracts for the sale of uranium. [More…]
That Party now stands for a policy which means leaving uranium in the ground. [More…]
He says that the decision to mine and sell uranium is premature and precipitate. [More…]
Also he accuses this Government of being committed to the export of uranium regardless of the contribution the nuclear power industry can make to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the risk of nuclear war. [More…]
Why have these statements now been made when two or three years ago the same man trumpeted about the large scale development of uranium in the Northern Territory and stated that the exploitation of Ranger, followed by the development of Nabarlek, Jabiluka and Koongarra, would be of tremendous benefit to the uranium industry. [More…]
The parties to this memorandum desire to procure the development and mining of uranium ore deposits in the Ranger Project area in the Northern Territory and the production and sale of uranium concentrate from that ore. [More…]
I note that the proposed board of Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd was to consist of four directors, two to be appointed by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission and one each to be appointed from Peko and EZ Industries. [More…]
So the then Government was showing more than a small interest in the uranium industry at that time. [More…]
Now the Labor Party is in Opposition it is completely opposed to the mining of uranium. [More…]
The Labor Party when in office was in favour of the mining of uranium. [More…]
The main considerations of the then socialist government in respect of the uranium deal were the economic benefits to be derived from the supply of this vital energy source to our overseas trading partners who faced grave difficulties in securing their energy requirements, These considerations were stated in October 1974. [More…]
On 16 October 1975 the then Minister for Aboriginal Affairs said proudly that uranium exports could mount to 100,000 tonnes by 1990. [More…]
Yet two years later on 25 August he said: ‘The Government which led Australia into the disastrous position in Vietnam is now recklessly flirting with the dangers of uranium’. [More…]
I want to quote again from a statement by the former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs when talking about uranium. [More…]
This former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs said that the spindly legged people would be wiped out like flies if the white community was able to penetrate the area of the uranium province near Jabiru and Oenpelli. [More…]
The protesters seem to forget that the production of uranium is four years away and there is time for that technology to be developed. [More…]
The discussion about uranium is about survival, about whether there is to be a human race in the years to come; about whether the people who now live on this globe and who have access to control over uranium resources and the benefits which may flow from the mining and marketing of them are to benefit in their lifetimes at the expense of the survival of generations in the future. [More…]
The Opposition has developed its policy in the light of increased knowledge and understanding and a reassessment of national objectives in relation to uranium. [More…]
How do the National Country Party and members of the Government explain away the election issue on uranium in Sweden? [More…]
Uranium and the development of nuclear power stations was an issue at that election. [More…]
If there is one nation which is said to be dependent on the use of uranium it is France. [More…]
If in each of those nations public concern and fear is developing about a continued expansion of nuclear technology then surely in Australia we should be re-examining all the factors involved in the mining and usage of uranium and the disposal of nuclear waste. [More…]
A Country Party leader in earlier years warned the Country Party to stop selling the farm, but the attitude of the National Country Party in respect of uranium at present still conflicts with that advice from one of its former leaders, Mr McEwen. [More…]
That all words after ‘That’ be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: this House rejects the Government’s precipitate decision, without sufficient public debate in Australia and negotiation overseas, to renew the mining and export of uranium by Australia in the absence of: [More…]
commitments by customer countries to apply effective and verifiable safeguards against the diversion of Australian uranium from peaceful nuclear purposes to military nuclear purposes, [More…]
international safeguards which will ensure that the export of Australian uranium will not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the increased risk of nuclear war, [More…]
Like other honourable members I have agonised long and hard over the advantages and dangers of the mining and use of uranium. [More…]
On balance I believe that the policy adopted by the Australian Labor Party, the Opposition, is sound and that it puts the interests, particularly the long term interests, of all people of our country and the world before the material interests of the relative few who stand to benefit in the short term from the mining and use of uranium. [More…]
I have no doubt that the majority of the community would have liked to have known much more about the dangers of uranium before the Government made a decision. [More…]
The course followed by the Fraser Government has been to pre-empt adequate public discussion by announcing its decision to authorise the export of uranium. [More…]
In the iterim we have seen an extensive media campaign mounted by the Uranium Producers Forum in an attempt to convince people that there are no real dangers involved in the use of uranium, that it is just another energy source, or in the disposal of nuclear waste: that the mass of the people will benefit from uranium by increased employment opportunities, by social welfare benefits and economic activity. [More…]
It does little credit to the public figures who allowed themselves to be used in those advertisements put on by the Uranium Producers Forum. [More…]
The uranium debate boils down to the simple conclusion that it is the greed for material gain of a small number of people in their lifetime taking precedence over the risk to survival of the human race. [More…]
There are serious hazards involved in the peacetime use of uranium. [More…]
It may be that the peacetime use of uranium is inevitable but before that decision is taken we must identify and overcome those hazards. [More…]
The Fraser Government along with the industry have sought to play down the dangers associated with the peacetime use of uranium. [More…]
‘It is no different from switching on an electric light’ is the kind of thing one is asked to consider when comparing uranium with electricity. [More…]
If they want to buy uranium they can worry about disposing of the waste. [More…]
The disposal of waste from the use of uranium is an issue which goes to the fundamental survival of the human race, but the Prime Minister is prepared to deliberately misrepresent the facts on this subject. [More…]
As I said earlier, we are prepared to take the money from the sale of uranium but we are not prepared to accept any responsibility for the disposal or neutralisation of the nuclear waste from the use of uranium. [More…]
But it is irresponsible to try to put a case in this country that we have to market and mine uranium because Japan has to have it and cannot survive without it. [More…]
I deplore the statements made by members of the National Country Party in this Parliament to the effect that if we do not sell uranium to Japan, Japan will come and get it. [More…]
To propose that if we do not sell uranium to Japan, Japan will come and get it indicates such a degree of subservience and such a complete lack of national character that those who make that suggestion ought to have a good look at themselves. [More…]
It has been said that underdeveloped countries need uranium. [More…]
Underdeveloped countries may need energy but uranium will be a high priced form of energy, so it is fallacious to suggest that we will be helping underdeveloped countries by mining uranium. [More…]
The profits from uranium mining will not go to underdeveloped countries. [More…]
In announcing its decisions to proceed with the mining and export of uranium, the Government was motivated by a high sense of moral responsibility towards all Australians as well as to the world community at large. [More…]
This debate on Australia’s uranium policy is not simply a national debate. [More…]
Energy-deficient countries are looking to Australia- which possesses about 20 per cent of the Western world’s low cost proven uranium reserves- to become a regular supplier and to assist them through this period of transition. [More…]
Bearing in mind the world energy situation and Australia’s role as an energy-rich nation, is it responsible to talk, as the Opposition does, of Australia withholding its uranium supplies from the world community? [More…]
Briefly, the Government’s safeguards policy is an eleven-point program which requires: Continual review and improvement of international safeguards standards; the considered selection of customer countries according to strict and comprehensive criteria of eligibility; the application of International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards; the prior conclusion of bilateral agreements to ensure that nuclear material supplied by Australia is used for peaceful and non-explosive purposes; the provision of fall-back safeguards to cover the possibility of IAEA safeguards at some time ceasing to apply in a customer country; prior Australian consent to re-export; prior Australian consent to enrichment of Australian uranium beyond 20 per cent uranium 235; Prior Australian consent to reprocessing; adequate physical protection of the nuclear industries in customer countries; the inclusion of safeguards implementation provisions in commercial contracts; and Australian contribution to constructive multilateral efforts to strengthen safeguards. [More…]
The bilateral measures which Australia is taking, together with existing multilateral arrangements, will adequately and effectively guard against misuse of Australian-supplied uranium. [More…]
From its vantage point at the heights of confusion, the Opposition represents the safeguards that will apply to all deliveries of Australian uranium under future contracts as being the same as those that the Ranger Inquiry criticised. [More…]
It is time that the Opposition realised that the Government has strengthened the safeguards arrangements to apply to deliveries of Australian uranium under future contracts. [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition claims that the incentive towards safeguards comes not by supplying uranium, but by withholding it. [More…]
By permitting exports of uranium under stringent safeguards, Australia will be in a better position to strengthen safeguards. [More…]
To leave Australia’s uranium in the ground until multilateral safeguards are improved, as suggested by the Opposition, is a policy of weakness and inaction. [More…]
The Minister overlooked the fact that the very dangerous by-product of the use of uranium for power production is plutonium, which becomes the core for nuclear weapons. [More…]
Does he honestly think that he can say to any nation to which this country decides to sell uranium: ‘Do you spit and promise to die if you tell a lie that you will not use this for violent purposes? [More…]
One of the unfortunate things about this debate which, of necessity, in the community must be charged with high emotion because of the consequences of the mining, enriching and using of uranium is that the matter has been brought into this Parliament with rather indecent haste. [More…]
It seems to me, from all I have read and from all I have heard, even with the unbiased mind that I have on the question, that the use of enriched uranium for the production of power or for any other purpose will create far greater environmental problems than the use of coal. [More…]
Everybody thought- in fact the daily Press the next day gave the distinct impression- that as of one week from then, perhaps the end of this year or perhaps early next year uranium would start to be mined and the economy would start to boom because we would be exporting something like 2,000 or 2,500 short tons of this material. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry’s forecasts also indicate that development of a national uranium industry will result in the creation of considerable direct employment opportunities. [More…]
Based on the assumption that construction of the first project would commence in 1977-78, with production and sales commencing in 1981-82 at an average rate of around 2,000 short tons uranium oxide, increasing at about that rate until 1994-95 when total output would reach 27,300 short tons, the Ranger Inquiry forecast that a total work force of between 2,000 and 2,500 would probably be directly employed in the industry. [More…]
I think every person who drives a power turbine anywhere must have been included and regarded as being employed because somebody was mining uranium in Australia. [More…]
As I understand it, a uranium mine would not be an approved defence project per se. [More…]
The background papers which were supplied with the copies of the speeches made by the Prime Minister and his Ministers concerning the Government’s decisions on uranium are very interesting. [More…]
Until that problem is solved, until appropriate technology is evolved, I believe uranium should remain in the ground. [More…]
-This democratically elected Government has made a decision regarding uranium. [More…]
Uranium has been the subject of lengthy parliamentary debate on at least three separate occasions. [More…]
Very importantly, the people who appeared before the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry provided a vast range of viewpoints and attitudes towards the matter and a vast amount of factual material. [More…]
They have had to ask themselves whether or not in all the circumstances it is reasonable that the Government should allow the mining, milling and export of uranium. [More…]
This statement is to outline the Government’s program for the rational development of uranium resources in the Northern Territory; a program which will return substantial economic benefits to Australia from our supply of this vital energy resource to our overseas trading partners who face such grave difficulties in securing their own energy requirements. [More…]
One of them was that Australia’s uranium resources should be developed. [More…]
Another was that the development should include a uranium enrichment plant. [More…]
Indeed, the honourable member for Lalor (Dr J. F. Cairns), who was at that time a prominent member of the Government, spoke in support of the establishment of a uranium enrichment plant in South Australia, but bis concern was whether or not the South Australian water supply was adequate for the enrichment plant. [More…]
The proposal for the moratorium was flatly rejected by the present Leader of the Opposition (Mr E. G. Whitlam), the former Prime Minister, on the grounds that it would jeopardise Australia’s credibility and delay the negotiations that his Government was conducting for the sale of uranium to Europe. [More…]
The former Government led by Mr Whitlam obtained a 42 per cent shareholding in Mary Kathleen mines, announced a program of large scale uranium development, which I have mentioned, and entered into an agreement with Peko-Wallsend for the development of the Ranger deposit by the Commonwealth and by those companies. [More…]
The policy of the former Government made it clear that it intended to mine and export uranium. [More…]
obtain an equitable share of the uranium that we have for export. [More…]
Iran would be given access to supplies of uranium from Australia under favourable conditions. [More…]
International assurances have been provided by Ministers that Australia will meet the uranium requirements of our major trading partners which could amount to a total of about 100,000 tonnes of uranium by 1990. [More…]
Since we have taken over the administration of the policy in this area, particularly in respect of uranium, we have said that we intend to export as much of it as we can. [More…]
In Brussels, London, The Haig, Paris, Rome and Bonn as well as in Moscow, I consistently asserted Australia’s wish to develop her own enrichment capabilities so that as much uranium as possible should be exported in an enriched form. [More…]
Those uranium deposits which do not concern Aboriginal lands and the mining of which complies with proper environmental conditions into which public inquiries are about to take place will of course be available for export and in due course for processing within Australia. [More…]
I think it is very important to realise that the Government’s policy is that a fundamental prerequisite to any uranium export is adequate safeguards. [More…]
-The honourable member for St George (Mr Neil) spent the greater part of his speech referring to the previous Government’s policies on uranium. [More…]
I believe that it is to the great credit of the previous Government that it had a flexible viewpoint and was able to change its policies when it realised the growing indignation of the Australian people in connection with the mining of uranium. [More…]
The honourable member for St George failed to point out to this House that it was the Labor Government that created the Fox inquiry to go into the details, the scourges and the advantages of the mining and marketing of uranium. [More…]
It is not to the credit of his Government that in certain respects it has ignored some of the fundamental recommendations of the Fox inquiry in connection with uranium. [More…]
The Government is worried about the growing public concern and indignation at its decision to mine and export Australia’s uranium. [More…]
In my view, public indignation will grow more intense as the Australian people learn more of the detrimental results uranium mining can have, not only on the environment and on fish and tree life but also on the health of our nationals, particularly those who mine it and the unborn, not to mention the raping of traditional Aboriginal lands and sacred dream areas. [More…]
The mining interests have announced that there is $30 billion worth of buried treasure in the form of uranium in Australia. [More…]
The Fox commission, set up by the Australian Labor Government as I said, emphasised that the mining of Australian uranium would create significant economic advantages for most Australians. [More…]
However, in my view the consequences of uranium mining are so serious that they outweigh any possible material gain. [More…]
We hear talk of jobs for Australians, the profits uranium mining will bring and the foreign exchange it will earn. [More…]
We are thinking today more of the profit and the jobs that uranium mining will bring than of the effect that it will have on cur community as a whole. [More…]
They say that uranium mining will create jobs and foreign exchange. [More…]
However, the economic advantages must be disregarded when the detrimental effects that uranium mining will have on society and the people of the world are taken into consideration. [More…]
Uranium mining in the Northern Territory, commonly referred to as the Top End of Australia, will destroy the physical environment on which the Aborigines depend for the survival of their culture. [More…]
It will introduce adverse social effects such as drunkenness and prostitution that usually flow from the establishment of camps such as those that will be set up as a result of uranium mining and the loss of Aboriginal land. [More…]
But it is common knowledge to every man who has participated in this debate that the radon gas released increases the chances of those unfortunate miners digging the uranium from the ground contracting lung cancer. [More…]
I have a document- many of my constituents have been asking for copies of it- which points out that one in six uranium miners in the United States develops lung cancer. [More…]
It will still be a dominant factor and it will be a tremendous risk to those engaged in uranium mining. [More…]
It is believed that there are more than 300,000 tons of uranium in Australia. [More…]
At current prices, we are told that our reserves could provide a bonanza in profits for those few companies which have found uranium deposits. [More…]
Uranium first became an object of interest in Australia in 1944. [More…]
Exploration in Australia began at the request of the United Kingdom Government which wanted uranium for its nuclear weapons program. [More…]
Over the next 20 years some 7,000 tons of uranium oxide were mined and exported. [More…]
The demand for uranium fell dramatically after about 1963 or 1964. [More…]
-We have been treated to an interesting exercise by the honourable member for Hunter (Mr James) relating to the incidence of leukaemia and accidents that may occur in uranium mines. [More…]
If the honourable member investigated the accident level in coal mines in Australiahe should well know that- he would find that in the early days of coal mining in this country there were far more accidents than there have been in uranium mines in the United States. [More…]
One can quote out of context all sorts of things relating to cancer and leukaemia but if one tracks down the authenticity of those comments one finds that they are not connected in any way with the problems of uranium and nuclear energy. [More…]
Under the circumstances the only alternative for industrial development, industrial wellbeing and in fact the progress of industrial nations and with them the progress of developing countries is the development of uranium as a fuel source. [More…]
The moral judgment is not whether to use uranium but whether we dare retain to ourselves the use of uranium and whether we should use it as a vehicle of diplomacy to prevent the development of other countries? [More…]
The Government has also decided that as resources flow from the development of uranium additional funds will be allocated to the development of effective solar energy alternatives. [More…]
The use of uranium and the additional capacity to develop alternative fuel sources that uranium will give us is something that must be encouraged by this Government and something which all members of this House should applaud. [More…]
Our program to conserve fuel, together with the sale of uranium, has given us a potential to play a part in the world forum. [More…]
As a participant in the production of energy and as an important production source we can in the world forum present to other nations a responsible attitude in respect of the control and the non-proliferation of uranium for harmful purposes. [More…]
The Government has in fact exceeded those features and requirements placed on the export of uranium by the Leader of the Opposition. [More…]
In fact the Leader of the Opposition presented a very faulty proposal comprising five points that Australia should adopt for the control of uranium and nuclear fuels. [More…]
The Government in its presentation has decided to exceed all those requirements in bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements which absolutely preclude the possibility, as far as is humanly possible, of the wrongful use of uranium. [More…]
We possess about 20 per cent of the world ‘s low cost proven uranium reserves. [More…]
It has been interesting to watch the Opposition dealing with this matter of uranium. [More…]
Those uranium deposits which do not concern Aboriginal lands and mining of which complies with proper environmental conditions into which public inquiries are about to take place will of course be available for export and in due course for processing within Australia. [More…]
In Brussels, London, The Hague, Paris, Rome and Bonn as well as in Moscow, I consistently asserted Australia’s wish to develop her own enrichment capabilities so that as much uranium as possible should be exported in an enriched form. [More…]
The only way in which we are going to influence world opinion on the question of proliferation and nuclear waste is to withhold the necessary uranium until such time as science and the governments which utilise uranium have faced up to the issue. [More…]
Basically that amendment draws attention to the fact that the policies of this Government, if carried through, amount to assistance to those countries and organisations, even terrorist groups overseas, which want to utilise uranium for the purposes of war. [More…]
This Government has made a decision to export uranium without the required debate called for in the two Fox reports. [More…]
I would ask my friends on the Government side to give an example showing where this Government has provided the necessary finance to permit public dissemination of the pros and cons as far as uranium is concerned. [More…]
This Government has utilised all the forces of government, all the resources of government, to put forward only one side of the debate, the side for the mining of uranium. [More…]
That is the only way to force science and the uranium users, both here and abroad, to find an answer to the disposal of waste. [More…]
That man, whom these honourable members had to repudiate today in their personal explanations by saying that their actions were not communist inspired, is deliberately provoking violence in Queensland by refusing people the fundamental right to demonstrate on the question of uranium. [More…]
This Government has deliberately made a decision to export uranium without the necessary public debate. [More…]
-There has been a tremendous clamour and a tremendous demand from the Opposition for debate on the all-important topic of the mining and export of uranium which is something this Government proposes to do. [More…]
But I am not aware of one single shred of specific evidence which can point to any person in any part of the world who is suffering a disability or an illness as a result of either the mining of uranium oxide or ore or from being associated with its treatment. [More…]
Quite unashamedly I am dealing with generalities because everything has been said that has to be said about the technical side of uranium. [More…]
Mr Deputy Speaker, you could well ask what has this to do with the uranium question. [More…]
He is the National President of the Australian Labor Party and it decided that it would oppose the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
If the major figure who has bought into the argument on uranium has a loyalty to his unionists will jump when the radical left wing unions crack the whip- I am not a union basher; quite the reverse- then the rest of the nation will ask: ‘Who rules this country? [More…]
In relation to the actual mining and export of uranium, let us look at the whole concept of mining and its contribution to this nation. [More…]
Honourable members know full well that supplier after supplier throughout the world, even among the countries for which they have a great affinity- the communist countries- can provide uranium ore to the countries which are crying out for it and they will provide it if we do not supply the goods. [More…]
I guarantee that if people in this country were only half informed about the realities of the advantages of exporting uranium, an overwhelming number of people would support the decision which this Government has made. [More…]
The decision was made after we had made the most minute examination of the safeguards associated with the mining and treatment of uranium ore. [More…]
With that wealth there will be employment for thousands of people, not for the few people associated with the digging and the exporting of the uranium ore- not for a moment. [More…]
There would be the advent of community areas, not just those associated with the mining of uranium- not for a moment. [More…]
Members of the Opposition who talk about a moratorium and waiting for another year or another 10 years are not concerned about those who are already mining and exporting uranium to countries which have no particular affinity with ourselves. [More…]
I have no hesitation in saying that 99 per cent of the people there would thoroughly support the immediate mining and export of uranium. [More…]
Can we say with certainty what results will flow from the mining of uranium? [More…]
Honourable members opposite cannot hope to salve their consciences when they read that 8,000 pounds of uranium was lost in the United States. [More…]
Yet that is the Act under which the Government says it will operate in respect of uranium mining. [More…]
It is going to use this Act to bludgeon people into submission in respect of mining uranium. [More…]
The claim concerning the jobs that will be provided as a result of the mining of uranium are fallacious. [More…]
We have heard ridiculous claims by the uranium lobbyists. [More…]
last the Murdoch Press carried the claim that 500,000 jobs would be created by the uranium mining bonanza. [More…]
An expansion of the uranium mining industry of that scale would bring profound problems to the manufacturing industries of Melbourne and Sydney. [More…]
Uranium mining on that scale would produce vast export revenues which compensating imports or revaluation of the dollar would have to insure. [More…]
If we project forward to 1981 the current unemployment figures, which would be in real terms nearly half a million people, we can see from this what the situation will be, with the ongoing problem of the unavailability of jobs for kids who will be coming out of schools, if we are not going to do -better than what the uranium industry can do in providing jobs. [More…]
If the Government makes this decision to mine uranium it will regret it. [More…]
I totally and unequivocally support the Government’s decision to allow private enterprise to mine and export uranium. [More…]
The last 20 years of safety in the nuclear industry show the enormous benefits that nuclear power has been able to bring, and they show also why it is that nuclear power needs our uranium. [More…]
Anyway, I am glad that Fox has reinforced the basic principle that uranium should be mined and should be sold and exported. [More…]
He believes that there is a comparison to be made between this debate on uranium and the debate on the Vietnam War. [More…]
The hazards of mining and milling uranium, if those activities are properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify a decision not to develop Australian uranium mines. [More…]
While we do not think that the waste situation is at present such as to justify Australia wholly refusing to export uranium, it is plain that the situation demands careful watching, and, depending on developments, regular and frequent assessment. [More…]
We do not believe that this risk alone constitutes a sufficient reason for Australia declining to supply uranium. [More…]
It does however provide a further reason why the export of our uranium including what is proposed to be done with it, and where, are matters which the Government should keep under constant scrutiny and control. [More…]
The majority of Australian people have consistently supported the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
All sections of the media have been running uranium stories for months and months. [More…]
News people to whom I have spoken have said that they are heartily sick of the word ‘uranium’. [More…]
The most vocal opposition to uranium mining has come from the radical groups funded by this Government. [More…]
There is no sensible man amongst them who is against uranium mining. [More…]
Australia has more than 500,000 tonnes of uranium reserves. [More…]
The world has already produced more than 250,000 tonnes of uranium. [More…]
Australia does not need uranium for electricity for the next 25 years. [More…]
In providing 250,000 tonnes of uranium to the world countries it is recognised that Australia will be providing electricity, an essential requirement for living. [More…]
To many countries of the world there is no alternative choice but uranium as a fuel for generating electricity essential to their needs. [More…]
We ought to remember that 1 oz of enriched uranium releases about the same energy burning as 100 tonnes of coal or 168,000 gallons of crude oil. [More…]
Chapter nine investigates the benefits and costs of exporting and not exporting Australian uranium. [More…]
Australia needs to consider the ramifications of the policy of steaming coal exports replacing uranium exports. [More…]
By the year 1985 Australia will easily be able to export 1 5,000 tonnes of uranium oxide a year. [More…]
A billion tons of coal a year can be burnt if some of it is uranium. [More…]
Carter himself used coal as a surrogate for uranium in his energy statement. [More…]
For these two fuels- coal and uranium- in a head to head competition for the electric utility market governmental power is critical. [More…]
When we come to make decisions on uranium we have to consider what are the alternatives. [More…]
Australia would be providing one-tenth of them with their uranium supplies. [More…]
Whether one welcomes or deplores the fact, electricity generation will become more and more dependent on uranium over the next 50 years, or at least until a further abundant source of energy without radioactive or otherwise dangerous environmental waste is available. [More…]
Australia, in choosing to supply uranium to the extent of about one-tenth of world requirements for electricity, has to accept terrific responsibilities in making sure that it progresses human existence and does not destroy human existence. [More…]
Australia has to treat uranium as the most important global commodity that man has been challenged to handle and use. [More…]
Uranium has to become a commodity to be handled only by the Government, supplied only by the Government and priced only by the Government. [More…]
Thereafter it becomes a government-owned commodity to be used for electricity generation only by world governments so disposed to accept the uranium on terms that will meet all government safeguards. [More…]
It is only two or three years since it advocated uranium mining and development. [More…]
Look at the left wing links, for example, of the socalled academics who are foremost in this antiuranium campaign. [More…]
If we were to rely upon nuclear energy to produce all the energy that we are now consuming, the whole of the uranium resources of the world would produce less than 10 years supply of energy. [More…]
If we were to spend our energy on scientific research and the technology associated with discovering the secrets of fusion energy we would be in the position of not having to worry about the radioactive waste that will come from the use of uranium. [More…]
One would imagine listening to them that we are losing money by not selling uranium now. [More…]
When the late Mr Connor became the Minister for Minerals and Energy in late 1972 he said to me in the Cabinet room one day: ‘This crowd ‘-and he did not mean the crowd of which he was a member; he was so used to calling the previous Government, the McMahon Government, ‘this crowd’‘had entered into a contract under which they were going to sell all our uranium resources on a long term contract basis at $6 per lb when by 1976 it will be worth $40 per lb and by 1980 it will be worth $100 per lb’. [More…]
I would like to wager the proposition that the pro-uranium lobby that is now spending so many millions of dollars to try to con the media and the public of Australia into the belief that we have some special bounden duty either to the Third World, if that is the argument that the lobby thinks will appeal to the people to whom they are addressing their remarks, or to ourselves because we ought to sell our uranium before it goes down in price, would not be spending a single cent in pushing the point of view it is now putting if uranium were owned and controlled by the Australian people and mined and exported for the benefit of the Australian people. [More…]
The uranium lobby is concerned only with the profits it will make out of uranium. [More…]
People like Sir Ernest Titterton, Baxter and these harlots of the pro-uranium lobby are prepared to sell their souls to the highest bidder. [More…]
I know that Edgar Williams of the Australian Workers Union, who behaves as though he is the AWU, is prepared to poison and distort the genes of the 130,000 of his members to keep less than 2,000 of his members in a job in which they will lay themselves open to death from cancer caused by the radioactive effect of uranium mining. [More…]
Everybody who has studied uranium mining knows that those who are engaged in the industry sell not only their labour but also their lives. [More…]
The honourable member for Mackellar talked about a propaganda campaign that is being run by the opponents of uranium mining. [More…]
Apparently he has not seen the millions of dollars that have been spent by the pro-uranium lobby, by people who respond to the decisions that are being taken in their names from the board rooms of New York and London. [More…]
From what I can gather there are more members of the Communist Party supporting his view on uranium than there are against it. [More…]
In all the statements which were made in Perth and from the statements which have been made subsequent to the Perth meeting it is quite clear that the ban on uranium mining and upon the development of nuclear power was to be long term and was to be permanent. [More…]
The booklet is entitled ‘Uranium, No Bonanza, No Solution to the Economic or the Unemployment Problem’. [More…]
Over and over again in every description of the uranium policy which the Opposition has had it has claimed that uranium contains very little or no real economic benefits. [More…]
It wants uranium to be useless. [More…]
Every opportunity is taken to cry and to complain that uranium and nuclear energy offer nothing. [More…]
Let us look at the mining development and the way in which Australia will, through uranium mining, become a source of energy to the world as, a few years ago, it also became a new source of energy to the world in terms of coal deposits. [More…]
The reasons were similar to the reasons produced in respect of uranium. [More…]
Nothing new has been stated in opposition to uranium mining which was not also stated in opposition to the development of coal mining, that other source of energy and power. [More…]
I have been fascinated also at the contrived despair and the false economics which have been adduced to show that even if we developed uranium mining, even if we developed all that was possible, the effects would be very smallthey would be quite minute. [More…]
So, at least in the first instance, we are looking at uranium mining to assist with living conditions and to support the living conditions of up to half a million people directly. [More…]
Those subsidies will be enabled to be paid because of the viability and the strength of an industry such as the uranium mining export industry. [More…]
The difference of several thousand dollars per worker per year is made up from industries such as uranium mining which will be able to earn the export income and thus enable the transfer to occur. [More…]
This was so beautifully and clearly pointed out by the honourable member for Hawker when he said that uranium mining, the development of nuclear power and the use of uranium as a source of power in Nigeria just had to be, otherwise Nigeria would have gone back to a camel economy. [More…]
They have made charges concerning the price at which uranium is available. [More…]
They have made charges that all the energy needed can be developed by means of solar power and that we do not need to mine uranium to develop power. [More…]
We say that the mining of uranium should proceed, and should proceed carefully and with sense. [More…]
I find that, on an issue such as the development of uranium, truly extraordinary. [More…]
It should nave been expected that there would be persons in the Liberal Party and in the National Country Party of Australia who had reservations about the decision to develop uranium at this time. [More…]
On this side of the House there are differing views about the economic value of uranium development to Australia, to the world. [More…]
What we have unanimity on is the question about the precipitate decision at this time to renew mining and export of uranium from Australia. [More…]
We would have a much better and productive debate in this House if at least some honourable members opposite would concede that that is a genuinely held belief and that persons on this side of the House are not acting as some kinds of stooges and that in the present state of the knowlede that we have of the potentials of uranium development they are convinced that it is too early yet to mine and export this material. [More…]
The question of uranium development is a great area for persons to go shopping for an opinion that suits them. [More…]
The first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry also dealt with this question. [More…]
The honourable member for Lilley, who spoke before me, and who is something of an expert on economics- certainly he interests himself consistently in this House with economic issues- set up the whole question of markets and demands around the world for uranium. [More…]
The requirements for uranium as a source of energy are changing very rapidly. [More…]
They are changing all around the world in the markets which the Government claims are crying out for Australian uranium. [More…]
They are taking stock of this in Germany, which is one of the largest markets that the Government constantly claims is crying out for Australian uranium. [More…]
If those reasons provide any doubt as to the wisdom of this decision, we have to examine very closely the reasons for the Government now moving ahead and its unwillingness to postpone a decision to develop uranium in Australia until such time as the technology is proved and until the processes have become feasible. [More…]
He said again that Australia could not afford to stand aside as a selfish uranium province unwilling to share with the rest of the world this vital resource that would so raise their living standards. [More…]
In its leading article on 26 August, the day after the Government’s decisions were announced, it dealt very clearly with this question in relation to the Third World, the developing nations and their supposed requirement of Australian uranium. [More…]
It is likely, on the other hand, that Australia will have at its disposal as a result of its revenue from uranium more funds to spend on development aid . [More…]
It is putting forward the proposition that the poorer countries are crying out for Australian uranium so that they can develop their standards of living. [More…]
Anybody who reads consistently foreign magazines about energy questions and about questions of market demand will know that the position is as described by the honourable member for Blaxland (Mr Keating), namely, that there is no great demand for Australian uranium at the moment in these developed countries. [More…]
Uranium and nuclear energy mean nothing to developing countries. [More…]
In 1972 the Whitlam Government gave a firm undertaking that export contracts obtained by Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd, Peko-EZ and Queensland Mines Ltd for the delivery of 11,757 short tons of uranium ore would be honoured. [More…]
The Whitlam Government obtained a 42 per cent shareholding in Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. [More…]
The Whitlam Government, in a statement tabled in this Parliament on 31 October 1974, announced a program of large scale uranium development in the Northern Territory of Australia, commencing with the exploitation of the Ranger deposit. [More…]
International assurances have been provided by Ministers that Australia will meet the uranium requirements of our major trading partners which could amount to a total of about 100,000 tonnes of uranium by 1990. [More…]
Australia will ensure that our major trading partnersJapan, Italy, and West Germany- obtain an equitable share of the uranium we have for export. [More…]
Iran would be given access to supplies of uranium from Australia under favourable conditions. [More…]
Since we have taken over the administration of the policy in this area, particularly in respect of uranium, we have said that we intend to export as much of it as we can. [More…]
Uranium exports, in whatever form, could be highly profitable for this country. [More…]
In Brussels, London, The Hague, Paris, Rome and Bonn as well as in Moscow, I consistently asserted Australia’s wish to develop her own enrichment capabilities so that as much uranium as possible should be exported in an enriched form. [More…]
After talks with members of all Japanese political parties, including Communists, over the use of Australian uranium and necessary protective measures associated with it, I am convinced they would only use it for practical purposes. [More…]
It said in Perth that it would place an indefinite moratorium on the mining and treatment of uranium in Australia. [More…]
A future Labor Government will not permit the mining, processing or export of uranium under agreements which are contrary to ALP policy. [More…]
We say to the uranium mining companies that if you go ahead and sink your $250m or so into uranium mining in defiance of Labor policy, then don’t expect any mercy from the next Labor Government. [More…]
All they are doing is totally and absolutely condemning the use of uranium for peaceful purposes. [More…]
They are saying that it ought not to be entering into an arrangement whereby we can mine and export uranium. [More…]
Why have 40 nations with nuclear power programs demanded uranium? [More…]
To sum up, currently more than 40 nations with 2,000 million people have decided that they need nuclear power and will need uranium to fuel their stations. [More…]
An attitude by Australians and by the Australian Labor Party in particular not to export uranium says in effect that we know better than them what they should have and that we are prepared to deny them resources from our country although we are a country which enjoys a high standard of living based on high energy usage. [More…]
Why is the supply of uranium from Australia important to the world’s needs? [More…]
It is important because at this time Australia has a high percentage of the known high grade reserves of uranium ore. [More…]
The mining and export of uranium is the first political issue that has been surveyed in 20 years to which more women are opposed than men. [More…]
More than SO per cent of the women in this country who have been surveyed are opposed to the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
The claim that safeguards in relation to the selling of uranium can be guaranteed once the uranium leaves this country is absolute nonsense. [More…]
Within one week of President Carter’s talking to some of the European political leaders about the need not to sell the fast breeder technology to countries other than those which already had it the Germans and the French said that they were going to proceed to sell the technology to those countries which could supply their uranium in order to maintain that supply. [More…]
They are going to fight against the export of our uranium because it will tie us in to a world in which there is a proliferation of nuclear weapons. [More…]
Honourable members opposite say that we are being greedy because we will not export our uranium to an energy hungry world. [More…]
How much more greedy are they to say: ‘Take the uranium away from here and blow yourselves up on the other side of the world if you like, but we are not doing it.’ [More…]
This has not previously been an expression of concern from the Liberal and National Country Parties in this debate, but tonight they are tearing at the strings of our hearts by asking us to consider how desperately the Third World countries might need our uranium. [More…]
It may be using them by being able to barter to buy the technology by selling its resource of uranium. [More…]
We have not had the advantage of the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by the uranium forum on television, in newspapers and on radio trying to brainwash the people of Australia into believing that there is some enormous advantage. [More…]
We heard a crazy economic argument from the honourable member for Lilley (Mr Kevin Cairns) who said that everybody at Chrysler Australia Ltd in South Australia will be all right and that tariffs will be higher because of the value of the selling of uranium. [More…]
A lot of people in the Labor Party believe it right to mine uranium. [More…]
Many people believe it is right to mine uranium- many people with a lot more knowledge on the subject than Bob Hawke. [More…]
But there are many people who support the Liberal and National Country Parties, who believe it to be terribly wrong to mine and export uranium, not that it is so wrong but that there is time to make a proper decision. [More…]
It seemed quite a simple matter to me a few years ago when someone said: ‘You have the resource of uranium, mine it and export it’. [More…]
I happened to be the organiser for the union at Radium Hill when uranium was being mined and exported from that centre. [More…]
We have an international responsibility and nothing will happen to the uranium if we leave it in the ground until safeguards are provided. [More…]
-The speech made by the honourable member for Port Adelaide (Mr Young) sums up everything phoney about the uranium debate that has been carried on by the Opposition in this House. [More…]
The phoniness of the proposition put by the bomb happy honourable member for Port Adelaide is to try to relate as closely as possible for emotional and I would say totally political purposes our uranium with someone else’s bombs. [More…]
It is a campaign aimed solely at political expediency, a campaign which differs so dramatically from their attitudes when they had the opportunity to state a policy about uranium that could in fact be effected. [More…]
Of course, that suggests that members of the Opposition are less irresponsible in government and strangely enough on this occasion, on the matter of uranium, they were slightly less irresponsible in government than they are now proceeding to be in opposition. [More…]
What is essential to establish if we are to listen to this nonsense coming from the other side of the House is this: What countries that we would be selling our uranium to would not get their uranium but for us? [More…]
Is there any country to which we would be selling uranium to which no one else would sell it? [More…]
The facts are that this material will be available, particularly from those nations which the honourable member for Port Adelaide has just demonstrated to the House are nations which should not have uranium. [More…]
For heaven’s sake, South Africa is a major potential producer of uranium. [More…]
The facts are that the bulk of the terror countries that are being held over our heads as countries that present a threat to us either already produce immense amounts of uranium or are already well and truly committed to programs of nuclear power. [More…]
Yet what does he seek to achieve in this House by preventing our exporting uranium? [More…]
For heaven’s sake, the moral persuasion- and that is the only weapon the honourable member for Port Adelaide is trying to encourage us to use- we will have in the world by refusing to export our uranium will affect only the Western World, those nations that are open to moral suasion. [More…]
The second report of that inquiry, dealing with the principle of whether we should mine uranium, came out on 28 October last year and there has been 10 months for public debate. [More…]
This kind of motion follows clearly the similar pattern of terror that we find throughout the cynical campaign against uranium power. [More…]
I found it fascinating that the honourable member for Grayndler (Mr Antony Whitlam) should have said that this Government’s policy of proceeding with the supply of uranium for nuclear power purposes will do nothing to benefit the underdeveloped nations of this world. [More…]
The facts could be recognised even by people who have an emotional commitment or a cynical political commitment against uranium. [More…]
The simple fact is that uranium provides an alternative fuel source. [More…]
Oil supplies, and consequently the price of oil, would no longer be subject to the pressures that would exist if uranium were not used. [More…]
We have also had church groups writing and attacking our side for having raised the point that the Third World clearly will benefit, not directly but indirectly in terms of the price of their fuel, as a result of the Western world going nuclear and as a result of Australia providing a cheaper source of uranium for nuclear power stations than would otherwise be available. [More…]
There is a risk that this oppressive bureaucracy may well diminish the scope for Australian uranium to meet world demand and for Australian uranium to be developed as quickly as could take place otherwise. [More…]
I said that already I had had more than a fair go on the uranium question. [More…]
However I would suggest to the honourable member for Hotham that if he desires to speak in this debate he should address his remarks to the statements on uranium which are before the House. [More…]
I have said, as the Fox report said, as the Flowers Report said, as the Nader book said and as every shred of evidence on uranium mining anywhere in the world suggests, that there are three facts that have not been denied. [More…]
The first is that uranium mining produces wastes which contain radio toxic materials, which cause cancer and which may cause gene mutations in future generations. [More…]
The second fact is that the wastes from uranium mining last 100,000 years and remain dangerous for 100,000 years. [More…]
No pro-uranium speaker with whom I have debated this issue has denied that. [More…]
Do they really believe that any nation ‘ which buys uranium must necessarily because it has signed a piece of paper stick to its word? [More…]
I am not necessarily against the mining of uranium or the use of nuclear energy. [More…]
It is only proposed that we mine, mill and export uranium. [More…]
Some estimates have to be made of the likely value of uranium. [More…]
Further, that uranium export income will come at a time when our oil imports are rising rapidly. [More…]
Economically, the export of uranium is of great importance to the future prosperity and social welfare of this country. [More…]
In addition, as a minor fact, the export of uranium will create about 5,000 new jobs. [More…]
A minor point which has been raised- I think by the honourable member for Grayndler (Mr Antony Whitlam) and others- is that uranium and nuclear power are not of great importance to Third World countries. [More…]
So by exporting uranium, indirectly we can help the undeveloped world. [More…]
The Fox report suggests and common sense also dictates, that our export of uranium will have no effect on nuclear proliferation. [More…]
The cost of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems is so great that the cost of the associated uranium is trivial. [More…]
Australia, by its export or failure to export uranium, can have no effect on the problem of nuclear proliferation except that by exporting we do have some leverage to tighten up these admittedly defective standards. [More…]
They have manufactured these weapons without any Australian uranium. [More…]
Surely now is the time to use uranium for peaceful purposes, for the benefit of the world. [More…]
The second risk associated with uranium mining is the risk of mining itself. [More…]
In the past we have mined some 4 million tonnes of uranium ore. [More…]
The mining of uranium is very much safer than, for instance, the underground mining of coal. [More…]
We need not concern ourselves that the actual mining or milling of uranium comprises any significant hazard to those involved in it. [More…]
One thing we must bear in mind is that if we become an exporter of uranium we will have the power, in association with other exporters, to impose on the users of uranium proper standards for the disposal of their waste so that in the disposal of that waste they do not affect others. [More…]
I believe we can impose those standards by becoming a uranium exporter. [More…]
It uses uranium about 50 times as efficiently as the existing boiling water and pressurised water reactors. [More…]
For his policy to work- 1 believe it is the proper policy- it would depend upon the free availability of uranium so the present reactors which are in use in more than 40 countries can continue economically. [More…]
If we succeed in creating an artificial shortage of uranium all we will be doing is impelling the world into reprocessing and into fast breeder reactor generation. [More…]
I believe that there are enormous economic benefits to Australia in the exporting of uranium, but there are three moral questions that we must answer. [More…]
We have been attacked by the conservative side of politics and by those who seek to mine uranium. [More…]
It is quite staggering to find not one person on the Government side who has any doubt about the mining and exporting of uranium. [More…]
He said that it was absurd for us not to sell uranium to the countries which he listed because they could get it anyhow. [More…]
The only thing that the Government appears to have going for it is the public opinion poll which shows a marginal percentage of people on its side in respect of uranium. [More…]
So the Government believes that it can create a nice union bashing, Labor Party bashing issue on the question of uranium. [More…]
But when the people of Australia see what is an obvious phoney- they see a government being destroyed by its incapacity to handle the economy, and suddenly it switches the issue to the question of uranium, knowing what the reaction of sections of the trade union will be and knowing that it can create a climate of union bashing- they will see the hypocrisy and the absurdity of this as a major election issue. [More…]
If we are contributing towards that situation by providing uranium which enables nuclear weapons to spread and proliferate I think we should stop doing so immediately. [More…]
I rise to support the Government’s decisions concerning the mining and export of uranium and to oppose the amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr E. G. Whitlam). [More…]
Very early in the public debate that has been proceeding for some time I resolved that I would not come to a final veiw on the subject until after the presentation of the two Fox reports by the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry and after I had had the opportunity of assessing some developments overseas. [More…]
If a decision by Australia not to supply uranium would halt nuclear developments throughout the world i would probably be in favour of a moratorium on mining and exporting in order to resolve existing problems. [More…]
Many countries less stable and with fewer scruples than Australia are already mining and exporting uranium. [More…]
Therefore one of the attractions of nuclear energy to Japan is that she can stockpile or store quantities of uranium very readily. [More…]
Japan believes that if she has some part of that capacity supplied from nuclear sources, some from furnaces fuelled by fossil fuels and some from hydro-electric power, and then tries to diversify the sources of supply of uranium and of the fossil fuels as far as possible she will have provided the greatest possible guarantee against disruption to the sources of supply of any one of those fuels from any one part of the world. [More…]
In Australia when we talk about the environmental problem as it relates to uranium mining and export we think in terms of the waste disposal problem. [More…]
It really is a little difficult to discern it because, as I understand the resolution of the Labor Party Federal Conference, it resolved to have an indefinite moratorium on the mining and exporting of uranium. [More…]
I suggest that the choice we face is not the choice between stopping nuclear developments or encouraging them by mining and exporting our uranium. [More…]
The issue is whether uranium should be mined and exported. [More…]
The Fraser Government is continuing to mislead and confuse the Australian people on the issue of uranium mining and export. [More…]
It is in favour of uranium mining; it is in favour of uranium exports; it wants to go ahead with them whatever happens. [More…]
To my mind it is sinful that any government, including this Government, would proceed to open new uranium mines in Australia and to export that uranium before adequate international safeguards on waste disposal have been established. [More…]
The effects of waste from uranium will not be felt in my time. [More…]
It posesses relatively large uranium reserves. [More…]
The fact which galls me is that this Government has made commitments, urged on by mining lobby, by its spokesmen in this Parliament and by the uranium forum with its false advertisements. [More…]
The uranium lobby’s advertisements were false in many particulars. [More…]
If the members and the Leader of the National Country Party were to canvass the opinion of people in country areas I am certain they would find that those people would say that uranium should not be mined and sold outside Australia until there are adequate safeguards on waste disposal. [More…]
What shocks me is that the Deputy Prime Minister has even suggested publicly that if Australia did not mine and export its uranium Japan would come and take it. [More…]
As my friend the honourable member for Hunter said, it is an insult to the Australian people to suggest that we can be bluffed and bludgeoned into disposing of our uranium for fear that Japan will come and take it from us. [More…]
If it were put to him that Japan would come and take our uranium if we did not sell it, I think that the average Australian would say: ‘Come and have a go.’ [More…]
To try to divert the attention of the people of Australia the Government is coming up with this issue of uranium mining and export. [More…]
It controls a significant proportion of the world’s available uranium. [More…]
It controls 13 per cent of the available and known reserves of uranium. [More…]
I was very interested to read some remarks made by the Leader of the Opposition in his address last weekend when he said the economic benefits from uranium mining would not come for five to ten years. [More…]
The economic benefits from the development of uranium mines would be almost immediate. [More…]
The reconstruction of Darwin has almost been completed and a fillip such as the development of uranium mining would be of immense importance to Darwin and its economy. [More…]
Everyone is aware that there is a violent minority within Australia which is opposing uranium development regardless of a decision of a democratically elected government which has examined the Ranger reports with great scrupulousness and care and has overwhelmingly followed the recommendations of Mr Justice Fox and his fellow commissioners. [More…]
I have noted that, amongst other things, one union leader has said: ‘Violent uranium protesters, mad lunatic elements, want bloodshed, want confrontation. [More…]
They are hypocritical as they say some countries can have uranium’- presumably they are the Communist countries- ‘and not others’. [More…]
I suggest that threats by the executive of the Australian Council of Trade Unions to ban uranium development if there is not a referendum can only encourage them. [More…]
Support of the kind that Mr Hawke has given is only pursuing confrontation and the kind of statement he made in relation to uranium will only encourage those who want violence. [More…]
When we presented the uranium policy decisions it was announced also that we would be looking at the possibility of a secondary tax being applied to uranium development. [More…]
There are also good and wise reasons for looking at the uranium industry in this respect as it is unique and its potential profitability could be very substantial. [More…]
The statement that the honourable gentleman mentioned that we have committed ourselves to sales of uranium regardless of a system in relation to safeguards is grossly misleading and grossly false. [More…]
It goes beyond it in these respects: The customer non-nuclear weapon states must be parties to the nonproliferation treaty involving International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and accept our additional safeguards requirements under the bilateral treaties which they must enter into with us; existing nuclear weapon states must agree that Australian uranium will not be used for military purposes and be covered by IAEA safeguards. [More…]
All of these things must be pursued and pursued vigorously before there can be any possible export of uranium to a particular country. [More…]
If countries cannot meet the safeguards requirements they will not be eligible to buy Australian uranium. [More…]
It is precisely on that ground, the principal ground, that this Government has determined that sales of Australian uranium should be made. [More…]
Countries are going to get uranium. [More…]
Last night I made a speech about uranium and during it I had incorporated in Hansard some figures relating to youth unemployment. [More…]
The sentence that the Leader of the Opposition read out this morning was not in my speech announcing the Government’s uranium decision. [More…]
It appears at page5 of the paper headed ‘Health and Safety Aspects of Nuclear Power Generation’ and at page 4 of the document ‘UraniumYour Questions Answered’. [More…]
Let him tell that to the Aboriginal people who, in addition to losing their lands to the Government’s mining friends and the greedy aspirations of uranium developers, have now suffered a further cut of 16 per cent in real terms. [More…]
How needy are the uranium producers? [More…]
He does not have much interest in the market for butter fat but he is doing everything he can for the market for uranium. [More…]
On the last point it is tragic to see the Opposition acting in such an irresponsible fashion on the long term growth implicit in the uranium decision. [More…]
Virtually every member of the Opposition front bench knows in his heart that the uranium decision is morally and economically right and that a Labor government would have wanted to take the same action but he dares not say so for fear of losing a few votes or, more likely, for fear of the outside forces that control him. [More…]
The trade union movement, the latest anti uranium movement, the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, the Prices Justification Tribunal, and the Industries Assistance Commission are some of those bodies the Prime Minister has sought to blame for his own incompetence and that of his colleagues. [More…]
Will Australia’s policies on uranium development and export be affected in any way by recent discussions and decisions at the British Trade Union Congress on nuclear energy recently reported in the Australian Press? [More…]
I further note that the Trade Union Congress, as that report indicated, backed a full scale demonstration of fast breeder reactors on grounds that there might be a shortage of uranium and that therefore countries dependent on nuclear energy for peaceful purposes would need to conserve what supplies of uranium were available to them. [More…]
I think all honourable gentlemen would know that compared with the fight water reactor a fast breeder reactor makes more efficient use of uranium but, at the same time, takes the country so involved closer to the plutonium economy which is something which has been of concern to this Government. [More…]
It also shows that in the United Kingdom responsible unions, having a considerable number of facts available to them, having a very large number of their members dependent upon energy from nuclear supplies, recognise that countries of Europe need uranium for the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. [More…]
These two matters together emphasise why the ready availability of Australian uranium is important in order to slow down the move towards fast breeder reactors, if that is possible, and to slow down the move towards the plutonium economy, as well as to give Australia the strongest possible voice in the world forums against nuclear proliferation and in favour of proper waste disposal as modern scientific and technological knowledge now makes possible. [More…]
I hope very much that the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the delegates there gathered will take into account what their brothers in Britain have decided and determined on these particular matters, bearing in mind the fact that in Britain jobs are dependent upon uranium. [More…]
We have had the spectacle already of the Uranium Producers Forum communicating with the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) today, and saying that there will be no development of Australia ‘s uranium resources unless all semblances of the tax are lifted. [More…]
The Minister for National Resources (Mr Anthony) mentioned in the Parliament the need for a tax but he said that such a tax would be imposed only on the oil and uranium industries and on no others. [More…]
The Prime Minister apparently says that a tax will not be imposed; the Leader of the National Country Party says that a tax will be imposed only on oil and uranium; the Treasurer is not sure, as usual, what tax applies at present or what the level should be. [More…]
We realise that a tax on the mining industry should be imposed on the totality of the mining industry- not just on uranium and oil, but across the whole range of mineral production in this country. [More…]
There needs to be a tax designed to accommodate the situation in the future with uranium if the Government has its wilful way and those developments go ahead. [More…]
Adequate notice should be given to these industries of the kind of tax, and adequate discussion should take place in the Parliament about the tax, instead of the Government practising sleight of hand and imposing a tax which applies only to the oil industry in Bass Strait and some potential industry in uranium. [More…]
Public statements by Ministers have made clear that the Government has under consideration the question of applying a resource tax to profits from oil and uranium mining. [More…]
For that reason, what the Government proposes by way of discussion with the companies in relation to oil and uranium mining is that the tax will not be an obstacle to development and to general exploration. [More…]
I now turn to uranium. [More…]
The reason goes beyond the ending of cheap oil with the oil price hike in 1973 by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and the consequent revaluing of coal, gas and uranium in a world that is now energy conscious. [More…]
Thirdly, it would tend to guarantee the stability of the companies as coal and uranium would be used more than oil in the fastest growing yet most stable market- electric utilities. [More…]
He claimed in his address to the nation that Mr Justice Fox recommended that no mining or export of uranium should take place until the safe disposal of waste had been solved. [More…]
What Mr Justice Fox and his fellow commissioners said was that the present situation with waste was such that it did not justify a decision by Australia not to export uranium. [More…]
I fear that the Press probably does not appreciate that in this House it is impossible to go into all the scientific and technical aspects of the problems of uranium. [More…]
It would be possible for members to talk in this House on the scientific points of view relating to uranium, but I think it is important that we confine our comments to the political points of view because the effects of the Government’s decision on the mining and export of Australian uranium are essentially political. [More…]
Like so many people on this side of the House I have been through an agonising period in which I have given a tremendous amount of thought to the implications of uranium mining and export, especially because views from both sides have been put so cogently in the Press and other media. [More…]
I must say that throughout my electorate there was general support, even before the decision of the Government, for the principle that we should mine and export uranium, not because it would create more wealth for this country but because it is in the best interests of mankind. [More…]
I must say also that that is the sort of Ulogie that some of the anti-uranium people have tried to put on the people in my electorate. [More…]
We on this side of the House are saying that the selling of uranium will not affect the number of nations which have bombs. [More…]
The nations which want bombs will have them, irrespective of whether Australia exports uranium. [More…]
What has our exporting of uranium to do with whether the Israelis and the Arabs have a conflict? [More…]
Rex Connor, who died last month, was one person who passionately believed in the export of our uranium. [More…]
Why is it that one week uranium is a source of energy that will benefit mankind, and why is it not the next week? [More…]
Professor Baxter said that if less uranium is available in a world in which we are looking for better energy technologies during the interim period when we will try to produce technologies that are far less harmful than the potentials for uranium, there will be more pressure on some of the other energy resources, for instance, on fossil fuels and particularly oil resources. [More…]
He has made the point that if less uranium is available many of our countries will have to depend more and more on oil. [More…]
There are some lucky countries, such as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which have plenty of oil and plenty of uranium. [More…]
That country would be in a position, as oil dried up and as uranium was not available, of having oil and of forcing some of the countries in need of oil to undertake a precipitous act and to go out and get it. [More…]
He has made the point that a shortage of uranium in the interim period before there are alternative sources of energy could mean a world disaster. [More…]
The honourable member for Hotham (Mr Chipp), whose mind I do respect, asks: ‘Do you believe that other nations would always honour the agreements with Australia subsequent to our exporting uranium to them?’ [More…]
I should like to know whether the honourable member believes that in the next 500, 1,000 or 2,000 years-well within the half life of most toxic nuclear fuels- if we do not mine uranium there could not be somebody who, with a shortage of oil, would say: ‘We want that uranium from Australia’? [More…]
The overwhelming view amongst scientists is that we must mine and export uranium. [More…]
The overwhelming view amongst international strategists is that we must mine and export uranium. [More…]
Mr FitzPATRICK (Darling) (9.15)-In my opinion this debate on the ministerial statements concerning the Australian Government’s uranium policy is the most important moral issue that has been debated in this House in post-war Australian history. [More…]
They have told us what a wonderful thing uranium is. [More…]
I want to approach this subject on the grounds of logic because I believe that the mining and export of uranium by the Australian Government without commitments by customer countries to apply effective, reliable and verifiable safeguards does not measure up to the requirements of the Fox Report. [More…]
It is bad enough that we do not have safeguards for the peaceful use of uranium; it is worse that we have no verifiable assurances that our uranium will not be diverted and be used for military purposes. [More…]
No doubt customer countries will pay high prices to use our uranium for peaceful purposes, but it is likely that if they can use it for military purposes they will pay a much higher price for it. [More…]
It is nonsense for honourable members on the Government side to say that the Opposition is scaremongering when it points out the callous deficiencies in the Government’s uranium policy. [More…]
The result will be the same with the Government’s uranium policy. [More…]
The ordinary people of this world and the unborn generations will suffer the conse- quences of any blunders made in the peaceful development of uranium. [More…]
Because nuclear technology in the world is still in the infancy stage, blunders from peaceful development of uranium must take place; they will take place. [More…]
Who can give a guarantee that our uranium will not be used for military purposes? [More…]
Chapters 6 and 7 of the second report provide large amounts of material critical of the proposed uranium rnining projects. [More…]
But I am not aware of one single shred of specific evidence which can point to any person in any part of the world who is suffering a disability or an illness as a result of either the mining of uranium oxide or ore or from being associated with its treatment. [More…]
He worked in uranium mines and he had more than his share of ill health. [More…]
I am not saying that his death had anything to do with uranium, because I had a brother-in-law who worked in the mines. [More…]
I challenge honourable members on the Government benches to produce one man who has worked in the uranium mines for that long, because it is not recommended that people do that. [More…]
In any case, our uranium mines have been worked for 20-odd years only. [More…]
The chairman of the Uranium Producers’ Forum, Mr George Mackay, yesterday flew to Canberra to offer the Liberal Party assistance in any forthcoming election campaign in which the future of uranium mining was at stake. [More…]
The community debate on uranium has in many respects been finalised. [More…]
Over the past two years in particular there has been a large volume of information available to those interested in the use of uranium as an energy resource. [More…]
Many people in Australia have made up their minds that the Government’s decision to allow the mining and export of uranium was correct. [More…]
The whole subject of uranium is complex. [More…]
In Australia both the official and the industry figures include a large proportion of uranium which is both high grade by world standards and is at or near the surface. [More…]
By contrast many uranium deposits in Canada, the United States of America and South Africa are of very low grade, are deep underground, or both. [More…]
Moreover, a considerable amount of the better uranium ores originally present in the United States, France and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics has been used for weapons production via enrichment. [More…]
Although the United States, Japan, France, West Germany and other countries are busily searching for uranium in Brazil, Africa, Indonesia and elsewhere, several years of very extensive and expensive drilling have not yet produced the desired results. [More…]
Accordingly, Australian uranium is extremely attractive to overseas buyers because of its relatively low cost and apparent abundance. [More…]
Depending on what case one wishes to promote, Australian uranium may be regarded as making up 10 per cent of total world resources, 20 per cent of cheap world resources or 80 per cent of uncommitted resources to 1985. [More…]
The Ranger commissioners argue on page 180 of the first report that since no country will really be dependent on Australian uranium until 1985, no great international harm will be done by a moratorium. [More…]
Actually there are customers most anxious to receive Australian uranium before 1985. [More…]
Also, the moratorium might lead to big new uranium finds overseas. [More…]
Another fact forgotten by many anti-uranium proponents is the significant number of nuclear warheads already in existence. [More…]
There are at least two means by which an Australian moratorium on uranium exports might actually worsen the proliferation of nuclear weapons. [More…]
Firstly, the current, possibly artificial, shortage of long term, cheap uranium supplies is prompting big consumers such as Japan, West Germany and France to explore vigorously overseas. [More…]
Their targets are mostly the less developed nations, for example Brazil, whose size alone may almost guarantee the presence of uranium. [More…]
Although nuclear facilities may not be immediately needed in the host countries, the exploring countries are likely to offer technology as they are in Brazil for power reactors, together with enrichment and reprocessing plants, in return for a generous slice of whatever uranium is found. [More…]
Secondly, the pace of developments of fast breeder reactors at least partly depends on available supplies of uranium. [More…]
When uranium is rare as a result of scarcity or export bans the breeder’s sixty-fold utilisation rate of uranium over conventional reactors becomes an overwhelming advantage. [More…]
Whilst it is difficult to gauge the exact effectiveness of an Australian uranium moratorium on nuclear weapons proliferation and terrorism there could well be a beneficial indirect leverage possible on suppliers of sensitive nuclear technology who themselves need large supplies of cheap uranium for power reactors. [More…]
But the question is whether a blanket 2-year to 5-year export ban with its across the board effect on all consumers can be more useful than the Government’s announcement that those nuclear nations not agreeing to improved safeguards and restricted technology transfer would selectively miss out on short term and long term supplies of our cheap uranium. [More…]
The latter course has the advantage of being more credible, of establishing Australia as a nuclear fuel supplier accepted with respect in the world’s decision making uranium forums, of being more effective against dissident countries such as France and of reflecting our international energy responsibilities. [More…]
The proposition that a referendum should be conducted on the uranium issue seems to be an attempt by the Executive of the ACTU to establish a compromise between the extreme views of Labor Party members within the trade union movement. [More…]
The Government has announced its policy and proposed course of action on the subject of mining and export of uranium. [More…]
The Government in May 1977 enunciated its onerous and stringent safeguards for the mining, sale and export of uranium. [More…]
The Government took account of contracts entered into by the Whitlam Government to mine and export uranium. [More…]
The democratic processes have been applied to the uranium debate. [More…]
Television, radio, magazines, daily newspapers and interest group newsletters as well as the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Friends of the Earth, the churches, mining companies, individual commissioners from the Fox commission, scientists, politicians and so on have over the past two years covered all sides of the uranium argument. [More…]
I would like to refer to the 1976 Alfred Deakin lecture by Professor Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet on the subject entitled ‘Uranium: For Good or Evil’. [More…]
He concluded with these words: the one token of sincerity that we can offer is to leave our uranium ores in the ground until the nations of the world can be trusted to use, for good, what they have made a symbol of evil. [More…]
I conclude by expressing a personal hope that the world ‘s countries will honour the trust and will meet their contractual and treaty obligations and responsibilities which the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia will demand in the peaceful use of uranium. [More…]
The uranium issue is emerging as one of the most important world-wide issues of this century, and so it deserves to be since its potential hazards threaten the lives not only of everyone living in the world today but also of all future generations for the next 500,000 years. [More…]
Overseas, the uranium issue has been hotly debated for over a decade and continues to gather momentum as more and more people join in the debate. [More…]
With an issue as important as the mining and export of uranium I believe it is imperative that the Australian people be given a chance to know the full facts of uranium usage, to be given time to consider these facts and eventually to be given an opportunity to decide what course Australia should take in the future. [More…]
Worse than this, since making its notorious decision to give the green light to uranium mining and export, the Government has proceeded to cloud the uranium issue with irrelevant issues such as ‘law and order’ or ‘who is governing the country, the unions or the Government?’ [More…]
The Government is actively provoking demonstrators and unions in the hope that outright conflict will take place so that public attention will be taken away from the real issue, namely, whether or not the Australian people should be given a say in the decision about the rnining and export of uranium. [More…]
The Prime Minister and his Government are so keen to please the multinational uranium producers that they are not willing to allow the Australian people the chance to exercise their democratic rights to decide on the future of uranium mining, because of the risk of the Australian people deciding on a moratorium. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party position on the mining and export of uranium is a very reasonable one. [More…]
It was decided that an effective moratorium was a necessary pre-condition to the Fox Commission’s recommendation for a widespread national debate on the uranium issue to be carried out. [More…]
My belief is that the Government’s account of uranium usage is a vast distortion of the true facts about nuclear power. [More…]
The Government’s stance on uranium is the same as that of the prouranium lobby and in particular the Uranium Producers’ Forum. [More…]
If all the claims that the Government makes are true, why is it that the Uranium Producers’ Forum has laid out vast amounts of money in paid propaganda? [More…]
If all is rosy with uranium, why pay out all that money to convince the Australian people of its worth? [More…]
If there is nothing wrong with uranium, why is the anti-uranium lobby, which is without the benefit of expensive advertising, so strong? [More…]
The industry, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) and Mr Bjelke-Petersen would have people believe that the anti-uranium lobby consists of nothing but young revolutionaries who are badly misinformed about the true facts of nuclear power. [More…]
Any person who doubts the quality of the opposition to nuclear power in Australia should read the transcript of the Ranger uranium inquiry. [More…]
Already too many lies and distortions have entered into the uranium debate, and what the Australian people need most of all are facts so that they can weigh them up and make an informed decision on uranium. [More…]
By that time presently known and inferred reserves of uranium will be bordering on exhaustion. [More…]
Australia has 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the known reserves of the Western world ‘s uranium supplies. [More…]
The uranium miners in this country have predicted a bonanza in profits and export earnings for their mines. [More…]
All the predictions for uranium demand are based on an exponential increase in the world wide population of reactors. [More…]
One is then led to ask- where is this world that is desperately in need of our uranium? [More…]
From the evidence it appears that the uranium producers are in a hurry to mine and export our uranium before the market disappears. [More…]
These facts must be made known and the Australian people must be given the chance to decide for themselves the future of Australia’s uranium reserves. [More…]
Before doing so, I think it is rather interesting to consider the wrangle or argument that is going on within the Australian trade union movement as to whether it will move, transport or mine uranium for export. [More…]
It is not a question of whether uranium will be exported or whether it will be sold; it is a matter of whether the trade union movement will assist. [More…]
Will it admit that it helped in providing that shortage because it would not sell Australia’s uranium? [More…]
Those countries have explored this matter and have developed the knowledge to make sure that uranium is safe to handle. [More…]
When it was in office it signed contracts to sell uranium. [More…]
The fact that it has lost office suddenly makes uranium a dangerous material to handle. [More…]
The Opposition is using this debate on uranium for political means. [More…]
Yet we hear honourable members on the Opposition side saying that if we do not sell uranium this process will stop. [More…]
This country, and every other country of a democratic nature, has political opponents causing opposition to the selling of uranium and the use or nuclear power stations. [More…]
They are going to want uranium. [More…]
I wonder what the Opposition would do if it were in government and the communist countries wanted to buy our uranium. [More…]
Solar energy research has been going on for some time and it will continue because this Government has made a commitment that some of the proceeds from the sale of uranium will be channelled into solar energy research. [More…]
We know and experts in other countries know that the energy produced from uranium will not last forever and alternative sources of energy are being planned now. [More…]
This House rejects the Government’s precipitate decision, without sufficient public debate in Australia and negotiation overseas, to renew the mining and export of uranium by Australia in the absence of: [More…]
1 ) commitments by customer countries to apply effective and verifiable safeguards against the diversion of Australian uranium from peaceful nuclear purposes to military nuclear purposes; [More…]
international safeguards which will ensure that the export of Australian uranium will not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the increased risk of nuclear war; [More…]
The Opposition believes that the subject under discussion now, the Government’s policy on the mining and sale of uranium, is being used by the Government as a stooge in an endeavour to stir up division in this country and create the environment for a law and order election which it can pull on at a minute’s notice. [More…]
All I hope is that the people who are taking part in these demonstrations will terminate their activities immediately and realise that if they do so this Government will be defeated within the next 12 months and uranium mining then will not be a fact of life. [More…]
On the other hand, if they want to bring about the return of the Liberal-National Country Party Government and continue the mining and export of uranium they should carry on with their demonstrations and with performances such as they put on when the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) was at a university a couple of Friday nights ago. [More…]
I come back to the point I made earlier This Government is using uranium as an issue to gloss over its mismanagement of the economy. [More…]
It was said that $25,000m would be the revenue from the sale of uranium and 500,000 jobs would be provided. [More…]
He talked to us about the problems of uranium and radioactive waste. [More…]
As far as the problem of pollution is concerned, the uncertainty about waste disposal was shared by the Ranger Uranium Environmental [More…]
When I read the papers this morning I felt that one of the most important and most scandalous features in any of those newspapers was the report of the visit of Mr McKay to the head- quarters of the Liberal Party of Australia to do a eai about donations to the Liberal Party for the next election if uranium should be an issue. [More…]
There can be no doubt that in any election in the next quarter of a century uranium will be an issue. [More…]
We have observed the way in which the Uranium Forum has used its money in the past month to convince people that the mining of uranium is in the best interests of this country. [More…]
Leaving aside the argument about uranium, it is surprising that the newspapers could bare their souls in this manner- that they could carry a story today about what the Uranium Forum has already told the Liberal Party. [More…]
If the uranium mining interests say: ‘If uranium is an issue we will give you money’, then probably similar undertakings have been made by many other companies which it is common knowledge give large sums of money to the Liberal and National Country Parties. [More…]
There is no end to the amount of money which companies like the uranium companies could pour into the Liberal Party to buy the souls of its members. [More…]
There will be an expose of corruption such as this country has never seen because of deals which are being done by the Liberal and National Country Parties with the uranium forum, the oil companies and the mining companies to try to make sure that they hold their position of power, to make sure they are able to give greater exposure to their policies at the election campaigns, both State and Federal, throughout Australia. [More…]
Mr McKay from the uranium forum ought to take notice that there are people in this Parliament who are conscious of the reform that is taking place in the democracies throughout the world in elections and political campaigning. [More…]
I ask: Has any study been made of the economic benefits to South Australia of development of that State’s uranium deposits? [More…]
Can the Minister inform the House as to the employment opportunities which the development of uranium in that State would provide? [More…]
-One of the exciting events that occurred in South Australia a few years ago was the discovery of uranium at Lake Frome and Mount Painter. [More…]
It is quite obvious that in South Australia there is the potential for significant development of uranium mining. [More…]
It carried out an extensive study of the uranium industry and also of the possibility of establishing a hexafluoride plant and an enrichment plant. [More…]
For reasons which I find a bit hard to understand clearly, the Premier, Mr Dunstan, in about March this year, no doubt because of the influence of some of the left-wing and communist elements in that State said: ‘No, we are not going to take any interest in uranium’. [More…]
But here was a chance, with three uranium deposits which could go ahead subject to environmental study. [More…]
Nowhere does this portray itself more than in the decision not to mine uranium. [More…]
In this House last session I presented a very large report-a report that took two years to prepare in South Australia- on the uranium industry. [More…]
That report said that if Australia went ahead with the development of a complete uranium industry there would be 10,000 jobs for people during the construction stage; 5,000 people would have permanent jobs in the mining operations; 2,000 people would be employed in enrichment and 3,000 people would be employed in research and development. [More…]
This report stated- this was Mr Dunstan ‘s report- that there would be employment for 20,000 people and that directly and indirectly half a million people would benefit from the development of an integrated uranium industry in this country. [More…]
When he talks about those tens of thousands of people who can go to uranium mining in South Australia, he ought to recall that all parties, including his and the Liberal Party in the South Australian Parliament, voted against uranium mining in South Australia. [More…]
As Kenneth Davidson of the Age rightly pointed out this morning, governments and energy planners overseas are turning to more coal-fired power stations and downgrading the role of uranium. [More…]
He pointed out that the Uranium Producers Forum has claimed that the exports of uranium oxide will reach $ 1 , 200m a year in the 1 990s, but he said that coal exports totalled $ 1,300m in 1976-77 and, on the basis of the Joint Coal Board’s projections, the value of coal exports could be in the order of $3,000m a year by the year 2000. [More…]
While Australians divide bitterly over the pros and cons of uranium mining, the overseas giants are quietly increasing their investment in Australian coal. [More…]
An energy resource policy has normally been concerned with the type of fuel that Australia has in abundance- coal, uranium and solar energy. [More…]
The emphasis that is placed on coal, uranium and solar resources as fuel fails to recognise that these suffer mainly from developing and marketing problems. [More…]
Ministers attempt to inflame the uranium debate. [More…]
I have been sandwiched between my friend the honourable member for Sydney (Mr Les McMahon) and that great supporter of uranium rnining and export, the honourable member for Hughes (Mr Les Johnson), who I understand is to follow me in this debate. [More…]
Do you think it is proper for your Party to say it will refuse to honour any new uranium agreements? [More…]
We have made it very plain that we do not think it appropriate, we don’t think it responsible to let Australian uranium go on the world market until there, are in operation safe methods of storing or disposing of the nuclear wasteThere are not at the moment. [More…]
-Is the Minister for National Resources and Minister for Overseas Trade aware of continuing claims that there should be a referendum in Australia as a means of settling the dispute over the mining and sale of Australian uranium for peaceful purposes? [More…]
I think the Leader of the Opposition is fully aware of the complexities which have to be taken into account when assessing whether we should mine and export uranium. [More…]
Some of the complexities one must take into consideration are: Our contractual commitments-obligations which were entered into prior to 1972, which the Whitlam Government said would be honoured and which we said would be honoured; our commitment to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty; the handling of waste material; the further proliferation of nuclear material around the world; the codes of mining and the safety of people involved in the milling of uranium; the environment; national parks; and Aboriginals. [More…]
Apart from the matters I have mentioned, there is the question of supplying the energy needs of countries around the world which desperately need uranium and are looking to Australia to supply it. [More…]
When the Chairman of the Uranium Producers Forum fronts the Liberal Party Secretariat with an open cheque book one day last week and the Government retreats from its position on a super pro/it tax the next day, the people can get a fair idea of who is running the country. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister: Did the Australian Ambassador to the European Economic Community, Dr J. W. C. Cumes as reported in the Age, send a report to the Government stating that any attempts to sell uranium oxide in Europe before 1985 would be counterproductive? [More…]
Do other reports to the Government show that the potential demand for uranium oxide in the mid-1980s in Europe- which is the earliest market- is now down 30 per cent on the levels expected when the Fox report was published last year? [More…]
In view of these facts, does the Government expect the price of uranium oxide to fall heavily by the time Australian mines come into production in the early 1 980s? [More…]
Will the Government now reconsider its stance on uranium and allow a proper debate and time for safeguard development against nonproliferation and waste disposal to be developed before uranium mining is allowed to proceed? [More…]
Some of the earlier estimates of the need for uranium for these purposes were to a degree over-optimistic. [More…]
When I was in Europe one of the first things the countries wished to discuss with me was the position that the Government might ultimately take in relation to the sale and supply of uranium. [More…]
In reply to the honorable member for Blaxland, he said that our uranium will be used for peaceful purposes. [More…]
Would the Prime Minister agree that our uranium could be used for the spread of nuclear weapons and that there are no known adequate safeguards available in the world against the spread of nuclear weapons? [More…]
Many parts of the Fox reports indicated that the hazards associated with various aspects of the operations were not such as to cause Australia to make a decision not to mine or export uranium. [More…]
They are not related to the use of uranium to produce electricity in commercial nuclear power stations. [More…]
The French plant presently operating had produced by 1973 12 tonnes of glass corresponding to the reprocessing of 800 tonnes of natural uranium gas reactor fuel. [More…]
In the last week a new element entered the funding of political parties in this country with the report, not yet denied, that the Uranium Forum spokesman, Mr Mackay, visited the headquarters of the Liberal Party and spoke to the Liberal Party director about the availability of funds from the Uranium Producers Forum to the Liberal Party at any future elections at which uranium is an issue. [More…]
President Nixon was engaged in the Watergate cover-up; this Government is now involving itself m a uranium cover-up. [More…]
Whilst the Government’s spokesmen stand in this Parliament and outside and say that they have given very serious consideration to the question of uranium, it now comes to light that the basis of that consideration is the extent to which the Uranium Producers Forum is going to donate to the Liberal Party. [More…]
Here we have the classic example of the Uranium Producers Forum going to the Liberal Party. [More…]
Is the decision of the Liberal and National Country parties on uranium based on the fact that a substantial financial donation will be made to their campaign funds? [More…]
Are the Liberal and National Country parties ashamed or afraid to admit that they are to get funds from the Uranium Producers Forum to fight the next election? [More…]
If the forecasts of the amount of money that will be made from uranium mining in this country are accurate then the size of the cheque which the Uranium Producers Forum could give to the Liberal and National Country parties is unlimited. [More…]
So the Uranium Producers Forum coming to the party is of national interest to everybody, and it is a national scandal to those of us who say that there ought to be reform of these laws. [More…]
How much of this Government’s uranium decision is based on the fact that thousands and thousands of dollars will come from uranium companies into the Liberal and National Country parties coffers? [More…]
If the Government parties accept the money which has been offered to them by the Uranium Producers Forum- I believe it has been offered to them, and what has been printed in the newspapers has not been denied- they will be guilty of acting in a sectional way. [More…]
That is what Government supporters are saying to the uranium producers to Broken Hill Pty Co. Ltd and Esso Exploration, to Mount Isa Mines Ltd and as they have said in the past to the Bank of New South Wales. [More…]
Why has the Government all of a sudden said: ‘Yes, we are considering a resources tax on the oil industry and maybe the uranium industry but definitely not the coal industry’. [More…]
On what basis is the Treasurer (Mr Lynch) and the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) exempting the coal industry when they are prepared to tax the oil production industry and the future uranium industry? [More…]
You had a hide to bring in a statement on uranium. [More…]
The Fox Commission said that uranium should be developed on a sequential basis. [More…]
The Commission has the good sense to know that there was no real market for uranium, that two uranium mines in Australia spewing out 3,000 tons of produce a year onto the world market would depress prices and destroy what was already a fragile market. [More…]
Just today mention was made at question time about your own representative to the European Economic Community saying that the demand of the European Economic Community for uranium had fallen. [More…]
Why then did you reject the proposals of the Fox Commission for the development of uranium on a sequential basis simply because you want Pancontinental to have access to Australian uranium? [More…]
The ensuing article was headed: ‘Uranium Producers Offer to the Government: Another Resource Tax Lobby Push’. [More…]
Mr Mackay, the Chairman of the Uranium Producers Forum, had the gall to suggest to a journalist at lunch at The Lobby opposite this House that he was going to meet the Secretary of the Liberal Party to see in what way his organisation could offer the Liberal Party and the National Country Party assistance during an election campaign. [More…]
It is significant because this Government at the moment is apparently basing its whole uranium policy on the shortage of energy. [More…]
Now that Australia has become a major uranium exporter will the Prime Minister use the international leverage we thereby acquire to get together with other uranium exporters to present a united front on the general tightening of safe- i guards, particularly with regard to weapons pro.liferation and extending to responsible disposal of waste? [More…]
Will the Prime Minister negotiate with other uranium exporters to ensure that customers who breach safeguard agreements with exporters are denied further supplies of uranium? [More…]
-As a major exporter of uranium Australia will be able to involve itself fully in international forums to work for the objectives implicit in the honourable gentleman’s question. [More…]
For example, if there is any suspicion of a breach of safeguards in relation to uranium supplied from Canada, Australia would regard it as her obligation to support the Canadian safeguard system to achieve the best possible result in relation to non-proliferation. [More…]
In the course of the discussion on the matter of the alleged visit of the Uranium Producers Forum spokesman, Mr Mackay, to the Liberal Party headquarters, it was suggested by an honourable member on the Government side that he should be allowed to incorporate in Hansard a document of about SO pages which had not been shown to the Opposition. [More…]
I am not talking about the people within an electorate who give $2 or $4 or $10; I am talking about the major companies which could be giving $ 100,000 or, in the case of the Uranium Producers Forum, $500,000. [More…]
It took Mr Eggleton a week to deny that he held any discussion with Mr Mackay about donations from the Uranium Producers Forum to the Liberal Party for the next election. [More…]
Of course, the Uranium Producers Forum desperately wants the Liberal Party and the National Country Party to be returned to office because their policy is to mine uranium as quickly as possible with the minimum of debate. [More…]
A month ago statements on uranium were presented to this Parliament by six Ministers. [More…]
Because of yesterday’s events everybody in Australia is entitled to believe that the Uranium Producers Forum has promised money to the Liberal Party-that it is buying the Liberal Party’s policies. [More…]
Until such time as it does that we are going to continue to raise in this Parliament the fact that the Liberal-National Country parties’ policy on uranium has been bought by a massive donation from the Uranium Producers Forum. [More…]
The unions made threats and sought to use blackmail over the uranium issue. [More…]
It was also pertinent to note that during his recent visit to Australia the British Minister for Agriculture, Mr Silkin, made it abundantly clear that uranium would not be a negotiating weapon. [More…]
He in fact indicated that most European countries could not care less whether the uranium was mined or kept in the ground. [More…]
Many speakers, both in this House and in debate across the nation, have attempted to give the uranium issue a moral perspective. [More…]
Uranium could be the issue on which Australia wields more influence in the world than ever before. [More…]
In Brussels, London, the Hague, Paris, Rome and Bonn, as well as in Moscow, I consistently asserted Australia’s wish to develop her own enrichment capability so that as much uranium as possible should be exported in an enriched form. [More…]
The obvious interest shown throughout Europe in Australia as a supplier of uranium suggests that we shall exercise considerable influence in this important area. [More…]
Surely there can be no doubt that, if Australia were to make its uranium resources available, the strengthening of nuclear safeguards would be enhanced. [More…]
Far from hindering the cause of non-proliferation, uranium export, subject to the fullest and most effective safeguards, will place Australia in a position to help the development of an increasingly effective non-proliferation regime. [More…]
By making a determined stance in conjunction with the United States and Canada, remembering that Australia and these two countries hold more than half of the world’s reasonably assured reserves of uranium we can foster the peaceful development of nuclear energy as the principal solutions to the world’s current and foreseeable energy problems. [More…]
Earlier this year, Canada froze uranium exports to Britain, West Germany, Italy and Japan pending the negotiation of stronger agreements on safeguards. [More…]
Uranium exports, in whatever form could be highly profitable to this country. [More…]
The theme was well developed by 1 974 when the then Minister for Minerals and Energy made a statement to this House dealing with Northern Territory uranium. [More…]
My purpose in this statement is to outline the Government’s program for the rational development of uranium resources in the Northern Territory: A program which will return substantial economic benefits to Australia from our supply of this vital energy resource to our overseas trading partners who face such grave difficulties in securing their energy requirements. [More…]
What of the daddy of them aU, the current master of pious pontification on the uranium issuethe honourable member for Blaxland (Mr Keating). [More…]
There is no reason why the price of uranium will not keep escalating and there is no reason why this Government will not allow a maximum return to the people of Australia and the uranium producers of Australia. [More…]
In Perth, in July of this year, the Opposition placed an indefinite moratorium on the mining and treatment of uranium in Australia. [More…]
It means that any company, national or international, which wants to involve itself in a mining process or export of uranium as from this date does so at its own risk. [More…]
Members of the Labor Party are determined to breed fear into the hearts and minds of Australians over the uranium issue. [More…]
If they are genuinely concerned about dangers in uranium mining or export now why were they not concerned in 1972, 1973, 1974, or 1975? [More…]
In an article in the Sydney Sun on 15 May 1977, the Leader of the Opposition wrote a column headed ‘The Crime of Mining Uranium’. [More…]
There has been only one crime committed on the uranium issue. [More…]
Uranium is one of the great emotional issues confronting the country at the moment. [More…]
-It has a lot to do with uranium. [More…]
I am not one who believes that uranium should be kept in the ground. [More…]
In my view we are being very pious in suggesting that we can be the arbitrators about the future use of uranium. [More…]
It may well be that what is now called uranium wil be synthesised. [More…]
He suggested- I am not certain that I necessarily subscribe to his suggestionthat nothing was lost by Australia becoming a seller of uranium at the moment, provided that it put terms on those to whom the uranium was sold. [More…]
We find intruding into the debate now even the suggestion that the mere mining of uranium is dangerous. [More…]
-The debate on whether Australia should supply uranium to overseas countries has been wide and far ranging. [More…]
One of these resources is obviously uranium. [More…]
The Opposition seems to argue that whilst there is a risk, however slight, mvolved in the sale of our uranium, we ought not to proceed. [More…]
Bearing in mind that it will take some years before the newly mined uranium is actually exported and, further, that we possess about 20 per cent of the Western world’s known reserves of low cost uranium, what then is the sort of judgment which the Opposition is asking us to make? [More…]
Can we really say: ‘Look, I am sorry, but because there are some risks in using uranium, and even though the risks may be less than those in driving a motor vehicle, we are not supplying you with this basic source of energy. [More…]
Does the small Australian anti-uranium lobby believe that it knows better than these 34 governments what is best for their peoples? [More…]
The Government has made a well argued thoughtful decision incorporating the most stringent safeguards yet produced to control the future mining and sale of uranium anywhere. [More…]
The question then arises, even if the Opposition’s argument is accepted: What do we achieve by refusing to supply uranium to the rest of the world? [More…]
Would our non-supply mean that people would be more alert to the problems and dangers inherent in the use of uranium? [More…]
The hazards of mining and milling uranium if those activities are properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify the decision not to develop Australian uranium mines. [More…]
The hazards involved in the ordinary operation of nuclear power reactors, if those operations are properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify a decision not to mine and sell Australian uranium. [More…]
While we do not think that the waste situation is at present such as to justify Australia wholly refusing to export uranium, it is plain that the situation demands careful watching and, depending on developments, regular and frequent assessment. [More…]
The Fox report and the information from the Australian Atomic Energy Commission do not seem to support the Opposition’s call for a suspension of the reintroduction of mining and export of uranium. [More…]
It was also stated in the Fox report that if Australia were not to export her uranium, this would have little if any impact on the projected expansion of the nuclear power industry. [More…]
There is also the very serious consideration as to whether a decision not to export uranium could indirectly increase the threat of proliferation. [More…]
If we do not supply uranium, particularly if this puts upward pressure on uranium prices, countries desperate for energy could well intensify their research on the fast breeder reactor and fuel reprocessing. [More…]
It enables about 50 times more energy to be extracted from uranium than does the thermal reactor. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry identified a number of defects in the then existing safeguard arrangements. [More…]
The world requires and demands our uranium. [More…]
-As soon as the Government made its precipitate decision to mine and export uranium the whole purpose of this debate was lost. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry was set up by the Labor Government to investigate the safeguards and requirements that would be necessary if Australia were to enter into the rnining and export of uranium. [More…]
Accusation after accusation has been made by Government supporters during this debate about the Labor Party’s inconsistency in relation to nuclear power and the mining and sale of uranium. [More…]
The same secrecy, the same evasiveness, the half truths are still around now when we talk about nuclear power and the rnining and export of uranium. [More…]
I think it has been fairly well canvassed that the CANDU reactor using natural uranium fuel produces quite an amount of plutonium 239 which is the material used to make a very basic dirty bomb. [More…]
I reiterate that at no stage has the Australian Labor Party been totally opposed to the development of nuclear technology, nor has it been opposed to the rnining or export of uranium. [More…]
-After seven debates on uranium both within and outside the Parliament, I am becoming tired of hearing members of the Opposition trying to use terrifying, stupid, imbecilic tactics on an intelligent nation. [More…]
Thank goodness the British Labour Party had the good, sound sense to understand that following the explosion of the first British atomic bomb there would be a peaceful use for uranium and atomic reactors. [More…]
How could Mr Hawke, with all his stupidity, really believe that in today’s world the Labor Party would say that it would deny atomic energy or the uranium of our country to the underdeveloped nations? [More…]
Of course the Philippines will want our uranium. [More…]
The more I look at those sitting on the benches opposite, the more ashamed I am to think that a person such as Mr Hawke could try to tell us that we should not supply the rest of the world with our uranium. [More…]
They do not care two hoots, as long as they can stop uranium being exported because of their political motives. [More…]
The Australian unions want to stop this nation exporting the uranium which the whole of the world wants. [More…]
In 1956 this nation first set itself the task of establishing proper control of uranium and of controlling where uranium was used in the world. [More…]
All the Australian people want to know is firstly, if we export uranium are we doing anything which would be morally wrong? [More…]
Secondly, if we export uranium are we certain that the International Atomic Energy Agency can police it? [More…]
There was no man more saddened by the baboonery in Britain of the very Left Wing which shouted and yelled at him everywhere he went to make on behalf of the Labour Party a simple statement that the peaceful use of uranium was the best thing for Britian. [More…]
I have always felt very sorry for him because, like many other good, honest Labour people he knew that the use of uranium for peaceful purposes is no problem in the world. [More…]
I believe that there has been something dishonest in some attempts by Government supporters- we have just heard one of them- to widen the uranium debate away from the fundamental issue of safeguards. [More…]
Yes, it is so that uranium development would in the long term have some significant economic benefits for this country. [More…]
We are not suggesting for one moment, in advocating a pause, that there would not be a long term gam if we went in for uranium development. [More…]
But that is not to say that we are going to need the uranium industry. [More…]
Most of us think that there is a regrettable inevitability about the development of nuclear power and most of us recognise the valuable economic benefits which can in the long run accrue from the successful development of all our mineral exports, not only uranium. [More…]
If we had not taken the stand which we have taken, with the help of a valuable conservation movement in this country, I assert that the Liberal and National Country Parties- and unthinking people such as the last person who involved himself in this debate- would have rushed headlong into developing our uranium industry in this country without thinking about safeguards, without reports such as the Fox report, without taking the trouble that has been taken. [More…]
Because we possess 20 per cent to 25 per cent of the world’s known uranium resources and because we are making economic sacrifices and can be seen - [More…]
No one wants our uranium at all desperately at least for the next eight years. [More…]
Until 1985 there is no immediate need for our uranium. [More…]
There are no immediate economic advantages for us which will help us out of our deep economic recession in having such uranium development right now. [More…]
I mentioned that I had discussed this subject recently in Ottawa and I drew to the attention of the House the fact that there is a moratorium right now on exports of uranium from Canada to both the Euratom countries and Japan because they do not think that the present safeguards are satisfactory and they are looking to this country to be an ally in ensuring better safeguards. [More…]
-I rise in this debate this evening to support the Commonwealth Government in its decision in relation to the mining and export of uranium oxide. [More…]
If we are to say our best customers ‘go elsewhere to get your uranium oxide’, I imagine that a large powerful country Uke Japan will do exactly that, think there might be some people in Tokyo who would get out their little black book and put a couple of ticks against us and say: ‘Well, there will come an opportunity one of these days for us to remind them that you have given us unfriendly treatment on this matter’. [More…]
Anyway, conferences have nothing to do with uranium oxide, any more than they have to do with fish and chips. [More…]
When the nine reasons set out for proceeding with the contracts for the export of uranium oxide are clearly understood the people will accept them. [More…]
I frankly think that the average Austraiian is more interested in that sort of wisdom and sagacity than in a lot of the emotional claptrap which is being uttered about uranium and which could lead to violence of which any reasonable and respectable person would be thoroughly ashamed. [More…]
Uranium is the basic starting point of politics in Australia. [More…]
Uranium does that in an even deeper and more comprehensive way. [More…]
The threats of uranium and its uses demand a replacement of the whole materialist, mechanical, scientific, consuming society and its contradictory and inhuman values. [More…]
The mining and export of uranium means inevitably the proliferation of thermo-nuclear bombs. [More…]
Those who accept the mining and export of uranium- the whole process of it- had better face up to that point to begin with. [More…]
Acceptance of the process of uranium and of thermo-nuclear bombs, which are an inevitable part of it, is the ultimate insanity of human history. [More…]
The mining and export of uranium involves a process which cannot safely be coupled to the potential for human violence that actually exists m the world today. [More…]
No society that produces these statistics of violence can be trusted with the most violent force of alluranium and its products. [More…]
The mining and export of uranium involves a process which threatens the destruction of all forms of life on this planet. [More…]
The existence of the threats of uranium demands a rejection of its use. [More…]
The existence of the threats of uranium demands a new society. [More…]
It involves a radical change in the basic values of those societies which have produced uranium and made it into a threat to human survival. [More…]
An essential part of the basic values of these societies which have produced uranium and the threat of it consists of religions whose supreme and sacred value is externalised above and outside human life. [More…]
No, the existence of uranium demands not only its rejection as a source of energy but also a replacement of the basic values of the acquisitive violent, predatory society which has produced it and in which we are trying to live. [More…]
Alienation consists of the inability we as a society have to govern ourselves or to deal with vital issues such as uranium. [More…]
Finally, I want to summarise a couple of aspects of the uranium question. [More…]
The uranium economy if it continues with its present intensity will be the graveyard of democracy because the uranium economy is the ultimate centralisation of power in human society. [More…]
The uranium economy is already the police state in action. [More…]
The uranium economy is the ultimate in human greed for power and money. [More…]
Uranium is the ultimate threat to human survival. [More…]
For all these reasons uranium and its implications present the most radical difference between the Opposition and the Government, as did the war in Vietnam and it should be remembered that it was the opposition position in relation to that war which finally prevailed and was recognised as the true position. [More…]
That will be so in the case of uranium as well. [More…]
Of all countries in the world Australia’s currency and the balance of payments, founded as it is on our strong export position, our traditional exports of wool and wheat and also our massive exports of minerals, iron, coal and future exports of uranium. [More…]
We have no uranium available, unhappily. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) and the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) have made it clear in recent times that any secondary profits related tax which may be introduced by the present Government will be applicable only to petroleum and uranium, completely exempting the coal industry. [More…]
Thirdly, it would tend to guarantee the stability of the companies as far as coal and uranium were concerned. [More…]
Sixteen have bought into uranium. [More…]
We have talked about a tax on uranium. [More…]
I refer him to a telegram that he has received from the Northern Lands Council protesting at works projected at the Ranger uranium mine site in the immediate future. [More…]
The honourable gentleman will know that the Government has made its decisions concerning the mining and development of uranium- I should say ‘the continued mining and export of uranium’ because some people fail to appreciate that this has been going on for about IS or 20 years so far as Australia is concerned. [More…]
The Government has followed very closely the decisions of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry and its recommendations. [More…]
How many times have I heard challenges from the Opposition for us to go to an election on the uranium issue or on anything? [More…]
The Australian Council of Trade Unions has led to speculation about an election by calling for a moratorium and laying down a time by which we are to give a definite answer as to whether we will call a referendum on the uranium issue. [More…]
Uranium: Failure of Government Analyst to give Evidence to Ranger Inquiry (Question No. [More…]
Following the Government’s decision on uranium mining and export the matter of monitoring arrangements in the Alligator Rivers Region will be considered by the Supervising Scientist and the Co-ordinating Committee as part of their responsibilities in the formulation of measures for environmental protection in the Region. [More…]
Mr Justice Fox was the Presiding Commissioner of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry established by the previous Administration. [More…]
He will also give policy advice to the Government respecting bilateral safeguards agreements and on the non-proliferation aspects of commercial contracts for the sale of uranium. [More…]
Mr Justice Fox, with his background and experience in this field- so well demonstrated by the breadth and quality of the reports of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry- has indicated that he is prepared to accept this task, a task which is most important for Australia and I venture to say for the wider international community. [More…]
I remember that when I approached him in July 1975 to be the Presiding Commissioner of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry and urged upon him how seminal and crucial it was that such an inquiry should be for all environmental issues, particularly one which had such great national and international importance, he gave very careful consideration before accepting the Labor Government’s commission to conduct the Inquiry. [More…]
Australia could not be better represented at these important international meetings than by Mr Justice Fox, who, I believe, already has secured the respect, indeed the admiration, of all sections of the Australian community and of many people overseas for the way that he conducted the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
I wish our new Ambassador all the best in the very difficult task of ensuring that when we sell our uranium to the world which desperately needs it that we, as a nation, will be part of the worldwide scene. [More…]
This is one area in which we, as a nation with 20 per cent of the world’s uranium resources, Will be able to assist. [More…]
I mention our mineral exports to Japan, their carriage and price; currently negotiations on sugar and beef; negotiations which will shortly take place relating to the 200-mile fishing zone around Australia and, in all probability on the terms under which Austrafia will make uranium available to that country. [More…]
The Prime Minister also demonstrated his total disinterest in the welfare of Aborigines when he announced that the Government would not insist on sequential development of uranium mines in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Because of the new uranium discoveries the Aborigines no longer can call this barren land their own. [More…]
Of course, uranium has been found there. [More…]
We have seen evidence of this in the last few days in relation to the Ranger uranium mine at Jabiru in the Northern Territory. [More…]
I want to consider firstly the attitude of Aboriginal people at Oenpelli and Mudginberri who are directly affected by the uranium mining project. [More…]
There is no doubt that the uranium exploration has disturbed the Aboriginal people in the Alligator Rivers area. [More…]
Every member who goes to that area would know that the same problem would be multiplied over and over again if the Ranger proposal proceeded in the way that honourable members opposite seem to be carrying on now in their rush to get the uranium out of the ground because they think they might lose sales eventually through changing technologies in the world. [More…]
The scene at the Border Store was an example of why Aboriginals oppose uranium mining. [More…]
The evidence before us shows that the traditional owners of the Ranger site and the Northern Land Council (as now constituted) are opposed to the mining of uranium on that site. [More…]
The Aboriginals oppose uranium mining for a number of reasons. [More…]
The Fraser Government will violate the wishes of the Aboriginal people and transgress the recommendations of the second Ranger report if it does not prevent the preparatory work at the Ranger uranium site in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The full justification for what we have done in this area comes from the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
Regrettably, both the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr Uren) show no understanding of the significance of the establishment of land councils and the role of the Northern Land Council in respect of the mining of uranium and the working out of the Government’s commitment to implement the Ranger Inquiry recommendations in respect of Aboriginals. [More…]
When a question arose the other day about the Government’s intention with regard to consultation over the mining of uranium I sent a telegram to James Golaroi Yunupingu, the Chairman of the Northern Land Council. [More…]
I tried to telephone you this morning without success because I wanted to reassure you on the Government’s intentions to consult with traditional owners through the NLC on matters involving Aboriginal interests following uranium mining decision. [More…]
1 ) The areas involved are more particularly explained in paragraphs 1 and 4 of Chapter 16 of the Second Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, under the section headed ‘Proposed Strategy’. [More…]
-The random, ad hoc nature of the Government’s uranium policy emerges with crystal clarity from its policy for the Mary Kathleen uranium mine. [More…]
The Government’s so-called loans to Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd actually are grants because there is no prospect of repayment. [More…]
Instead of making its recent grant to Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd of $9m, the Government would have been much better off giving each of the 300 workers at Mary Kathleen $30,000 severance pay and then closing the mine. [More…]
At the time of the advent of the Labor Government late in 1972, Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd had contracts for the supply of about 4,800 tonnes of yellowcake, but Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd needed contracts for the remaining 2,000 to 3,000 tonnes of uranium in its reserves to have any chance of making the mine profitable. [More…]
The Labor Government’s decision that no new uranium contracts be approved until Australian [More…]
Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd is now losing money at the rate of $ 16m a year. [More…]
Based on the trading figures over the last six months, a conservative estimate would be that Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd would have to get $46 per lb of yellowcake to make the mine profitable. [More…]
That is over $10 per lb more than the current world contract price for uranium. [More…]
The ore reserves of Mary Kathleen Uranium have recently been downgraded by 10 per cent. [More…]
The loss will be greater this year, but recently Mary Kathleen Uranium secured a further $9m long term loan from the Fraser Government and an $ 1 1 m loan from Conzinc Riotinto. [More…]
Eighteen months ago the Fraser Government tried to sell the Atomic Energy Commission’s 42 per cent equity in Mary Kathleen Uranium. [More…]
Now it is giving to Mary Kathleen Uranium loans that cannot be repaid. [More…]
It is too easy to say that CRA is concerned about its reputation in meeting existing contracts, particularly for Australian uranium. [More…]
Conzinc Riotinto knows that with the continuing world-wide cut-backs in the nuclear power industry, the real profits in the future will be from coal, not from uranium or nuclear power. [More…]
The Fraser Government hopes to use any industrial confrontation resulting from the shipment of uranium yellowcake as an excuse for calling an election. [More…]
If anybody has any doubt about what I say, I ask the Australian Financial Review and any other of these so-called responsible newspapers which look at the question of inefficient manufacturing industries to turn their attention to the inefficiency of this uranium mine, this political mine, at Mary Kathleen. [More…]
We on this side of the House find it difficult to decide just who speaks for the Opposition on uranium mining policy. [More…]
We saw the Leader of the Opposition (Mr E. G. Whitlam) under attack in his own party because of ill-considered and, quite frankly, irresponsible statements about East Timor and uranium. [More…]
If he does think that way- and I am quite sure he is supported by all the members of his party- he should tell the president of the Australian Labor Party, Mr Hawke, just what is the policy of the parliamentary Labor Party because Mr Hawke has issued an ultimatum to the Commonwealth Government that unless a referendum is held within 2 months there will be no exports of uranium from this country and there will be no mining of uranium in this country. [More…]
That is mainly because the Government is operating on the foolish premise that it can go to the EEC and talk trade negotiations, the trade-off being uranium exports from Australia. [More…]
I suppose it has now been clearly realised by the Government that there is no early market for uranium in Western Europe, particularly in the EEC. [More…]
There is no card to play in terms of any resources diplomacy or trade-off, call it what you like, against uranium exports from Australia. [More…]
The notion of Australia marching into this area, with a special trade negotiator talking about a trade-off with uranium to get concessions on agricultural imports from Australia, is a fairly foolish notion. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister chided the Opposition in the House today about the honouring of existing uranium contracts with [More…]
I imagine that the whole of the Australian people will applaud the principle involved in curbing the exploitation of God-given natural resources by private enterprise, whether those resources be coal, uranium, iron ore, zinc, lead, tin, silver copper or whatever. [More…]
I do not dare mention that curious mineral called uranium. [More…]
Certainly our international reputation is very much at stake with the threatened uranium ban. [More…]
My question, which is directed to the Deputy Prime Minister, relates to the production of uranium at Mary Kathleen. [More…]
Honourable members know that the Government has invested about $ 1 lm in Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd which it will be unable to get back for the Australian taxpayers. [More…]
Is the Minister aware that Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd has contracted to supply 4,800 tonnes of yellowcake by 1985? [More…]
Is he aware also that Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd is operating at a production rate of only 400 tonnes a year, when its production target under its existing contracts this year is 948 tonnes? [More…]
Will the uranium be supplied from the existing stockpile at Lucas Heights or will the Government purchase the uranium overseas, as set out at page 64 of the Fox Commission report? [More…]
Why should the honourable member express concern as to whether the contracts will be fulfilled when his objective is to see that this Government completely dishonours its commitments and undertakings to people who are expecting it to supply that uranium? [More…]
Is it a fact that in the last two years the Government and Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Ltd have put $26m into the Mary Kathleen uranium mine; that within the last few weeks $20m has been sunk into that mine by [More…]
Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd and the Government; and that of that amount the Government made $9m available none of which will ever be regained by the Government? [More…]
The Labor Party ensured that the Goverment bought into and took part ownership in that mine, and it also gave encouragement to CRA to open the mine so that we would have a uranium industry as part of our overall development including the developments at Ranger and other mines in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Of course, the honourable member who asks the question is not concerned about the profitability of uranium; all he is concerned about is that we have no development but have the maximum tension, irritation and embarrassment with our trading partners, thus putting Australia in the worst possible position in the eyes of the rest of the world. [More…]
Australia, as it has now become, under the Government’s decision, a significant supplier of uranium for peaceful purposes on a continuing basis, will be able to act with authority and strength in those international forums. [More…]
That is obviously one area in which Australia will be able to exert a greater than normal influence because of its position as a supplier of uranium. [More…]
It is worth noting, I think, that our own safeguards in relation to non-proliferation and the sale of Australian uranium for peaceful purposes are in effect the most stringent and strongest in the world. [More…]
It is a matter of acting in a responsible international manner to make sure that if there were a breach of safeguards in relation to the supply of Canadian uranium, for example, the customer involved would not be able to come running to Australia or to another supplier to make up for what was not supplied from Canada. [More…]
The conflict which exists in that party in relation to the subject of uranium bears testimony to my comments. [More…]
They are well advanced in the centrifugal method of the enrichment of uranium. [More…]
If we are to proceed with the mining and export of uranium, it is only natural that there should be further upgrading so that we receive the maximum benefit. [More…]
It is also interesting to note what utter confusion there is within the Labor Party on its uranium policy. [More…]
In the Australian Labor Party’s platform there is a clause which supports the enrichment of uranium in Australia. [More…]
Of course, the Labor Party had a lot of other policies while it was in office which dealt with uranium but now it is in Opposition it looks as though the Leader of the Opposition has lost control of his Party to the left wing influences which are doing their level best to stop development of uranium and to exacerbate relations with our trading partners. [More…]
The Prime Minister’s uranium policy will ignore the dangers of proliferation and the deadly risks associated with the storage of radioactive material. [More…]
He will ignore the rising public opinion against the mining and export of uranium because he hopes to be able to force an election now on false issues and to be able to have another three years after the end of this year in order to defy public opinion and to treat the public with utter contempt. [More…]
It decided on a ban on uranium, a repudiation of contracts, endorsement of a centrally planned economy with strong government intervention at all levels and endorsement of considerably increased taxation to pay for social objectives. [More…]
When in government the Australian Labor Party was quite adamant that it would allow the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
Since we have taken over the administration of the policy in this area, particularly in respect of uranium, we have said that we intend to export as much of it as we can. [More…]
Those uranium deposits which do not concern Aboriginal lands and the mining of which complies with proper environmental conditions into which public inquiries are about to take place will of course be available for export and in due course for processing within Australia. [More…]
It is significant that this Government, after considering and implementing all the major recommendations of the Fox report, has decided to allow the mining, milling and export of uranium under the most stringent controls. [More…]
Did he say on 10 March 1977 that a task force had been set up in his Department to monitor the uranium debate. [More…]
-Is the Prime Minister aware of a memorandum of understanding that was signed between the Whitlam Labor Government and the Ranger uranium mining company? [More…]
Clearly, the Labor Government wanted to have mining proceed and uranium exported. [More…]
two years ago you signed a statement that you’d like to see uranium mined . [More…]
In fact, I ask that the whole of the answer I gave to the question on uranium on This Day Tonight last night be incorporated in Hansard. [More…]
The request now from the Leader of the Opposition is that the whole of the answer in relation to uranium be incorporated in Hansard. [More…]
The Leader of the Opposition has sought to have incorporated in Hansard that portion of his answer in a television interview which related to uranium. [More…]
two years ago you signed a statement that you’d like to see uranium mined . [More…]
The parties to this memorandum desire to procure the development and mining of uranium ore deposits in the Ran6^- Project area in the Northern Territory and the production and sale of uranium concentrate from that ore. [More…]
the report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry; [More…]
the development and mining of uranium ore deposits on behalf of Australia in the Ranger Project area; [More…]
the construction, operation and maintenance of a uranium ore treatment plant for the production of uranium concentrate and other agreed mineral products derived from ore mined in the Ranger Project area; [More…]
the delivery to Australia of uranium concentrate produced from the uranium ore treatment plant; [More…]
Shall provide to the Commission as a joint venturer without charge all information and technical data in their possession or in the possession of Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd (RUM) with respect to the Peko-EZ Ranger joint venture. [More…]
The Ranger Project shall continue in force during the economic life of the uranium ore deposits in the Project area. [More…]
have an initial annual capacity of not less than 3,300 short tons of U,Og in uranium concentrate conforming to the quality specifications of Allied Chemicals Corporation, U.S.A.; and [More…]
The uranium ore deposits in the project area shall be progressively developed and mined (commencing with the Ranger Number One ore body). [More…]
All uranium concentrate produced at the treatment plant shall be delivered to the Commission as agent of Australia. [More…]
Subject to paragraph (d ), Peko and EZ shall each be entitled to receive the net annual annual proceeds of the sale of 25 per cent of the uranium concentrate produced by the Ranger Project. [More…]
In any year in which uranium concentrate produced by the Ranger Project- [More…]
is applied to replenish drawings by Peko or EZ from Australia’s stockpile of uranium concentrate, an appropriate adjustment shall be made to the entitlement of Peko and EZ to share in the net annual proceeds of sales (see Clause 9 below ). [More…]
The net annual proceeds of sale or uranium concentrate produced by the Ranger Project shall consist of gross proceeds of sales less the costs of mining, milling and selling the uranium concentrate. [More…]
All future sales of uranium concentrate produced by the Ranger Project shall be effected by the Commission as agent for Australia. [More…]
Subject to the stockpile requirements referred to in Clause 8(a) and (d) herein, the uranium concentrate output of the project shall be sold at least at world market prices with the object of maximising profitability and cash flow on a continuing basis. [More…]
Prior to the decision to commence construction of the project, the Commission shall use its best endeavours to sell sufficient uranium concentrate output of the project to facilitate appropriate financing arrangements by Peko and EZ to enable them to meet their obligations under Clause 5 (a) (i) and (ii) and Clause 6 (a) above. [More…]
All minerals products, other than uranium concentrate produced at the treatment plant, shall be sold by Peko and EZ on behalf of the joint venturers. [More…]
If the Commission withholds uranium concentrate from sale on the market for commercial reasons and thereby causes an increase in the holdings of Ranger uranium concentrate above the maximum level specified in paragraph (a) above, the Commission will inform Peko and EZ of the fact and Peko and EZ may request the Commission to oner for sale at the prevailing world market price that share of the Ranger production the net proceeds of the sale of which they are entitled to receive. [More…]
In the event that in the national interest Australia withholds from sale uranium concentrate produced by the Ranger Project, an arbitrator shall be appointed to decide what compensation, if any, but not exceeding world market price, should be given by Australia to offset the adverse financial effect on Peko and EZ resulting from this action. [More…]
Until the treatment plant is in commercial production, uranium concentrate of the necessary quality shall, to the extent required, be made available to Peko and EZ from Australia’s existing stockpile to enable them to meet their obligations to Japanese utilides under contracts approved prior to the date of this Memorandum of Understanding. [More…]
Where a quantity of uranium concentrate is made available to Peko or EZ (the borrowing company) from Australia’s stockpile for delivery under an approved contract referred to in paragraph (a) above, the borrowing company in consideration of such action by Australia snail within seven (7) days after the due date for each payment under the contract pay to Australia a fee equivalent to the amount payable to the borrowing company under the contract less deductions for freight, insurance and selling commission (not exceeding in the aggregate 5 per cent of the payment) payable by the borrowing company. [More…]
During each year of the five-year period commencing on the date of completion of full scale commissioning of the Ranger plant, Australia shall be entitled to retain for its own purposes up to five hundred short tons of the uranium concentrate produced at the plant, provided that the aggregate amount so retained shall not exceed the total amount of uranium concentrate made available from Australia’s existing stockpile in accordance with paragraph (a) above. [More…]
Operating costs in respect of the production of that uranium concentrate shall be borne by the Commission to the extent to which such costs do not exceed the relevant fee referred to in paragraph (b) above. [More…]
If such operating costs are less than the relevant fee referred to in paragraph (b) above, Australia shall, subject to paragraph (j) below, pay to the borrowing company an amount equal to the excess of the relevant fee over the operating costs in respect of the production of the uranium concentrate appropriated and retained by Australia pursuant to paragraph (c) above. [More…]
Once the treatment plant commences commercial production following completion of full scale commissioning, Australia will make available to Peko and EZ, out of the production of the Ranger project, uranium concentrate of the necessary quality to meet obligations to Japanese utilities under contracts approved prior to the date of this Memorandum of Understanding. [More…]
(0 Peko and EZ shall pay to Australia in respect of uranium concentrate referred to in paragraph (e) above, an amount equal to operating costs in respect of that production. [More…]
Until the contractual obligations of Peko and EZ have been fully met, Peko and EZ shall only receive from the joint venture the excess of sales revenue over operating costs and selling costs in respect of the tonnage by which one-half of Ranger project uranium concentrate production in each year exceeds the tonnage of uranium concentrate made available to Peko and EZ in such year in accordance with paragraph (e) above and the tonnage retained by Australia in accordance with (c) above. [More…]
If at the end of the period referred to in paragraph (c) above, insufficient uranium concentrate has been produced at the plant to enable Australia to fully exercise its entitlement under that paragraph the entitlement of Australia to appropriate and retain for its own purposes up to five hundred short tons of the uranium concentrate produced at the plant in each year shall continue until the aggregate amount retained pursuant to paragraph (c) and to this paragraph equals the total amount of uranium concentrate made available from Australia’s existing stockpile in accordance with paragraph (a) above. [More…]
Operating costs in respect of the production of uranium concentrate retained by Australia pursuant to this paragraph shall be paid in accordance with paragraph (d) above but, to the extent that the relevant fee referred to in paragraph (b) above exceeds such operating costs, Australia is entitled to retain that fee. [More…]
-The whole of Australia is aware of last weekend’s great rallies against uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
They also know the fate of the anti-uranium rally in Queensland. [More…]
I am deeply concerned about what has happened to the Queensland citizens who rallied to oppose uranium mining. [More…]
People who oppose uranium mining and export are people of peace and of community. [More…]
One was the uranium issue; the other was their loss of freedom. [More…]
I ask: In view of the strong calls for wide public debate on the mining and sale of uranium, can the Minister inform the House of recent progress regarding such public debate? [More…]
I think one of the most interesting remarks was the reaction of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to the comments made by Dr Mabon, who was in Australia to have talks with me, with the Government and with people from the uranium industry. [More…]
What 1 am trying to say, particularly to our trade union friends in Australia, is that they really must understand that uranium for us is extremely critical for the wellbeing of the working people in Great Britain. [More…]
This is where the Labor Party is in a confused, contrary situation so far as uranium is concerned. [More…]
Might I add also that Dr Mabon was in Australia to talk very seriously about a long term uranium contract with the United Kingdom. [More…]
He was canvassing the possibility of a contract from 1982 to 1995 for one thousand tonnes of uranium a year, worth $ 1,200m to Australia. [More…]
This contract, of course, would guarantee to the United Kingdom during that period the supply of uranium so that the British Government can help the working people of England to remain employed. [More…]
Can the Minister inform the House whether any progress has been made in talks with the British delegation led by the British Minister of State in the Department of Energy, Dr Mabon, in regard to the supply of uranium? [More…]
First, Dr Mabon ‘s statement made clear what is deliberately being obscured by Labor in this country- that the question of the export of uranium need not be and should not be reduced to a party political or ideological issue. [More…]
Quite frankly, the perspective of men like these, men who need no lectures from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition on Labor principles, is light years away from that of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition who tries to reduce uranium merely to an election issue. [More…]
They are the people who allegedly recognised the overwhelming strength of the case for exporting uranium. [More…]
Heads of government in Europe, the United Kingdom, Germany and other countries expressed a keen interest in supplies of Australia’s uranium. [More…]
They wanted to know when the Government would make firm and final decisions concerning the continued mining and export of Australian uranium. [More…]
When we recall, as my colleague the Foreign Minister did, the circumstances in which the Leader of the Opposition and, as I understand it, Mr Hayden and Mr Hawke did not speak in the uranium debate during the Perth conference, how seriously can we take their attitude to be? [More…]
It was not based on greed or the expansion of nuclear war, as is the Government ‘s uranium policy. [More…]
A Labor government would welsh on the uranium contracts. [More…]
It is the fervent wish of many of us that the parallel industrial relations legislation- I refer to the Industrial Relations Bureau- will smash waterside workers union bans on such things as wheat shipments to Chile and Indonesia, livestock exports and uranium exports. [More…]
On This Day Tonight he flatly denied that two years ago he had signed a statement that would lead to the continuation of uranium mining. [More…]
They include the Alcoa refinery project in Western Australia worth $650m; the Comalco smelter at Gladstone project worth $300m; further Bass Strait exploration which is worth about $200m; the Ranger uranium development which is worth $250m, and of course there is the North West Shelf development which is worth $2, 500m. [More…]
The Government’s policy, of course, is that export of uranium under any future contracts should be subject to bilateral agreements as described in detail in the Prime Minister’s statement of 24 May. [More…]
It has a smaller bonanza of uranium at Mary Kathleen. [More…]
We have in Australia about 1,850 million barrels of oil, about 5,500 million barrels of gas, 63,000 million barrels of uranium and 77,000 million in coal. [More…]
I believe that in the years ahead it will become a reality because of the world energy crisis, because of the rising costs of Middle Eastern oil on the world market and because of the fears of people as to the use of uranium. [More…]
They are worried about the disposal of the uranium waste after the uranium has been used in atomic power stations. [More…]
The alternative, of just pretending that these matters do not exist, of pretending there are no problems, of pretending that countries like Britain do not need uranium for peaceful purposes, is an idle and foolish policy and one which would be doomed to disaster and to destroy whatever influence Australia might have in forums which are important to all of us. [More…]
two years ago you signed a statement that you’d like to see uranium mined . [More…]
She was listening to the Senate today and heard a senator say that in Perth two years ago you- that is myself- signed a statement that you’d like to see uranium mined and she would like some clarification from you on that. [More…]
The implications for Australia’s policy on uranium production and nuclear safeguards of the views of Mr Justice Fox released yesterday. [More…]
There is no restriction upon mining and supply of uranium which can give the slightest security against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. [More…]
-Before the suspension of the sitting I was saying that no denial of uranium would possibly prevent the dangers of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. [More…]
The concentrated uranium isotope 235 will be equally, or perhaps even more, efficient for that purpose. [More…]
I can assure the House that anybody who thinks that by stopping the mining of Australian uranium or by stopping the development of nuclear power he is thereby impeding the processes of proliferation of nuclear weapons is very much astray. [More…]
For that purpose, we have to ensure, as President Carter himself points out, that there are ample uranium supplies. [More…]
If we are not going to process the spent fuel rods- if we are going to store them- in the interim we will need much more uranium. [More…]
Secondly, if we are to have a proper plan to give nuclear energy to those people who will starve without it- the world s population is doubling every 35 years- we will have to make available the necessary uranium for the nuclear energy program to proceed. [More…]
The fact that we probably have the tightest safeguards policy in the world today is ready evidence that we are not out on a mad grab for sales of uranium but that we want to influence people to tighten their safeguards. [More…]
Can honourable members opposite really justify their fanciful nonsense that by opting out of selling uranium we would have more influence over those safeguards? [More…]
Twenty per cent of the Western world’s known reserves of uranium are in this country. [More…]
The bilateral measures that Australia is taking, together with the existing multilateral arrangements, will unquestionably, adequately and effectively guard against misuse of Australian supplied uranium. [More…]
The Opposition, from its vantage point at the heights of confusion, represents the safeguards that would apply to all delliveries of Australian uranium under future contracts as being the same as those that the Ranger inquiry criticised. [More…]
It is time for it to realise that this Government has strengthened the safeguards arrangements to apply to deliveries of Australian uranium under future contracts. [More…]
In the past the Opposition has claimed that the incentive towards safeguards comes not by supplying uranium but by withholding it. [More…]
By permitting exports of uranium under stringent safeguards unquestionably Australia will be in a better position to strengthen safeguards. [More…]
To leave Australian uranium in the ground until multilateral safeguards are improved, as is suggested so frequently by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, who is to follow me in the debate, is a policy of weakness and inaction. [More…]
No wonder the Opposition did not ask any questions about uranium this morning. [More…]
It provides that in bilateral agreements between Australia and countries importing uranium the Australian government shall insist that any reprocessing of nuclear material supplied by Australia should take place only with the consent of the Australian Government. [More…]
It has been said that our uranium is needed for transport fuel. [More…]
The first two paragraphs of the Labor Party’s policy on uranium state that we recognise that the provision of Australian uranium to the world nuclear fuel cycle creates problems relevant to Australian sovereignty, the environment, the economic welfare of our people, and the rights and well-being of the Aboriginal people. [More…]
Labor believes that, having regard to the present unresolved economic, social, biological, genetic, environmental and technical problems associated with the mining of uranium, the development of nuclear power should not continue at this stage. [More…]
The implications for Australia’s policy on uranium production and nuclear safeguards of the views of Mr Justice Fox released yesterday. [More…]
It is fairly significant that the main anti-uranium program is being run by the Tribune, the Australian communist weekly newspaper. [More…]
It is fairly significant that it is heading the anti-uranium program throughout Australia and it is also significant that the Australian Labor Party’s policy on uranium is practically non-existent. [More…]
He has a remarkable expectancy that members of fraternal parties in other parts of the world whose working people are dependent upon the use or uranium to supply energy for peaceful purposes should become unemployed merely to meet his particular predelictions. [More…]
The discussions were extremely useful and, as all honourable gentlemen know, Dr Mabon made quite clear the extent to which the British working people are depending upon supplies of uranium to produce energy for peaceful purposes. [More…]
1 ) Did he state in a reply to a question without notice on 10 March 1977 that he had sent some of his staff to some of the more important public arenas to hear what is being said in the uranium debate. [More…]
No approval has been given at this stage for the commencement of mining for the Ranger uranium deposit. [More…]
-Has the Minister for Transport seen reports that only a handful of demonstrators were present at the latest loading of uranium containers at White Bay? [More…]
If so, does this demonstrate a growing community feeling that Australia should make its uranium available - [More…]
The point I was making was that I think there are six communist parties in Australia and that the six communist parties have a policy of opposing the mining and exporting of uranium for peaceful purposes. [More…]
The main policy initiatives we as a Government have taken in the field of energy policy over the last couple of years have been in the areas of mining taxation incentives, energy pricing, the administration of export controls, foreign investment guidelines, decisions on the development of uranium and natural gas resources, assistance to energy research and development, and the formation of energy consultative and advisory bodies. [More…]
We have prepared the way for uranium mining and for development of the North West Shelf gas reserves by the provision of assurances to potential developers and by the appropriate safeguarding of environmental and other interests. [More…]
One was the Fraser Island inquiry and the other, or course, was the Ranger inquiry into uranium. [More…]
With regard to the mining of uranium, as I said earlier, both the first and second reports of the Ranger inquiry were brought down under the terms of the Environmental Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act. [More…]
I will deal briefly with the environmental aspects of uranium mining. [More…]
It has accepted the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act to control uranium mining in the Alligator River area and the Kakadu national park area. [More…]
This means that environmental impact legislation is irrelevant and has no force on uranium mining in the Alligator River region. [More…]
This Government’s concern for the environment is subordinate to its championing of the uranium miners rights. [More…]
Wherever the interests of growth or wealth appear to be, this Government sides with them just as it sided with the uranium mining interests in that very delicate area of the Alligator River in Arnhem Land. [More…]
Instead of accepting the proposition, as reported, that there should be sequential development of uranium mining in the areas and that only the Ranger mine should go ahead first to ascertain what problems would be created in this delicate environmental area- that would have been bad enough- the Government rejected it. [More…]
I will finish on the question of uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition tried to pretend that the Government was going to ignore the environmental promises it had made in regard to the development of uranium mining in the Northern Territory and the declaration of the Kakadu National Park. [More…]
Another is the urgent development of our uranium resources and the North West Shelf. [More…]
In the energy field this is not contemplated except for uranium exports and presumably the continuing cheap sell out of our fossil fuels. [More…]
Whilst it is claimed that an energy conservation program will be carried out, nothing is said of encouragement of development of alternatives to fossil fuels or uranium for power generation. [More…]
The Government is still dragging its feet on occasions concerning pastoral leases in which Aboriginals and the Ranger uranium partners are interested. [More…]
Many of the decisions that are being made in immensely complex areas, and the decisions about uranium mining is as good an example as I can think, involve matters of great scientific complexity which many members do not fully understand. [More…]
I do not think that in the production or the treatment of uranium there is anything that would be commensurate with or even approach that disaster. [More…]
Let me say very emphatically so that there will be no doubts at all- I suppose I should declare myself in this matter because in my electorate I have the only mine that is operating and producing uranium in the whole of this nation; that is at Mary Kathleen- that I support the production of uranium at the earliest possible date. [More…]
It is about time we got down to the business of mining and exporting uranium. [More…]
I share his concern, having in mind in particular future developments on the North West Shelf and in uranium rnining. [More…]
I have raised this matter because I hope that in any future developments which take place on the North West Shelf and in uranium mining the government departments and authorities concerned will do their utmost to ensure that Australian consulting firms and Australian design engineers are employed to the maximum possible extent. [More…]
I am aware that the mining sector is going to have a dip generally, but if we are prepared to go ahead with strength and confidence and to push uranium more firmly I believe we are on the way out of some of our troubles. [More…]
The ACF would emphasise in its future campaign against uranium mining the questions of proliferation and safeguards . [More…]
In my own State where there is unemployment as a result of the closure of certain nickel mines due to world conditions there is a possibility of some of those unemployed people being employed in the same area with a pilot uranium plant, but we find that the Campaign Against Nuclear Energy is organising to smash, to stop and to destroy this project completely. [More…]
I say to the House, and I have said it before, that there is only one policy for this Government and this country on uranium, and that is to dig it up and to sell it. [More…]
How hypocritical are those people who create a fear of the danger to life and limb in the future from the mining of uranium and yet do nothing about the preservation of the innocent unborn life. [More…]
Because we are so fortunate with huge reserves of coal and other fuels, and now of course with uranium, it does not mean that we can turn our backs on the energy crisis throughout the world. [More…]
Even though we have huge coal deposits in Australia we must press on and develop our just as huge and extensive uranium deposits. [More…]
I am pleased that the people of Australia, and particularly the union movement, are now coming around to realising that they have a part to play in the development of that huge uranium province and uranium industry. [More…]
The expenditure and construction phase of both the uranium and the petroleum industries in the next few years will have a marked effect on the Australian economy. [More…]
There is certainly little evidence that the minerals industry, the uranium industry or agriculture will absorb any substantial proportions of the work force in the future. [More…]
That is why the Government attacks the antiuranium lobby and why police have been used against it. [More…]
Uranium presents one of the greatest threats the world has faced. [More…]
The hypocrisy of this attitude is spelled out in their attitude to uranium waste. [More…]
When the present Minister for Transport (Mr Nixon) was asked whether we would bring the uranium waste back to Australia, he said: ‘Oh, not on your life ‘. [More…]
This was the uranium export, mineral investment recovery strategy. [More…]
We heard during the election campaign how uranium mining was going to save Australia’s economic bacon; that there was to be a $ 15,000m mineral project recovery. [More…]
The evaluation was proposed as a part of President Carter’s attempts to discourage uranium reprocessing. [More…]
It will be simply impossible to enforce a policy of granting prior approval for reprocessing for specific uranium export contracts under these conditions. [More…]
It does not provide any justification for uranium exports. [More…]
I was pleased to note in His Excellency’s Speech that it is the policy of the Government to mine, mill and market our uranium with all haste. [More…]
This country has 25 per cent of the world ‘s known uranium deposits, and probably more than that because many more fields may yet be discovered. [More…]
We should be actively marketing our uranium to countries that will use it for peaceful purposes. [More…]
Uranium sales will increase our export income and at the same time provide other countries with a power source. [More…]
Another important aspect of our uranium industry is that by the 1980s Australia will require more export income to pay for the petroleum products that we will have to import for Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other countries on the Persian Gulf to keep our great transport system going. [More…]
It is essential from a economic point of view that we develop our uranium exports to provide the funds to meet that situation when it arises. [More…]
It proposes subsidies for petroleum exploration and hopes to pay for oil imports with uranium exports. [More…]
I also ask whether, in view of the Government’s safeguards policy stated last May, the Australian Government would now be obliged to give blanket prior approval to reprocessing uranium exports to Britain. [More…]
If so, would this reduce the Government’s so-called safeguards policy to a meaningless gesture as it would set an undesirable precedent for conditions on any uranium exports? [More…]
The fourth is a decision to export uranium. [More…]
The Opposition has made a clear declaration that it would not honour contracts that this Government has arranged for the export of uranium ore. [More…]
But the Opposition seems to forget that the very wealth that we gain from the export of our uranium ore will help us to pay for the crude oil- at least 70 per cent of our requirements- which we will have to import. [More…]
I have made the point about uranium. [More…]
That energy policy will include important minerals such as gas, oil, uranium and coal. [More…]
The Fraser Government, at least in practice, has adopted the mistaken attitude that all is fine on the energy front- we will just export our coal and uranium and import oil. [More…]
We can see already the enormous political muscle of the uranium miners and the way they weighed in with advertising and funds to the Liberal Party during the recent election. [More…]
A major decision, of course, has been made on the question of uranium. [More…]
If it were not for the Opposition’s policies, and if it were not for the Opposition’s followers of those policies, of preventing the development of uranium we would have seen some development already under way. [More…]
We would have seen uranium being developed and the profits which would have accrued from that industry would play a major part in developing energy sources available to Australia. [More…]
Let me refer first of all to the uranium decision of the Australian Council of Trade Unions. [More…]
The media commentators and the Press seek to create the impression that the ACTU has given the go ahead to uranium mining. [More…]
The Australian newspaper conveniently heads an article: ACTU honours uranium contracts’. [More…]
The news talks of reversal of a hard line against uranium. [More…]
This is done regardless of objections and pinned on the disposable myth that Australia’s uranium supplies are required to meet present and future international shortages in energy supplies. [More…]
The Fraser Government, through the Governor-General, reiterates its intention to proceed with the development of uranium. [More…]
It has given us repeated assurances in recent weeks that it intends to do this in the Ranger uranium area in the Northern Territory. [More…]
On the credit side of the ledger, we may have exports from the North West Shelf, uranium, LPG and other energy sources. [More…]
We must not lull ourselves into the belief that our gas, coal and uranium exports will necessarily make up the $3 billion-odd needed to pay for our imports in the mid-1980s. [More…]
I know very well that the land councils will object to smaller land councils being formed because it is advantageous to them to have a large bureaucracy, especially now when we are reaching the situation where the Northern Land Council will be influential and instrumental in dealing with the many millions of dollars which will come from the mining of uranium. [More…]
Australia is rich in energy resources with substantial known reserves of coal and uranium but these resources are not suited to meet transport needs, given existing transport technology with its dependence on liquid petroleum fuels. [More…]
Is the Treasurer aware that the readers of Church and Nation, which is a Uniting Church in Australia fortnightly publication, are being encouraged to seek tax deductibility for donations to an organisation known as the Movement Against Uranium Mining? [More…]
During the period leading to the formulation of the Government’s own safeguards and uranium export policies, and subsequently, there has been extremely close contact with the United States. [More…]
The same principle of concern applies very much to subjects such as whaling, uranium mining and export, freeway construction and the excessive use of polluting chemicals. [More…]
His concern was principally with coal and uranium and he felt that this would be of advantage to Australia, I was very keen to have the matter further examined by officials to see what the possibilities were of arriving at some sort of agreement. [More…]
Initiatives in respect of taxation, oil pricing, gas, uranium, investment and export controls represent a major effort in tackling our energy problems and opportunities but there is a long way to go yet. [More…]
The Prime Minister in his usual heavy handed way has threatened the EEC that unless it buys more beef it cannot be sure of gaining access to Austraiian uranium. [More…]
They range from uranium to citrus fruit exported to Japan. [More…]
Of course Japan is looking to Australia as a supplier of uranium. [More…]
The honourable member for Blaxland (Mr Keating) did not mention today what I have heard him mention in radio interviews- the contractual arrangements for uranium. [More…]
This was a case where Japan negotiated a certain quantity and price for uranium, but the price was quite unrealistic in today’s circumstances. [More…]
Queensland’s bauxite deposits can be considered in similar terms to the uranium deposits in the Northern Territory, the iron ore deposits at Yeelirie in Western Australia and the diamonds at Oombulgurri in the Kimberleys. [More…]
In a nutshell the attitude of the Premier of Queensland is in union with that of the Premier of Western Australia, Sir Charles Court, who said on 1 June 1 977 in connection with uranium mining at Yeelirie: [More…]
Uranium Environmental Inquiry in its Second Report on 17 May 1977 and the purchase of which was promised by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on 25 August 1977 (Hansard, pages 650 and 667 J. [More…]
The policy imposes stringent conditions on the sale of uranium to ensure that it is not diverted to nuclear weapons. [More…]
U.S.A.: Deaths from lung cancer in a group of 3,366 white miners who have worked one or more months in underground uranium mines before January 1964 have been reported. [More…]
Radiation levels in the mines dropped sharply by 1967 and few of the study group continued uranium mining after 1 967. [More…]
Canada: There were 15,094 persons who had worked one or more months in uranium mines in Ontario in the period 1955-74 inclusive. [More…]
South Africa: Over the period 1960 to 1967 inclusive in an underground gold-uranium mining workforce averaging 86,400 men, the lung cancer death rate was less then expected. [More…]
Czechoslovakia: There are some published data but these have been presented only as the frequency of lung cancer per 1000 miners for various categories of cumulative exposure in uranium mines, for miners who commenced uranium mining between January 1948 and December 1957. [More…]
I have said time and again that our policy requires the conclusion of bilateral safeguards agreements with uranium importing countries. [More…]
Did the Prime Minister write to the South Australian Premier in August last year saying that there would be full consultation with the States in developing uniform legislation for the mining and export of uranium? [More…]
Is it a fact that there were no discussions with the States prior to the announcement last week that Bills concerning uranium would be introduced into the House today? [More…]
The six Bills being introduced today give effect to commitments made by the Government in this Parliament last August at the time it announced its decision on uranium. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that very significant deposits of uranium were discovered in the Alligator Rivers region of the Northern Territory in the early 1970s. [More…]
In 1975 an inquiry was instituted under the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 into the proposal by the Ranger consortium to develop uranium deposits at a site some 200 kilometres east of Darwin. [More…]
the incurring of expenditure, by, or on behalf of, the Australian Government and the Australian Atomic Energy Commission and other authorities of Australia for and in relation to the development by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission in association with Ranger Uranium Mines Proprietary Ltd of uranium deposits in the Northern Territory of Australia. [More…]
The first report of the Ranger Inquiry, which was tabled in October 1976, discussed the broad issues confronting Australia as a country with rich and plentiful uranium resources. [More…]
The second report, which was tabled in May 1977, considered the many issues relating to the specific proposal that uranium be mined in the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
The second report contained recommendations on measures to ensure that the necessary degree of environmental protection was provided over the full period of uranium mining developments in the region. [More…]
As announced last August, the Government decided that the environment of the region would be protected from the consequences of uranium mining through a series of actions. [More…]
To develop a uniform national code of practice to apply to uranium mining and milling in Australia. [More…]
To adopt strict environmental controls and standards in relation to uranium mining in the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
In particular, honourable members will appreciate the scope of the environmental protection measures, in a geographic context, by reference to the schedule attached to the Bill, which is in effect a copy of map 3 from the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
I draw the attention of honourable members to the definition in the Bill of ‘uranium mining operations’. [More…]
A very wide range of actions and activities directly associated with uranium mining in the region are included. [More…]
The first is to collect data on the effects on the environment of the region of uranium mining operations. [More…]
I emphasise that these functions relate to the consequences of uranium mining activities in the region. [More…]
The functions of the Co-ordinating Committee are essentially to assist the Supervising Scientist in his role of protecting the environment from the effects of uranium mining operations in the region. [More…]
The Co-ordinating Committee is the focal point of the system proposed by the Government for the protection of the environment from the consequences of uranium mining operations in the region. [More…]
It will be the task of the Supervising Scientist, presiding at meetings of the Coordinating Committee, to obtain comprehensive and co-ordinated advice and recommendations which take account of all interests and which have as their primary objective the protection of the environment from uranium mining in the Region. [More…]
The Bill provides that the Minister keep a list of each department, authority, incorporated company, or other body that in his opinion has an interest in uranium mining operations in the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
This Bill is the second in the package of three Bills under my portfolio which the Government has decided to introduce as part of its policy for uranium mining developments in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The region also contains some of the largest uranium deposits in the world- a resource of great economic potential to Australia. [More…]
The Ranger uranium environmental inquiry recognised the intrinsic value of the region, and central to its recommendations was the establishment of a major national park to safeguard these assets. [More…]
The Commissioners saw this as the most effective way of minimising the impact of uranium mining on the physical, biological and cultural resources of the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
My colleague the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (Mr Viner), who represents in this chamber the Attorney-General (Senator Durack), will be introducing a Bill to confer jurisdiction on the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, in relation to the enforcement by it of certain legal requirements for the protection of the environment in relation to uranium mining in the Alligator Rivers region, at the suit of the Director of National Parks and Wildlife, or the appropriate Land Council. [More…]
A number of associated Bills are being introduced which result from the Government’s uranium decisions. [More…]
This Bill is intended to give effect to the Government’s decisions on the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry as far as they affect Aboriginal land rights. [More…]
The main purpose of this Bill is to amend the Atomic Energy Act 1953 as part of a package of legislation giving effect to the Government’s decision on the further development of Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
A fundamental element of the decision announced in this House on 25 August 1977 was that development of the Ranger uranium deposit would proceed on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Whitlam Government and Peko Mines Ltd and Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Limited. [More…]
The Memorandum of Understanding between the Commonwealth and the Ranger partners, concluded on 28 October 1975 by the Whitlam Government, represents a blueprint for development of Ranger and is a manifestation of the policy of the Whitlam Government for Northern Territory uranium development. [More…]
In his statement to this House on 25 August 1977 announcing the Government’s uranium decision, the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) indicated that this Government is most conscious that the Memorandum of Understanding would not have been our preferred approach to mineral development. [More…]
It is wonderful how the honourable member for Reid gets upset when uranium is mentioned in this place but the Government of which he was a member made that arrangement. [More…]
As a consequence, the present Government did not accept the recommendation of the Ranger Inquiry that the Atomic Energy Act not be used for the grant of authority to Ranger to mine uranium. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) indicated in his statement of 25 August 1977 that in reaching this decision the Government had regard to the view of the Ranger Inquiry that its concern over the appropriateness of the Atomic Energy Act would have less force if the Uranium Advisory Council recommendation of the Inquiry were adopted. [More…]
Accordingly, we are proposing amendments to sections 17 and 34 of the Atomic Energy Act which will substantially broaden the basis of the Act and clearly authorise the participation of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission in the Ranger project for the purpose of ensuring the supply of uranium. [More…]
Furthermore, following the announcement by the Prime Minister on 24 May 1977 of Australia’s policy on nuclear safeguards to apply to exports of Australian uranium, Australia will be entering into government to government bilateral agreements with customer countries. [More…]
This Bill, together with the related Bills which are being introduced today, is a further earnest of the Government’s determination that the development of uranium mining in Australia will be carefully controlled and proceed in a responsible manner with full regard to the need for the protection of the environment and the welfare of all Australians. [More…]
Our forthcoming involvement in the mining, milling and transport of uranium requires that responsible governments should have appropriate protection strategies in force. [More…]
Their immediate application will be to regulate the running and milling of uranium in the Alligator Rivers region in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Other national codes of practice which will need to be given priority include the management of mining and milling wastes, and transport of yellow cake, in view of the Government’s policies for uranium developments. [More…]
Not to act to provide these measures would be irresponsible in the light of the Government’s decision to proceed with uranium mining developments. [More…]
This legislation demonstrates very clearly our determination to see that uranium development in Australia is regulated and controlled to ensure the protection of the environment and the health and safety of Australians. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry saw the Director of National Parks and Wildlife and the Northern Land Council as having a special interest in reinforcing the environment protection machinery in the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
It confers jurisdiction on the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, at the suit of the Director of National Parks and Wildlife or the Northern Land Council, to make orders for the enforcement, in relation to uranium mining, of environmental requirements which are contained in Commonwealth and Northern Territory laws and in instruments made under those laws, and it gives the Court a wide discretion as to the exercise of this jurisdiction. [More…]
by leave- At the opening of this Parliament on 21 February the Governor-General stated that the Government would be proceeding with the development and export of Australia ‘s uranium resources. [More…]
The six Bills just introduced underline our determination to proceed with uranium development in a carefully-regulated and responsible fashion with full regard for proper environmental control and for ensuring the welfare of the Aboriginal people. [More…]
Those considerations were central elements of the Government’s policy on uranium development announced on 25 August 1977. [More…]
One of the specific undertakings given by the Government last August was that we would establish a Uranium Advisory Council as one of the elements in the administrative arrangements for control and regulation of uranium development. [More…]
The Government has now agreed that the Uranium Advisory Council be established with the following terms of reference: [More…]
The function of the Uranium Advisory Council shall be to advise the Minister for Trade and Resources with regard to the export and use of Australian uranium, having in mind in particular the possible hazards, dangers and problems of and associated with the production of nuclear energy; and the development of the uranium mining industry in Australia, including exploration. [More…]
The actual individuals to be members of the Uranium Advisory Council have not yet been settled, but the Government has agreed that the Council should include representation from the following groups: The Austraiian religious community; the Aboriginal community; a national voluntary environmental organisation; the Northern Territory community; the Australian Council of Trade Unions; a person with experience in energy matters; the [More…]
Australian uranium industry; a nuclear scientist; a medical practitioner or health physicist; an environmentalist with experience in natural resource development; an economist with experience in natural resource development; and an expert in national and international affairs or law. [More…]
The Government has agreed that the Uranium Advisory Council will be supported initially by a group of three research staff who will be engaged by and will report directly to the Council. [More…]
I also wish to advise the House on the stage reached in the implementation of other aspects of the Government’s uranium policy announced on 25 August 1977. [More…]
In reaching our decisions on uranium development we had special regard to the issues of nuclear non-proliferation and world energy requirements. [More…]
As regards the former, it is very clear that only by developing our vast uranium resources can Australia play a real role in strengthening nuclear safeguards and preventing any ill-considered rush to plutonium based energy systems. [More…]
Only as a major potential exporter of uranium is Australia in a position to command attention and exert influence in the direction of more stringent nuclear safeguards systems. [More…]
Australia, in its position as a major potential uranium exporter, strongly supports such nuclear non-proliferation and safeguards initiatives. [More…]
The second major consideration in regard to the development of Australia’s uranium resources is our international responsibility as a country rich in energy resources to make those resources available to countries less endowed than ourselves. [More…]
There is a significant potential demand for Australian uranium to fuel the existing and planned nuclear energy requirements of other countries. [More…]
The Nuclear Energy Agency estimates that world uranium reserves, including those of Australia, are 2.145 million short tons and that the cumulative demand to 1997 is 2.3 million short tons. [More…]
In other words, world uranium demand exceeds supply even after counting Australia’s existing resources. [More…]
Since the announcement of Australia ‘s decision to proceed with further uranium development a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, the Philippines, the United States, West Germany, France, Finland and Japan, have registered their desire to secure uranium from Australia for their nuclear power programs. [More…]
Australia will not be able to honour those existing contracts, which are long-term contracts extending to 1986, unless it proceeds with the development of new uranium mines. [More…]
Australia’s credibility as a stable trading nation on which other countries can rely is therefore very clearly at stake in relation to the undertakings that have been given to provide other countries with the uranium they must have for the production of electrical energy. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that last August the then Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development stated that strict environmental controls and standards in relation to uranium mining would be adopted. [More…]
In my statement to the House on 25 August 1977 I said that, in addition to proceeding with the development of the Ranger project, the Government would take decisions on the development of other uranium deposits, subject to satisfactory completion of the necessary requirements. [More…]
I would also mention that Noranda Australia Ltd has been designated in terms of the administrative procedures under the Act as a proponent of all actions related to the uranium deposits at Koongarra. [More…]
With regard to marketing, we said on 25 August 1977 that we accepted the thrust of the recommendation of the Ranger Inquiry that a uranium marketing authority be established, but that we would not take a final decision until the implications of foreign anti-trust laws had been fully examined. [More…]
The Government also said on 25 August 1977 that the information available pointed to substantial economic benefits from the development of the uranium industry and that it would wish to consider the accrual of an appropriate share of uranium profits for the benefit of the public generally. [More…]
As previously indicated, the Government has initiated discussions with the industry on a possible framework for a secondary or resource-based tax on future earnings from uranium development. [More…]
Development of uranium also will be dependent upon the co-operation of those members of the trade union movement who will be involved in mining, milling and transport activities. [More…]
ACTU resolutions in the past have identified areas of concern associated with the use of uranium as an energy source. [More…]
The ACTU has called for consultations in relation to the development of new uranium mines. [More…]
Australia’s decision, as announced on 25 August 1977, to proceed with further uranium development has received wide acceptance in Australia and abroad. [More…]
Uranium Development- Ministerial statement, 10 April 1978. [More…]
The Uranium Advisory Council personnel seem inappropriate for safeguard negotiations and arms control. [More…]
The Minister’s assessment of uranium demand is unrealistic and is supported by misleading statistics. [More…]
The hollow arguments tendered by the Minister about developing new uranium mines only to provide a small shortfall under the contracts existing prior to 1972 are fallacious. [More…]
The Government has failed to introduce simultaneously with this legislation legislation for a resources tax on uranium development and upon old oil in Australia. [More…]
The waste disposal problem is the most intractable problem facing the uranium industry. [More…]
Only one person that the Minister mentioned as being a member of the Uranium Advisory Council would seem to have any qualifications whatsoever to deal with the question of nuclear safeguards and arms control legislation and limitation. [More…]
If one goes through the list one sees mentioned the Australian religious community, the Aboriginal community, a national voluntary environmental organisation, the Northern Territory community, the Australian Council of Trade Unions, a person with experience in energy matters, the Australian uranium industry, a nuclear scientist, a medical practitioner or health physicist, an environmentalist with experience in natural resource development, an economist with experience in natural resource development, an expert in national and international affairs or law. [More…]
While they may be admirable appointments, the personnel of the Uranium Advisory Council seem to be completely unsatisfactory for the kinds of policies which the Government ought to be interested in pursuing. [More…]
The next fallacious argument that the Minister put in ‘his speech is the matter of uranium demand. [More…]
Anybody who wants to lump in projected uranium reactor capacity can make all kinds of projections. [More…]
Indeed, the Australian Atomic Energy Commission in its latest annual report says that the demand for uranium will be down by 36 per cent. [More…]
The Australian Atomic Energy Commission has forecast a drop of 36 per cent in world demand for Australian uranium because of delays and revisions to nuclear power programs. [More…]
Only just a few months ago Australia’s Ambassador to the European Economic Community communicated to the Government his belief that uranium demand in the EEC had fallen dramatically. [More…]
Yet the Minister trots out this mixture of fact and farrago in which he suggests that uranium demand will outstrip uranium supply. [More…]
The existing contract agreed to by the previous Labor Government and conservative governments prior to 1972 accounts for about 11,700 short tons of uranium, of which only approximately 2,500 tons cannot be met by the Mary Kathleen mine or by the Atomic Energy Commission’s stockpiles. [More…]
On what commercial basis could anybody suggest that $250m worth of uranium plant be developed to supply one year’s capacity? [More…]
Yet the Minister tonight has been talking about our meeting 2,700 tons of uranium after 1983. [More…]
It has had 18 months in which to construct a resources tax on the uranium industry. [More…]
It is about to drop a similar proposal in relation to uranium. [More…]
Hence we have the sort of sneaky reference to it that we have had tonight We believe that legislation introducing a resources tax on uranium should have been presented into the Parliament tonight, along with the other Bills. [More…]
Has the Treasury made an in depth analysis of, or prepared a paper showing, the short term and long term economic implications for Australia of the proposed uranium mining? [More…]
The honourable gentleman has asked whether the Treasury as such has made an in depth analysis of the short term and long term economic significance of uranium mining. [More…]
I can assure him that over a considerable period of time a number of government departments, including the Treasury and the Department of Trade and Resources, as it now is, and its predecessor departments, have been involved in an on-going fashion in analysing the economic implications to Australia of the development and sensible exploitation of our uranium reserves. [More…]
I am sure that the honourable gentleman and other members of the House are aware of the number of projections that have been made in relation to the economic potential of Australia’s uranium reserves. [More…]
If these reports are verified, can the Minister say whether they mean that uranium miners in Australia would face a greater risk of contracting cancer than is presently assumed? [More…]
However, my Department has access to a number of studies and a quite considerable amount of information that leads one to believe that uranium mining has, in fact, increased the incidence of lung cancer. [More…]
The honourable member will recall that when the Australian Labor Party Government was in office the Department of Health was instructed to draw up a code for the mining and milling of uranium ores and the Government regards that code as being probably the most advanced code of its type in the world. [More…]
It was prepared in association with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and it draws upon the most modern scientific advice available and ensures that uranium mining in Australia will be undertaken in accordance with the strictest code that has ever been applied. [More…]
Whilst one would be foolish to assume that the mining of uranium is without danger- no mining occupation is free of danger- one would assume that as a result of the application of the code that was drawn up during the term of the former Labor Government and adopted by this Government the dangers and extent of lung cancer or any other type of cancer would be lessened. [More…]
I refer to the major debates on the environmental legislation regarding uranium mining in the Northern Territory in respect of which six Bills will come before the House. [More…]
To undertake any substantial amount of construction work on the Ranger project or to bring a substantial number of workers into the Ranger area without agreement would appear to be contrary to the recommendation of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry Report referred to by the honourable member. [More…]
The recommendations of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, to which the honourable member referred, do not mean that any developmental work could not proceed at Jabiru prior to the implementation of the recommendations in question. [More…]
As already stated, substantial work would be contrary to the recommendations of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
I understand that an Iranian delegation is at present in Canberra seeking to purchase Australian uranium. [More…]
Can the Prime Minister inform the House whether Australia intends to sell uranium to Iran? [More…]
-A senior Iranian delegation is in Canberra for discussions on uranium and also to undertake negotiations on a bilateral safeguards agreement. [More…]
I hope that the discussions and arrangements with Iran will proceed in a constructive and forthcoming manner because Australia is in a position to be a secure and long-term supplier and, as I understand it, Iran has a need for a secure source of uranium for its development of energy for peaceful purposes. [More…]
-The two most serious problems in the nuclear fuel cycle with which the Australian Labor Party is concerned relate to the disposal of nuclear waste and the impossibility at the present time for the Australian Government to ensure that Australian uranium will not be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. [More…]
In the final few minutes available to me I wish to speak about the other matter that I raised earlier, that of the prevention of the use of AusTralian uranium to proliferate nuclear weapons. [More…]
It is said that we will sell only to countries which have signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which have accepted the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards procedures and with whom we have reached a bilateral agreement and that the present nuclear nations will be required not to use Australian uranium to manufacture weapons. [More…]
But apparently the Prime Minister has missed the very saliant point that even though those nations may not use our uranium to manufacture weapons the arrangements will release to them other stocks of uranium with which to manufacture weapons. [More…]
Yet this Government is prepared to sell uranium to them. [More…]
First of all, the people of Australia had a chance to judge whether Australia should mine, mill and export uranium. [More…]
There is no question that the people of Australia wish to see uranium mined and exported. [More…]
The export of our energy minerals, including uranium, will help to pay for that very large bill which we can only estimate at this stage but which will be at least in the order of $2 billion. [More…]
The regulations that the then Minister for Minerals and Energy sought to introduce had no more intention than to nationalise the uranium industry in Australia. [More…]
I say again that if the record of that debate in the Senate is read objectively, it will be seen that the opposition in the Senate was only because of the one fact that the move was an attempt to nationalise the mining of uranium in this country. [More…]
A much more important implication is that here we have a succession of Opposition members saying how dreadful it is to mine uranium, yet in 1974 so intent were they on mining, milling and exporting uranium that they were willing to nationalise the industry to do it. [More…]
-The introduction of the Atomic Energy Amendment Bill 1978 demonstrates in the clearest possible way that the Government has failed to take seriously the criticisms of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry of the use of the Atomic Energy Act as a vehicle for the commercial development of uranium. [More…]
It has failed to remove the repressive intimidatory security measures of the Atomic Energy Act which will now be applicable also to commercial uranium mining. [More…]
These failures reflect the Government’s contempt for the informed opinion of the members of the Inquiry, which was headed by Mr Justice Fox, as well as the conscientiously held views of the public with respect to the hazards of uranium mining and export. [More…]
The Government is going ahead undeterred by the need to find solutions to the serious problems associated with the use of uranium. [More…]
While the unresolved questions relating to waste disposal and weapons proliferation remain, my party will maintain the view that Australia’s uranium deposits should not be developed. [More…]
I assume this explains why the Minister for Trade and Resources (Mr Anthony), in his statement on the development of uranium on 10 April, conveniently ignored the waste disposal issue. [More…]
Meanwhile, the decisions and recommendations in favour of uranium reprocessing in European countries, the refusal of France and West Germany to reconsider the sale of reprocessing technologies, the refusal of India to ratify the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty all undermine the INFCE talks. [More…]
The Bill provides no recognition of the gravity of the nuclear problem, other than to provide ibr the premature development of Australia ‘s uranium deposits. [More…]
We oppose it not only because it would provide a right to mine, but also because the Atomic Energy Act is a totally inappropriate Act to control commercial or civil uranium mining. [More…]
We oppose it because the Australian Atomic Energy Commission is an inappropriate body to be responsible for civil uranium development. [More…]
That the Atomic Energy Act 1 953 not be used for the grant of an authority to Ranger to mine uranium. [More…]
The crucial section of the Memorandum provides that contracts giving it effect ‘shall not become effective until Australia has affirmed them following consideration of: (a) the report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry; (b) a report by the Interim Aboriginal Land Commissioner in any claims by Aboriginals in respect of land within the Ranger Project area’. [More…]
That report is now public, and it demonstrates that the Atomic Energy Act is an unacceptable basis for uranium mining. [More…]
It was designed to enable the Australian Government, via the Atomic Energy Commission, to control the exploitation of uranium in the Territories and throughout the Commonwealth for defence purposes. [More…]
Uranium mined and exported under the authority of this Act during the 1950s and 1960s was destined for nuclear weapons use. [More…]
In proposed new section 38 of Part HI of the Atomic Energy Act regulations can be used to control the mining, treatment, use and disposal of uranium under licences issued by the Minister. [More…]
This is a power additional to the general power of the Minister to direct the Atomic Energy Commission to undertake and supervise operations involving uranium. [More…]
The Act provides that the Minister may authorise uranium mining largely unconstrained by, in the words of the Fox Inquiry ‘ the ordinary law of the land respecting mining’. [More…]
Australian uranium must not be used to manufacture them. [More…]
The harsh, repressive measures of the Atomic Energy Act- measures which the Bill before the House does not seek to eliminate- are completely unjustified to cover commercial uranium mining. [More…]
The first reason apparently, is that the security provisions of the Act offer the Government a means of intimidating and suppressing public opposition to uranium mining. [More…]
The second reason, for which the Bill gives substantial evidence, is that the Government is seeking, through comprehensive control of uranium throughout the country- in the States and Territories- the eventual direct control of other mineral developments. [More…]
Not only was the Labor Government’s attempt to establish the Petroleum and Minerals Authority sabotaged by what is now the Government, but in 1974 when, as a substitute for the PMA, the then Minister for Minerals and Energy sought to use regulations made under section 38 ( 1 ) of the Atomic Energy Act to licence uranium mining, these regulations were disallowed by the Senate Opposition majority. [More…]
Clause 10 of the Bill would amend section 38 of the Atomic Energy Act to extend and strengthen the Minister’s power to regulate and control the rnining, processing, possession, transportation, use and disposal of uranium and related and associated minerals or other substances. [More…]
Yet on 19 September 1974 Senator Durack led the then Opposition charge against the regulation of uranium milling by the Minister. [More…]
Will they recognise that otherwise they will be providing future opportunities for the regulation of uranium mining in a way they previously rejected? [More…]
As a result of this decision of the Senate in September 1 974, the Minister for Minerals and Energy had no alternative but to intervene more indirectly to ensure the adequate control of future uranium development. [More…]
The effect was that because the Atomic Energy Commission became the agent of the Government in the Ranger venture, the full security provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, including powers under the approved Defence Projects Protection Act, came to apply to any exploitation of Ranger uranium. [More…]
So far as this third matter is concerned, the Fox Inquiry suggested that its concern would be reduced if an independent Uranium Advisory Council were established. [More…]
What is more, the Government has failed to give the Uranium Advisory Council any permanent basis and has not indicated its level of financial support There must be serious doubts as to whether the Council can keep an adequate overview of the promotional activities and operations of the AAEC. [More…]
The same body, the Australian Atomic Energy Commission would be regulating and commercially promoting uranium mining. [More…]
Public confidence in the Government’s professed interest in ensuring that adequate safeguards are attached to the use of Australian uranium mining and its by-products will not be achieved while the Government is satisfied to use the AAEC as its effective regulatory body. [More…]
The most objectionable aspect of the use of the Atomic Energy Act as a basis for the Government’s uranium mining proposals is the frightening powers the Act gives the Government by virtue of its security provisions. [More…]
The Prime Minister has stated publicly his Government’s intention to collect dossiers on opponents of uranium mining. [More…]
Similarly, speaking or publishing leaflets urging workers not to mine or transport Ranger uranium and not to construct a mine site could be construed as an offence under section 4 of the Approved Defence Projects Protection Act. [More…]
Both the Atomic Energy Act and the associated Approved Defence Projects Protection Act could be used in a heavy-handed attempt by the Government to repress the opposition to uranium mining and to stifle public discussion of the hazards, dangers and unresolved problems of the nuclear industry. [More…]
The Atomic Energy Act as it now stands and as it would be amended by the Bill before the House is entirely irrelevant to the mining of uranium in Australia at this time. [More…]
Further, the only reason the Austraiian Atomic Energy Commission is involved in the proposed Ranger venture is that the Senate under Liberal-Country Party control in 1974 rejected the more satisfactory direct regulation of uranium development by the Minister. [More…]
The Government chooses simply to ignore the independent, well-informed judgments of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
It chooses to use the Atomic Energy Act to cover uranium mining in the civil sense. [More…]
It chooses to amend this Act only by making it more comprehensive, by strengthening and enlarging the powers under which the Commonwealth may and, under this Government, will intervene in uranium mining. [More…]
The Commission would retain its authority to engage in uranium and nuclear energy research, development and exploitation for defence purposes. [More…]
But it will also be explicitly enabled to engage in the mining and marketing of uranium for purely commercial purposes, related to energy generation. [More…]
Secondly, the Bill will allow the AAEC to mine, treat and most significantly sell not only uranium, but also ‘ minerals found in association with uranium’. [More…]
At present, the Minister has control of uranium only for the purposes of the defence of the Commonwealth and in relation to activities carried out in Territories. [More…]
The amendment would dramatically extend the purposes for which the Minister could control uranium to include the exercise of the Commonwealth’s powers over overseas trade and commerce, and its powers over external affairs. [More…]
The Minister, in his second reading speech has explained the second of these by pointing out the need to ensure that exports of Australian uranium are covered by adequate nuclear safeguards. [More…]
When this proposed amendment is taken in conjunction with the changes proposed for section 38 of the Act, dealing with the regulatory powers of the Minister, it is clear that the Government is seeking extensive, direct power over the mining, processing, transportation and use of uranium in the States. [More…]
It seeks to exercise control over the licensing of uranium mining in the States regardless of the State’s policy on mining, provided the uranium is either to be traded between states or to be exported, the Minister assures the House in his second reading speech that it is not the Government’s intention to include within the scope of the regulations the working of minerals which contain only small traces of prescribed substances. [More…]
It is the height of folly for the Government to put forward such proposals after the way its members treated the efforts of the Whitlam Government when it tried to exercise direct control over uranium development. [More…]
We regard these amendments as a shabby, backdoor method of acquiring Commonwealth control over uranium, and, potentially, over other mineral developments. [More…]
We regard the Atomic Energy Commission as an inappropriate body to be responsible for uranium development. [More…]
We regard the Atomic Energy Act as an inappropriate Act to control the civilian use of uranium. [More…]
If we look back at the history of the development and the fulfilment of Australian contracts to provide uranium to energy scarce countries, we notice that the Whitlam Government tabled in the Parliament on 31 October 1974 a statement announcing a program of large-scale uranium development in the Northern Territory, commencing with the exploitation of the Ranger deposit, to be followed by the development of the Nabarlek and other deposits. [More…]
It proceeded to enter into a number of arrangements and understandings that would lead any sensible and sane person to believe that the Government of the day, despite its presently stated shortcomings, was happy with the way in which matters were proceeding and that it was happy to see the development and export of uranium under those conditions. [More…]
The Government has followed up religiously and conscientiously a whole series of areas which were partly instigated by the previous Government and partly instigated by this Government to allow a successful, imaginative but carefully considered approach to the mining of uranium in Australia. [More…]
Unfortunately since November 1976 the Opposition has been moving slowly towards opposing the mining and handling of uranium in Australia, for no real reason. [More…]
I do not think that anybody would agree with the proposition that a commodity such as uranium, despite the fact that in its unrefined form it is not a particularly dangerous substance, should be handled carelessly or thrown around as many other commodities are when they are transported through our rail and shipping complexes. [More…]
Surely honourable members opposite cannot seriously argue that we should not fulfil the obligations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in the way in which uranium is handled. [More…]
Of course the conditions of control for the use of uranium and the delivery of uranium to fill contracts and international agreements are vital. [More…]
Of course, there is no need to enunciate to the House the importance of the careful use of uranium. [More…]
Energy deficient countries are looking to Australia which possesses about 20 per cent of the world’s low cost proven uranium reserves to become a regular supplier of uranium to assist them through a period of transition. [More…]
It is responsible for us to talk of Australia’s development and careful handling of uranium and not to talk as the Opposition does about Australia withholding its uranium supplies from the world community. [More…]
I consider that this Government really does not think it an option to withhold supplies of uranium from an energy hungry world. [More…]
It is interesting to note the way in which Australia, under the safeguards provisions, will seek and ensure the implementation of the requirements of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the control of uranium and the by-products. [More…]
This could well be the important factor of the Australian uranium industry. [More…]
With the Government that we have today, these measures will have an impact on the way in which uranium will be used on this earth. [More…]
They will need to have an impact shortly because uranium will be required as a source of energy for only a short time span. [More…]
It is very clear that only by developing our vast uranium resources can Australia play a real role in strengthening nuclear safeguards and preventing any ill-considered rush to plutonium based energy systems. [More…]
The setting up of the Uranium Advisory Council, the provisions that will come forward for environmental protection, the amendments to the Atomic Energy Act, the amendments to the National Parks and Wildlife Act, the amendments to the Northern [More…]
The proposals before the House brought forward by the Government deserve the support of the House in seeking to provide safeguards for Australia’s development of uranium and protection and security in the handling of that material. [More…]
The Opposition opposes this Bill just as it opposes the Government’s policy for development of the uranium industry. [More…]
We reject as specious the Government’s justifications for its policy, and we condemn as ill-considered and dangerous its decision to control and regulate uranium mining with an amended Atomic Energy Act. [More…]
Labor in government established the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry to clarify the facts and issues surrounding the mining and use of uranium. [More…]
The Opposition has been left in no doubt by the inquiry’s findings that this is not the time, these are not the circumstances, to extend the uranium industry in this country. [More…]
We can see past the lifetime of the uranium deposits into the lifetime of the wastes and the plutonium their use will generate. [More…]
We oppose new uranium mining because of the unsolved problems, hazards and dangers emphasised by the Ranger inquiry. [More…]
For instance, the Government repeatedly claims that it will demand strict safeguards in uranium export contracts to prevent the misuse of Australian uranium. [More…]
No customer country could guarantee to dispose safely of the radioactive by-products of Australia’s uranium. [More…]
We, on this side of the House, will have no part of a policy to export uranium while those problems remain unsolved. [More…]
The Government has tried to justify its uranium policy by referring to the world’s energy needs. [More…]
With childlike innocence it still offers nuclear power- fuelled by Australian uranium- as a universal panacea. [More…]
These are the statistics the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) conveniently overlooks every time he pushes the barrow of his party’s campaign financiers in the powerful uranium lobby. [More…]
There is therefore no short-term urgency to develop Australian uranium, a conclusion reached in both Ranger inquiry reports and supported by the Ford Foundation-Mitre Corporation Study in January 1977, and the most recent OECD study. [More…]
The Minister has also sought to revive the myth that only by exporting uranium can Australia exert some influence in strengthening safeguards. [More…]
Canada has been forced to back down from its demand for prior approval of reprocessing its uranium to a position where it has had to accept prior consultation and notification in uranium safeguards agreements with the Euraton countries. [More…]
This puts the lie to the naive assurances of this Government that our voice will be heard if we sell uranium. [More…]
Mr Deputy Speaker, I turn to a central objection to the exploitation of Australian uranium. [More…]
The first Fox report confronted me, as it did all Australians, with the very real possibility that Australian uranium could well end up as nuclear weapons in the hands of other governments or terrorists. [More…]
How then can this Government, in the words of the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) during last year’s election campaign, ‘guarantee that Australian uranium will not end up in nuclear weapons’. [More…]
Like the US, Australia would be handicapped in ensuring the security of Australian uranium. [More…]
But, as I have said, Canada already has relinquished control over decisions by customer countries to reprocess or highly enrich its uranium exports. [More…]
Australia’s model safeguards agreement, gratuitously sent to potential uranium customers, is denied the scrutiny of the Australian people and their Parliament. [More…]
What progress has there been internationally in achieving acceptance of the Carter proposals to defer uranium reprocessing and the commercial use of the fast breeder? [More…]
The reasons for leaving Australian uranium in the ground for the time being remain as compelling as ever. [More…]
Provisions of the Act severely threaten the civil liberties of a wide cross section of the Australian people- those people who actively oppose uranium mining and who urge others to do so. [More…]
These provisions exist only because the Act was framed to cover uranium mining and nuclear research with military motivations. [More…]
They remain as a testimony to the hasty, ill-advised manner in which the Government has acted to allow uranium mining. [More…]
It reveals that the Minister for National Development (Mr Newman) has been able to assert the complete ascendancy of the uranium promoters in the desperate rush to export uranium. [More…]
Giving the Commission the dual roles of promoter and safeguards regulator of uranium mining is not only absurd but dangerous. [More…]
It is available in this form to the Government only because government members, when in Opposition, made sure that the then Minister for Minerals and Energy could not directly regulate and license uranium mining in the Northern Territory. [More…]
These security provisions are quite irrelevant to a commercial operation unless they involve those parts of the fuel cycle which deal with plutonium or enriched uranium, that is, those parts of the fuel cycle which might be targets for terrorists. [More…]
The Government continues to talk about exporting uranium only under safeguards. [More…]
They begin to apply only at the stage of uranium hexaflouride, and its subsequent enrichment. [More…]
Yet the changes proposed to section 34 would substantially widen the purposes for which the Commonwealth could exercise powers over uranium. [More…]
Finally, although the package to which this Bill belongs will provide the legislative basis for the Government’s enthusiastic go-ahead for uranium mining, one will look in vain to find any firm commitment to the introduction of a resources tax, or to the conditions under which such a tax would apply. [More…]
More time has been spent by the Government, and with no sign of a result, over its resources tax negotiations than Cabinet spent in its consideration of the second Fox report before a decision on uranium mining was announced. [More…]
The Government is very sensitive to the delicate needs of the uranium entrepreneurs. [More…]
The purpose of this group of Bills is to allow uranium mining to proceed. [More…]
Let us be quite positive that we will be mining and selling uranium. [More…]
The ministerial statement and the Bills make it obvious that we will be following the recommendations of Mr Justice Fox in his report on the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
I refer, firstly, to the fact that this world has no alternative other than to mine uranium, if we are to maintain our standard of living and to increase that of underdeveloped countries. [More…]
Secondly, I refer to the fact that the opposition to uranium is badly misinformed and is charged with emotion not facts. [More…]
We also know that uranium supplies have a finite though very long life and that Australia is well off because of its coal resources. [More…]
The next misconception put forward by the opponents of uranium is that we should use wind, water and tide. [More…]
The uranium knockers did not tell honourable members that, did they? [More…]
We will run out of oil and gas in the very near future and coal and uranium in a slightly longer time. [More…]
There is now every reason to believe that we can produce power from the fast breeder reactors, but the production of that power increases the use of uranium by thirty to fifty times. [More…]
In the meantime there is no alternative- I repeat, absolutely no alternative- to using uranium for power generation. [More…]
Let me take up the points that are used against uranium. [More…]
The opposition to uranium did not tell us that coal-fired power stations give off radioactivity which has a longer life than the emission from nuclear power stations. [More…]
So we see that the dangers and pollution of uranium for power generation are minute in comparison to present systems. [More…]
It is much cheaper and easier to centrifuge uranium ore. [More…]
I now pass from the details and get to the sources of opposition to uranium. [More…]
It does not take much brainpower to work out where the real opposition to uranium power stations comes from. [More…]
I do not say that everyone who is opposed to uranium has these motives. [More…]
However, a large number of objectors, such as those who obtain stickers from the Australian Labor Party which state ‘Solar not uranium’, ‘Leave uranium in the ground’ and Don’t mine uranium’, are to be found in university car lots and at other places of learning. [More…]
We will need uranium for power generation in the very near future. [More…]
Uranium must and will be mined. [More…]
I quote part of the third finding of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, which appears at page 185 of its first report: [More…]
I wish that this Government would cut out the flowery and pious language it uses in its statements on uranium. [More…]
Everyone knows that members of the Liberal Party of Australia and the National Country Party are hawks on the uranium issue. [More…]
They are to commit Australia’s uranium to the world nuclear fuel cycle; to mine and sell off the uranium as quickly as possible; and to control the growing Australian opposition to uranium mining. [More…]
If that fails it will stand ready with the full repressive force of the police state tactics enshrined in the Atomic Energy Act, which the Bill now before the House seeks to amend, to suppress openly opposition to the uranium go-ahead. [More…]
This Government does not care a damn that the proposed future pattern of economic development in Australia, with emphasis on mining for export, of which uranium would be a significant part, will mean fewer jobs and lower standards of living for the working people of this country. [More…]
The rank and file members of the Labor Party all over Australia have expressed their concern about the unresolved problems of uranium mining and nuclear power. [More…]
Their concerns have formed the basis of the Australian Labor Party’s uranium policy, which opposes any new uranium mining development until all the unresolved problems have been resolved. [More…]
Labor’s people know that the proposed ‘bilateral arrangements’ to control the use of Australia’s uranium are not worth the paper on which they are written. [More…]
They know that there is no way that we can be sure that Australian uranium, once it leaves the ground, will not find its way to a nuclear weapon during the 250,000 years fife of the plutonium it contains. [More…]
Labor has recognised that for the time being we are stuck with an aggressive pro-uranium Government. [More…]
The message is clear to the uranium companies, the power companies and the finance companies which are considering investing in new uranium mines. [More…]
It is clear to President Marcos, to his Atomic Energy Commission and to the Westinghouse Corporation that they should not count on Australian uranium to fuel their reactors or to fuel their other ambitions over the 30-year life of a nuclear power facility. [More…]
Anyone who thinks that the ALP policy is negotiable- that Labor will shift its ground- is making a very serious mistake and has no real understanding of the depth of feeling of Labor’s rank and file in opposing uranium mining, or of the strength with which Labor people will defend and implement Labor’s present policy. [More…]
The strategy of the pro-uranium lobby to play down the uranium issue and to remove it from public discussion will not be successful against the conscious and alert members of the Labor Party and other progressive organisations in Australia. [More…]
These people have made up their minds and they will change their position only after it has been proved that all the problems in regard to uranium mining have been solved. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) has tried just about every trick in the book to sell the idea of uranium mining to the Australian people. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister is using the sales pitch that somehow Australia’s international standing will increase because it participates in the untidy rush to sell uranium and compound the risks. [More…]
I refer honourable members to page 64 of that report wherein it is stated that existing contracts do not pose a problem because if it is decided that Australia should not develop new uranium mines, then uranium to meet existing contracts can be obtained from other countries. [More…]
If enough uranium is not available from the Mary Kathleen mine and the Lucas Heights stockpile, uranium can be obtained elsewhere to fill the existing contracts. [More…]
The decision of the Fraser Government to use the Atomic Energy Act to cover uranium mining at Ranger, against the strong recommendations of the Fox inquiry, is a very ominous decision. [More…]
Moreover, in 1974 the Labor Government had not looked in depth at all aspects of the commitment of Australia’s uranium to the world nuclear fuel cycle. [More…]
At that time Labor’s policy was for uranium mining. [More…]
A growing proportion of the population is alert to the dangers of the mining and export of uranium and oppose it. [More…]
Labor’s reference to the Atomic Energy Act in the 1974 Memorandum is irrelevant in the present circumstances, just as are so many of the twisted arguments that this Government uses to cover its pro-uranium policy. [More…]
As honourable members well know uranium was being mined at Rum Jungle under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act and at that time the Atomic Energy Commission was exporting uranium both to Britain and the United States to be used in the production of atomic weapons. [More…]
By conducting uranium mining under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act the Government has the power to deny ordinary industrial rights to workers and unions associated with the mining, handling and transportation of uranium. [More…]
Indeed, the Army could be brought in to ensure that uranium mining operations were not interrupted. [More…]
The Act denies basic civil rights to any persons, including workers and union members, who hinder uranium mining in any way. [More…]
The use of the Atomic Energy Act to cover uranium mining makes an outlaw of any worker, union or Australian citizen who does not fully comply with the uranium mining and export policies of the Fraser Government. [More…]
If the Government cannot get uranium the easy way it will get it the hard way and it will use the iron fist. [More…]
One of the many repressive aspects of the Atomic Energy Act is that ‘all works carried out by or on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission’ including uranium mining at Ranger- are viewed ‘as if those works were approved defence projects within the meaning of the Approved Defence Projects Protection Act.’ [More…]
Therefore, in relation to uranium mining at Ranger a person can be fined $1,000 to $10,000 or gaoled from six months to 12 months for doing anything that hinders or obstructs the uranium mining project. [More…]
The provisions of the Act would cover participants in demonstrations that are occurring already against the shipment of uranium, if that shipment were to be from Ranger. [More…]
It can be used against any section of society, including workers and unions, whenever the Government feels it necessary to use the iron hand rather than the kid glove to clear the way for uranium mining and exporting. [More…]
It wants unlimited power to dictate the mining policies of the States, particularly Labor States such as South Australia, which have firm and sound antiuranium policies. [More…]
It wants to make a mockery of the regulations of the uranium industry by putting the Australian Atomic Energy Commission in charge of the regulation of uranium mining while at the same time it is clearly very active in promoting things nuclear. [More…]
All told, the use of this piece of legislation to cover commercial uranium mining ventures in a climate of growing public hostility to uranium mining and export, poses a serious threat to civil liberties and to the industrial rights of a significant section of the Australian work force. [More…]
I hope that some members on the other side of the House will have the decency to stand in support of civil liberties at least, even if they do not want to stand in support of the policies against uranium mining for which we stand. [More…]
-Last year, we participated in three debates about uranium. [More…]
Now we are participating in a fourth debate on uranium this time on the Atomic Energy Amendment Bill. [More…]
It is a package of legislation giving effect to the Government’s decision on the further development of Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
The Governor-General in his Speech when opening the Parliament this year mentioned that the Government would be proceeding with the development and export of Australia’s uranium resources in a carefully regulated and responsible fashion with full regard for the population, environmental control and the welfare of the Aboriginal people. [More…]
Power generation from uranium represents 1 5 to 20 per cent of the total power generation in that country. [More…]
We in Australia are very fortunate to have 25 per cent of the world’s known uranium resources. [More…]
One of the features of this country is that if we mine, mill and market our uranium we will have the financial resources to meet our commitment in the petroleum fields overseas. [More…]
They have foresight; they have come out here to talk to our Government and to the people involved in developing our uranium resources about the possibility of our supplying uranium to them in the foreseeable future. [More…]
So there will be a world demand for uranium. [More…]
In Australia there has not been one loss of life among those involved in the mining of uranium. [More…]
Despite what members of the Opposition and others who oppose the mining of uranium may say, there has not been one loss of life. [More…]
Indeed, in the history of uranium use throughout the world, including the manufacture of nuclear weapons, there has been a known loss of only three lives and that was in the United States of America. [More…]
The Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) has proposed safeguards to be observed by those overseas who will purchase our uranium, which will leave this country in the form of yellowcake. [More…]
It has been an experience for me, as a member of the Government Members Committee on Trade and Resources, to visit many of the uranium fields of this country and to see the development that is taking place. [More…]
We saw the uranium rock being mined, milled and processed into yellowcake. [More…]
Uranium poses no danger to this country in this form but I agree with those who claim that necessary safeguards should be taken by overseas countries when they are using uranium in reactors to produce power in their power stations. [More…]
In Australia the development of uranium will provide employment. [More…]
The servicing of these uranium fields also will provide many jobs. [More…]
Some members from that side of the House want to stop the men working on our uranium projects. [More…]
They are trying to stop altogether the export of uranium. [More…]
The developing countries are the ones that will be interested in purchasing uranium. [More…]
So we do not want to use uranium for fuel generation at all. [More…]
We have plenty of fossil fuels, but we want to mine and export uranium. [More…]
In the longer term uranium holds out to the world a technologically mature solution to the increasing energy needs and places a safety net under future development of mankind, for the ultimate potential of solar energy remains difficult to assess and nuclear fusion is still a very important matter. [More…]
Avenues such as breeding through various fuel cycles, increasing the utilisation of uranium resources by close to two orders of magnitude must also be kept open. [More…]
I mentioned at the commencement of this speech that we in Australia are very fortunate in having 25 per cent of the world’s resources of uranium, that is, in yellowcake form. [More…]
If we do not get busy and market this uranium we could be beaten to the markets which are offering. [More…]
For example, recently South Africa sold some of its uranium to the United States of America. [More…]
For instance, as I mentioned in a speech last year concerning nuclear policy, the Japanese are conducting experiments to distil uranium yellowcake from sea water. [More…]
This would be detrimental to our opportunities to market uranium. [More…]
Let us get busy with the mining and marketing of our uranium. [More…]
Even after this Bill is passed by the Parliament- it allows for the development of the Ranger uranium deposit- it will be some years before any uranium is produced from the field. [More…]
So let us act now and get on with the job of mining, milling and marketing our uranium. [More…]
We strongly recommend against the use of the Atomic Energy Act for the grant of authority to mine uranium. [More…]
But the Government has decided to use this Act as the appropriate measure for the mining of uranium. [More…]
The Government is mindful of the fact that in 1975 the then Labor Government considered it appropriate to participate in the development of uranium deposits. [More…]
But it was subject to all the other qualifications and concerns we have expressed about the development of any uranium deposit. [More…]
No projection suggests any early need for Australia to have a nuclear power generation capacity, but our concerns and responsibilities will be at least as great as those of the USA if uranium should be exported. [More…]
The Government claims the country has had time to study the uranium issue but its own half-baked effort suggests it has only half an understanding of the issues involved. [More…]
When the Australian Atomic Energy Commission was established it was given responsibility for all fields of nuclear energy and for cooperation with the States in the discovery and mining of uranium ores. [More…]
Howard Beale, in a speech in 1953, said that the Atomic Energy Commission would concern itself with ‘uranium and atomic energy for industrial as well as defence purposes’. [More…]
In 1966. the Commission’s main research program was changed to cover research and development programs in heavy water moderated, natural uranium-fuelled reactor systems. [More…]
If the Government decided to proceed with uranium development, a uranium development authority should be established. [More…]
I made the point that we need new bodies, and I mentioned a uranium development authority and said that its functions ought to include those in Section 17(1 )(A) to (D) in the present Atomic Energy Act, with the deletion of any reference to encouragement. [More…]
Proposed section 38(2) provides that regulations may be made to prohibit the mining of uranium except under licence granted by the Federal Minister. [More…]
One of the real fears that people have about nuclear power is that not only are there safety and safeguards considerations to worry about but that in both uranium exporting countries and countries that use nuclear power there are very real threats to civil liberties. [More…]
The main purpose of this Bill is to amend the Atomic Energy Act 1953 as part of a package of legislation giving effect to the Government’s decision on the further development of Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
A fundamental element of the decision announced in this House on 25 August 1 977 was that development of the Ranger uranium deposit would proceed on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Whitlam Government and Peko Mines Ltd and Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Ltd. [More…]
As the Deputy Leader of the Opposition pointed out, in 1953 Sir Marcus stated that the great amount of uranium oxide to be mined in Australia presented Australia with an economic future of which the great majority of comparable nations would certainly be very envious. [More…]
It all seems to hinge around what one could describe reasonably and fairly as almost a psychotic reaction to fear in relation to the possible abuse and misuse of uranium oxide from Australia. [More…]
I would have thought from what I have read of Sir Marcus Oliphant ‘s recent views that his concern applies less to uranium oxide than it does to homo sapiens or the human beings who are likely to be in a position to abuse and to misuse oxide produced in Australia. [More…]
The Deputy Leader of the Opposition then went on to talk about Australia’s responsibility being the equivalent of that of the United States, particularly after the export of the yellowcake uranium oxide had commenced. [More…]
The interesting thing about the speech of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, in contrast to the speech of the former Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the honourable member for Reid (Mr Uren), was the relevation that the Australian Labor Party has in mind plans which would almost certainly indicate that it envisaged the development of a uranium export industry and subsequently the establishment of a uranium industry development authority in this country. [More…]
He referred to the need for a uranium industry development authority- an authority to be responsible for standards- thereby giving the indication that he had no confidence at all in Australian companies to maintain standards which would be acceptable within their own organisations and which would be to the advantage of their own people. [More…]
Tell us more about the uranium development authority. [More…]
Let us have the truth, for it is quite clear at least from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition that the reality is that the Australian Labor Party is well aware of the fact that there will be a uranium industry and that there will be plans for its development in the future. [More…]
I think also that the Government should realise that amending legislation to gain a short term relief in our balance of payments crisis or for any of the other purposes which have been brought forward during the debate, such as to promote the accelerated processing, mining and export of uranium, should not take precedence over justice to our oppressed indigenous people, which is the theme which the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs very rightly has stressed from the outset of his accepting the Aboriginal Affairs Ministry. [More…]
It is my purpose to argue that that right to justice should take precedence over any supposed urgency to promote a package of uranium Bills. [More…]
Previous Opposition speakers on this cluster of uranium Bills have made it clear that there are alternatives to nuclear power; that there are alternatives to a headlong and hellbent development at all costs. [More…]
We can offer the world a better solution than uranium mining to all the problems which uranium mining is supposed to solve. [More…]
We hear that all the world is crying out for uranium. [More…]
That submission expresses the view, based on much sounder evidence than the evidence on which the uranium lobbyists base their arguments, that the waste problem, the security problem, can be solved. [More…]
So let us not kid ourselves that the Government’s package of uranium is the best answer to the problems which the Government is posing- the problems of our need to export, our need for a better balance of payments, our need to meet the world’s energy needs or whatever. [More…]
We are very severely limited as to time, but I seek the Minister’s assurance, if he can give it- I trust that eventually he will- that he will include the Gimbat and Goodparla pastoral leases, as recommended by the Fox report, in the Ranger uranium areas in the Alligator Rivers region, or that he will in some way include those leases in the land rights proposals. [More…]
This Bill is intended to give effect to the Government’s decisions on the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry as far as they affect Aboriginal land rights. [More…]
There is one other aspect of the Minister’s speech which has relevance to the sheaf of Bills dealing with the uranium issue which we have been discussing. [More…]
As I have indicated these are aimed at uranium export first, not Aboriginal rights first. [More…]
There is no justification for this headlong and heedless rush into the export of uranium when the demand for it is winding down, when the whole world is having second thoughts and when here, in the city of Canberra, a reasonable, sensible and sane alternative has been neglected since May 1976. [More…]
This Bill is, of course, linked with the numbers of important Bills designed to give effect to the implementation of the second Fox report, the proper name of that report being the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
It is important, if the general package of Bills relating to uranium mining is to proceed- we have already voted on that in the House tonight- that the amendments to give effect to the protection of Aboriginal interests are carried into legislative form. [More…]
They were seen as being important in the framework of legislation that would permit uranium mining if the Government made the decision to proceed with uranium mining. [More…]
This Bill is important because it seeks to protect the interests of the Aboriginal people who live in the region and whose rights are affected by uranium mining. [More…]
Provision is made also for providing funds so that, before any moneys become available from the source of uranium mining, the land councils will have funds with which to operate. [More…]
The Government has failed to do this and has put all its energy eggs in the uranium producers’ baskets. [More…]
The first is that the apparent availability and the alleged ease of exploitation of uranium is a major disincentive in Australia to the development of solar, tidal, wind and other nonpolluting, non-exhaustible energy sources, leading to almost indefinite deferment of and a low priority for developing alternative energy sources. [More…]
It is apparently felt that because Australia has ample reserves of uranium, there is no need to develop an energy policy here very seriously. [More…]
1, page 98, is the Bureau of Mineral Resources at present gathering and disseminating geological and geophysical information relevant to uranium exploration; if so, where. [More…]
Has the Bureau disseminated this type of information in the past; if so, which companies have taken uranium mining leases on sites first discovered and surveyed by the Bureau. [More…]
Some of this information is directly or indirectly relevant to uranium exploration. [More…]
Current geological and geophysical investigation of the Pine Creek Geosyncline and the McArthur Basin in the Northern Territory and the Westmoreland/Mount Isa and Georgetown areas in Queensland are providing information and ideas which are basic to the search for ore deposits including uranium. [More…]
Some emphasis was placed on areas thought to have uranium potential in the Northern Territory in the early 1 950 ‘s and again in the late 1 960 ‘s as the search for uranium was accorded a high priority at those times. [More…]
Only one company, Mary Kathleen Ltd, is mining uranium in Australia at present. [More…]
Work done by the BMR has contributed in varying degrees towards the discovery of a number of uranium prospects in the same way as it has done towards the discovery of other mineral prospects. [More…]
The Government’s policy on Aboriginal land rights has been clearly stated, particularly in my second reading speech on the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 and my statement of 23 August on the Government’s uranium decisions. [More…]
-The view of the Australian Labor Party on uranium mining is well known and has been covered fully by previous speakers in the debate concerning the amendments to the Atomic Energy Act. [More…]
The three Bills that we are now debating deal primarily with uranium mining in the Northern Territory and in particular in the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
These three Bills- the Environment Protection (Alligator Rivers Region) Bill, the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Amendment Bill amending the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 and the Environment Protection (Nuclear Codes) Bill- are based on recommendations of the second Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, better known as the second Fox report. [More…]
As is well known, the second report dealt specifically with the effect of the Ranger proposals in the Alligator Rivers region whereas the first report had dealt with the larger question of uranium mining, including the dangers of mining and milling, the operation of nuclear reactors, the problems associated with the safe disposal of nuclear waste, the dangers of the diversion of fissile material for terrorist purposes and the dangers of the diversion of fissile material for nuclear weapons, that is, the problem of nuclear proliferation. [More…]
One then needs to turn to the second Fox report to see what effect uranium mining would have in the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
We should remember that the second Fox report dealt primarily with the proposed Ranger uranium mine at Jabiru. [More…]
Let me just quote a few sections of the second Fox report to indicate how little knowledge we have concerning the effects of uranium mining in the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
How is it possible, on the basis of the repeated statements by the Fox Commission that it simply does not know what will happen in the Magela Creek system if uranium mining goes ahead, that the Government could come to the conclusion that there would be adequate safeguards of the environment of the proposed Kakadu National Park? [More…]
However, if one considers that the Jabiluka mine seepage would flow into the Magela Creek and the Koongarra mine seepage into the Norlangie Creek and thence into the South Alligator River, the only possible conclusion that one could arrive at is that the Government by its approval of uranium mining in the Alligator Rivers region is prepared to place at risk one of the world’s great wildlife sanctuaries, and certainly Australia’s greatest. [More…]
We shall oppose the mining of uranium in the catchment area of the Alligator Rivers region within the Kakadu National Park whilst not opposing the declaration of the Park itself. [More…]
Stage one will be declared immediately and is denned in a map released with the uranium package of last year. [More…]
In the case of uranium mining, with its contaminants flowing into the water systems, the effects can and probably will be spread throughout a large portion of the region. [More…]
These various destructive elements include contaminants from the mine site such as copper, lead, zinc, uranium, thorium radium, manganese, cadmium, molybdenum, iron, mercury, chromium, nickel, arsenic, magnesium, calcium, ammonia, chloride, sulphate, nitrate, phosphate, bicarbonate and suspended solids. [More…]
Our major concern with the co-ordinating committee is that 90 per cent of those people who comprise it will be representatives of government agencies and mining companiesorganisations that have a total commitment to uranium mining. [More…]
In the mining and milling of uranium- and this is not at the stage where it is likely to be made into some sort of nuclear weapon, we are talking only about the mining and milling of it- we have reached the point where the project is already part of the defence system. [More…]
It is supposed to be concerned primarily with the mining, milling and, I assume, marketing of uranium in Australia. [More…]
They are environmentally unsound, they are unnecessarily oppressive and restrictive of people’s civil liberties, and they further the cause of uranium mining, to which the Australian Labor Party is opposed until adequate safeguards have been found. [More…]
That will mean that 90 per cent of the people on the Co-ordinating Committee will have a vested interest, a committed interest, in uranium mining. [More…]
Then there would be representatives from Pancontinental Mining Ltd, Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd and Noranda Australia Ltd. [More…]
This would provide a balance between those people who are committed to uranium mining and those people in the Austraiian community who have a concern for and interest in the future of the Kakadu National Park. [More…]
The other point which I think is relevant is related to the creation of the Uranium Advisory Council. [More…]
Regrettably we will be engaged in the mining, milling and marketing of uranium. [More…]
But, taken together, they deal with the need to make an early start on the mining and development of our uranium resources, whilst at the same time ensuring adequate protection of the environment of the Alligator Rivers Region, protection of the rights and legitimate interests of the Aborigines in the region, protection of the safety of persons engaged in the uranium industry, and the development of adequate safeguards to prevent proliferation of the nuclear armament industry. [More…]
Before I turn to the detail of the Bills before the House, I wish to make a few remarks about the need to develop our uranium resources. [More…]
Our uranium resources are of enormous potential economic importance. [More…]
The only energy source which can enable us to do this over the next several decades is uranium. [More…]
The world needs uranium to generate electric power. [More…]
The use of uranium for electricity generation is already an established fact of life. [More…]
What amazes me about the debate in this country in relation to uranium is that those people who oppose uranium mining and the development of resources seem to be taking the view that it is a new industry. [More…]
That is not to say that our uranium should or would be sold primarily to developing nations. [More…]
Many of them would not have the infrastructure or other facilities to utilise uranium in this way. [More…]
Nor would they all have the necessary sophistication or perhaps willingness to abide by the stringent safeguard provisions which the Australian Government has so rightly laid down as an essential condition of the sale of our uranium- safeguards which are more stringent than those applied by any other uranium supplier in the world. [More…]
It is not necessarily the developing nations to which we should sell uranium; rather it is the more developed nations. [More…]
If those nations utilise increasing proportions of uranium as electricity generating fuel that will ease the pressure of their demand on oil and coal for this purpose, thereby enabling the developing nations to procure those energy sources more readily and at lower cost. [More…]
We in this Parliament have a responsibility to Australia and the rest of the world to develop our uranium resources as speedily as possible, subject, of course, to essential safeguard provisions, reasonable environmental and safety considerations and the rights and interests of the Aboriginal and other inhabitants of the areas where the reserves are located. [More…]
I find it incredible that the shadow Minister with responsibilities in relation to this matter has not yet even been to the area of these uranium deposits. [More…]
As the Minister said when introducing the Environment Protection (Alligator Rivers Region) Bill, which is designed to establish an office of a supervising scientist, a co-ordinating committee and a research institute for the region, it is the co-ordinating committee which will be the focal point of the system proposed by the Government for the protection of the environment from the consequences of uranium mining operations in the region. [More…]
Under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Amendment Bill the Director of National Parks and Wildlife is given enormous power, not only in relation to national park management and environmental considerations but also in relation to the development of uranium mining and milling. [More…]
I am pleased to see that the Bills permit the controlled exploration for uranium and other minerals in the Kakadu National Park. [More…]
I can only express the hope and the confidence that the Council and all other interested parties will work together constructively and co-operatively to further the interests of all Australians through the early controlled development of our uranium resources and the necessary protection of this remarkable ecosystem. [More…]
I hope that either the remarks were exaggerated or that the present differences of view can be quickly resolved because I believe it is essential that developmental work in the Alligator Rivers region uranium deposits commences during the forthcoming dry season. [More…]
There are other major suppliers of uranium around the world and they are selling their uranium, not all of them on terms or subject to provisions which we would consider responsible. [More…]
I take the opportunity to reaffirm my intransigent attitude to uranium mining at this stage. [More…]
I think this is well illustrated in this uranium legislation. [More…]
Forgetting my basic opposition to the question of uranium mining and processing, it is cause for great concern that there has been this lack of consultation. [More…]
Since those earlier recommendations two factors that have come into consideration have been the recognition of Aboriginal land tights and the inquiries that were carried out into that subject and, of course, the discovery of substantial deposits of uranium in the area. [More…]
The Minister shall cause to be prepared and kept a list setting out the name of each Department, authority, incorporated company or other body that in his opinion has an interest in uranium mining operations in the Alligator Rivers Region . [More…]
The Government has made a national issue of this question of uranium mining. [More…]
These bodies are not in a bureaucratic sense involved in the day-to-day operation of or the results of uranium mining; they are not involved in the industrial sense in the results but they are interested because of their fields of activity. [More…]
Whilst I have mentioned these three mining areas- we understand that more than one of them will start at the same time- that are in the park yet not in the park, we know that examinations have shown that there are other vast deposits of uranium contained in the area of the Kakadu National Park. [More…]
What are the real protections against the further exploration for and extraction of uranium in that park? [More…]
Under stage one the main area of the park will immediately become Aboriginal land and the national park will be proclaimed as soon as possible under the Act and will cover the same area, excluding the uranium mining areas. [More…]
The total area of the national park eventually will include the South Alligator and the East Alligator River basins other than the Arnhem Land reserve, uranium mining leases and certain pastoral leases excluding Munmarlary and Mudginberri. [More…]
Admittedly, the report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry recommended that the national park be created under a Federal Act but, at the time that report was prepared, moves towards self-government for the Territory were only beginning to gain momentum. [More…]
The Bill envisages that the national Director will have a central role in the protection of the environment and in the enforcement of environmental controls, whether relating to uranium mining or not, in the area comprised in the national park or in any conservation zone, pending the extension of the national park. [More…]
It has a wonderful wealth in its uranium deposits, its scenic beauty and its national parks. [More…]
Whilst I do not share the view of the Premier of Victoria in regard to the mining of uranium, I certainly share his view that there exists a body of knowledge and experience, not merely in the State of Victoria but indeed in many States of the Commonwealth, on the whole question of open-cut mining. [More…]
While the Atomic Energy Act grabs overall power over this unfortunate area of uranium mining - [More…]
However, we should be aware that in August 1977 the Prime Minister (Mr Malcom Fraser), as part of the package statement on the development and use of uranium in Australia, gave notice that there would be nation-wide regulations controlling the use and the transport of uranium and codes concerning uranium use. [More…]
We have international obligations covering the way in which uranium is handled in Australia. [More…]
It is all very well to say that we will place certain restrictions on our trading neighbours and that we will place restrictions on countries that buy our uranium but that we will not observe those restrictions within Australia. [More…]
In fact, one State might decide to have no codes at all because uranium is not of interest to it. [More…]
That State may not have any uranium deposits, nor may uranium be transported through it. [More…]
in response to a specific request on your part, on 2 1 September 1 977,I nominated the Minister for Conservation in Victoria as the State Government contact point for information relating to the development of uniform codes of practice relating to uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
There shall be a uniform Australian code covering the mining and milling of uranium. [More…]
Some considerations must be borne in mind: For example, the development of the uranium industry in the Northern Territory and the need for the Government to be concerned about the health and welfare of the workers in the field. [More…]
I agree that the mining and processing of uranium in Australia must conform to those international obligations- never mind the fact that we happen to have however many sovereign States there are. [More…]
The mere fact that the process might be new does not matter, uranium is obtained by a process of open-cut mining. [More…]
Let us consider just one area that has been a matter of considerable political controversy in the uranium debate, and I refer to the disposal of nuclear waste. [More…]
Many of us on this side of the chamber believe that uranium should be left in the ground. [More…]
There are people in Australia who have publicly touted that view as an inducement to selling uranium overseas. [More…]
One State government- South Australiahas taken the view, I believe properly, that it is not going to mine uranium in its State because it is not satisfied that proper safeguards have been made at the international level. [More…]
My Government has decided to accept this recommendation but to go further and, together with the States, to establish by legislation a uniform national Code which covers all aspects of mining and milling of uranium as well as any future nuclear activities. [More…]
It now appears certain that uranium mining will soon begin in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Congressional hearings in Washington in February raised serious doubts about this question and about the efficacy of the safety precautions imposed to protect those whose work exposes them to low levels of radiation, as in uranium mining and handling. [More…]
There is, however, growing concern over the long-term safety of all involved with nuclear energy, from the mining of uranium to its use as a source of energy. [More…]
Are there any figures available showing the number of deaths caused by lung cancer in uranium miners working (a) underground and (b) in open cut mines in (i) the USA, (ii) Canada, (iii) South Africa, (iv) the USSR and (v) Czechoslovakia. [More…]
That is very depressing because the Soviet Union is one of the largest producers of uranium and one of the largest manufacturers of atomic energy plants. [More…]
We are dealing with the open cut method of mining uranium in Australia. [More…]
There will be a uniform Australian code covering mining and milling of uranium. [More…]
It is important that the uranium legislation be passed as soon as possible if development of the Ranger uranium deposits is to proceed this dry season. [More…]
The Bill which we are presently debating certainly can be delayed in order to discuss all the other matters which flow from what are deemed to be reasonable codes of practice to provide safeguards in the mining and transportation of uranium. [More…]
The overall, overweening intention of the Government was, of course, to get the whole process of uranium mining under way in Australia. [More…]
As far as the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) was concerned there was no room for further debate or argument anywhere in Australian society about the whole question of uranium mining. [More…]
I and many hundreds of thousands of Australians take the view that the present state of our technology is such that the healthiest thing we could do, not merely for the people of Australia but for the people of the world, is to leave uranium in the ground. [More…]
I believe that for this Government to proceed with this son of sloppy legislation in spite of the fact that a very large component of the Australian community is gravely concerned about the whole question of uranium mining is, in itself, quite reprehensible. [More…]
It was this Government which was so determined to get the whole process of uranium mining started. [More…]
I uphold the point of order and I remind the honourable member for Melbourne Ports to narrow his remarks to the code and not canvass the broad aspects of the uranium issue. [More…]
Uranium is a national responsibility, a matter of national interest, and the Opposition would want the same set of laws and the same interpretation of those laws throughout Australia irrespective of where uranium was located. [More…]
Let us make this point: In the debate on the Atomic Energy Amendment Bill, which was passed last evening and gave the Commonwealth absolute powers to control uranium mining irrrespective of any State legislation, we stressed again the importance of civil liberties. [More…]
It follows, does it not, that there would be many people wanting to test the issue of environmental control and all the other matters as here defined concerned with uranium mining operations, yet the jurisdiction is being limited to the suit of the Director or of a land council. [More…]
However, when a whole new body of law- in this case uranium law- is put on that statute book, it is depressing indeed to see that the Government is making access to the courts as narrow as possible. [More…]
We consider that uranium law is a special body of law requiring stringent public safeguards in the same way as uranium itself. [More…]
Today we had broken, again without notice, an arrangement made by the Whips that four speakers should take part in the debate on the legislation dealing with the environmental aspects of uranium mining. [More…]
In common with so many of the clauses to which the Opposition has objected in this package of Bills on uranium this provision involves secrecy. [More…]
The Supreme Court of the Northern Territory of Australia has jurisdiction, at the suit of the Director or of a Land Council, to make orders for or in relation to the enforcement, in relation to uranium mining operations in the Alligator Rivers Region, of any requirement of or having effect under a prescribed instrument, so far as the requirement relates to any matter affecting the environment in that region. [More…]
In clause 4(1), omit ‘at the suit of the Director or of a Land Council, to make orders for or in relation to the enforcement, in relation to uranium mining operations in the Alligator Rivers Region,’, substitute ‘at the suit of the Director, the Supervising Scientist, a Land Council or any person or persons whose interests are affected by uranium mining operations in the Alligator Rivers Region, to make orders for or in relation to the enforcement, in relation to uranium mining operations in the Region, ‘. [More…]
In clause 4, after sub-clause ( 1 ) insert the following subclauses: ( 1a) An organisation of persons, whether incorporated or not, shall be taken to have interests that are affected by uranium mining operations in the Region if concern with the environment in the Region is a matter included in the objects or purposes of the organisation or association. [More…]
( 1b) Sub-section ( 1a) does not apply in relation to a particular happening, incident or transaction occurring as pan of uranium mining operations in the Region if the matter occurred before the organisation or association was formed or before the objects or purposes of the association included concern with the environment in the Region. [More…]
The amendment to clause 4 provides that jurisdiction would be available to the Director, the supervising scientist, land council or any person or persons whose interests are affected by uranium mining operations. [More…]
The further amendment to clause 4 provides that any organisation, whether incorporated or not, would be taken to have an interest that was affected by uranium mining if included in its objects was the question of environmental concern. [More…]
This Bill gives the Northern Territory Supereme Court jurisidiaion to make orders in the nature of an injunction or a specific performance on application by the Director of the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service or a land council in relation to the Alligator Rivers Region where uranium mining operations occur. [More…]
Iran has found it difficult to enter into an agreement where Australia’s position on reprocessing uranium remains reserved in accordance with the policy I announced in this Parliament nearly a year ago. [More…]
Although it is potentially a major customer for Australia’s uranium, being prepared to purchase 15,000 tons for the period to 1994, the safeguards agreement containing all the elements of our announced safeguards policy is a prior requirement for sales of uranium to Iran or any other country. [More…]
It is more important that the world be assured that the trade in uranium will not be a destabilising force, a force that would undermine the present nuclear non-proliferation regime and move us from a safer world. [More…]
The Government has said that it is flirting with the idea of a resources tax to replace the crude oil levy of $3 per barrel and also a resources tax on uranium profits, if they ever get that industry off the ground; that is, if the new mines are ever developed. [More…]
But the important thing is uranium. [More…]
Often the Opposition would have us believe, as it asserts in this place, that there is no demand for uranium; that the world does not need it. [More…]
It is inevitable that we have to provide uranium to our trading partners. [More…]
The Opposition could well look to its own policy on uranium. [More…]
Of course, our safeguards agreements will provide for IAEA safeguards to verify that the uranium supplied is for peaceful purposes and will not be diverted to nonpeaceful or explosive purposes. [More…]
There will, of course, be regular consultations with uranium importing countries to satisfy ourselves on the implementation of the agreement. [More…]
In this way our willingness to make Australian uranium available to meet world energy needs, but subject to stringent safeguards, makes an important contribution to international nuclear non-proliferation. [More…]
In more precise terms, we should say to them: ‘We want you to take something from us, and if that commodity is uranium, you have to take something else as well’. [More…]
I made an appointment with a Mr Stephen Hall, whom, I understand, is an office bearer of the Knox-Sherbrooke Movement Against Uranium Mining. [More…]
It was agreed that he would come to my office and we would discuss some matters regarding the rnining and sale of Australian uranium for peaceful purposes and that I would endeavour to explain to him the Government’s policy, answer any questions and deal with any worries that he had. [More…]
At the time he made the appointment he was asked whether he would be coming alone or whether other representatives of the local Movement Against Uranium Mining would be attending at the same time. [More…]
It was a very unseemly and untidy affair and, as honourable members who take a responsible view of these matters would realise, it did nothing to further the cause of those genuinely concerned about uranium mining. [More…]
Will the Minister assure this House that his Government will not allow Australia to become an international burial ground for nuclear waste and will not allow nuclear waste derived from any Australian uranium used in the Philippines to be dumped in Australia? [More…]
I believe that the comments of Mr Yunupingu, the Chairman of the Northern Land Council, made after our meeting yesterday, to the effect that a closer understanding and a greater degree of co-operation than ever before has now been achieved amongst the parties involved are an excellent omen for future negotiations and relations towards the development of uranium in the area. [More…]
I believe it is important that all parties look at this project which involves the development of uranium, and of the national park, as being a co-operative one. [More…]
-Since this Government took office, and particularly since its decision on the export of uranium, Australia’s activity on arms control and disarmament has increased markedly. [More…]
Finally, our decision to allow the export of uranium under stringent safeguards was taken in the context of our support for nuclear arms control objectives. [More…]
I want to restrict my remarks this morning to the reporting in the national Press and the reporting by the Parliamentary Press Gallery of the uranium debate. [More…]
This was a disgrace when it is considered that we were, in fact, taking a decision on the enormous implications involved in mining in Australia nearly 20 per cent of the known uranium deposits in the western world. [More…]
He talked about the uranium debate and a shift from morals to dollars. [More…]
We know that the newspapers have been playing down the debate on uranium particularly the anti-mining aspect. [More…]
I want to make it quite clear that I believe that Mr Tony Thomas of the Melbourne Age has tried to make an in-depth analysis of a broad aspect of the uranium debate. [More…]
I know that he has travelled widely in the uranium area where the uranium is proposed to be mined. [More…]
The reporting of the Melbourne Age on the uranium debate has fallen off. [More…]
He made that comment early in the uranium debate, prior to the elections. [More…]
I asked in this House whether the Treasury had made any short term or long term analyses of the consequences of the outcome of uranium mining exports. [More…]
We know the use to which they will put our uranium if they are able to get it. [More…]
In sharp contradistinction to his scare tactics in relation to Australia’s very responsible policy on uranium he has never once in this House condemned those countries which are flat out in going ahead with uranium mining and development. [More…]
As honourable members are well aware, the Alligator Rivers region constitutes a source of uranium of major significance by world standards. [More…]
Whilst I do not adopt that definition necessarily, I believe that we must be aware of our responsibilities in this area, in the same way that we are aware of our responsibilities in relation to uranium, coal, iron ore, et cetera. [More…]
Each year about a month before the meeting of creditors stories are floated suggesting that the company is about to strike oil, gold, uranium or some other bonanza. [More…]
It is a firm condition of the supply of Australian uranium that we retain the right of prior consent to any reprocessing of nuclear material derived from that uranium. [More…]
The World Health Organisation is not an organisation that would be sneered at by the honourable member for Wills (Mr Bryant) and I recommend that he study its predictions for the turn of this century and to bear in mind that 14 million people living as we are on this continent with the great assets that there are to be developed here in minerals, including uranium and oil and in development to take place, we will need every effort that can be put forward by our small population to develop our great and mighty country. [More…]
I do not altogether disagree with the honourable member for Casey (Mr Falconer), and I suspect that not all my colleagues shared my views about the appointment of Mr Justice Fox as a roving ambassador on the question of uranium safeguards. [More…]
In my letter I point out to the Herald that opposition to uranium mining is based on a strong grass roots anti-uranium feeling in the branches of the Labor Party. [More…]
That was reflected two weeks ago when the Victorian State branch called a special conference of delegates at one week’s notice to fight the Fraser Government’s repressive uranium legislation. [More…]
I point out that opposition to uranium cuts across all ideological positions in the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
What has the Sydney Morning Herald done to promote the uranium debate in recent months? [More…]
The Herald has failed to act on requests by the movement against uranium mining to put views contrary to those of Mr Wentworth. [More…]
The Sydney Morning Herald certainly has not given equal space to the anti-uranium position. [More…]
I submit that democracy is at a low ebb when public debate on a matter so important as uranium can be suppressed in that way. [More…]
Has he determined that research and investigations, other than that associated with uranium and atomic energy, be carried out by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission under the Atomic Energy Act; if so, ( a ) what are the research projects involved and (b) what proportion of the annual budget of the AAEC is allocated to these projects. [More…]
They included the Liberal Party’s preoccupation with the interests of big business and the intransigence of the Prime Minister on such issues as industrial relations and uranium. [More…]
We have pursued uranium development, recognising national and international obligations, with care, with concern, but with as much speed as has been possible in the totality of the circumstances. [More…]
The Minister knows, as anybody who has been to the Alligator Rivers Region knows, that no matter what they do and no matter what amendments are brought in, the mining of uranium will destroy that area and that environment. [More…]
We will join with people in opposition to the mining of uranium. [More…]
Mines will be able to develop but irrespective of whether that is done by Pan-continental or by Ranger, they will both be struggling because there is a great deal of economic pressure and competition as a result of the dwindling world market for uranium. [More…]
The latest fear of the Uranium Mining Companies is that the industry might go ahead with the fast breeder. [More…]
If some countries do go ahead with the fast breeder, the amount of uranium now needed to drive conventional nuclear power stations may not be needed. [More…]
I feel that in the long term the thing that will defeat uranium mining in this country and in other countries is the whole economic situation in the northern hemisphere. [More…]
The one thing that will defeat the whole business of uranium mining in this country is the economic situation in the northern hemisphere. [More…]
You have to take out the unused uranium. [More…]
But the Government has said that it is against reprocessing of its nuclear waste, so even if it sells our uranium to any country it has not agreed at this stage to allow reprocessing. [More…]
All I am saying is that interrelated with the environment is the fact that the third recommendation of the Fox report was that the nuclear power industry and uranium mining was interrelated with the whole question of the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and that in itself is a threat. [More…]
We are opposed to the mining of uranium in this country. [More…]
The honourable member for Reid (Mr Uren), in his complete madness in attacking the Commonwealth Government’s policy to mine and to export uranium, seems to have overlooked the fact that the people of the Northern Territory live in an area of 520,000 square miles. [More…]
He is carried away with his specific policy on anti-uranium mining. [More…]
We are discussing the amendments to these uranium Bills. [More…]
There are no problems so we can go ahead and mine uranium to the satisfaction of the Minister. [More…]
If one looks at the history of this region and at the boundaries that have been drawn, one realises that they have been drawn for one purpose only and that is to enable the Government to fulfil its objective of uranium mining. [More…]
The overwhelming position of the Government was what it was about with uranium mining. [More…]
All honourable members know that the role of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, since its inception, has been to encourage the development of uranium mining. [More…]
I have never met the gentleman concerned but I do not believe that the Government was genuine in its appointment of the supervising scientist, if the Government is saying that this man sees his role as protecting the environment as against the interests of the uranium miners. [More…]
I concede that there are a couple of people who have been appointed to the supervising committee who will render a valuable service but I think if we are being honest about it we will say that what the honourable member was really concerned about was not that those persons would have any real regard for the protection of the environment but that they would have a slice of the cake, whether yellowcake or otherwise, from the profits that come from uranium mining. [More…]
If one views the amendments as part of the total Government package, what the Government is concerned to do is to mine uranium. [More…]
I might say that the Supervising Scientist involved himself in the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
I repeat, there is disquiet on the part of people who gave evidence about how impartial they would be if they were involved in the business of uranium mining. [More…]
one of its ordinary roles is the promotion of uranium mining and nuclear development generally. [More…]
The Government would not care what got in the way; it just wants to reef that uranium out of the ground as quickly as it possibly can. [More…]
All it demonstrates is the incessant desire of this Government to get on with the business of selling and hawking uranium around the world, regardless of the consequences. [More…]
It might not be uranium, just a rich deposit of some mineral. [More…]
I want to raise the aspect of nuclear non-proliferation and the question of export of uranium, whether Australia can monitor what happens to those exports and whether adequate safeguards exist. [More…]
That is, of uranium- was committed to accept IAEA or EURATOM safeguards. [More…]
I turn now to our attitude to the export of uranium and our policy on safeguards. [More…]
It is clear that we could well be creating a nuclear weapon state, namely, the recipient of our uranium oxide. [More…]
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission is very concerned about that matter and says that there can be no guarantees given unless the use of uranium can be policed effectively and properly, why are we not equally concerned? [More…]
The Government is very conscious of the increased international influence which Australia has acquired in international arms control and non-proliferation efforts as the result of its decisions on the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
The Government’s decision to allow the export of uranium from new mines under stringent safeguards was taken in the context of its support for international nuclear arms control efforts; in particular for universal adherence to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the strengthening of the international nonproliferation regime; to obtain a cessation of nuclear testing in all environments; and to encourage the superpowers to continue the strategic arms limitation talks negotiating process towards nuclear disarmament. [More…]
Australia’s stringent safeguards policy for uranium exports is designed to further the essential goal of universal adherence to the NPT. [More…]
It offers something tangible, that is, access to our uranium for those countries which are prepared to renounce nuclear weapons by becoming parties to the Treaty. [More…]
His own speech concentrated unduly on what is admittedly a very important area, the uranium and nuclear arms debate. [More…]
From the word ‘go’ it wanted to produce uranium regardless of the dangers, regardless of the hazards and regardless of the safety of the men on the job. [More…]
The Government in the first instance brought in legislation which was hasty, ill-considered and concerned only with the objective of getting the whole process of uranium mining started. [More…]
Now, in order to get uranium mining started before the wet season, the Government has adopted a position which completely contradicts and subverts any concept that the Commonwealth will be not the exclusive power but the paramount power in determining nuclear codes. [More…]
This Government, because what it is really concerned about is the whole question of uranium mining, has said: ‘Righto, the Commonwealth chooses not to be the paramount authority and the real power for decision-making in respect of nuclear codes will rest with the States’. [More…]
One has only to look at what occurred in respect of the uranium mining at Rum Jungle. [More…]
Is it because of some genuine concern to ensure that the mining and the sale of uranium in this country is carried out on the most appropriate basis? [More…]
Mr Chairman, what members of the Opposition have said in this debate- it is their allegations that I am answering- is that the States are entirely incompetent to have any influence over the code relating to the uranium environmental protection that we are debating tonight. [More…]
This is absolutely typical of their philosophical stand on the uranium mining question, particularly in respect of the Environment Protection (Nuclear Codes) Bill that we are now debating. [More…]
Mr Chairman, I will go directly to the clauses we are debating and point out the fact that the codes which are the subject of the amendments are part of our obligation under international agreements that presently exist and which this Government will be proposing in forums to see that there is a universal approach to safeguards and environmental standards which will apply to the mining of uranium. [More…]
The amendments and this code which the Government has come up with after a great deal of consideration after receiving the report of the Fox inquiry are specifically designed to provide that level and degree of environmental protection which is absolutely basic to the mining and treatment of uranium. [More…]
These are the sorts of provisions which any country involved in the uranium cycle should regard as absolutely basic. [More…]
In August of last year the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) wrote to all the States and said that the Government was going to try to bring in uniform codes of environment protection for uranium mining throughout Australia. [More…]
Did the Prime Minister write to the South Australian Premier in August last year saying that there would be full consultation with the States in developing uniform legislation for the mining and export of uranium? [More…]
Is it a fact that there were no discussions with the States prior to the announcement last week that Bills concerning uranium would be introduced into the House today? [More…]
That means just what the honourable member for Melbourne Ports said it means: That the real power of deciding the codes of practice for uranium mining outside the Northern Territory or any other Commonwealth Territory certainly is in the hands of the States. [More…]
In other words, the codes of practice for uranium mining at, say, Mary Kathleen will be a matter for BjelkePetersen, and at Yeelirrie in Western Australia they will be a matter for Premier Court and his colleagues. [More…]
It has said that it will sell uranium to certain countries but that certain safeguards have to be observed. [More…]
For instance, one safeguard states that there will not be any reprocessing, because after reprocessing plutonium and unused uranium can be extracted. [More…]
If there is pressure on the Government because it cannot sell uranium overseas, will it give in? [More…]
I seek leave to incorporate in Hansard the Australian Labor Party’s policy on uranium which was formulated after a broadbased discussion? [More…]
ALP POLICY ON URANIUM [More…]
Conference recognises that the provision of Australian uranium to the world nuclear fuel cycle creates problems relevant to Australian sovereignty, the environment, the economic welfare of our people, and the rights and well-being of the Aboriginal people. [More…]
Labor believes, that having regard to the present unresolved economic, social, biological, genetic, environmental and technical problems associated with the mining of uranium and the development of nuclear power and in particular- [More…]
the absence of procedures for the storage and disposal of radioactive wastes to ensure that any danger posed by such wastes to human life and the environment is eliminated, it is imperative that no commitment of Australia ‘s uranium deposits to the world’s nuclear fuel cycle should be made until: [More…]
the Australian Government endorses Recommendation 6 of the First Fox Report, which states: “a decision to mine and sell uranium should not be made unless the Commonwealth Government ensures that the Commonwealth can at any time . [More…]
Labor declares a moratorium on uranium mining and treatment in Australia, [More…]
Labor will repudiate any commitment of a non-Labor Government to the mining, processing or export of Australia ‘s uranium, and [More…]
Labor will not permit the mining, processing or export of uranium pursuant to agreements entered into contrary to ALP policy.’ [More…]
The branches of the Australian Labor Party formulated our policy on uranium. [More…]
So clause 12 seeks to give the Commonwealth Parliament the maximum amount of power and we agree that that power should be used to protect the people of Australia to the maximum extent in relation to uranium mining if uranium mining commences in August during the next couple of years. [More…]
I believe that it is unnecessary for uranium mining to commence in Australia. [More…]
What lam suggesting is that it is admirable to produce this type of legislation if there is to be uranium mining. [More…]
I then went on to debate whether there ought to be uranium mining and later said: [More…]
If there is to be uranium mining this sort of legislation is necessary . [More…]
The codes can be put into practice in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia or any State where uranium mining takes place only if the Governor of that State- I presume that means the State Government- requests those regulations to be put into practice in that State. [More…]
If this Government really wants to reassure the potential miners of uranium and the people who will be transporting the material mined, it will amend this legislation to put it back to its original form because that is the only form which offers protection to them. [More…]
The problem is that they, like other honourable members opposite, are totally opposed to uranium mining and seek to obstruct every Bill on this issue. [More…]
We have given them a chance to express themselves and now we are giving them the opportunity to create their own codes and their own legislation on uranium mining. [More…]
If these honourable members had followed what has been said since August last year when the decisions on uranium mining were announced they would see that what we are saying now is completely consistent with what we were saying then. [More…]
It was so ravenous in its attempt to reap the profits of uranium it did not care whether the matter concerned Aboriginals, the environment, the States or anything else. [More…]
It simply regards it as political expediency to reap the uranium out of the ground. [More…]
It should have sought a recognition from the people of this country of the emerging development of uranium. [More…]
It is concerned with the get-rich people who will rip off the country by the exploitation of uranium. [More…]
The Constitution does not matter as long as the American exploiters can make their money out of uranium. [More…]
As I was saying, clause 13 of the original Bill provides for the ultimate takeover of responsibilities by the Commonwealth in an emergency situation, and obviously the situations that are imagined- as far as the Government is concerned anyway- are civil disturbances or actions against the mining and transport of uranium. [More…]
Also there is a possible situation that could arise regarding the development of hazards from the mining of uranium. [More…]
Firstly, there is the assault upon civil liberties, and secondly, we are utterly and completely opposed to uranium mining at this stage because there is no known way to dispose of nuclear waste, and because the safeguards- such as the international atomic energy agency safeguards that the Government is depending upon, and also bilateral agreements and signatories to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty- are just not sufficient to guarantee that Australian uranium will not be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. [More…]
They said at the time that their objections were based, firstly, upon the assault upon civil liberties inherent in clause 13, and secondly, because clause 13 might pave the way for an ultimate Federal direction that uranium mining may proceed in the States against the wishes of the State government that may be in power at that particular time. [More…]
It was not- and this is important- because they objected to safety procedures to govern uranium mining and transport in the ultimate eventuality of that going ahead. [More…]
But when we look at what has happened in these amendments- firstly, the one we have already dealt with, sub-clause (5)- does that really mean that uranium mining can still proceed if the States object and there are no safety procedures whatsoever? [More…]
Does sub-clause (6) really mean that if a real nuclear hazard did develop- one could easily imagine it, I will put forward a hypothetical situation in a moment- the States could override the Commonwealth, override the wishes of the workers and order that uranium mining could go ahead and must go ahead? [More…]
To members of the Opposition that means that if the States objected to a Commonwealth direction to stop, the uranium mining could still go ahead. [More…]
We think that it does and that is what we object to because this is the sort of situation that could develop at, say, Ranger It might be remembered that the Fox Inquiry was told that mill tailings, which if exposed to the atmosphere give off radon gas for a hundred thousand years, would be stored under water and Mr Justice Fox said that was no good and they should be buried in the empty mine after the uranium has been taken out, and I understand that will happen. [More…]
Under this amendment the Queensland Government could say to the Commonwealth that the uranium mining must still proceed. [More…]
The whole parcel ought to be withdrawn, and if he is still determined to go ahead with the nefarious activity of uranium mining he should come up with something better than the ultimate result of these Senate mutilated Bills. [More…]
It is quite clear that the States can do anything with the uranium. [More…]
This is the most serious hazard associated with the industry yet this Government is giving authority to the States to have control over uranium. [More…]
Labor believes that having regard to the present unresolved economic, social, biological, genetic, environmental and technical problems associated with the mining of uranium and the development of nuclear power . [More…]
Labor declares a moratorium on uranium mining and treatment in Australia, [More…]
Labor will repudiate any commitment of a non-Labor Government to the mining, processing or export of Australia’s uranium, and [More…]
Labor will not permit the mining, processing or export of uranium pursuant to agreements entered into contrary to ALP policy. [More…]
We also asked the chamber to endorse a proposal that until such time as the States were satisfied on the hazards and dangers associated with uranium mining and nuclear activities the Commonwealth could not compel any State to mine. [More…]
I adopt the arguments put by my colleagues: Like many thousands of Australians I believe that there are grave dangers and problems, not merely national but also international, in the mining of uranium. [More…]
Putting that to one side, at least we could agree that if uranium is to be mined the best possible codes governing the safety and welfare of workers in the industry ought to be produced. [More…]
I remind him that on 2 May I asked him a question in relation to an in-depth analysis of, or a prepared paper showing, the short term and long term implications for the Australian economy in relation to uranium mining and export. [More…]
Has Treasury prepared a paper showing the short and long term implications for the economy resulting from uranium mining and export? [More…]
In accordance with the recommendations of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, the Government had delayed issue of any formal authorities to mine until other recommendations concerning the grant of Aboriginal land and environmental protection mechanisms have been implemented. [More…]
-by leave- The purpose of this statement is to set out the nature of the regulation and control which the Government will exercise over the export marketing of uranium. [More…]
The Parliament will recall that the Government announced on 25 August 1977 a comprehensive policy for the further development of Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
That policy was based on the findings and recommendations of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry conducted under the Honourable Mr Justice Fox as Presiding Commissioner. [More…]
Australia’s decision, as announced on 25 August 1977, to proceed with further uranium development has received wide acceptance in Australia and abroad. [More…]
Our policy was decided only after most careful consideration of the report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
The Ranger Inquiry laid particular stress on the orderly development of our vast uranium resources. [More…]
The development of those resources, while serving the objectives just mentioned, must also be regulated and controlled so as to ensure full protection of the environment and the welfare of the Aboriginal people, and yield the economic benefits to Australia and its people that were described in the report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
Central to this aspect of our policy is the recommendation of the Ranger Inquiry that a uranium marketing authority be established. [More…]
In my statement of 25 August 1977 I stated that the Government accepted the thrust of the recommendation of the Ranger Inquiry and that we would establish a uranium marketing authority or similar marketing arrangements to achieve the objective of orderly development. [More…]
But I made clear that in the arrangements we made we would ensure that the Government had at all times proper knowledge, oversight and control over the arrangements under which Australian uranium is exported. [More…]
That control would always ensure that the Government would be in a position to move immediately to terminate uranium development, permanently, indefinitely or for a specified period as recommended by the Ranger Inquiry. [More…]
Against the above background the Government has considered carefully its attitude in regard to the machinery which should govern future exports of Australian uranium and I shall now explain to the House the decisions we have taken at this stage. [More…]
The export of uranium is presently controlled under the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations of the Customs Act 1901. [More…]
Uranium exports are prohibited unless a certificate in writing under the hand of the Minister for Trade and Resources, or an officer duly authorised by him, is produced to the Collector of Customs. [More…]
The procedures I intend to adopt flow directly from the Government’s determination that exports of Australian uranium will only be permitted in the national interest. [More…]
In considering exports we will have regard to the principles I have already stated, some of which I now repeat briefly, namely: The orderly development of Australia’s uranium resources; making supplies of uranium available to other countries for use in the generation of electricity and for other peaceful purposes; ensuring adherence to the policies of Australia in relation to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the application of safeguards against the use of uranium other than for peaceful purposes.. [More…]
But it is also desirable that uranium producers should be informed of the way in which that discretion will normally be exercised. [More…]
The Minister’s approval for the export of uranium from a particular project will be given only after full consideration by the Government following the completion of environmental procedures and compliance with the Government’s foreign investment policy. [More…]
I can say now, however, that Mary Kathleen Uranium Limited and the Australian Atomic Energy Commission will be permitted to export uranium, the latter from the Ranger deposit. [More…]
The mining and marketing of uranium from the Ranger deposit were the subject of arrangements which the Whitlam Government entered into with Peko Mines Limited and the Electroltytic Zinc Company of Australasia Limited. [More…]
Having regard to the various considerations of national interest I have previously mentioned and the diversity of our deposits it will be necessary for the Minister to exercise some control over the quantities of uranium being exported at any one time. [More…]
It will also be necessary that the Minister determine in advance that the contracts which the uranium producers propose to enter into for the sale of their uranium to overseas buyers contain appropriate terms and conditions consistent with Australian Government nuclear safeguards policy. [More…]
The Minister will also determine terms and conditions relating to the duration of the contract, the quantity of the uranium to be sold under the contract, the method of shipment of the uranium, the price payable for the uranium, the manner- including the currencyof payment and the use to which the uranium is to be put by the purchaser. [More…]
Uranium producers will accordingly need to seek the approval of the Minister before making any firm offers or entering into any legal commitments. [More…]
When a contract has been entered into in accordance with the requirements that the Minister has notified beforehand, the producers will be required to lodge a copy of the contract with the Minister, whereupon it will be formally approved and form the basis for subsequent export approvals covering the uranium to be exported in fulfilment of the contract. [More…]
Shipments of uranium will continue to be controlled, as is the case at present, on the basis of individual consignment. [More…]
These include the requirements that the uranium is being exported from a project which has the status of Government development approval; that the export is for the purpose of performing an approved contract; and that the Australian safeguards policy is fully complied with. [More…]
I have referred to the Government’s previously stated view that a uranium marketing authority or similar arrangements should be established. [More…]
This body would be appropriately named the Australian Uranium Export Authority. [More…]
I envisage that at the appropriate time in our progress with uranium development a uranium export authority should be established to be charged with the duty of advising the Minister for Trade and Resources on the matters I have just outlined in relation to exports under new contracts. [More…]
Such an authority would also carry out a number of important ancillary functions, namely: To assemble and to correlate information relating to the known reserves of uranium in Australia and in other countries; to obtain and analyse information on the supply of and demand for uranium in Australia and other countries; to analyse trends in the international uranium market; to obtain information on the commercial arrangements for the upgrading and enrichment of Australian uranium within and outside Australia. [More…]
The Authority would also liaise with, and provide information to, the Uranium Advisory Council. [More…]
I might add that in view of the nature of the advice that the Authority would need to provide, it would not be appropriate for its members to be chosen from the companies which were participating in the marketing of uranium. [More…]
The machinery and the procedures I have just outlined will ensure that the Government maintains strong regulation and control over uranium exports in the national interest in a manner consistent with the Government’s policy of uranium development announced on 25 August 1 977 following receipt of the report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
Uranium Export Policy- Ministerial Statement, 1 June 1978. [More…]
However, given the import of it and the impact on the Australian uranium industry I think it would have been reasonable if the Government had demonstrated some confidence in the confidentiality that the Opposition would observe and had given it much prior notice of a statement of this nature. [More…]
Does the Government allow Australian uranium to be made into weaponsusable material and kept in national hands? [More…]
Although looking to the eventual development of the Jabiluka uranium deposit, the Government is nevertheless committed to not making a final decision on whether the Jabiluka project should proceed until the environmental effects of the project, both physical and social, is satisfied . [More…]
That is hardly a firm recommendation for the development of Pancontinental; yet the Government will go ahead knowing that in the Magela Creek system there will be two tailings dams, two acid plants, two slake lime plants, and, if one reads aspects of the Fox report about the impact of seepage and the amount of water seepage from the dams, assessments of both Ranger and Pancontinental in the Magela Creek system, obviously the Government even given the fact that it is prepared to go ahead with uranium mining in Australia, in clear contrast to the policy of the Opposition, should proceed only with Ranger and not Pancontinental. [More…]
If Pancontinental gets the go-ahead, some 7,000 tonnes of uranium a year will be pumped into the Western markets of the world. [More…]
He talked about control over quantities for export, adherence to Australian Government safeguard policy, terms and duration of contracts, methods of shipment, price, and the use of uranium. [More…]
Given the fact that the Government wishes to proceed with the export of uranium, these are perfectly reasonable aims. [More…]
I envisage that at the appropriate time in our progress with uranium development a uranium export authority should be established to be charged with the duty of advising the Minister for Trade and Resources . [More…]
We on this side of the House once again bask in the cynicism with which the Government has moved towards its uranium development and export policy. [More…]
Government’s contempt for the general recommendations of the Fox report and that it intends to go ahead regardless of the cogent opposition to the premature development of Australia ‘s uranium deposits. [More…]
I hope that other honourable members on this side of the House will have an opportunity to participate fully in the debate on what is probably one of the most important statements the Government has yet made on the development of Australia’s uranium deposits. [More…]
This statement was brought in following a lengthy debate in the House on the uranium legislation. [More…]
It is to those hasty amendments which were introduced into this House on Monday and Tuesday that the whole crux of this statement is directed, because now we will not have a uniform code for uranium mining across the nation. [More…]
The export of uranium is presently controlled under the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations of the Customs Act 190 1. [More…]
Uranium exports are prohibited unless a certificate in writing under the hand of the Minister for Trade and Resources, or an officer duly authorised by him, is produced to the Collector of Customs. [More…]
ensuring adherence to the policies of Australia in relation to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the application of safeguards against the use of uranium other than for peaceful purposes. [More…]
The whole basis of this uranium business has to be made clear. [More…]
The situation is that this Government has not faced up to the fact that while it mines uranium without the appropriate safeguards on the world scene, it is contributing to a nuclear war. [More…]
In no way would uranium mining or a nuclear power industry assist in the liquid fuel crisis. [More…]
Frankly, I think it is madness- if I can use that term- for this Government to proceed with uranium mining in Australia when so many problems remain unresolved. [More…]
The honourable member for Blaxland also raised the question of the environmental problem in the area in which this uranium mining is to be carried out. [More…]
I asked in this House on Monday and Tuesday whether, when the Government cannot sell its uranium overseas with its so-called stringent safeguards, it will cave in to countries like Iran, the Philippines and the European Atomic Energy Community, which will not stand by and lose their sovereignty in a bilateral agreement to a small country like Australia. [More…]
If it gives in to a few conservative reactionary senators who represent the most conservative forces in this country, it certainly will surrender to those countries from which it wants to get revenue from uranium mining. [More…]
The Government wants to mine and export uranium for greed alone. [More…]
The question of appropriate legislation dealing with the export of uranium and the establishment of a marketing authority, or what we will term the uranium export authority, has been examined very closely by our legal officers. [More…]
-The Government at the time of its last Budget foreshadowed the introduction of a secondary taxing structure, a resources tax to be levied upon the oil production industry and the prospective uranium industry. [More…]
Sir John Hill, the Chairman of the British Atomic Energy Agency, visited me this week to bring me up to date with activities in Britain relating to the nuclear fuel cycle but principally to find out what progress has been made in Australia with the development of uranium and the prospects of future exports of uranium. [More…]
He mentioned specifically that Britain was interested in purchasing from 1982 onwards 1,300 tonnes of uranium a year to meet its requirements. [More…]
Did he hear a radio news report today in which Sir Charles Court was reported as saying that the Yeelirrie uranium deposit in Western Australia would be developed before Ranger because there will be no bureaucratic interference, and that Western Australia is planning for the installation of a nuclear power reactor? [More…]
The understanding that I have of the Western Mining project at Yeelirrie is that the company is at the moment seeking environmental approval to put in a research plant to test the feasibility of a uranium mining operation at Yeelirrie. [More…]
So there is no substance whatsoever in statements that Yeelirrie is likely to come in before the Ranger project and it is quite wrong to make statements that that project can go ahead without the satisfactory environmental impact statements that are required before any uranium project is approved. [More…]
It is true that there was a claim, in one instance, for 36 per cent of gross profits of uranium mining carried out on Aboriginal land to be paid to Aborigines. [More…]
It may be that, because of its national significance, we do not want them to have authority with regard to uranium’. [More…]
There were many clauses in this Bill and, for that matter, in other legislation which we have debated recently- I refer especially to the package of Bills which dealt with the mining of uranium- in respect of which we managed to battle our way through to get some representations accepted. [More…]
Other important issues which arise in that area include the great question of Aboriginal land rights, what to do with our uranium, the bluetongue problem and the illegal importation of drugs, plants and animals. [More…]
External affairs, defence in some aspects at least, and customs tariffs are obvious cases, but others might need to be added, such as coinage and legal tender as well as, of course, the major matters of Aboriginal land rights, uranium and related matters. [More…]
17 November 1977- Jabiluka Uranium Project, Northern Territory (Pancontinental Mining Ltd). [More…]
17 November 1977- Koongarra Uranium project, Northern Territory (Noranda Australia Ltd ). [More…]
17 November 1977- Nabarlek Uranium project, Northern Territory (Queensland Mines Ltd). [More…]
17 November 1 977- Yeelirrie Uranium Project Western Australia ( Western Mining Corporation Ltd ). [More…]
Environment Inquiry on Uranium Development in the Northern Territory: Direction notified in the Gazette on 16 July 1975. [More…]
Finally, may I add that when agreement is eventually reached under the land rights legislation in the Northern Territory for the mining or uranium in the Alligator Rivers Region, we will see the full flowering of the land rights granted to the Aboriginals in the Northern Territory as a consequence of the deliberate action by the Liberal-National Country Party Government to put Aboriginals in a position that they have never occupied before in the history of Australia. [More…]
As I said, we will see the full flowering of land rights legislation when that agreement is finally entered into by the Northern Land Council with respect to mining at Ranger and subsequently with those other companies that wish to exploit the uranium deposits of Aboriginal traditional land. [More…]
They do want it and they do want uranium mining. [More…]
What is the estimated cost of (a) the preparation of cassette tapes of his message translated into the Gunwinggu language, (b) the translation of films on uranium and (c) the distribution and replaying of these tapes and films throughout the Northern Territory. [More…]
No translation has been undertaken of films on uranium. [More…]
One of the principal areas of difference between the Government’s approach to the whole matter of the utilisation of Australia’s uranium resources and that which is advanced by some of our opponents is that we see uranium as a means to help to overcome the critical shortage of energy to meet energy requirements in an energy-hungry world. [More…]
So it can be seen that the extent to which Australia can get its uranium exported and contributing towards this generation of nuclear energy is significantly going to help the power needs of an energy-hungry world. [More…]
Therefore, I think that suggestions that there should be anything but an acceleration of our development of our uranium resources need to be put properly in perspective. [More…]
I said that nuclear fissionable material is either highly enriched uranium or pure plutonium and that the Government had hitherto said that it wished to approve all such enrichment or reprocessing but that the Prime Minister had said that, from this point on, he would have a complete prohibition. [More…]
Accordingly, the Government has decided that forthwith: Firstly, proposals for foreign investment in new projects will not require government approval under the foreign investment guidelines unless the project involves an investment of $5m or more- this does not apply to investment in the financial sector and uranium; secondly, in the case of investments coming within the scope of the Foreign Takeovers Act, the Government will not normally seek to intervene if the assets of the company being taken over are less than $2m, unless there are special circumstances or the business is in the financial sector or some other area where special considerations apply; and, thirdly, individual real estate acquisitions of less than $250,000 will no longer require approval. [More…]
These modifications do not affect the policy in relation to uranium projects or the requirements of the Foreign Takeovers Act. [More…]
In addition Australian policy requires that ownership of uranium be retained by Australia until full IAEA safeguards apply and that bilateral agreements with importing countries provide for adequate physical protection of those countries nuclear industries. [More…]
Has the possibility of the establishment of an international nuclear waste repository in Australia been discussed at International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation meetings or during bilateral discussions between Australia and potential customer countries for Australia ‘s uranium. [More…]
Allegations were then made, supported by statutory declarations, relating to alleged statements by the Minister for Finance on the Government’s decision on uranium mining. [More…]
The Government decided that the terms of reference should be widened to cover the uranium allegations and revised terms of reference were drafted by the law officers. [More…]
On the issue of allegations about statements made by Mr Robinson on uranium, the Commissioner reported: [More…]
On 26 July 1 977 at Beaudesert in the State of Queensland, the Honourable Eric Robinson made a statement concerning the likely decisions of the Commonwealth Government in relation to the mining or uranium in Australia to the following effect- [More…]
The Government will be making a decision about mining and export of uranium early in the Budget session which commences in about three weeks’ time. [More…]
If the Government is satisfied that all interests requiring protection can be protected, I would expect the Government to authorise mining and export of uranium. [More…]
When the honourable member for Fadden made further allegations on 4 May about uranium the Royal Commissioner’s terms of reference were widened to cover them. [More…]
Prior to that there had been an extension of the terms of reference to cover further allegations regarding statements alleged to have been made by the Minister for Finance about uranium. [More…]
In relation to each of the following Western Australian mining projects, (a) Agnew Mining (Teutonic Bore coppernickel mine), (b) Alcoa (Wagerup alumina refinery), (c) Alumax (Mitchell Plateau bauxite mining and alumina refinery, (d) Alwest (Worsley alumina refinery), (e) Amax and Partners (Forrestania nickel project), (f) Anglo American (Sally Malay copper-nickel prospect), (g) Aquitaine (Sorby Hills zinc prospect), (h) BHP (Deepdale iron ore), (i) EZ Industries (Golden Grove copper prospect), (j) Goldsworthy Mining (Area C iron ore), (k) Kimberley Ventures (Koongie Park copper deposits), (1) Hamersley Iron (Expansion program), (m) Mt Newman Mining (Expansion program), (n) NW Shelf Developments (Natural gas), (o) Robe River (Expansion program ), ( p) Texasgulf-Hanwright (Marandoo iron ore), (q) Western Titanium (GabbinKoorda (kaolin deposits and Capel ilmenite), (r) Western Mining (Yeelirrie uranium), (s) Minefields Exploration (Mt Mulgine wolfram prospect) and (t) Agnew-Clough (Coates Siding vanadium deposits), (i) when is development expected to commence, (ii) what is the estimated investment involved, (iii) what will be the size of the construction workforce and (iv) what will be the size of the permanent operational workforce. [More…]
What IAEA safeguards will apply to (a) uranium hexafluoride, (b) enriched uranium and (c) plutonium and uranium obtained from reprocessing. [More…]
In respect of any future shipments of Australian uranium to the Philippines, which country will (a) carry out the conversion of Australian yellowcake to uranium hexafluoride, (b) enrich the uranium hexafluoride, (c) carry out fuel fabrication, (d) accept the spent fuel rods for reprocessing, (e) accept the recycled plutonium and uranium and (f) accept the nuclear waste. [More…]
What action has been taken, or is proposed by the Government to give effect to the recommendation of the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry that consideration be given as soon as possible to the resumption of the Goodparla and Gimbat pastoral leases for inclusion in the proposed Kakadu National Park. [More…]
As I stated in my second reading speech on the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Amendment Bill 1978 the Government accepted the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry’s recommendation that consideration be given to the resumption of Goodparla and pan or all of Gimbat, with a view to their incorporation in the park. [More…]
It might be located where somebody wants to take out a prospecting lease for copper, manganese or uranium. [More…]
This was a blackmail attempt along the same line as the attempts of the honourable member for Reid (Mr Uren) over uranium to turn other countries away from investment in Australia. [More…]
Ranger uranium project. [More…]
1 ) Has his attention been drawn to an article in the Canberra Times of 30 May 1978 relating to investment in uranium exploration and production in some 54 foreign countries including Australia, by the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation. [More…]
) What other foreign governments or instrumentalities, or foreign private companies with the backing of foreign governments, are investing in exploration and ultimate development of Australia ‘s uranium deposits. [More…]
Governments of the following countries are involved through instrumentalities or corporations in uranium exploration in Australia: United Kingdom, Japan, France, Federal Republic of Germany and Italy. [More…]
The honourable gentleman will know that about that time the terms of reference were widened in relation to a matter about uranium- a matter quite extraneous and apart from the redistribution matters. [More…]
It follows his answer to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition in which he indicated that the letter from Mr Justice McGregor led to the expansion of the terms of reference to cover allegations in relation to uranium. [More…]
Is it not a fact that the terms of reference for the Royal Commission to cover matters associated with discussion or talk about uranium by the Minister for Finance were in fact expanded on 10 May? [More…]
The fact that he assumed was that the letter from Mr Justice McGregor led to the expansion of the terms of reference in relation to uranium. [More…]
I think the honourable gentleman should check the record, because what I said was this: There were allegations in relation to uranium. [More…]
Therefore, whilst the terms of reference were widened in relation to the specific matter concerning uranium, the letter was written on the 1 1 th, to which there was a response on the 12th, of the content of which honourable members of this House are now aware. [More…]
It is rich in minerals, including uranium. [More…]
We must bear in mind that the terms of reference had been expanded on 10 May to include matters concerning uranium. [More…]
It has been given the facts in relation to the letters written to Mr Justice McGregor and by Mr Justice McGregor to the Attorney-General in relation to the broadening of the terms of reference, and the fact that that letter related to various allegations that had been made, in not specific terms but about that time, in relation to uranium. [More…]
When there was a need to expand the hearings of that royal commission, when allegations were made regarding uranium share dealings, they were expanded. [More…]
The agreements which I have tabled represent important steps in the establishment of a network of bilateral agreements between Australia and countries wishing to import Australian uranium. [More…]
The purpose of these agreements is to ensure that when Australia supplies uranium for peaceful purposes it will not be diverted to non-peaceful or explosive uses. [More…]
To this end the agreements incorporate stringent safeguards and controls on the use of uranium we supply to other countries for peaceful purposes. [More…]
a requirement for Australia’s prior consent to any re-transfers, to ensure that uranium supplied by Australia cannot be re-exported unless we are satisfied that the ultimate destination is acceptable and that adequate controls would apply to the transferred material; [More…]
all of these safeguards and controls are to cover nuclear material derived from Australian uranium so long as it remains in a form relevant from the point of view of safeguards; that is, until it has been consumed or diluted to the point where there is no practical possibility of it being useful for the purpose of making a nuclear weapon. [More…]
I want to make it clear that the Government has never said that it intends to prohibit the reprocessing of Australian uranium. [More…]
The effect of this arrangement, in essence, is that, should a third country importing Australian uranium so desire, the United States could act as its agent in seeking Australia’s approval for a particular transaction or industrial operation. [More…]
It also remains the case that the United States and other countries attach importance to Australian uranium being available to the rest of the world. [More…]
This is because the availability of Australian uranium will of itself make technologies based on reprocessing and the use of plutonium less attractive and help to avoid a premature movement in this direction. [More…]
Let me make it clear that the Opposition’s policy on uranium is to oppose the export of any of it at the present time. [More…]
It should not be implied from our participation in this discussion on the terms of these agreements and our criticism of them that if they were to be rectified in any way we would accede to the proposal to export uranium. [More…]
The difficulty which always occurs in a debate of this type about whether an agreement is strong enough or otherwise is the question of whether the Opposition would be prepared to allow uranium to be exported if the agreement were strengthened in the way in which the Opposition would like it to be strengthened. [More…]
I am advised that as early as last November, Australia had no less than 15 potential buyers for its uranium. [More…]
We are saying that in the process of selling uranium this Government cannot guarantee that the uranium will not be used for other purposes or for weapons. [More…]
How can this Government give such a guarantee when it loses physical control of the uranium. [More…]
Once the uranium is used it creates a disposal hazard. [More…]
The agreement with Finland is weakened in this sense: I am advised that the letter between the ambassadors makes it clear that Australia will not necessarily require that a bilateral safeguards agreement with Australia must be in operation with any country upgrading Australian uranium- that is, conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication from Finland. [More…]
It is clear that no guarantees can be given that Finland will actually end up with the uranium which left Australia on contract for Finland. [More…]
-The point I want to make is that in our view there is no guarantee that the export of our uranium will not mean the proliferation of nuclear material. [More…]
Once the uranium is used the next step is enrichment. [More…]
The uranium is sent elsewhere for enrichment. [More…]
We are sending representatives to Europe to negotiate with those countries to take some of our beef if we sell them some of our uranium. [More…]
But we are attempting to negotiate with France the sale of our uranium. [More…]
We take the view that there is no real need for our uranium. [More…]
What will happen to the world if people start to use our uranium to manufacture nuclear weapons? [More…]
I repeat that our criticism in relation to safeguards is that this Government is most anxious to sell our uranium at any price on any terms. [More…]
Today we have been told for the first time that the Government thinks that the sale of uranium is a worthwhile proposition; that all the safeguards are there; and that we should not worry too much about the arbitral procedures because that is the normal son of thing that we ought to expect. [More…]
It is for that reason that we are objecting to the Government’s single-minded obsession with the sale of uranium. [More…]
The actions taken by the Government in the uranium field in the past three months have contributed nothing to nuclear non-proliferation. [More…]
Labor would not provide any of the Government’s committed contribution to the Ranger uranium development. [More…]
This is not a budgetary decision by the Opposition; it is a decision motivated entirely by its unwillingness to see any development of Australia’s uranium deposits- a development which will greatly strengthen our balance of payments, which will provide energy for peaceful purposes to energy starved countries, and which will give us an opportunity to exercise our influence in those councils of the world grappling with the problems of nuclear proliferation and safeguards. [More…]
The decision by Labor not to permit the development of Australia’s uranium deposits is a blow against world peace and a blow against the living standards of those hundreds of millions of people in other countries less fortunate than our own- people living in poverty and in deprivation. [More…]
Nowhere is this Government’s eagerness to advance the interests of big interests more blatant and more contemptuous of the interests and wishes of the Australian people than in its attempts to fix up things for the mining companies and the energy monopolies with the commitment of Australia’s uranium deposits to the world nuclear fuel cycle. [More…]
In this year of fiscal stringency the Government can find $20m to start the Ranger uranium mine and it is sending the Australian Atomic Energy Commission off onto the private capital market to borrow another $28m. [More…]
In its rush to override the wishes of the Aboriginal people and to sweep aside the large and growing opposition in the Australian community to uranium mining and export, the Government is desperately trying to lock Australia into the world nuclear fuel cycle. [More…]
It thinks that it can get new mines open, sink significant amounts of taxpayers ‘ money into the uranium industry, get new contracts and overseas loans and thereby try to make it extremely difficult for the next Labor Government to implement its policy of keeping uranium in the ground until all the unresolved problems have been solved. [More…]
Potential lenders know- they have been warned by Labor’s policy and by mass demonstrations of the Australian people- that they will be undertaking a very risky venture if they provide finance for uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
They have been given clear warning by the people and by Labor’s policy which states that the Australian Labor Party will repudiate any commitment of a non-Labor government to open new uranium mines in Australia until all the unresolved problems have been solved. [More…]
We are familiar with the honourable member’s attitude towards uranium mining and the export of uranium ore and the large opposition, which he said is growing within Australia, to this mining and export. [More…]
When those people who would prevent the development of this industry in Australia consider these matters, they might realise that they are open to the charge of trying to assist countries which are developing their own uranium industries at the expense of their people. [More…]
Coal supplies 41 per cent of Australia’s energy needs yet it makes up 95 per cent of our reserves, excluding uranium. [More…]
Again I exclude uranium from these calculations. [More…]
Australia ranks highly in terms of potential energy sources with higher reserves of coal and uranium per head of population than any other country. [More…]
In the medium time scale we will be using the nuclear power of uranium and thorium and [More…]
This is why we are exporting uranium; this is why we have our uranium export policy and have signed sales agreements; and this is why we should be looking very seriously at uranium enrichment. [More…]
1 ) The following are details of financial transactions between the Commonwealth and Mary Kathleen Uranium Limited (MKU): [More…]
in February 1978 the Commonwealth purchased uranium from MKU, valued at $1,997,048 (this uranium was resold to the company for an equal amount). [More…]
Australia’s model nuclear safeguards agreement has been given to potential customer countries for Australian uranium and to a number of other countries which have expressed interest in it. [More…]
What attitude has the Government expressed to the Canadian Government regarding Canada’s decision to supply uranium to the European Economic Community without Canadian consent being required for reprocessing. [More…]
1 ) With which countries has Australia begun discussions on uranium exports. [More…]
With which countries has Australia entered into uranium export contracts since 25 August 1 977. [More…]
There is also no reason why the Government should not seriously consider using our uranium. [More…]
What is the point of having the uranium and not using it. [More…]
There is no reason why we should not be in the forefront of the world in enriching uranium, exporting uranium and eventually storing uranium in the deep areas of Western Australia at levels where there is no underground disturbance. [More…]
We are fortunate to have an area where the vitrified uranium waste could be buried. [More…]
Will he ensure that the results of this recent study of the effects on human health of low levels of nuclear radiation are taken into account in the formulation and implementation of radiation protection standards for workers in the uranium industry. [More…]
Will he ensure that the results of this recent study of the effects on human health of low levels of nuclear radiation are taken into account in the formulation and implementation of radiation protection standards for workers in the uranium industry. [More…]
Recently we have had a spate of discussions about how to dispose of toxic wastes, particularly with regard to uranium. [More…]
Will he take urgent steps to ensure that a prototype is promptly developed in co-operation with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Government’s aeronautical and other technical facilities so that Australia can share in the expertise, industrial development, environmental conservation and removal of undue pressure on later generations of Australians from other countries for our oil, gas, coal and uranium reserves. [More…]
Did he or the Prime Minister tell the Chairman or any executive member of the Northern Land Council at the Darwin Travelodge Motel- or any other place for that matter- on 8 September that, if the Ranger uranium agreement was not signed, they would lose the Northern Land Council and the Aboriginal Outstation Movement? [More…]
In fact the whole history of the negotiations that have been carried on by the Northern Land Council with the Commonwealth with regard to the Ranger uranium deposits is an example of the strength which Aboriginals can obtain through the Northern Land Council and other land councils on behalf of traditional owners. [More…]
Further information was made available when the Government made known its decision on uranium on 25 August 1 977. [More…]
-Regarding the development of the Ranger uranium mine, negotiations have been proceeding according to the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. [More…]
That Act does not allow for Aborigines to withhold consent for the development of uranium mines. [More…]
The methods used by the Government to impose its uranium policy on to Aboriginal communities of the Alligator Rivers Region. [More…]
-The conflicts and allegations over the proposed development of uranium in the Northern Territory have brought the hypocrisy of this Government squarely before the Australian people. [More…]
Now there are allegations of Government pressure and threats to ensure the start of development this year of the Ranger uranium project. [More…]
As the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry pointed out, Aborigines have never before been confronted with such important matters requiring a knowledge of a negotiating system utterly foreign to their traditional methods of consultation. [More…]
It is the Government, not the Aboriginal people, that has bound Australia into a uranium-contract-centred time-table. [More…]
All this has happened in less than nine months, while the Aborigines have constantly been reminded by the media, the Government and the uranium developer that mining will get the go-ahead this year, that the Federal Government controls the uranium-bearing land, that rnining will go ahead no matter what the traditional land owners want, and that negotiations must conclude and will conclude before the wet season this year. [More…]
Nine months of operating within the overpowering Australian system of government has resulted in the Government’s forcing its uranium go-ahead policy on people who do not want their land and their lives torn apart. [More…]
The Labor Party is obsessed with this uranium question. [More…]
It will go to any length to try to stop uranium mining being developed in this country. [More…]
Honourable members opposite will stir up the trade union movement, the academics and anybody else to try to frustrate the Government’s desire to develop uranium in the interest of this nation and in die interests of people in other parts of the world who are working to proceed with the nuclear age. [More…]
The methods used by the Government to impose its uranium policy on to Aboriginal communities of the Alligator Rivers Region. [More…]
Honourable members opposite should not try to tell me that when the Labor Party was in office it did not have views on developing uranium because I have here an extract from Hansard of 1 6 October 1975 in which the then Minister for Aboriginal Affairs in introducing the Aboriginal Land (Northern Territory) Bill said: [More…]
There are certain matters relating to the Ranger uranium project which should be mentioned. [More…]
It should be noted, however, that the Government has undertaken to honour existing approved export contracts- 5025 tonnes of uranium for Peko-EZ and Queensland Mines. [More…]
International assurances have been provided by Ministers that Australia will meet the uranium requirements of our major trading partners, which could amount to a total of about 100,000 tonnes of uranium by 1990. [More…]
I should add that any decision to proceed with the development of the Ranger project will depend upon the Government’s consideration of the findings of the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry. [More…]
the report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry had an enormous impact on the Australian Labor Party. [More…]
The findings of the Inquiry changed the thinking and attitude of the Labor Party to uranium mining. [More…]
The events of the last few weeks have just begun to reveal the desperate lengths to which this Government has gone in order to force its uranium policy onto the depressed and neglected Aboriginal communities of the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
Uranium is mined to line the pockets of a few rich corporations which are represented by this Government and by the two members of the National Country Party of Australia who are at the table. [More…]
In the few moments I have left to speak, I wish to reply to those people who think that the Labor Party has not taken a firm stand on this issue of uranium mining and export and has not warned the Government and the mining companies. [More…]
The Labor Party’s policy is firm and it has put its policy firmly to the mining companies and the international finance companies which would be involved in this uranium mining. [More…]
The Labor Party’s policy in this regard is that Labor will repudiate any commitment of a non-Labor government to the mining, processing or export of Australia’s uranium. [More…]
We warn any mining company or any international finance firm that if it gets involved in Ranger or any other uranium mining venture, it does so at its own risk. [More…]
They are using Aboriginal legends and linking them to this uranium mining situation. [More…]
Yet Mr Finlay said: the only traditional owner of the Ranger uranium mine site who was present at the meeting- [More…]
Eight hundred people on Galiwinku community marched today in full support to the traditional land owners to stop uranium mining agreement this day we march and fly the NT flag at half mast to express our sorrow in digging up the real incoming of our life our blood our mother who gave us birth. [More…]
Uranium is dangerous not only to Aboriginal people but to the whole world. [More…]
I speak particularly about the indigenous people of the Northern Territory, their struggle for selfdetermination and their struggle, particularly in the last few weeks, to try to get a just decision on the question whether uranium should be mined and exported from their land. [More…]
It wanted the signature of members of the Northern Land Council so that it could proceed with uranium mining in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Under section 23 of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land will discuss all aspects of the uranium mining to be carried out in the Northern Territory. [More…]
For some time now the Aboriginal people have been described in the newspapers as having no morality and that all they are interested in is the money they receive from royalties on uranium mining. [More…]
At page 9 of the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry it is stated: [More…]
The evidence before us shows that the traditional owners of the Ranger site and the Northern Land Council (as now constituted) are opposed to the mining of uranium on that site. [More…]
Parliament House Canberra 800 people on Galiwinku community marched today in full support to the traditional land owners to stop uranium ruining agreement this day we march and fly the NT flag at half mast to express our sorrow in digging up the real incoming of our life our blood our mother who gave us birth. [More…]
Uranium is dangerous not only to Aboriginal people but to the whole world. [More…]
In view of the delay in getting the Ranger uranium project under way, I ask: What are the implications for Australia’s ability to honour the contracts which have been entered into for the sale of uranium to other countries? [More…]
-Contracts were entered into for the sale of 1 1,700 tonnes of uranium from the Peko-EZ Ranger mine, the Queensland Mines Ltd operations at Nabarlek and Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. [More…]
These contracts are to extend to 1986 and their purpose is to supply uranium for electric power generation in Japan, West Germany and the United States. [More…]
It also gave assurances that Australia would supply 100,000 tonnes of uranium by 1990. [More…]
Thus, uranium trade, or any other sort of trade, is important to this country. [More…]
It seems to me that uranium is much more powerful than Third World rhetoric because in uranium we have a sure counter at the bargaining table. [More…]
Iran and Saudi Arabia want uranium; we need oil until we can find a secure and permanent supply of our own. [More…]
The Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr Peacock), in his statement to the Parliament on 24 August last, when tabling agreements with the Republic of Finland and the Republic of the Philippines concerning the sale of our uranium, again repeated that Australia will sell uranium only to those nation states that are prepared to accept their obligations under the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. [More…]
It is essentially upon that Treaty that Australia has to rely in the hope that Australian uranium is not eventually used for the proliferation of nuclear weapons. [More…]
It is not good enough for those of us who are concerned about the fact that there are too many nuclear weapons in the world simply to accept without argument that, as a nation producing uranium, we can simply rely upon the operations of the International Atomic Energy Agency and upon treaties to limit the use of Australian uranium in the production of nuclear weapons. [More…]
After the first Canadian fuel load was taken out of the reactor, the Indians replaced it with fuel made from Indian uranium. [More…]
The existence of huge financial stakes and rivalries in this market is a factor which can readily affect any agreement that Australia makes to sell uranium. [More…]
The fact of the matter is that in order to chase the quick dollar by the sale of uranium this Government has endeavoured to minimise the risks and the problems involved in nuclear proliferation. [More…]
Having regard to the history of nuclear proliferation and the obvious difficulties in terms of real politics of trying to make a nuclear proliferation treaty work, the Minister does himself no service and the people of Australia real disservice when he oversimplifies and avoids the real problems posed by the sale of Australian uranium and its potential significance in expanding the nuclear arsenal that already threatens the future of mankind and life on this planet as we know it. [More…]
In that address Dr Zorn outlined the thinking behind the position that the Northern Land Council has advanced during negotiations over the Ranger uranium project. [More…]
All the time we must remember that the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, under which the Northern Land Council, Dr Stephen Zorn and the Chairman of the Council, Galarrwuy Yunupingu, are forced to work, does not allow Aborigines to withhold consent for uranium mining. [More…]
The first point that one needs to bear in mind is that Aboriginals in the Alligator Rivers uranium province are basically opposed to mining development. [More…]
They would willingly forgo the promise of large royalty payments if they could be assured that the major uranium mines at Ranger, Jabiluka, and Koongarra would not be built. [More…]
The Aboriginal opposition to major uranium mining projects is not something that has been dreamed up just to add strength to the Northern Land Council’s bargaining position. [More…]
Faced with these legal limitations, and with the firmly expressed intention of the Fraser Government to go forward with uranium mining, the Northern Land Council had little choice but to negotiate for the best possible arrange- < ment . [More…]
It is well for members of this chamber to remember this point when discussing Aboriginals- in the uranium negotiations has been what might be called social protection, or minimising the destructive influences of large numbers of outsiders coming on to Aboriginal land to build and operate the mines. [More…]
What we are concerned with is giving Aboriginals in the area of the uranium development some small breathing space so that they can in fact decide these issues for themselves. [More…]
Legal processes have to be considered before the mining of uranium can take place. [More…]
On Stephen Zorn’s advice, the Northern Land Council initialled the uranium agreement. [More…]
One has only to look at the excellent work of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry and the Fraser Island Inquiry which were established by the Whitlam Labor Government. [More…]
In the Saskatchewan province of Canada an inquiry was recently set up under Justice Bayda to look into the prospects of developing what was known as the Cluff Lake deposit of uranium. [More…]
All of these inquiries which were conducted by judges found that the development of uranium ought to take place on a controlled basis and that the terms under which that development should take place should be much the same as the terms and conditions that were recommended by the Fox report. [More…]
In addition, about 100 exploration companies are now operating in Saskatchewan in the search for uranium and many prospects are showing up. [More…]
I think the significance of all of this is that the rest of the world is moving ahead fairly rapidly in developing uranium. [More…]
Those people in Australia who say that we should not be developing uranium should get out of their Rip van Winkle state of mind and realise that we are living in a nuclear age, that any country which has uranium is developing it and that those countries which are looking for alternative sources of energy will have to rely heavily on nuclear power. [More…]
-The honourable gentleman would know that as a result of the Fox Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry the Government has instituted a number of measures to make sure not only that we contribute as fully as we can to international safety through nuclear safeguards but also that we fulfil to the utmost obligations within Australia. [More…]
The divisions and bitterness which today surround the Northern Land Council have only one single cause: It is the attempts of the Fraser Government to manipulate and intimidate the Northern Land Council and the Aboriginal communities which it represents into accepting uranium mining on Aboriginal land. [More…]
It was only a little over two weeks ago that the Government ‘s efforts to rush a start to uranium mining foundered because of the courageous action of several Aboriginal communities whose members resisted the Government’s bullying and demanded an opportunity to examine and discuss the Ranger agreement in their own language. [More…]
He made the Goverment ‘s position clear when he said after the meeting that ‘the Oenpelli people fully realise that uranium mining will eventually take place’. [More…]
I am reminded by a shoddy piece of journalism entitled ‘The Uranium Debate: A Shift from Morals to Dollars ‘ by Peter Bowers in the Sydney Morning Herald on 1 May this year. [More…]
Oenpelli are opposed to the mining of uranium on their land. [More…]
A rally of over 800 people was held on Elcho Island on 21 September to oppose uranium mining. [More…]
1 ) Did officers of his Department assist in the planning of meetings with the Northern Land Council, local Aboriginal people and Queensland Mines Ltd, in order to explain the Nabarlek Uranium Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement to local Aboriginal people. [More…]
In the Northern Territory, matters concerning uranium and related issues were specifically excluded from the grant of executive authority to Territory Ministers under the Northern Territory (Self Government) Act, which came into effect on 1 July 1978. [More…]
In order to ensure that there will be co-operative development of uniform nuclear codes of practice to cover such matters as the management of waste from the mining and milling of uranium ores throughout Australia, the Commonwealth passed the Environment Protection (Nuclear Codes) Act in May 1978. [More…]
Yesterday, in answer to a question, I mentioned that Canada was moving ahead with uranium and that it had a number of projects that would be developed. [More…]
In fact I am told that within the next five to six years the exports of uranium from Canada will double. [More…]
I only hope that it will not be too long before Australia will be able to start sharing some of the benefits from the development of the vast uranium deposits we have in this country. [More…]
At a time of business stagnation or slackness and a high degree of unemployment it is unbelievable that people should be resisting the development of uranium, which can bring so many benefits to this country as well as to other countries around the world. [More…]
If there were any doubts left about the uranium question I could understand people having qualms, but the uranium question has been subject to all types of examination not only in this country but also in other countries and everybody has accepted that under controlled and regulated circumstances uranium development should go ahead. [More…]
I only hope that with Australia having such rich deposits of uranium the whole community might soon be able to gain the benefit of the development of this commodity. [More…]
A meeting has been going on at Oenpelli in the uranium province area over the last couple of days. [More…]
Mr Muller said that the Labor Party is going pretty well at the moment- in its eyes- and that there will be an election in 18 months and if negotiations can be strung out over those 18 months there will be a Labor government and, of course, it would not allow uranium mining to continue. [More…]
I also remind honourable gentlemen that the Pearce Committee’s report describes where the uranium is buried. [More…]
The Government is anxious to export uranium at any price, at any time, and as much as it can get out of the ground, if the people of Australia will let it. [More…]
We have a Government which does not have a policy for uranium. [More…]
We had the ridiculous example of the possibility of a train carrying uranium oxide being lost in Rockhampton. [More…]
Maralinga is a stark example of the bankruptcy of this Government’s uranium policy. [More…]
In view of the events at Maralinga and the problems now of high and low grade nuclear waste disposal, will the Deputy Prime Minister inform the House what progress has been made in any joint discussion with other countries concerning the establishment of an uranium enrichment plant and also a vitrification and calcination plant for waste disposal in Australia? [More…]
Does he not agree that these two plants would give Australia much better control over her own uranium supplies exported throughout the world, keep Australia in the forefront of atomic science for energy and medical needs, and also demonstrate to the world our deep concern about the disposal of our own nuclear waste? [More…]
It is the Government’s policy that when we get round to mining uranium we should then study the possibility of upgrading uranium by enriching it in Australia. [More…]
Of course the first step is to get the uranium mined and in sufficient quantities to make an enrichment operation viable. [More…]
We have followed up those initiatives, and a joint study is now taking place with the Japanese on the possibility of enriching Australian uranium. [More…]
That is disappointing to the Government because our policy with respect to uranium mining is quite clear. [More…]
It is true that some people, most of them on the Labor side of politics, care more about stopping uranium mining or changing the Government in Darwin or Canberra than they do about Aborigines or land rights. [More…]
As I said yesterday, it is becoming clearer and clearer as a result of the conduct of the honourable member for Reid and of Labor Party lawyers and members in the Northern Territory that their sole interest is to frustrate uranium mining and it is the most cynical and blatant exercise of political action against the interests of the Aboriginal people that I have ever seen as Minister. [More…]
It is true that some people, most of them on the Labor side of politics, care more about stopping uranium mining or changing the Government in Darwin or Canberra than they do about Aborigines or land rights. [More…]
It would also be true if he had said that some people, most of them on the Liberal side of politics, care more about promoting uranium mining or changing the Government in New South Wales, at which they are not particularly adept, or elsewhere, than they do about Aboriginal land rights. [More…]
The Minister said that in pushing the Labor Party’s policy on uranium I would sacrifice the situation of the Aboriginal people. [More…]
What we are trying to do is to dig up uranium, dig up bauxite and dig up iron ore and sell them, but honourable members opposite will not let us. [More…]
I think the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (Mr Viner) made it quite plain today that there has been a conspiracy to try to stop uranium mining in the Northern Territory. [More…]
-I think a reasonable substitute for these borrowings, in both the short term and the long term, would be to get the uranium, the iron ore and the bauxite out of the ground and to sell them. [More…]
1 ) Is it a fact that the Government has provided a long term loan of $9m and a short term loan of $1.8m for the Mary Kathleen Uranium Project. [More…]
Has Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd repaid the short term loan of $1.8m provided by the Commonwealth Government early in 1977. [More…]
3 ) Is he able to say whether Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd has repaid a short term loan of $4.2m to Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Ltd. [More…]
Did the Commonwealth grant funds to MKU equivalent to the interest payments made by MKU to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority for uranium borrowed in 1976; if so, what was the total amount of these payments. [More…]
In view of the conclusion of the Willsteed report that the project is viable in the life of the present contracts only if overall average prices are lifted to about $US27/lbU308 have prices for 1978 and future uranium sales from Mary Kathleen been increased above $US25/lb U308. [More…]
Mine production of uranium oxide compiled from MKU annual reports and half yearly production reports is as follows: 1976-423 tonnes; 1977-420 tonnes; 1 January 1978 to 30 June 1978-269.8 tonnes. [More…]
Does the Australia-Finland Nuclear Safeguards Agreement provide that uranium which would be exported from Australia on contract to Finland cannot be used in nuclear reactors outside Finland, or in nuclear weapons manufactured by a third party. [More…]
Does the Australian Government require that any uranium exported on contract to Finland must undergo conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication only in a country with which Australia has signed a bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement. [More…]
Does the Australian Government require that the reprocessing of nuclear fuels made from uranium exported on contract to Finland must not be performed in any country with which Australia has not signed a bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement. [More…]
In accordance with the Prime Minister’s policy statement of 24 May 1977 this means that the Government will be able to ensure that its safeguards requirements will continue to be met in any onward transfer of uranium supplied by Australia or nuclear material derived from it. [More…]
The Government’s nuclear safeguards policy only allows the export of uranium to nuclear weapon states which give Australia an undertaking that nuclear material we supply for peaceful purposes will not be diverted to military or explosive purposes and that such material will be covered by International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. [More…]
Thus Government policy does not prohibit the export of uranium to France, the United Kingdom or the United States. [More…]
In the case of non-weapon states, Government policy limits uranium exports to parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [More…]
As explained by the Prime Minister on 24 May 1977, there will be no uranium exports under new contracts to any country unless and until there is a bilateral agreement in force which provides that nuclear material supplied by Australia for peaceful purposes or nuclear material derived from its use will not be diverted to military or explosive purposes and that International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards will apply to verify compliance with this undertaking. [More…]
Do the export guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group prohibit or restrict the export of (a) nuclear fuel reprocessing technology, (b) uranium enrichment technology (c) weapons-useable material and (d) the transfer of related technical information. [More…]
Yes, for example Australia receives high enriched uranium from Britain for use in its research reactor. [More…]
The article concerns particularly the position of Aboriginals in relation to uranium mining. [More…]
In a sense, I felt, that the anguished debate over uranium mining has clouded the issue and distracted attention from the crux of the matter. [More…]
What is definitely not is that they are pressing Aboriginal land rights only and exclusively in support of their own campaign against the mining companies and the Government’s uranium export policy. [More…]
I have no doubt but that if the Aborigines were to turn round tomorrow and announce that they welcome uranium exploration, these very champions would do a volte-face and insist with equal vehemence that the indigenous people have no prescriptive claim over unalienated Crown lands. [More…]
I invite any honourable member to test what this Government did in August last year in its uranium decisions in all these areasenvironment, Aboriginal interests and development- against this statement by the then Labor Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. [More…]
I should add that any decision to proceed with the development of the Ranger project will depend upon the Government’s consideration of the findings of the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry which is now taking place. [More…]
What is definitely not is that they are pressing Aboriginal land rights only and exclusively in support of their own campaign against the mining companies and the Government’s uranium export policy. [More…]
In the end it will be shown to have brought together the vital interests- all of which are national interests in their own right- of those people who are concerned about the environment and the interests of the Aboriginal people and those people who are concerned to see desirable national development through the mining of uranium. [More…]
Clearly the Minister is wild because the Aboriginal people are standing up for their rights and at this stage will not allow his Government to mine uranium on their land. [More…]
The EEC is interested only in one of our products, uranium, provided it can get it at a reasonable price. [More…]
I am not dealing with uranium resources; I am talking about the development of other resources. [More…]
Although I do not say that the development of uranium will not help, I am concentrating particularly on other mineral resources.! [More…]
In the medium time scale we will use the nuclear power of uranium and thorium and solar power, though it is limted in the overall situation. [More…]
For the Ranger uranium project, the payment to Australian Atomic Energy Commission, or otherwise, of a sum of $20m is provided. [More…]
It relates to the joint venture agreement with Peko-Wallsend Operation Ltd and Electrolytic Zinc Co., of Australia to mine uranium in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Another is the contribution of $30,000 towards the administrative costs of the Uranium Advisory Council- a new item. [More…]
The Act provides for the appointment of a supervising scientist to oversee measures for the protection of the environment of the Region from the effects of uranium mining. [More…]
-The honourable member for Hotham (Mr Roger Johnston) seems to think that he has all the answers to the questions of the uranium industry; that unless uranium is exported the industries of the world will fail. [More…]
Sad to relate, the major element that will defeat the uranium industry in the world will be that of its economics. [More…]
The truth is that more than half of all the enriched uranium in Western Europe is treated in the Soviet Union. [More…]
When the countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development wish to have uranium enriched in the Soviet Union everything seems to be all right, but when the honourable member for Bendigo wishes to indulge in a Red witch hunt he likes to make what he calls his personal score, making innuendoes against me. [More…]
We of the Labor Party have said that these problems need to be resolved before we mine uranium. [More…]
The question of the attitude of the Aboriginal people to uranium rnining is still unresolved. [More…]
We should not mine uranium until these issues are resolved. [More…]
It said that it would not allow any of its uranium to be reprocessed. [More…]
This process would produce not only unburnt uranium but also plutonium. [More…]
All I am saying is that the position of sanity is to support the Australian Labor Party’s policy on uranium mining, which is that uranium should not be minded until all these problems have been solved, and indeed so many of the problems are still unresolved. [More…]
Much good work is being done on the uranium issue by the Supervising Scientist. [More…]
Specific monitoring of radiation and any possible effects will be mandatory with any commencement of uranium mining and back-ground sampling has already been undertaken by the Australian Radiation Laboratory. [More…]
Has the Government adopted the recommendation concerning environmental monitoring of the Alligator Rivers Region contained on page 293 of the Second Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, that a group of experts from the relevant scientific fields specified in Chapter S be assembled as soon as possible to advise on the selection of those biological, chemical and physical observations likely to be of most practical value to the monitoring program. [More…]
Australia is rich in black and brown coal reserves as well as uranium, but none of these will fuel our cars, planes and tractors unless expensive conversion technology is applied. [More…]
Austraiian Labor Party and of trade unions in Australia in not supporting uranium development in this country. [More…]
In the Press this morning I noticed a report about the Western Mining Corporation Ltd and its Roxby Downs prospect in South Australia, where it has discovered very promising signs for a copper and uranium mine. [More…]
It is impossible to mine the copper unless the uranium also is mined. [More…]
Yet the ALP policy seems to be to turn its back on the development of uranium, which probably offers more prospects for Australia than any other single item. [More…]
With the possibility of the Ranger uranium deposits being developed in the Northern Territory, a township of possibly 1,500 or 2,000 people could be created. [More…]
The suggestion that Aboriginal opposition and resistance to uranium mining is something which has just recently been stirred up by the Labor Party does not stand up to any examination. [More…]
It was a full 17 months ago that the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry commissioners reported that traditional Aboriginal land owners in the Ranger area were opposed to mining on their land. [More…]
He was equating the six uranium Acts with changes in the land rights legislation to weaken the Land Council. [More…]
We have all heard about his concern for ministerial propriety and about the need for consultation with the Australian public on matters ranging from uranium mining to technological change. [More…]
It is clear that the mining of uranium in the Northern Territory is being held up deliberately by the influence of the Labor Party. [More…]
How else does the Labor Party explain the presence of Mr Waters, an executive member of the Northern Territory Labor Party, and Mr James, a member of the Labor Party, who are both solicitors, at Oenpelli a day before they were due to act as legal advisers to the meeting at which the Aborigines were to decide their views on mining uranium. [More…]
All the honourable member can think of is uranium. [More…]
All he can think of is digging out uranium and providing some bloated profits, and never mind the future generations who have to put up with the waste products. [More…]
The IEA has been established to implement the International Energy Program (IEP) adopted by the Participating Countries on 18th November, 1974 the basic objectives of which being: to promote secure oil supplies on reasonable and equitable terms; to take common effective measures to meet oil supply emergencies by developing an emergency self-sufficiency in oil supplies, restraining demand and allocating available oil among their countries on an equitable basis; to promote co-operative relations with oil producing countries and with other oil consuming countries, including those of the developing world, through a purposeful dialogue, as well as through other forms of co-operation, to further the opportunities for a better understanding between consumer and producer countries; to play a more active role in relation to the oil industry by establishing a comprehensive international information system and a permanent framework for consultation with oil companies; to reduce their dependence on imported oil by undertaking long-term co-operative efforts on conservation of energy, on accelerated development of alternative sources of energy, on research and development in the energy field and on uranium enrichment; to be mindful of the interests of other oil consuming countries, including those of the developing world. [More…]
He called for the further development of trade and in the same breath said that he would cut off supplies of uranium to the Philippines, such was his consistency. [More…]
I do know that in Manila his attitude on the uranium question was causing considerable distress. [More…]
Uranium is a tradeable commodity. [More…]
The Government is prepared to sell uranium to the Philippines or to other ASEAN countries provided that they meet the detail safeguard requirements that we require of all countries. [More…]
But this was small fry compared with what was to happen in the future as the Government planned the destruction of Kakadu National Park through uranium mining and the abdication of any responsibility for Perth’s water supply, Western Australia ‘s famed jarrah forests, the Corio Bay fish habitat reserve near Yeppoon, the Great Barrier Reef and the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act, which was the only bastion left to protect [More…]
I have already dealt with the destruction of Australia’s finest natural wilderness area in the debate on the uranium Bills introduced in the autumn session of Parliament . [More…]
However, from my recollection he did not raise at all the issue of uranium. [More…]
A great deal of the work which is being done at the moment by the Government’ concerning uranium is to ensure that the general public of Australia and those directly involved are properly protected once we commence the mining and export of uranium from the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
The Government has accepted the recommendations of the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry. [More…]
A package of comprehensive legislation has been brought down to give effect to the Government’s decision on uranium. [More…]
Following that legislation, stringent environmental controls will be imposed on uranium mining operations. [More…]
The Government is co-operating with the States in developing uniform codes of practice to apply to the uranium industry around Australia. [More…]
The Northern Territory Government has co-operated in examining existing ordinances in the Northern Territory for the control of uranium mining and in bringing forward amendments as necessary. [More…]
And in the Kakadu situation we have the question of uranium. [More…]
-I table, for the information of honourable members, the agreement which includes details of the environmental conditions between the Northern Land Council and the Commonwealth which has been negotiated under section 44 of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act in respect of the Ranger uranium deposit and which was executed by the Northern Land Council and myself on behalf of the Government on Friday, 3 November. [More…]
As honourable members will be aware, an inquiry under the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 was established on 16 July 1975 to inquire into the development by the Atomic Energy Commission in association with Ranger uranium mines of uranium deposits in the Northern Territory. [More…]
In addition to the inquiry under the Environment Protection Act the present Government, during consideration of the Aboriginal Land Rights Bill in 1976, introduced an amendment expressly authorising the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry to investigate and make a finding in relation to an Aboriginal land claim in the Alligator Rivers Region. [More…]
The Commission stated, at page 9 of the second report, in respect of Aboriginal views that uranium mining should not proceed: . [More…]
After consideration of all factors, we propose a solution which, if a decision is made that uranium mining is to proceed, provides a reasonably satisfactory accommodation between competing interests and the conflicting uses to which land in the Region can be put. [More…]
In following the solution proposed by the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, the Government announced that it had accepted all of the principal recommendations in respect of Aboriginals. [More…]
I refer honourable members to the statements made by the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser), other Ministers and myself in August 1 977 which clearly set out the history of the Ranger project and the decisions of the Government in respect of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
At the meeting there, the traditional owners gave their consent and, thereupon, the Ranger Uranium Mining Agreement and the lease of the Kakadu National Park were signed. [More…]
In fulfilment of its statutory responsibilities, the Ranger Uranium Mining Agreement was signed on behalf of the Northern Land Council by the Chairman, Mr Galarrwuy Yunupingu, Mr Dick [More…]
I would now like to focus attention upon a number of significant actions taken by the Government which enhance the position of Aboriginals in relation to uranium mining. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry highlighted the deleterious effects upon Aboriginal society caused by alcohol in the region and specifically pointed to the Border Store on the East Alligator River as a major factor in this process. [More…]
The establishment of Kakadu National Park was central to the recommendations of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
In the meantime, as announced in the August 1977 uranium statement, the land comprising the Stage 2 area of the Park is the responsibility of five Commonwealth departments, acting jointly. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that in its uranium statements of August 1977, the Government promised to adopt strict environmental controls and standards in relation to uranium mining in the region. [More…]
We agreed to establish institutions and programs for the specific purpose of protecting the environment from the consequences of uranium mining. [More…]
As honourable members will know, the role of the Committee is to assist the Supervising Scientist in considering and reviewing standards, practices, and procedures in relation to uranium mining operations, as far as environmental protection is concerned. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that the Ranger uranium environment inquiry referred to the considerable amount of research that was needed before precise standards should be imposed on the various control aspects of the mining operations. [More…]
The environmental requirements for Ranger, which reflect fully the recommendations of the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry, are a condition of the authority to mine. [More…]
In consultation with the Commonwealth, the Northern Territory has reviewed its laws and has brought forward amendments to relevant Acts, with the sole purpose of ensuring that the controls agreed on by the Commonwealth for uranium mining are adequately covered by the laws of the Territory. [More…]
We are appreciative of this, but we also recognise the heavy burden which will be placed on the Territory in the rigorous administration of these laws as they relate to uranium mining and, consequently, the Commonwealth has agreed to meet the additional costs of these regulatory services. [More…]
This will ensure that co-operatively, the Commonwealth and the Territory can implement the strict environmental requirements recommended by the Ranger inquiry, and agreed on by the Government in its uranium decision of August 1977. [More…]
The Supervising Scientist will be required to maintain an overall supervision of the effects of uranium mining on the environment of the region. [More…]
May I remind the House of the provision that is made through the Environment Protection (Northern Territory Supreme Court) Act for the Northern Land Council, the Director of the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission to apply to the Supreme Court for orders in relation to protection of the environment from uranium mining. [More…]
Finally, I wish to announce that the Government proposes to introduce a levy as a recognition of the special costs of environmental monitoring and research activities related to uranium mining in the region. [More…]
Because the Supervising Scientist and the research institute will be carrying out environmental monitoring and research activities specially designed for regulation of uranium mining, the Government has decided that an appropriate levy should be paid by the uranium miners concerned in recognition of the special environmental costs involved. [More…]
The levy will be payable by companies engaged in the mining of uranium in the region and will be related to the quantity of yellowcake produced from uranium mined by a company, which is exported. [More…]
-The Opposition’s basic objection to the proposal for the Kakadu National Park has not changed since the uranium Bills were debated in May. [More…]
We are still basically opposed to the idea of mining uranium or, for that matter, mining anything in a national park. [More…]
The idea that one should mine, particularly uranium, in a national park goes against all our concepts of what a national park is all about. [More…]
If there were to be no uranium mining in the park many of these arrangements, such as the arrangements regarding leasing of the park and agreements with the Aboriginals, would be quite satisfactory. [More…]
I can assure him that, even though I had a small win in the Melbourne Cup, I am not ready to buy into uranium mines. [More…]
The fact is that our views on uranium have changed and we are strongly opposed to uranium mining. [More…]
We are opposed to uranium mining and particularly opposed to uranium mining in a national park. [More…]
Some sorts of mining possibly would not be as deleterious to the ecosystem of the Kakadu National Park as uranium mining would be because of the potential dangers and the waste that flows from uranium mining. [More…]
I wonder whether it is because of all the uranium there. [More…]
We are totally opposed to uranium mining in a national park, and specifically in Kakadu National Park. [More…]
Labor required 100 per cent Australian ownership of new uranium developments but the Liberal Government stipulated only 75 per cent. [More…]
Of these, thirteen holes intersected copper and uranium mineralisation from 8 to 248 m thick with grades generally between 1.0 and 2.4 per cent Cu and 0.5 to 1.0 lb U.0 per tonne. [More…]
If it is anxious to sell uranium, on what basis would it do so? [More…]
On 25 August 1977 the Government announced its policy to develop the uranium ore deposits in the Ranger project area on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding of October 1975, which provided for mining to be undertaken under the Atomic Energy Act by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, Peko Mines Ltd and the Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Ltd as joint venturers. [More…]
In this regard honourable members will recall that in June this year the Atomic Energy Act was amended to authorise the participation of the Commission in the Ranger project for the purpose of ensuring the supply of uranium. [More…]
One provision of the Memorandum requires that the initial authority for mining should be issued for 2 1 years; others provide that the Ranger project will be conducted as a commercial venture and continue in force during the economic life of the uranium ore deposits in the area. [More…]
Will he give an undertaking that any nuclear safeguards agreement covering the sale of Australian uranium to European countries will include a mandatory provision for Australia ‘s prior consent for reprocessing or retransfer of nuclear material derived from Australian ore. [More…]
1 ) In view of his statement to the House on Thursday, 1 June 1978, concerning the marketing of uranium in which he said that at present only formal development approval has been granted to the Ranger Project, what form has development approval for the Ranger Project taken. [More…]
Has the Government specifically rejected the request of the Northern Land Council that if uranium mining must go ahead, that the smaller Nabarlek mine proceed first so that traditional Aboriginal land owners can access the effects of mining on their lands. [More…]
The Government announced in Parliament on 25 August 1977 that the Ranger uranium project would proceed on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding concluded on 28 October 1975 between the Whitlam Government and Peko Mines Limited and Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Limited. [More…]
It was announced at the same time that the Government had accepted specific recommendations of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry relating to the operation of the Ranger mine. [More…]
G34 of 30 August 1977 notifying that on 22 August 1977 the Minister for Environment, Housing and Community Development had exempted from certain requirements of the Environment Protection Administrative Procedures the making of decisions by the Government on the mining of uranium in the Ranger project area. [More…]
There are actions yet to be completed, including the submission and examination of a final environmental impact statement (in accordance with the requirements of the Environment Protection Administrative Procedures) on the development of the Nabarlek uranium deposit, before a decision can be taken by the Government on whether, and on what terms and conditions, mining of the Nabarlek deposit may take place. [More…]
Of course, the Minister will assure us that this does not have anything to do with the community’s proximity to certain bauxite deposits or uranium prospectors. [More…]
The Government’s behaviour over the signing of the Ranger Uranium Mining Agreement has been shabby and sordid, treacherous and two-timing. [More…]
He described the treatment of the Aborigines in signing the uranium mining agreement in the Northern Territory as sordid and shabby and said that they were under tremendous pressure from the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (Mr Viner). [More…]
That has been the story throughout the uranium discussions in the Northern Territory. [More…]
We have been speaking about land rights, the proposed Kakadu National Park, the proposed Uluru National Park, uranium and so on. [More…]
At Yuendumu the Aborigines want uranium mining. [More…]
It is the antiuranium people who have tried to use the Aborigines to suit their own ends. [More…]
They do not want the divisive sort of attitude which was introduced by the Labor Party in order to try to stir up trouble, whether over Aborigines, uranium, land or whatever. [More…]
They certainly would be here if we were discussing uranium. [More…]
Do these letters give approval in principle for toll enrichment in the Soviet Union of Australian uranium purchased by Finland? [More…]
It worked in the air controllers strike, in the postal workers dispute, it worked against the ACTU’s uranium moratorium- they backed down. [More…]
We have worked very hard to bring about sensible arrangements for the mining and export of Australian uranium. [More…]
All that we have had from the Opposition has been constant sniping on this issue and a total ignorance of the enormous contribution that uranium exports can make to the balance of payments of Australia in the future. [More…]
It is split on the issue of uranium. [More…]
We do not know where it stands in relation to that issue, although we now find out that only three days ago the Leader of the Opposition said in a newspaper interview that he was prepared to support the policy of disowning future uranium contracts. [More…]
In South East Asia he knocks his own country, and as far as the uranium issue is concerned he in now prepared to knock even further Australia’s business reputation, Australia’s trading reputation, Australia’s reputation for honouring its obligations throughout the world, by putting a ban on the export of uranium. [More…]
That is the main purpose of the legislation, and whilst one can understand that the Peko-EZ consortium is not prepared to make investments on the basis only of the memorandum of understanding or upon the whim and caprice of the incumbent Minister and that it seeks further security of tenure, it all points to the fact that the Atomic Energy Act is the wrong legislation for the Government to have used for the development of the Ranger project and the Northern Territory uranium province. [More…]
Those are both admissions that the Atomic Energy Act is inappropriate for uranium mining, even given the Government’s policy of moving ahead with uranium mining. [More…]
As well as that, the Fox Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry was quite specific in its recommendations to the Government not to use the Atomic Energy Act for the purposes of the civil mining project. [More…]
The whole concept of using the Atomic Energy Act should have been scrapped and we should have left it alone as a research Act, an Act governing a research institution, and established a commercial mining Act so that at least the work force and the people involved with uranium mining were not subject to the kinds of penal provisions and draconian security measures incorporated in the present Atomic Energy Act [More…]
The most important feature of this legislation in respect of uranium is the fact that the Government cannot terminate mining arrangements or mining activity at Ranger. [More…]
A decision to mine and sell uranium should not be made unless the Commonwealth Government ensures that the Commonwealth can at any time, on the basis of considerations of the nature discussed in this Report, immediately terminate those activities, permanently, indefinitely or for a specified period. [More…]
On 25 August 1977 the Minister said when making the statement on the Government’s uranium policy: [More…]
The Government will, therefore, always be in a position to move immediately to terminate uranium development, permanently, indefinitely or for a specified period as recommended by the Ranger Inquiry. [More…]
Whilst the Minister may argue that the Government can stop export through the export controls, and I accept that point, even given the fact that the Government exercised its export control powers and prohibited exports, the company could still mine and stockpile uranium and the Government could do nothing about it. [More…]
This is uranium and it is special. [More…]
If I were in his place as the responsible Minister, it would not be beyond my wit or beyond the wit of my Government to find some way to terminate the mining of uranium if the decision were made to terminate it. [More…]
So, whilst the Atomic Energy Act now remains only applicable to Ranger, it could be the vehicle for the development of the Northern Territory uranium province- and a very inadequate and inappropriate vehicle it is. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquirythe Fox Inquiry- recommended against the use of that Act. [More…]
The Opposition opposes this Bill because the Opposition is opposed to the Government’s uranium mining policy. [More…]
Despite the imposition of external pressures on the negotiations, particularly on the Aborigines, by people who were pushing their own barrow and who had no interest whatsoever in the welfare of Aborigines but only in their own hysterical opposition to uranium mining, I think it certainly says a great deal for all sides that the negotiations were successfully completed. [More…]
Further to the point of whether such mining regulations should be applied under the Atomic Energy Act, I can do no better than quote from the statement made by the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) on uranium. [More…]
It is even more disturbing to see the manner in which people are waving an anti-uranium banner, whether they are doing so for mischievous or honourable reasons. [More…]
I concede that many people who adopt an anti-uranium stance do so ibr honourable reasons, just as many people who take an anti-uranium stance do so for quite mischievous reasons which bring benefits to the providers of other energy sources and which, of course, assist the Russian bloc, which is a great user of atomic power, to the disadvantage of the Western bloc countries- the free nations of the world- which seek to use our uranium. [More…]
But in their view, they felt justified in endeavouring to force the Aboriginal people into a situation in which they would lose immense amounts of revenue and in which they would not get the benefits- let us remember that there are benefits involved for the Aboriginal people- of uranium development. [More…]
These people were prepared to sacrifice the benefits to the Aboriginal people of uranium mining in order to try to prevent that development It is not a matter, I believe, that this Parliament should look at lightly. [More…]
I suggest that it is a selfish cause and a self-centred and self-interested cause for another reason, and that is that the rest of the world needs our uranium; the rest of the world and not Australia is the market for our uranium; the rest of the world can get uranium from anywhere else at a price. [More…]
Uranium exists everywhere. [More…]
The simple reality is that had the antiuranium movement in Australia been successful in this instance, it would have served only to increase the price of uranium being paid by our friends in the world. [More…]
It interests me that the motives, no matter how good, of many antiuranium people should have prompted them into endeavouring to abuse their relationship with the Aboriginal people to this purpose. [More…]
It demonstrates more clearly that the Fraser Government does not care a damn about the very serious hazards associated with uranium mining, the lifestyle of the Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land or the delicate environment of the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
Most significantly, it demonstrates that the Government’s strategy is failing and that prospective buyers of uranium are worried about the policy of the Labor Party and the very deepseated opposition to uranium development in the Australian community. [More…]
It intends to intimidate people opposed to uranium mining. [More…]
The honourable member for Blaxland (Mr Keating) said that it has to be clearly understood that the mining of uranium is different from any other aspect of mining. [More…]
We oppose it because it is a vehicle to mine uranium. [More…]
We will continue to oppose uranium mining while the serious economic, social, biological, genetic, environmental and technical problems associated with the development of nuclear power remain unresolved. [More…]
It makes an outlaw of any worker, union or Australian citizen who does not fully comply with the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
A decision to mine and sell uranium should not be made unless the Commonwealth Government ensures that the Commonwealth can at any time, on the basis of considerations of the nature discussed in the Report, immediately terminate those activities, permanently, indefinitely or for a specified period. [More…]
The Labor Party will act in accordance with that recommendation when elected to power in 1980 and will repudiate any uranium contracts entered into by the Fraser Government, unless all the unsolved problems have been solved. [More…]
The Government will therefore always be in a position to move immediately to terminate uranium development permanently, indefinitely, or for a specific period as recommended by the Ranger inquiry. [More…]
The Government’s panic changes to the Atomic Energy Act are a response to the concern of the potential uranium investors. [More…]
They know that their dream of a uranium bonanza is rapidly fading as people all over the world are questioning the unsolved problems and saying no to nuclear power. [More…]
They know that the nuclear industry is being forced to account for the hidden and sometimes unknown costs of uranium enrichment, waste disposal and the decommissioning of nuclear reactors. [More…]
Let us look at the bonanza predictions which have been made for Australian uranium. [More…]
A few years ago we were told in a blaze of publicityand I stress this- that Japan would invade Australia if we did not supply uranium. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister said that unless we made our uranium available to Japan it would invade us to get it. [More…]
It almost had enough uranium already contracted to supply 60 gigawatts. [More…]
Japan will not be needing significant amounts of new Australian uranium until the late 1980s, if at all. [More…]
We are also treated to great predictions of uranium sales to Iran. [More…]
Even the Australian Mining Industry Council is starting to admit that there will be no uranium bonanza in this country or elsewhere. [More…]
the sharp decline in world demand, coupled with a large number of major uranium discoveries abroad, have resulted in a serious over-estimation of both the volume of export sales and the price. [More…]
The Government’s argument that the world desperately needs our uranium has been totally discredited by Herman Kahn, a natural, normal ally of this Government. [More…]
Labor in government in 1980 will close down any new uranium mine that may have been commenced, unless the unsolved problems have been solved. [More…]
We reject this Bill and we reject the Government’s efforts to force its uranium policy on the Australian people. [More…]
I think this is a great achievement and will do much for the eventual marketing of uranium. [More…]
Further, I would join with the member for Macarthur in condemning the members of the Opposition for their stirring of the Aborigines in the Northern Territory against the mining of uranium. [More…]
However, I would remind the House that to my memory, the honourable member for Reid has spoken on uranium here in this House in respect of various facets of legislation at least eight or nine times. [More…]
He is always opposed to the mining, milling and marketing of uranium. [More…]
If this country does not take advantage of its huge deposits of uranium it will be of great detriment to the nation. [More…]
The mining of uranium will be a tremendous benefit to the economy of Australia in the long run and I hope in the near future. [More…]
The Ranger project has been on the drawing boards for a long time and at last provisions are being enacted for the mining of uranium ore to commence a development so important to the future economy of Australia. [More…]
As mentioned by the Minister in his second reading speech, the Government announced its policy on 25 August 1977 to develop uranium ore deposits in the Ranger project area on the basis of the memorandum of understanding of October 1975, which provided for mining to be undertaken under the Atomic Energy Act by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, Peko Mines Ltd and the Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia Ltd as joint venturers. [More…]
In June of this year the Atomic Energy Act was amended to authorise the participation of the Commission in the Ranger project for the purpose of ensuring the supply of uranium. [More…]
It is important that Australia should get on with the very important job of mining, milling and marketing of uranium ore. Twenty-five per cent of the world’s known uranium deposits are situated in this country, and I venture to say that there are many more uranium fields in Australia that have yet to be discovered. [More…]
The environmentalists, the Friends of the Earth, the Aborigines and the Austraiian Labor Party have conducted a vendetta against the mining of uranium in Australia. [More…]
There is a shortage of energy throughout the world and a demand for uranium. [More…]
Having regard to this situation, it is important that we are prepared to get stuck into producing uranium yellowcake. [More…]
Our Prime Minister has said that we can place safeguards on the export of our uranium to these countries so that it is used for power production purposes and not for nuclear warheads. [More…]
Of course the Austraiian Labor Party says that the mining of uranium is dangerous. [More…]
The position is the same with uranium; if the people are stupid enough not to handle it carefully, of course there can be problems. [More…]
I have mentioned before that we are in the atomic age- whether we like it or not and if we do not mine, mill and market our uranium we will be left far behind. [More…]
And here the Opposition is placing every obstacle in the way of us producing uranium. [More…]
In the United States of America, 15 to 20 per cent of power in the various States is generated from nuclear power from uranium and there have been very few accidents. [More…]
We have 25 per cent of the world’s known uranium fields, and indeed we could have more. [More…]
Uranium mining will employ additional labour in this country and would open up mines in areas where there is little agriculture or industry. [More…]
2), marks a further retreat by this Government from a responsible uranium policy. [More…]
A decision to mine and sell uranium should not be made unless the Commonwealth government ensures that the Commonwealth can at any time on the basis of considerations of the nature discussed in this report, immediately terminate those activities, permanently, indefinitely or for a specified period. [More…]
On August 25 last year, the Minister for Trade and Resources (Mr Anthony) in his contribution to the Government’s uranium announcement stated: [More…]
The Government will therefore always be in a position to move immediately to terminate uranium development, permanently, indefinitely or for a specified period as recommended by the Ranger Inquiry. [More…]
We need to ask why the Government continues to back down over its uranium policy announcements. [More…]
Those signatories- the Philippines and Finland- could hardly produce contracts sufficient to sustain one small uranium development. [More…]
No new contracts for Australian uranium have yet been announced. [More…]
The mining companies seek the permanency of tenure this Bill would give them in order to reassure potential customers and investors that they will be able to deliver both uranium and profits continuously into the future. [More…]
The Minister for Trade and Resources, in his second reading speech, spoke of the need to provide for prospective uranium miners a ‘security of tenure similar to that enjoyed by the holders of a mining lease under laws in force in the Northern Territory and most of the States’. [More…]
It is fundamental to any consideration of the terms and conditions of uranium mining operations that, to quote the first Fox report, uranium is a very special metal’. [More…]
If uranium were not regarded as unique, why is its mining the subject of a special piece of legislation? [More…]
The Government cannot, will not concede the simple truth about uranium. [More…]
We have repeatedly witnessed the Government’s retreat from a position of responsibility over the exploitation of uranium. [More…]
We still await, for example, the appointment of an independent uranium advisory council, first promised in August 1977, to provide advice to the Government on the overall problems and impacts of the uranium industry. [More…]
Second, the Government has backed down on its promise of IS months ago to establish a uranium marketing authority. [More…]
Apparently the Australian Uranium Export Authority announced on 1 June has now become the Australian Uranium Export Office. [More…]
Like the other decisions made by this Government on uranium, the establishment of the Export Office is shrouded in secrecy. [More…]
But what is clear is that in marketing policy, too, the Government has moved towards treating uranium as just another mineral. [More…]
On close examination of this legislation, it becomes clear that the present Government seeks to bind future governments to detailed authorities to mine uranium, issued under section 41 of the Atomic Energy Act, regardless of any changes which take place in the nuclear industry. [More…]
In other words, if the Northern Territory environment is damaged to an unexpected extent or in an unforseen way by uranium mining at Ranger then the Commonwealth would be powerless to improve the relevant environment protection conditions laid down in association with the authority to mine. [More…]
It is bad enough that the Government is prepared to permit- indeed encourage and participate inuranium mining under these circumstances. [More…]
But it is irresponsible that regardless of the findings of scientific studies of the consequences of mining on the environment of the uranium province no stricter safety measures could be imposed under the Atomic Energy Act as amended by the Bill before the House. [More…]
Of course, the most troublesome environmental problem associated with uranium is the need to dispose safely and securely of the large quantities of radioactive waste generated by the use of uranium in nuclear reactors. [More…]
The effect of this legislation is that environmental conditions placed on uranium which would take this problem into account, conditions which would place some of the responsibility for this problem and its pollution on the beneficiaries of mining, conditions which could be used to influence the use or choice of particular waste disposal technologies, could not be added by a future government without further amendment to the legislation. [More…]
The Opposition has already recorded its view that the Atomic Energy Act is entirely inappropriate as a means of regulating and controlling commercial uranium mining operations. [More…]
The uranium market does not look promising from the companies’ perspective. [More…]
Uranium demand has not lived up to expectations. [More…]
The most recent joint International Atomic Energy Agency-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development working party Report entitled ‘Uranium Resources, Production and Demand’ revised downward its nuclear power growth forecasts by up to SO per cent for the year 2000. [More…]
These financial problems reflect the sorts of unsolved technical and institutional problems which are basic to the Labor Party’s opposition to the exploitation of uranium. [More…]
While these problems remain, the Labor Party’s current attitude to uranium mining and export will prevail. [More…]
Labor in Government will not be constrained by this Government’s permissive uranium policy. [More…]
We give fair warning to the companies, their financiers and potential customers that Labor will treat uranium responsibly. [More…]
We will implement our policy of preventing the exploitation of Australian uranium while its use poses unsolved threats to the environment, human health and welfare and to international security. [More…]
It is dishonest for this reason: The Government, while stating its attitude towards uranium and uranium development, has consistently said to the people of Australia: ‘We support the recommendations of the Fox inquiry’. [More…]
If one looks at pages 248 and 249 of the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry one will see that there can be no stronger recommendations made to a government than that recommendation. [More…]
That is the Atomic Energy Act- for the grant of an authority to Ranger to mine uranium. [More…]
It seems to us that s.41 is a special power which was enacted at a time when the need to secure Australian uranium for use by Great Britain and the United States of [More…]
In our First Report we explained the very special nature of uranium, and described it as being a highly strategic material. [More…]
I should have thought that if this Government is hell bent on developing uranium, as clearly it is, it ought to be endeavouring to develop marketing processes and a legislative fabric which at least is consistent. [More…]
The implication of the Minister’s second reading speech is that we are going to have these special arrangements in respect of Ranger but no one is entitled to assume that they will be used in respect of any other uranium development anywhere in Australia. [More…]
It is no answer to the many Australian citizens who believe in principle that Australian uranium ought not to be mined until we have solved the problems of nuclear proliferation. [More…]
It is creating more problems for itself as it locks itself into what it believes will be some sort of economic bonanza at a time when, if one looks at what is occurring in the uranium industry in Europe and in the United States of America, one sees that the uranium industry is bedevilled with economic problems. [More…]
-This is the document that was sent to potential customer countries for Australian uranium late last year as a basis for negotiations with them on nuclear safeguards. [More…]
Honourable members will be aware of the requirement, described in detail in the statement of the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) of 24 May 1977, for the prior conclusion of stringent bilateral safeguards agreements with countries wishing to import uranium from Australia under new contracts. [More…]
We hope for early commencement of negotiations on safeguards to cover uranium exports to the European Community countries. [More…]
We have asked questions of the Minister particularly in relation to the Finnish Agreement and the fact that uranium will be enriched in the Soviet Union- asking about safeguards procedures for toll enrichment- and we are not getting any assistance. [More…]
There is not much point in attacking the Soviet Union on the basis of having bugging devices here as though it is a pleasant exercise and in the same context not telling anything about nuclear safeguards arrangements with that country from the point of view of uranium supplied to Finland. [More…]
This is important from the point of view of what happens to uranium processes in that country. [More…]
Under that Model Agreement any signatory country can reprocess our uranium, thereby producing fissile material, with our consent In its agreement with Finland, the Government removed from Article 7 all reference to concern that weapons-usable material should not be stockpiled. [More…]
It is becoming clear that this Government’s policies on uranium are not determined by any rational approach but by the pressure of what suits the Prime Minister from the point of view of grandstanding and what might be suiting the Deputy Prime Minister from the point of view of export revenue. [More…]
The Prime Minister’s so-called disarmament policies are perverted by the pursuit of uranium contracts. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister’s obsession with the sales of uranium does nothing for our own future energy needs. [More…]
The things which have been done by this Government in the uranium field over the last year contribute nothing to nuclear nonproliferation. [More…]
The recent negotiations of the Northern Land Council on the terms and conditions for mining of uranium at Ranger and Nabarlek, and the leasing of land for the Kakadu National Park, are only the first of many occasions when Aboriginals, with their own expert advisers, will deal with governments and corporations on a basis of equality to negotiate the conditions on which their lands can be used by others. [More…]
These wastes were slightly contaminated with a mixture of radioisotopes, uranium and a very small amount of actinide elements. [More…]
result in different safety standards for (a) radon gas in uranium mines, (b) omission of radioactive contaminants into water bodies and (c) emission of radioactive contaminants into the air. [More…]
Which approach will be used by the Government in the regulation of uranium rnining in the Alligator Rivers Region. [More…]
has not proposed a standard relating to radon gas in uranium mines. [More…]
and (3) Under the INFCIRC 153 safeguards system, the safeguards measures applied to uranium hexafluoride once it leaves the plant or process stage in which it has been produced, and enriched uranium produced from it, include physical inspection and measurement of holdings of nuclear material by IAEA inspectors to verify the materials accounts submitted to the IAEA. [More…]
(a) and (b) The Second Report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry indicated that evidence presented to the Inquiry showed that the Ranger rnining area and the Jabiluka mine sites were located within the boundary of the local descent group identified as the Mirarr Gundjeibmi and 24 persons were identified as members of this group. [More…]
J. Ikenberg, Nuclear Materials Accountant Responsible for ensuring adequacy of nuclear material records and accountancy in Australia, for compilation and submission of nuclear material accountancy reports to IAEA, for advising on and implementation of safeguards requirements in relation to uranium exports. [More…]
Was the first stage of the joint Japan-Australia uranium enrichment study concluded recently. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in South Korea, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for South Korea during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in West Germany, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for West Germany during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in Canada, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for Canada during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v)2000. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in Switzerland, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for Switzerland during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1 995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in Italy (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for Italy during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in the USA, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for the USA during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (ii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in France, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for France during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v)2000. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in Finland, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for Finland during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995, and (v)2000. [More…]
Will the Uranium Advisory Council be asked to comment on the bilateral nuclear safeguards agreements negotiated by the Australian Government. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in the Philippines, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for the Philippines during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in the UK, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for the UK during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
1) In respect of any future exports of Australian yellowcake is it intended that (a) the yellowcake will be converted to uranium hexafluoride in the UK and (b) the uranium hexafluoride will be enriched in the USA [More…]
If so, how will Australian uranium be identified throughout these processes for safeguards purposes. [More…]
As no new export contracts for Australian uranium have been entered into since 25 August 1977 it is not known at this stage whether exports under future contracts will be converted and enriched in these countries. [More…]
Will the Uranium Advisory Council be asked to comment on the agreement made between the Ranger parties and the Northern Land Council. [More…]
Negotiation of the agreement between the Northern Land Council and the Commonwealth, pursuant to sub-section 44 (2) of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976, in respect of the Ranger uranium deposits has already concluded. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in Iran, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for Iran during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
) Is he also able to say ( a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in Austria, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for Austria during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
Did he say on 10 April that, in the near future, he expected to be inviting various individuals to be made members of the Uranium Advisory Council. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in Japan, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for Japan (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [More…]
-The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows: (1), (2) and (3) I refer the honourable member to data published by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency/International Atomic Energy Agency entitled ‘Uranium Resources, Production and Demand- December 1977’ and data published by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency entitled Nuclear Fuel Cycle Requirements and Supply Considerations through the Long-Term- February 1978’ and Annual Reports of the AAEC. [More…]
Is he also able to say (a) how many nuclear power reactors are forecast to be in operation in Sweden, (b) what is the forecast total generating capacity of those reactors and (c) what is the forecast annual demand for uranium for Sweden during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v)2000. [More…]
He also understood that if the Redcliff project did not proceed because of lack of expedition in getting that answer from Dow Chemical the other major development which might well ensure South Australia’s industrial future would be a uranium enrichment plant. [More…]
For the information of honourable members I present a document entitled ‘Ranger Uranium Project Government Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia, Peko-Wallsend Operations Ltd, Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia Ltd and Australian Atomic Energy Commission’. [More…]
For the information of honourable members I present a document entitled ‘Ranger Uranium Project Management Agreement between Peko-Wallsend Operations Ltd, Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia Ltd, Australian Atomic Energy Commission and Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd. [More…]
It seems that the Government is gambling on paying for future energy imports by the sale overseas of our energy resources, especially coal and uranium. [More…]
Uranium mining and primary beneficiation (1973) [More…]
Uranium mining and primary beneficiation: [More…]
What is the amount of Australian equity required for uranium mining and how does the Government ensure that the stated desired level of Australian equity is obtained. [More…]
The Government’s foreign investment policy provides that a new uranium project involving investment by foreign interests, not already in production, will only be allowed to proceed provided it has a minimum of 75 per cent Australian equity and is Australian controlled. [More…]
Any proposal by foreign interests to participate in a new uranium project would require examination by the Foreign Investment Review Board in terms of the policy and approval by the Government. [More…]
1 ) Is he able to say what is the mass of (a) spent oxide nuclear fuel derived from electricity producing light water reactors and (b) spent natural uranium metal fuel derived from electricity producing gas graphite reactors, which was or is expected to be (i) reprocessed and (ii) vitrified during (A) 1976, (B) 1977, (C) 1978 and (D) 1979 at the Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing plant at (AA) Marcoule, France and (BB) La Hague, France. [More…]
What is the mass of (a) spent oxide nuclear fuel derived from electricity producing light water reactors and (b) spent natural uranium metal fuel derived from electricity producing gas graphite reactors which was or is expected to be produced in France during (i) 1976, (ii) 1977, (iii) 1978 and(iv) 1979. [More…]
What is the average activity of radioactive decay of (a) spent oxide nuclear fuel derived from electricity producing light water reactors and (b) spent natural uranium metal fuel derived from electricity producing gas graphite reactors. [More…]
How many natural uranium gas graphite nuclear power stations are under construction, planned or on order in Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Japan. [More…]
Uranium hexafluoride standards; enriched uranium in HIFAR fuel elements. [More…]
Uranium hexafluoride standards: [More…]
Uranium as uranium hexafluoride of specified enrichments between 0.1995 per cent and 4.47166 per cent U235. [More…]
(Uranium hexafluoride comes within the international definition of special nuclear material only above .73 per cent enrichment), [More…]
160g total uranium (2.75g U235). [More…]
(This figure includes some uranium hexafluoride below .73 per cent enrichment and not technically defined as special nuclear material), [More…]
(As with (b) above this figure includes some uranium hexafluoride below .73 per cent enrichment and not technically defined as special nuclear material). [More…]
uranium 80 per cent enriched in the isotope U235, [More…]
10.5 kg total uranium (8.4 kg U235), [More…]
uranium aluminium alloy, clad in aluminium and incorporated within complete fuel elements, [More…]
Uranium hexafluoride standards are being purchased from the United States Depanment of Energy and HIFAR fuel elements are being purchased from British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. [More…]
There were seven other stories in the same bulletin ranging from the latest information on uranium mining to the doping of racehorses. [More…]
It does include the following recently announced projects: The Gladstone aluminium smelter - $500; the Alcoa alumina project- $200m; the Ranger uranium project- $300m. [More…]
Just reflect on the recent results announced in the newspapers by Amatil Ltd, the Commercial Banking Co. of Sydney Ltd, Comalco Ltd, Bougainville Copper Ltd, and Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. Of course, the Labor Party will criticise profit as something that is almost illegal, but profit is the whole basis of confidence. [More…]
We have also been told of the alumina project at Gladstone, the Alcoa alumina project and the Ranger uranium project. [More…]
Uranium is mined at Mary Kathleen in Queensland. [More…]
Vast deposits of uranium are yet to be explored and tapped in Queensland and the Northern Territory. [More…]
Turning away altogether from the question of uranium and the question of Vietnam, I refer to a matter of concern which is very evident at the moment. [More…]
Does he affirm his statement of 25 August 1977, that the Government will always be in a position to move immediately to terminate uranium development, permanently, indefinitely or for a special period as recommended by the Ranger Inquiry; if so, will he outline the mechanism whereby the Government could immediately terminate uranium development for an indefinite period. [More…]
Those proceedings related to arrangements alleged to have been made in 1972 for the marketing of uranium. [More…]
The proceedings included a grand jury inquiry and civil proceedings by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation claiming some $7 billion from 29 United States and foreign uranium producers, including 4 Australian companies. [More…]
Both the orders related to the uranium marketing arrangements I have mentioned above and were based on the need to protect our national interest. [More…]
I am pleased to be able to inform the House, moreover, that the grand jury inquiry into the uranium marketing arrangements has been concluded and that no proceedings by the United States Justice Department have been instituted against any Australian company in consequence of that inquiry. [More…]
The civil proceedings in which the Westinghouse Electric Corporation was claiming treble damages from the uranium producers are, however, still pending. [More…]
If the House is debating a uranium Bill, if the dollar signs are ticking around, the National Country Party members are here en masse. [More…]
by leave- I wish to advise the House that the Commonwealth Government has approved the development of the Nabarlek uranium deposit by Queensland Mines Ltd. [More…]
1 would remind the House that, when announcing on 25 August 1977 its decision to proceed with uranium mining at Ranger, the Government indicated that further uranium mining projects in the Alligator Rivers Region would only proceed when the Government was fully satisfied as to the acceptability of the impact of the development on the environment and the Aboriginal people, having regard for the region as a whole. [More…]
The Government is satisfied that the legislative controls which we introduced in April 1978 regulating uranium mining in the Alligator Rivers Region, in conjunction with the environmental requirements which will be imposed on the company, together with the controls negotiated and agreed between the Northern Land Council and Queensland Mines Ltd, will ensure that any adverse impact on the local Aboriginal population will be minimised. [More…]
The Nabarlek deposit contains some 9,000 tonnes of uranium oxide. [More…]
I would like to take this opportunity to inform honourable members of the position relating to the development of some of the other uranium projects in Australia. [More…]
Production of uranium oxide recommenced at Mary Kathleen in Queensland in 1976. [More…]
These include foreign investment approval of the proposed equity arrangements and compliance with uranium marketing policies. [More…]
The Government’s decision on Nabarlek is a further step forward in our policy for the development of Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
We want to see a balance between the economic development of our uranium resources and the positive protection of the environment. [More…]
It is the policy of this Government to establish uranium mining and marketing on the basis of the recommendations of the Ranger uranium environmental inquiry. [More…]
In addition, however, there is the prospect of chaotic results in the international uranium market if development is not sequential. [More…]
The intention of the Ranger partners is to produce 3,000 tonnes per annum of uranium oxide in yellowcake, or double that amount if market conditions allow. [More…]
The Nabarlek deposit contains 9,000 tonnes of uranium oxide, which is proposed to be extracted at the rate of 1,080 tonnes per annum. [More…]
Mining Corporation’s $900m uranium mine at Yeelirrie in Western Australia. [More…]
It is expected that this mine and mill will become productive before 1985, with an initial output of about 4,000 tonnes of uranium oxide per annum. [More…]
The intention of Pancontinental Mining Ltd has been to produce initially 3,000 tonnes of uranium oxide at Jabiluka, rising to 4,500 tonnes and then to 9,000 tonnes, subject to market conditions. [More…]
Noranda’s Koongarra proposal may produce 2,000 tonnes of uranium oxide per annum. [More…]
Therefore, at the pace of the Government’s approvals to date, we might expect that by the middle of 1979 the Government will have granted approvals which would provide authority for the export, within a few years, of 19,000 tonnes of uranium oxide. [More…]
This is not inconsistent with the prediction of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, in its last annual report, that Australia could contract to supply up to 10,000 tonnes of uranium per annum by 1985. [More…]
It must be emphasised, therefore, that the Government, which has stressed the size of the investments that it is attracting to the Australian uranium industry, is creating a situation where, in a matter of a few years, our supply capacity could greatly exceed demand. [More…]
This would, of course, have rapid consequences for the earnings on the large uranium investments that had been made. [More…]
In the past, it has been possible to argue that the low cost of extracting Australian uranium gave it a natural price advantage. [More…]
This advantage is rapidly being overtaken by the exploration of large, new uranium provinces in the western United States and Canada. [More…]
In January, the Deputy Prime Minister announced a new Government approach to uranium sales contracts. [More…]
Companies which have received Commonwealth approval to develop uranium deposits will be allowed to negotiate sales contracts with prospective customers which provide that delivery is conditional on safeguards agreements being concluded with the customer countries before delivery takes place. [More…]
Under these arrangements, no deliveries of uranium will be made until such time as a safeguards agreement is in effect between Australia and the customer country. [More…]
Despite the occasional utilisation of the word safeguards’, in this statement, the clear meaning of the statement is that the Government is panicking at the prospect that it may lose its place in the world uranium market. [More…]
A Government committed to orderly marketing of uranium would be looking to sensible policies and facing up to the hard issues of sequential marketing. [More…]
Somebody should be deciding who, among these various competing uranium miners, should be allowed to begin, and in what order. [More…]
If the farmers who run this Government are incapable of establishing an orderly marketing system for beef, then I suppose that we should not expect too much from them in respect to the establishment of a basis for the orderly marketing of uranium. [More…]
We have not seen evidence of significant developments in other areas of the Government’s policies announced in respect of uranium export. [More…]
To return to the commercial aspect; what contracts have been concluded with anybody for the sale of uranium? [More…]
This is obviously what we can continue to expect from the Government in the matters of the greatest political and strategic importance affecting uranium export- silence, until it is too late. [More…]
Had not events in Iran moved so quickly we would, no doubt, have been committed by now to safeguards arrangements with Iran covering the transfer of uranium to Iran into the next century. [More…]
As he would see it, he is the Minister with the export control authority, the uranium king of Australia, the man who has not yet sold one tonne of Australian uranium. [More…]
The continuing concerns of the Australian people in respect of the uranium industry focus especially on nuclear waste disposal and nuclear non-proliferation. [More…]
In January, the Deputy Prime Minister also announced that Australia was contemplating the establishment of a commercial uranium enrichment industry. [More…]
Announcements have taken place concerning the development of Australian uranium deposits, yet all the infrastructure of policy which the Government promised in 1977 and 1978 has yet to come about. [More…]
To date Australia’s uranium king, the Minister for Trade and Resources (Mr Anthony), has not got one uranium contract despite the fact that agreements have been concluded with other countries and that mines have been given the right to proceed. [More…]
The particular matter which has caused this legislation, as well as legislation as far back as 1976, is what is known as the Westinghouse case in the United States, where $7 billion worth of damages are being sought against 29 uranium producers including four Australian companies. [More…]
This is more than relevant to the current uranium issue. [More…]
It was such a situation of supply exceeding demand which led to the arrangements in the uranium market against which Westinghouse has brought this action. [More…]
But the former Liberal-Country Party Government took Australia into the uranium cartel for precisely the same reason- supply exceeding demand. [More…]
On the other hand, in the uranium industry, decisions of the United States Government to protect uranium miners in the United States broke down vertical integration in the industry during the 1960s. [More…]
As the United States military needs for uranium declined at the end of the 1950s, the United States decided against renewal of its uranium purchase contracts with Canada and South Africa, thereby creating a glut of uranium which lasted until the 1970s. [More…]
Secondly, the United States had a virtual monopoly of uranium enrichment capacity and the fuel for that reactor was, of course, slightly enriched uranium. [More…]
As countries buying the reactor wanted to buy uranium on the international buyers’ market, the United States was forced in 1964 to accept a system of ‘toll enrichment’- that is, selling enrichment services on uranium from whatever source for a customer country. [More…]
But the United States Congress insisted at that time on protecting the United States uranium miners by adopting legislation which effectively closed the United States market to outside uranium suppliers. [More…]
The resultant embargo on the use of non-US uranium in the US market contributed to a depression of world uranium prices to the level of $5 per lb or less, too low to cover production costs and even more so to give producers the necessary cash flow for the exploration needed to assure future supplies. [More…]
Westinghouse- offered along with the sale of power plants all the uranium needed to fuel them for their 30 years of operation without covering itself by buying the requisite stocks, and thereby artificially reduced demand. [More…]
The efforts of producer countries other than the US, acting in concert, aimed at remedying the situation were slowly beginning to produce results when suddenly, in 1974, the situation was reversed and the shortage emerged again, accompanied by its inevitable counterpart- a considerable increase in the price of uranium. [More…]
The actions of the uranium cartel had sought to secure some stability in a market severely affected by the decisions of the United States Government. [More…]
In the process, the fact that Westinghouse had not bought uranium to cover its contracts came to light and Westinghouse could not, and cannot, meet its contract commitments at the contracted prices. [More…]
The purpose of this legislation is to draw the line and make the point that it is absurd for a country not exporting uranium to be accused of fixing the price of uranium in a country not importing uranium. [More…]
This raises questions about the prospect of the seizure of Australian’s uranium exports. [More…]
The Government’s policy is that uranium will remain Australian owned until such time as it is covered by safeguards. [More…]
The earliest stage at which safeguards apply to material which is to be enriched is when it is coverted to uranium hexafluoride. [More…]
In the normal course, most Australian uranium exports would be converted to uranium hexafluoride and enriched in the United States. [More…]
This means that yellowcake owned by Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd, Conzinc Rio Tinto of Australia Ltd or Queensland Mines Ltd arriving in the United States would be very vulnerable to seizure. [More…]
Now that Westinghouse cannot deliver the uranium for the contracted prices it has run to a court in the United States to suggest that there has been an anti-trust arrangement. [More…]
It has sold the reactors but it cannot deliver the uranium fuel. [More…]
This applies to uranium. [More…]
As honourable members know, the company entered into arrangements to build and sell uranium fuelled reactors. [More…]
The company also guaranteed to provide to the purchaser a certain number of years supply of uranium at a certain price. [More…]
Of course Westinghouse found, when the price of uranium went up, that it was no longer able to obtain its supplies at a price that enabled it to sell to its purchasers at either a profit or at a break-even figure. [More…]
However, having got into that position I would have thought that the sensible thing for it to do would be to take every step possible to reach some agreement with its purchasers for renegotiation of the conditions in regard to the price of uranium. [More…]
It would also mean.that any export of uranium and any moneys obtained from the export would not add to our balance of trade because there would be this drain resulting from the judgment. [More…]
If uranium is exported- and I ask the House to note my speech on this previously when I referred to the importance of the safeguards before we export uranium- the whole basis of our economy could be brought asunder if this type of judgment were to be enforced against Australian producers. [More…]
It is my understanding that the executives and senior officials of Australian uranium companies have made sure that they do not enter the United States. [More…]
Australia has proceeded on the basis that a good deal of Australian uranium, if it is exported, would be enriched in America. [More…]
The immediate practical problem will arise if they take assets, which more likely than not would be uranium, into the United States. [More…]
Will this incident affect any projected sales of uranium to Sweden? [More…]
Acceptance of the Agreement on an International Energy Programme and decisions of the Government Board of the IEA is to the extent that these are compatible with Australia’s Federal constitution and our policies on foreign investment, the development, export and marketing of uranium, including our policies with regard to nuclear non-proliferation and our policies with regard to the export of other energy resources. [More…]
The Minister spoke of certain assurances concerning uranium and foreign investment but they are not the beginning and end of an energy policy. [More…]
Since the Government announced the go-ahead for the uranium mines at Ranger and Nabarlek there has been greater confidence that Australia will proceed with uranium development. [More…]
They are radiation protection in the mining and milling of radioactive ores, the transport of yellowcake and the management of wastes from the mining and milling of uranium. [More…]
On 25 August 1977, the Prime Minister said that, by taking the decision to export uranium, Australia could slow the movement towards the use of plutonium as a nuclear fuel. [More…]
The Government has never said it intends to prohibit the reprocessing of Australian uranium. [More…]
-I ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether he is aware of the statement by his colleague the honourable member for Murray that he, the Deputy Prime Minister, had pushed for a resource tax to apply to excessive levels of profit from uranium or Bass Strait oil but that the Minister’s efforts were- I quote the honourable member for Murray: [More…]
The meeting of 13 February was to discuss the oil supply and demand situation in this country, as it was affected by the uranium situation. [More…]
Although their greasy fingers might not touch it, it will be the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser), the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) and the people who sit on the front bench, who will go to the uranium companies and to the oil companies and say: ‘Look, we cannot give you decent government. [More…]
-I ask the Prime Minister: Will the Government consider suspending existing contracts to supply uranium to countries which use the light water, pressure water reactor similar to the one which failed in Harrisburg until it has been proven that there will be no recurrences of this episode? [More…]
The Government has indicated on a number of occasions that the very fact that Australia is a supplier of uranium for peaceful purposes around the world will strengthen Australia’s voice in arguing for ever safer and more secure non-proliferation and safeguard regimes. [More…]
The first of those events was the arrangements made between Queensland Mines Ltd, the proprietary company which holds the leases for the Nabarlek uranium area, and the Shikoko Electric Power Co. [More…]
The Opposition believes that it is opportune now to say to the Government that the impending contracts for exports of yellow cake which will arise from negotiations by Queensland Mines and from the decision by the Government to send out private members of the Ranger consortium, Peko Mines Ltd and the Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia Ltd, on their own marketing expedition and for the Government, as a member of the Ranger consortium, to go out on its own marketing expedition to find contracts in a market which is very thin and very poor indeed in terms of market demand for uranium, should not be agreed to by the Government until an attempt is made by the Government and other interested parties to ensure that, as we state in our matter of public importance, ‘the grave risks associated with the nuclear industry have been resolved ‘. [More…]
Nevertheless, we must make the point that the Government, through its policy, is buttressing the course of nuclear power and the development of nuclear power by the supply of quite massive amounts of uranium potentially on to a very thin world market, thereby depressing the price of uranium and making it more available. [More…]
The Ranger mine will produce about 3,500 tonnes of uranium oxide per annum. [More…]
Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry, which dealt with the export of Australian uranium. [More…]
The hazards of mining and milling uranium, if those activities are properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify a decision not to develop Australian uranium mines. [More…]
Policy respecting Australian uranium exports, for the time being at least, should be based on a full recognition of the hazards, dangers and problems of and associated with the production of nuclear energy, and should therefore seek to limit or restrict expansion of that production. [More…]
The hazards involved in the ordinary operations of nuclear power reactors, if those operations are properly regulated and controlled, are not such as to justify a decision not to mine and sell Australian uranium. [More…]
I think it is reasonable for the Opposition to say to the Government: ‘Thus far and no further with uranium exports for the time being’. [More…]
These countries will not turn away from fast breeder research, no matter how much uranium is available for supply. [More…]
We cannot do that if we just allow the wholesale export of Australian uranium onto the world market at low prices to buttress the growth of nuclear power. [More…]
It would ill become us as a nation to take the cynical view that one can wave uranium goodbye at the wharf, take the money and leave the problem in the hands of customer countries when we know that they cannot adequately manage the material, that they cannot dispose of the byproduct and that they themselves are not in a position safely to operate the reactors. [More…]
Australia should desist from the commitment of Australian uranium to the international fuel cycle until such time as the reactor safety issue is resolved to the point where there is agreement about the safety factors, until the waste disposal issue has been conquered and a proven disposal system is established for the isolation of long-term transuranic elements and actinides from the atmosphere and until we have devised a system of international accords that mean something in respect of nuclear non-proliferation. [More…]
It would be a tragedy if the world were to be pushed into the continuing premature development of a large scale nuclear industry, to find in a few years time that everyone had a nuclear weapons option, that everyone had a thermal or fast breeder reactor and that we helped by selling and buttressing the nuclear industry with cheap uranium from this country. [More…]
It should not just be at the whim and caprice of the uranium mining industry in the Northern Territory and elsewhere in this country which wants to maximise revenues. [More…]
It is all very well for the Opposition to suggest that Australia, with 20 per cent of the world’s low cost uranium, should cease by itself in a totally selfish and cynical manner to supply uranium to an energy deficient world. [More…]
To fuel these power stations, 15,000 tonnes of uranium are required annually and 6,500 tonnes of separative work units of enrichment are required. [More…]
Does the Opposition really suggest that we can deny the world our energy in the form of uranium in the face of that sort of development? [More…]
Does it really suggest that right now, because of the accident in Pennsylvania, we should stop exporting uranium or stop the development of our mines? [More…]
The fact that nuclear energy usage for electric power generation has proceeded in other countries without access to Australian uranium and will continue in no way relieves Australia of its responsibilities as an energy rich nation. [More…]
It simply highlights the futility of leaving our uranium in the ground. [More…]
The Alligator Rivers region is the world’s largest uncommitted uranium province. [More…]
The overall uranium resources of the region could be as much as five to 10 times larger than the resources identified to date. [More…]
We have a clear international responsibility to develop further our uranium resources. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium [More…]
Environmental Inquiry report stated that total renunciation of intention to supply our uranium was not justified and was undesirable. [More…]
Our Government recognises its responsibility to ensure that Australian uranium resources are further developed and we will proceed to do so on the basis recommended by the Ranger inquiry. [More…]
In his announcement to Parliament on 1 June 1978 setting out the Government’s uranium export policy, the Minister for Trade and Resources (Mr Anthony) explained that the Government has considered carefully its attitude in regard to the machinery which should govern future exports of uranium. [More…]
He made it clear that in the arrangements made the Government would ensure that at all times it had proper knowledge, oversight and control of the arrangements under which Australian uranium is exported. [More…]
If the Government were to suspend existing uranium contracts it would do untold damage to Australia’s international credibility as a reliable exporter of energy. [More…]
The Government will continue with its policy of developing and exporting Australia’s uranium resources under the strictest safeguards and subject to internationally agreed standards of safety. [More…]
Many of the newspapers and other media and, of course, those who oppose the use of uranium, continue to use the word ‘accident’, though I notice that the more responsible newspapers have changed to ‘incident’. [More…]
Whilst there is reason to believe that there might have been some premature deaths in the early rnining of uranium because it was not appreciated that radon gas was present, this occurred years ago. [More…]
Those opposed to uranium do not tell us that coal-fired power stations give off radioactivity which has a longer life than the emission from nuclear power stations; nor do they tell us that there is more radioactivity in whisky, milk, salad oil and tap water than there is from nuclear power stations. [More…]
The situation is that most of the uranium used by Western Europe is enriched in the Soviet Union, so I am sick to death of all the talk about a red bogy. [More…]
The uranium used by countries which honourable members opposite regard as allies and with which they want us to trade could be enriched in the Soviet Union. [More…]
They are interconnected in their relationship to uranium rnining through the whole nuclear fuel cycle. [More…]
Many other dangers are associated with the mining of uranium, with the transport of radioactive substances and the disposal of waste materials. [More…]
There is no guarantee that uranium will not be used by some extremist elements, whether they be governments or individuals. [More…]
Until those problems are solved there will be no uranium mining’. [More…]
We have said quite clearly to the mining companies and the financial institutions: ‘If you enter into contracts to mine and export uranium, when the Labor Party comes to power in 1 980 it will repudiate those contracts’. [More…]
It is a reasonable proposition which says we do not believe the Government should enter into any commitment to open new uranium mining or enter into any contracts until these unresolved problems have been solved. [More…]
-The Opposition is using the unfortunate incident at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America to endeavour to attract a major debate on the uranium issue. [More…]
If we do not mine, mill and market our uranium we will lose great prospects for this country. [More…]
As previous speakers have said, there has not been the loss of one life in the uranium mining industry. [More…]
We have 25 per cent of the world’s known uranium supplies in this country and there is a lot more that has not yet been discovered. [More…]
We can sell our uranium to the United States of America, to Canada, Germany and South Africa. [More…]
That shows what the United States thinks of uranium power and its safety. [More…]
As mentioned previously, the Prime Minister has put a covenant on uranium being sold by Australia to other countries. [More…]
One cannot find any real evidence from research or from the various libraries of anybody having died of cancer as a result of being close to uranium or a nuclear reactor. [More…]
Political activists trying to force personal views of human betterment on their fellow men also find an outlet within the anti-uranium movement. [More…]
We have plenty of uranium in this country and we should not be denying other nations of the world the opportunity to purchase uranium so that they can get the amenities they need. [More…]
They can buy uranium from this country. [More…]
Our policy is to sell uranium to these countries and no doubt we will do this. [More…]
We should therefore be getting ready to mine, mill and market our uranium so that we can cater for the adverse balance of trade that is going to occur in those years. [More…]
Mine, mill and market our uranium! [More…]
In addition to these two important considerations is the fact that there is quite a degree of radioactive material stored on the site and in the vicinity of the site, some of it being associated with the uranium core and some of it being associated with the disposal of waste. [More…]
The disagreement of the Opposition with multinational companies such as the Utah organisation mining coal or being involved in uranium development is already on record. [More…]
Australia is an energy rich country, with major reserves of coal and uranium and substantial reserves of natural gas. [More…]
Consistent with the Commonwealth’s obligations to the Aboriginal people and consistent with the powers which they wish to exercise with respect to uranium, the Northern Territory has complete self-government. [More…]
Fourteen uranium mills [More…]
One uranium enrichment pilot plant at Valindaba [More…]
Uranium mills do not attract international safeguards. [More…]
If Australia were to supply the uranium for that nuclear power program it would mean that 80,000 tonnes of uranium would be supplied between now and the year 2000. [More…]
He said that controls would remain on iron ore, coal, bauxite, alumina, gas and uranium and that he would not sit back and allow the country to be raped and Australia turned into the biggest quarry in the world. [More…]
On 25 August 1977 the Government announced its policy that development of the Ranger uranium deposit would proceed on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Whitlam Government and Peko Mines Ltd and Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Ltd. [More…]
In his Budget Speech of 1 5 August 1978, the Treasurer (Mr Howard) noted that a certain proportion of the Commonwealth’s share of the costs of developing the Ranger uranium deposits would be raised by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission through borrowings. [More…]
These provisions would finance the development of the Ranger uranium deposit and the Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory. [More…]
I suppose that it would be opportune to point out at this stage the view of the Opposition about uranium mining- that there should be no addition of uranium to the international fuel cycle until the unresolved problems of the nuclear industry have been resolved. [More…]
One of the problems that the Government has struck is that it cannot find a market for its uranium. [More…]
We have now a silly situation in which, under the Ranger uranium consortium arrangement, the Government has the Atomic Energy Commission out seeking markets for its half of Ranger’s production. [More…]
It is almost unbelievable that, the Ranger uranium consortium having been entered into with the Peko-EZ companies, the Government rather than the consortium is to seek a market for its share of the produce and the companies will do the same for the rest. [More…]
The Government will be concluding safeguards agreements with other countries, and, of course, will be in a position to sell its uranium before Peko-EZ can do so. [More…]
I cannot understand how a government which believes that nuclear power is the saviour in regard to power generation for the Western world can still believe that there is a market for uranium when it has to do this to its own authority- as it has done. [More…]
The Government has retained those provisions and has extended the role of the Commission to include the mining and production of uranium and the carrying out of other commercial activities. [More…]
1 ) the Australian Atomic Energy Commission should not be empowered to raise funds on the commercial market for uranium mining until such time as the unresolved problems associated with the nuclear industry have been satisfactorily resolved: and [More…]
It was to be a unit of 500 megawatts which the Electricity Commission of New South Wales did not want feeding into its grid and which in the original days was to be fuelled by a natural uranium reactor. [More…]
The natural uranium reactor was chosen because of the high by-product of plutonium which was produced from such a reactor. [More…]
Research into uranium enrichment is being undertaken by the Commission. [More…]
It was supposedly to be in readiness for the development of Australia’s uranium reserves and a move into an enrichment plant of a design which was to be Australian in concept. [More…]
I have referred to the conflict of the various roles that the Australian Atomic Energy Commission has- its nuclear regulatory role, as a promoter of nuclear power, as a promoter of nuclear research, and now as a commercial activist in the uranium mining area. [More…]
The Atomic Energy Act is an inappropriate vehicle for the commercial mining of uranium, or for any commercial mining, because under that Act any project can be declared a defence project. [More…]
So there is an overwhelming case for breaking up the Commission, but even more importantly, to have it abandon its activities in respect of uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
It has done that because it cannot sell uranium. [More…]
It is a completely inappropriate vehicle for uranium mining but the Government is apparently determined to try to give itself a hard edge. [More…]
We believe that if it is carried it will be the best thing for Australia in respect of the policy for commercial uranium mining, and also in terms of the breaking up and the re-establishment of the various sections of the Atomic Energy Commission into separate independent bodies. [More…]
In spite of what the member for Blaxland (Mr Keating) had to say, the basic functions of the Act are: Firstly, exploration, mining, treatment and selling of uranium; secondly, the construction and operation of atomicpower stations; thirdly, the research and distribution of information on uranium and atomic energy. [More…]
In the 1 970s there was the full recognition of the vast energy store Australia possessed, in the form of its great uranium deposits in the north. [More…]
Then on 9 January 1 979 we had the historic Government agreement on the Ranger uranium project between the Commonwealth of Australia, Peko-Wallsend Operations Ltd, Electrolytic Zinc Company of Australasia Ltd, and the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. [More…]
This does not confer exemption from payroll tax on Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd as manager of the project. [More…]
Similarly, in relation to other taxes which may be levied by the Northern Territory, the exemption for the Commission will not operate to confer exemption on Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd. [More…]
This amendment to the Atomic Energy Act is just one part of the implementation of the uranium export policy stated on 1 June 1978. [More…]
Australia, with its uranium mining and export policies, is proceeding with purpose and determination in the implementation of its overall policy of uranium development. [More…]
Page 56 of the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry deals with the underdeveloped nations of the world. [More…]
Deputy Speaker, and to the House that one cannot separate any aspect of the nuclear industry, whether it be uranium mining, the nuclear power industry or the nuclear weapons industry, or some other aspect of the industry. [More…]
I would go so far as to challenge the right of anybody, whether it be the Clerk of the House or whether it be you, Mr Deputy Speaker, to limit this debate, because we are dealing with the raising of money from the public to finance the mining of uranium at Ranger. [More…]
I am saying quite clearly that the people of Australia have to understand that one cannot divorce uranium mining from the nuclear power industry or from the nuclear weapons industry. [More…]
The Australian Atomic Energy Commission should not be empowered to raise funds on the commercial market for uranium mining until such time as the unresolved problems associated with the nuclear industry have been satisfactorily resolved. [More…]
In 1953 the Atomic Energy Commission was set up for the primary purpose of ‘ensuring the provision of uranium or atomic energy for the defence of the Commonwealth’. [More…]
The secondary purposes for the establishment of the Commission were to ensure the supply of uranium or atomic energy to governments of other countries and ‘any other purposes of the Commonwealth’. [More…]
It was a defence Act and it was intended to allow the supply of Australian uranium to Britain and to the United States of America for the purpose of making atomic weapons. [More…]
The Fox reportits correct name is the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry report, as I mentioned earlierrecommended against the use ofthe Atomic Energy Act to grant authority to Ranger to mine uranium. [More…]
for the grant of an authority to Ranger to mine uranium. [More…]
In 1978 the Federal Government amended the Atomic Energy Act, making its purposes more directly related to the commercial aspect of uranium mining and export and imposing even more restrictive curtailments on civil liberties and trade union action. [More…]
We have a situation in relation the Atomic Energy Act where those people who support uranium mining and its export say that that is an important and progressive move. [More…]
I am stating clearly that it is a police state piece of legislation designed to oppress the people who oppose uranium mining in this country. [More…]
The 1978 amendments deny the ordinary industrial rights of workers and the unions associated with the mining, handling and transportation of uranium. [More…]
This Act, which you supported, Mr Deputy Speaker denies basic civil rights to people who hinder uranium mining in any way. [More…]
The Act prohibits free speech and demonstrations against uranium mining. [More…]
It is an amendment that will allow the real outlay on uranium mining to be obscured. [More…]
The amendment will give the Commission power to mediate private investment in the uranium industry. [More…]
The Government is prepared to guarantee private investment in the unsafe and insecure uranium industry. [More…]
The market for uranium is falling away. [More…]
A paper prepared by the Legislative Research Service of the Parliamentary Library in respect of uranium mining requirements by 1985 reads as follows: [More…]
The overriding factors of the last few years have greatly lessened the chances of massive ( 10,000 to 20,000 tons) uranium exports by I98S. [More…]
Firstly, of course, there has been a truly enormous drop in world uranium demand because of ( I ) lower energy use (2 ) safety considerations, and - [More…]
For example between January and September of 1978, the United States Department of Energy reduced its domestic uranium demand estimates by a full third for the same year of 1978, and by a third for 1985. [More…]
In 1973-74 the Atomic Energy Commission expected that it would need 1 15,000 tonnes of uranium. [More…]
Thus, since the firm plans for multiple Australian uranium mines were drawn up, the official estimates of world uranium demand have been cut to less than onehalf. [More…]
I have a paper headed ‘Atomic Energy Commission Estimates from the last four years of future annual requirements of the Western World for uranium’. [More…]
How many more will get the bomb by stealth if this Government continues to make our uranium available to the world nuclear fuel cycle? [More…]
Parliament had decided that a certain proportion of the Commonwealth’s share of the cost of developing the Ranger uranium deposits would be raised by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission by way of borrowings. [More…]
the Atomic Energy Commission should not be empowered to raise funds on the commercial market for uranium mining until such time as the unresolved problems associated with the nuclear industry have been satisfactorily resolved . [More…]
The whole policy of the Opposition, since uranium mining and the export of yellowcake was brought to the fore in this assembly, has been to put up a rearguard action. [More…]
The Opposition wants to stop the mining of uranium and the export of yellowcake. [More…]
I respect his opinion on the uranium issue. [More…]
I have followed him and he has followed me on many occasions when the subject of uranium has been debated in this place. [More…]
Not long after the incident at Harrisburg a uranium enrichment plant was opened in France, which was an indication of the confidence of that nation in nuclear energy. [More…]
The French Prime Minister, Mr Barre, formally opened a uranium enrichment plant at Tricastin, in southern France, yesterday. [More…]
When the Prime Minister (Mr Malcolm Fraser) was formulating our policy on the export of uranium he made it very clear that it was to be used for peaceful purposes. [More…]
Yellowcake uranium ore is one of our great assets. [More…]
No doubt some socialist countries would like to see the development of Australian uranium stepped right down for economic and other reasons. [More…]
It wants to mine uranium, mill it and get it away overseas to those countries that I have enumerated in this speech. [More…]
It is remarkable that involved in these meetings which are held to object to the export of this wonderful uranium product are socialists of the Left. [More…]
I think as history has transpired events have shown that this whole business of uranium and its development and utilisation are parts of an evolving process about which there is still a great deal yet to be known. [More…]
The attitude of the Opposition to the Bill is that the Atomic Energy Commission should not be empowered to raise funds for uranium mining on the commercial market until such time as the unresolved problems associated with the nuclear industry have been resolved satisfactorily. [More…]
The reasons for extending commercial powers to the Commission arise from the Government’s decision to use the Atomic Energy Act to mine the Ranger uranium deposit. [More…]
That decision is contrary to the express findings and recommendations of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
That is, the Atomic Energy Act 1 953 - for the grant of an authority to Ranger to mine uranium. [More…]
That provision was enacted at a time when there was a need to secure Australian uranium for use by Great Britain and the United States of America in a nuclear weapons program. [More…]
Under the extremely repressive provisions of the Atomic Energy Act and the associated Approved Defence Projects Protection Act, the Government has the power to deny ordinary industrial rights to the workers and unions involved in the mining, handling and transportation of uranium. [More…]
That is fair enough in times of war if uranium is to be used for purposes of defence or purposes of aggression against an opponent. [More…]
If the Government has to produce uranium without conducting proper investigation and inquiry, it should do so without the aid of the police and the military. [More…]
It involves adopting a new approach to the whole question of mining and utilising uranium. [More…]
Our reasons for opposing uranium mining have little to do with the Bill before us and were well spelt out in a previous debate this evening. [More…]
The Bill before us proposes to tax royalties from the mining not only of uranium but also of aluminium, manganese, other ores and minerals generally. [More…]
The exact amount of that will vary according to what those proceeds are, and that will depend on how much uranium ore is sold and on the world price- the selling price. [More…]
At Nabarlek no tax will be payable on the $735,000 already paid, but tax will be payable on the amount of $800,000 in the first year and again in the second year, $900,000 in the third year, $500,000 in the fourth year plus any balance of the 4l/i per cent of the net uranium value produced. [More…]
As the AM program reported on 27 November last, the American Indians have four-fifths of the uranium reserves, one-third of the low sulphur coal reserves and one-tenth of the oil and gas reserves in the [More…]
The Northern Territory government, having blackmailed the Federal Government into getting a 1 Va per cent royalty on uranium, ought to do its share, as its economy receives a boost from Aborigines’ mineral royalties which it hopes, as Mr Shann Turnbull has predicted, will make it the richest, lowest taxed region in Australia. [More…]
He suggests that on the figures available to him- the mining of 3,000 to 6,000 tonnes of uranium ore at $30 to $40 a tonne- the Aborigines of the Northern Territory could expect to receive between $160 and $600 each per annum, which is less- [More…]
The Yuendumu mining company wants the uranium mine opened and operating. [More…]
Uranium is to be found where the Oenpelli people have settled in Arnhem Land. [More…]
In my judgment the mining of uranium at Oenpelli and even the mining of some of the bauxite deposits ought not to go ahead. [More…]
Yet if one reads the report from which the honourable member for Capricornia (Dr Everingham) quoted so fully last evening one will be aware that it is likely that the amount of income to be derived from the mining of uranium and other products on Aboriginal lands is likely to be the saviour of not only the Aboriginal people but also the people of the Northern Territory. [More…]
He went on to say that the uranium royalties received by Aboriginals will make a far greater impact on the Northern Territory economy than all other income expected to be received by Northern Territory residents on the present methods of managing resource development. [More…]
In the first place, there was never any suggestion that the Northern Territory Administration, and therefore the non-Aboriginal members of the Northern Territory, would benefit in any way from the Ranger uranium mine. [More…]
All I am saying is that if there is going to be a uranium mine it seems to me that the community as a whole ought to benefit. [More…]
When the same thing is done on this side of the House in regard to the question of uranium, when we say that a Labor Party in government will not agree to contracts entered into by a nonLabor government, all hell breaks loose. [More…]
There will be no point in the Government’s arguing that huge earnings from export of coal, uranium, natural gas or anything else will pay for oil imports in this situation. [More…]
The purpose of these agreements is to ensure that when Australia supplies uranium for peaceful purposes it will not be diverted to non-peaceful or explosive uses. [More…]
To this end the agreement incorporates stringent safeguards and controls on the use of the uranium we supply to the Republic of Korea for peaceful purposes. [More…]
These are: an undertaking that nuclear material supplied by Australia will not be diverted to military or explosive purposes; the application of International Atomic Energy Agency- IAEA- safeguards, which provide an international check against diversion of material; fall-back arrangements to ensure continued safeguarding of nuclear material should IAEA safeguards for any reason cease to apply; a requirement for Australia’s prior consent to any retransfers, to ensure that uranium supplied by Australia cannot be re-exported unless we are satisfied as to the ultimate destination and as to the controls that would apply; a requirement for Australia’s prior consent for high enrichment or reprocessing of material supplied by Australia. [More…]
This effectively reserves our position on reprocessing, as we have said we wish to, pending the outcome of international studies, including- INFCE- the International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation; provisions ensuring that adequate physical security will be maintained, to guard against theft or other illegal use of nuclear material by groups or individuals; provisions for consultations to ensure the effective implementation of the Agreement; and all these safeguards and controls to cover nuclear material derived from Australian uranium so long as it remains in a form relevant from the point of view of safeguards. [More…]
The conclusion of this nuclear co-operation and safeguards agreement with the Republic of Korea provides a basis for shipments of Australian uranium to that country under commercial contracts. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister has told us of the projections by the Republic of Korea of its nuclear reactor requirements over the next 20 years- 40 reactors requiring 80,000 tons of uranium. [More…]
The magnitude of the Korean nuclear program can be illustrated in comparative terms by saying that the Koreans wish to buy, by the year 2000, a quantity of uranium equal to twice the current annual world market for uranium and five times the amount the Deputy Prime Minister would like Australia to be able to export annually by 1988. [More…]
The prospect is that, if the Government were permitted to proceed with its plans on such a basis, we could find ourselves so substantially committed to uranium exports a decade from now that we would be a desperate seller rather than a seller concerned, as we should be, about the safety, environmental, weapons proliferation and waste disposal problems of nuclear energy. [More…]
The provisions in the Agreement, at Article X, enabling Australia, as supplier, to suspend or cancel further supplies of uranium, or enabling us to require return of uranium or material derived from Australian uranium, provide no effective force to stop the Republic of Korea acquiring weapons, not least because of the proportional principle contained in the Treaty and now defined for the first time. [More…]
This means that if, for example, Australia provides 40 per cent of the Republic of Korea’s- or any other country’s- uranium supplies, those uranium atoms will undoubtedly be mixed with uranium atoms obtained from other countries and the extent of our eventual fallback safeguards controls will be proportional only to the 40 per cent of our supply. [More…]
It must also be noted that since the subject of nuclear non-proliferation was last debated in the Parliament in November 1978, announcements by the Deputy Prime Minister about uranium sales contracts have made even more clear than was then the case that the Government regards the safeguards as little more than a political cosmetic to facilitate exports. [More…]
A bilateral nuclear safeguards agreement has recently been concluded, opening the way for negotiations for the supply of Australian uranium to the Philippines. [More…]
In an exchange of letters between President Marcos and myself, Australia has undertaken to be a reliable and reasonable supplier of energy to the Philippines and to give technical and other assistance to help the Philippines develop its own energy potential, including uranium exploration. [More…]
Has the Government established an Australian Uranium Export Office within his Department. [More…]
Will the Office participate in negotiations over uranium exports; if so, at what stages of negotiations. [More…]
Does the Office have access to full information associated with uranium marketing negotiations; if not, which information is not available to the Office. [More…]
The functions of the Office are set out in my statement on uranium export policy which I made in Parliament on 1 June 1978. [More…]
Did he state on 10 April 1978 that the Government had agreed that the Uranium Advisory Council should include representation from a national voluntary environmental organisation. [More…]
If so, which organisation is represented on the Uranium Advisory Council and by whom is it represented. [More…]
Mr C. W. Bonython has been appointed to the Uranium Advisory Council as a representative of the World Wildlife Fund Australia of which he is a member of the . [More…]
I now say to those finance companies, and other speculators which may shift their attention to the making of profits at the expense of the Australian people through investment in uranium mining, aluminium smelters and other hazardous industries that will affect the future of our cities and the way of life of our people; you will get your fingers burned again. [More…]
The crisis in Iran has inevitably affected decisions about other energy resources such as coal and uranium. [More…]
We have been active in consultation with unions on significant issues such as the training of our workforce and on uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
I experienced the growing confidence of the Territory in its own future in the areas of uranium mining development and tourism. [More…]
Numerous Opposition speakers have opposed the mining of uranium. [More…]
We have 27Vi per cent of the known uranium sources in the world. [More…]
The actions we have taken in relation to the Fox report on uranium have scrupulously followed the environmental recommendations on the establishment of the Kakadu National Park. [More…]
Sydney yesterday that a Federal Labor Government would repudiate any contract or commitment entered into under this Government with respect to the mining and export of uranium? [More…]
If the Opposition wants to keep making these great noises, let it go to the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union of Australia and say that the jobs of its members are in jeopardy if it undertakes uranium development. [More…]
I think it is worth quoting from the first report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry where it states: [More…]
It is strange how the left wing has this anti-uranium attitude. [More…]
During Question Time the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) said that I had threatened uranium mining companies about commitments entered into for the export of uranium. [More…]
After all, it was the Australian Labor Party when in government which appointed Justice Fox to head the inquiry into uranium mining and export- generally the nuclear power industryand I believe his report was one of the more significant contributions towards the information of the public mind on this subject. [More…]
The purpose of this Bill is to amend the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1 975 to facilitate the development of a township at Jabiru, which is located in the Kakadu National Park, consistent with the Government’s announced policies on uranium mining development. [More…]
The Kakadu National Park was proclaimed under the National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act on 5 April 1979 and was a major step in giving effect to the protective measures which the Government announced would be established in the Alligator Rivers Region before permitting mining of uranium to commence. [More…]
In keeping with the recommendation of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry the Government decided that the mining town to serve mines developed in the region should be included in Kakadu National Park and should be a closed town with a limited population. [More…]
Following the Government’s decision in November last year, to allow the Ranger uranium deposit to be developed, increasing numbers of people are moving into the mining areas adjacent to the Park. [More…]
The Government has decided that the mining town to serve the uranium mines developed in the region would be included in the Kakadu National Park and would be a closed town with a limited population. [More…]
We believe that the mining of uranium in the area will lead to the raping and destruction of many of the beautiful aspects of the park, including its natural points of beauty which have existed for thousands of years. [More…]
We on this side say that the mining of uranium in the area will rape the lifestyle and the environment of the Aboriginal people. [More…]
We will divide when those questions are put because this piece of legislation is interrelated with the Government’s uranium mining policy. [More…]
Originally, because of the concern expressed at the inquiry into Ranger- what we now call the Fox Commission- it was thought that the uranium mining development would be sequential. [More…]
The Government’s proposal is contrary to the Labor Party’s policy on uranium mining. [More…]
The Labor Party’s policy is that, having regard to the present unresolved economic, social, biological, genetic, environmental and technical problems associated with the mining of uranium and the development of nuclear power in particular, until Australian sovereignty, the needs of our environment, the economic welfare of our people and the rights and wellbeing of the Aboriginal people are understood we will not assist in any way the Government’s actions to carry out uranium mining in the Northern Territory. [More…]
I seek leave to incorporate in Hansard the Labor Party’s policy on uranium as was set out at Perth in 1977. [More…]
THE ALP’s URANIUM POLICY [More…]
Uranium- [More…]
Conference recognises that the provision of Australian uranium to the world nuclear fuel cycle creates problems relevant to Australian sovereignty, the environment, the economic welfare of our people, and the rights and well-being of the Aboriginal people. [More…]
Labor believes, that having regard to the present unresolved economic, social, biological, genetic, environmental and technical problems associated with the mining of uranium and the development of nuclear power and’ in particular: [More…]
It is imperative that no commitment of Australia’s uranium deposits to the world’s nuclear fuel cycle should be made until: [More…]
the Australian Government endorses Recommendation 6 of the First Fox Report, which states: a decision to mine and sell uranium should not be made unless the Commonwealth Government ensures that the Commonwealth can at any time . [More…]
Labor declares a moratorium on uranium mining and treatment in Australia, [More…]
Labor will repudiate any commitment of a non-Labor Government to the mining, processing or export of Australia’s uranium, and [More…]
Labor will not permit the mining, processing or export of uranium pursuant to agreements entered into contrary to ALP policy. ‘ [More…]
This Conference asserts that in the event of the Mary Kathleen Mine being closed down by the Company or in the event of a shortfall from this source in fulfilling existing uranium export contracts, a Labor Government will not allow any new mine to be opened to honour those contracts, but will assist in arranging for the final discharge of obligations under those contracts from overseas sources, as outlined in the First Fox Report [More…]
The only aspect of our uranium policy that I draw to the attention of the House is that, even if this Government proceeds to develop this township to house people to work the uranium mines of Ranger, when a Labor Government is returned in 1 980, as it will be, we will- and we clearly remind the people of this as we have reminded them so often in the past- repudiate any commitment of a non-Labor government to the mining, processing or export of Australia’s uranium. [More…]
We of the Opposition are saying to this Government, to the people of Australia and the people throughout the world that we oppose the mining of uranium at this time because of the unresolved problems that exist. [More…]
Uranium mining cannot be divorced from the nuclear power industry because nuclear energy provides the material for the development of nuclear weapons and this increases the risk of nuclear war. [More…]
The nuclear power industry is interrelated with the uranium mining industry. [More…]
The ‘peaceful uses’ of uranium for the nuclear industry cannot be divorced from the manufacture of nuclear weapons and the increased risk of war. [More…]
That is why the Labor Party stands very firmly on its decision on uranium mining. [More…]
For the reasons that I have given, more and more people throughout the world are beginning to understand the reason for our opposition to uranium mining. [More…]
We warn the Government, the uranium mining companies and the international financiers who are entering into the mining of uranium in this country that we will repudiate any commitment by this Government. [More…]
All the great financial and foreign concerns are involved because they want to exploit Australia’s resources, particularly our uranium. [More…]
I believe that those who invest in uranium mining in this country will have their fingers badly burned. [More…]
Of course, even on the international scene demand for uranium is falling. [More…]
We know that the economic aspect is one which will defeat the uranium and nuclear industry in the northern hemisphere. [More…]
Will we ever really learn the true price of the enrichment of uranium? [More…]
In the past the enrichment of uranium has been part of the war machine, part of defence expenditure. [More…]
The article also refers to some comments by my colleague, Bob Collins, who is the member for Arnhem Land which is the area in which uranium will be mined. [More…]
He is a courageous young man who is totally opposed to uranium mining as are the [More…]
Mr Collins said Mr Everingham made it clear in radio comments yesterday that uranium development had ‘ground to a halt’. [More…]
The area is not ready for operations to proceed and yet because of the speed with which the companies are trying to get the fast buck out of uranium mining the work flows on. [More…]
The then Minister for Aboriginal Affairs who is now the Minister for Employment (Mr Viner) orchestrated a meeting with the Northern Land Council and tried to blackmail the Aboriginal people morally into agreeing to the Ranger uranium development. [More…]
I quote again from page 9 of the second report of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry: [More…]
The evidence before us shows that the traditional owners of the Ranger site and the Northern Land Council (as now constituted) are opposed to the mining of uranium on that site. [More…]
He said also that uranium development will rape the lifestyle of the Aborigines. [More…]
I would remind Territorians, when they hear or read this speech that the honourable member for Reid, one time Deputy Leader of the Labor Party, has stated that if the Labor Party is ever returned to power it will shut down uranium mining. [More…]
He mentioned the scandal of pressure being brought to bear on the Northern Land Council to make a decision concerning uranium mining. [More…]
If the Government monitors international market trends, will he say who collates this information and will he also provide data on existing and future market trends affecting coal, gas, uranium, diamonds, copper, bauxite and iron ore. [More…]
If the latter is the case, does the Government intend at least to stand by its 75 per cent- 25 per cent Australian equity policy for uranium deposits or does it intend to invoke the 50-50 approach developed for the Yeelirrie deal and thus run out on its own stated investment policy, its commitments to the Parliament with respect to uranium policy and the national interest? [More…]
I do not know whether to laugh or cry at the Opposition’s new found interest in uranium and its concern about any actions which might take place which might interfere with the development and the prospects of this very valuable economic resource to Australia. [More…]
The Australian Labor Party has not been wanting to develop uranium. [More…]
The mention of the word ‘uranium’ generally does wake him up. [More…]
If it is really concerned about the development of uranium, why does it not go and give some advice to South Australia where one of the greatest mineral resources in Australia - [More…]
I think that this completely exposes the falseness of the argument of all those people who say that there is no market for or interest in uranium. [More…]
Uranium: Effects on Health (Question No. [More…]
Has the Australian Atomic Energy Commission or any other Federal agency established a transuranium register of persons who have come into contact with uranium or its radio-active products so that the long term effects on health can be monitored: if not, why not. [More…]
A transuranium register would include persons coming in contact with uranium. [More…]
Has Pancontinental Mining Ltd proposed to the Government that mining of the Jabiluka uranium deposits might be performed underground rather than open cut, as outlined in the environmental impact statement. [More…]
1 ) Pancontinental Mining Ltd has advised the Government that, following consideration of environmental matters raised in comments received on the Jabiluka Uranium Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement and further technical investigations, the Company is developing, as a preferred alternative, a proposal to mine the deposit by underground methods. [More…]
Can he say whether Mount Isa Mines Ltd and/or Ocean Resources Ltd have formed any consortium arrangements with the Minatone Corporation in preparation for the possible development of the Ben Lomond uranium deposit north-west of Townsville, Qld; if so, what are those arrangements. [More…]
Are the arrangements satisfactory to the Government’s foreign investment requirements for uranium mining projects. [More…]
A proposal for the development of the deposit would require consideration by the Foreign Investment Review Board in terms of the Government ‘s policy on foreign investment in uranium. [More…]
1 ) Estimates of nuclear power capacity in Australia of 0.5 GW in 1988 and 1.0 GW in 1990 were provided by the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) to the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in 1975, in response to a questionnaire seeking information for the 1975 joint IAEA/NEA report Uranium Resources. [More…]
However, on the basis of later estimates provided to the NEA, the 1 977 report Uranium Resources, Production and Demand indicates no nuclear plants likely in Australia for the years in question. [More…]
Estimates of nuclear power in Australia provided by the AAEC for the 1975 report on Uranium Resources, Production and Demand took into account the intentions of State electricity generating authorities as they were understood at that time. [More…]
1 ) Has uranium mining, as distinct from mine and mill construction, already commenced at the Queensland Mines’ deposit at Nabarlek in the Northern Territory. [More…]
Has Queensland Mines decided to complete its mining and treatment of uranium ore at Nabarlek by a date earlier than that outlined in his statement of 7 March 1979. [More…]
Did he state on the ABC radio program Newsvoice on Wednesday, 2 May 1979, that Queensland Mines was hoping to sell uranium to South Korea. [More…]
Has there been a re-assessment of Queensland Mines (a) projected output per year and (b) anticipated sales of uranium since 7 March 1979. [More…]
What arrangements have been made for transport of the uranium oxide products from Nabarlek. [More…]
Since 7 March 1979 the Directors of Queensland Mines have reported that it is the intention of the Shikoku Electric Power Co., Inc. and Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc. to sign a Letter of Intent with Queensland Mines to negotiate the purchase of a further substantial quantity of uranium. [More…]
What formal or informal negotiations between his Department and the Minatome Corporation have taken place regarding the possible development of the Ben Lomond Uranium deposit north-west of Townsville, Queensland. [More…]
This work followed two years as one of the three Commissioners on the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
-There is considerable concern internationally that Pakistan is constructing a centrifuge uranium enrichment facility, outside of international safeguards, which would provide it with nuclear explosive capability. [More…]
The two latest agreements represent further important steps in the establishment of that network of bilateral agreements between Australia and countries wishing to import Australian uranium which I referred to in the statements presenting the other safeguards agreements. [More…]
Both the United Kingdom and the United States are nuclear weapons states and, in accordance with the policy announced by the Prime Minister on 24 May 1977, the primary purpose of these agreements will be to ensure that when Australia supplies uranium to them for peaceful purposes, this uranium will not be diverted to non-peaceful or explosive purposes. [More…]
Against the background of international energy and fuel problems, the agreements are of particular significance since both the United States and the United Kingdom are expected to be substantial markets for Australian uranium. [More…]
The agreements are a tangible demonstration of the international recognition accorded to Australia’s potential to supply uranium to an energy deficient world. [More…]
For this reason the Agreed Minute to the agreement provides that deliveries of Australian uranium under new contracts can only start upon entry into force of the US-IAEA agreement. [More…]
Provisions on retransfer to ensure that uranium supplied by Australia is not reexported by the United States unless we are satisfied as to the ultimate destination and the controls that would apply. [More…]
All these safeguards and controls to cover nuclear material derived from Australian uranium so long as it remains in a form relevant from the point of view of safeguards. [More…]
Regarding possible retransfers to EURATOM countries, the agreement, Agreed Minute and Exchange of Letters envisage that, by the time deliveries of uranium to the United Kingdom take place, safeguards arrangements will be in force between Australia and EURATOM. [More…]
Once safeguards arrangements are in place, the way will be open for exports of Australian uranium to meet the peaceful energy needs of the EURATOM member states. [More…]
Control Arrangements on Uranium Concentrates- Yellowcake [More…]
During the parliamentary recess, I announced on 18 July that in future the export of uranium will be permitted from Australia without a requirement that Australian ownership be retained until it is converted to a form suitable for fuel fabrication or enrichment. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry in its first report drew attention to the fact that yellowcake does not attract full International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. [More…]
The position is that the full intensity of International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards does not apply until the uranium is in a form suitable for fuel fabrication or enrichment, that is, in the form of UF6, uranium hexafluoride, U02 uranium dioxide or, for certain reactors, natural uranium metal. [More…]
The Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry saw this as providing opportunities for states to divert material to weapons production. [More…]
As a result the Government in formulating its nuclear safeguards policy decided that any future sales arrangements for exports of Australian uranium should be such that the uranium will be in a form which attracts full International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards by the time it leaves Australian ownership. [More…]
As a result of the judgment, the requirement that Australian uranium remain in Australian ownership would have placed shipments of uranium overseas by those Australian companies at risk of seizure in execution of the judgment. [More…]
Mr LIONEL BOWEN (KingsfordSmith) by leave- The statement that the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr Peacock) has made relates to safeguards agreements with the United Kingdom and the United States of America on the supply by Australia of natural uranium. [More…]
I place on record that at Question Time today he was asked a question about the danger to mankind if Pakistan were to engage in the enrichment of uranium which could lead to a nuclear device being exploded. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Anthony) was also asked a question about the state of the stock market in respect of minerals, including uranium. [More…]
The Deputy Prime Minister is running the uranium policy. [More…]
He is saying: ‘We will sell natural uranium because we need to sell it. [More…]
In Australia we have a government that will sell uranium to anybody. [More…]
It has no idea what is going to happen to that uranium or who is going to be responsible for it because in the processes of enrichment and reprocessing the uranium becomes intermixed with other uranium from other suppliers. [More…]
As I said in the recess, Australia should own and control its own uranium. [More…]
If other countries are able to own and control the process of enrichment and reprocessing, it is equally important that Australia have an opportunity also to own and control its uranium. [More…]
Nor has the Government told us, for example, that the Philippines has now decided not to proceed with the nuclear power reactor which it wanted to build and for which it wanted Australian uranium. [More…]
It also recognises the great danger of the misuse of uranium, particularly when it comes to weapon proliferation. [More…]
I would say that it is able to find and develop uranium by itself. [More…]
As we encourage somebody to come into Australia and develop the uranium it is a bit limited to dictate to them what they may do with the uranium. [More…]
For the very same reason, if one goes to France and to the French nuclear research and development establishments and one looks at the processes there, one will see that they are actively engaged- quite fairly, from their point of view- in establishing France as the ‘uranium OPEC of Europe’. [More…]
The enrichment of uranium for export is going to be the major industry in Europe as far as France is concerned. [More…]
It will be our uranium. [More…]
I think the Government will find if difficult to dictate to the French as to what they may do with the uranium. [More…]
While you have the problems of nuclear proliferation, even when well-intentioned governments look at uranium for peaceful uses there are grave problems in the use of fuel from the point of view of management, and certainly from the point of view of waste disposal. [More…]
The point I am trying to make is that we do not have to sell uranium at this stage. [More…]
The Soviet Union would like to buy Australian uranium, but the Government will not sell it. [More…]
Chinese delegations to Australia have indicated interest in Australian uranium. [More…]
All the Government’s other actions in relation to the uranium industry are dedicated to diminishing governmental control over it. [More…]
Instead, through the Deputy Prime Minister, the Government’s activity is focussed on shedding as much control of the uranium industry as we can as rapidly as possible. [More…]
We have the ridiculous situation whereby the Government is to sell its share in Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd and it could well be that the purchasers of that share will be the British Government, through its instrumentalities, which are anxious to buy our uranium. [More…]
In July 1979 the Minister announced that the Government would not insist that safeguards apply before uranium leaves Australian control. [More…]
Australia could have control of material until and while safeguards apply if agreement were reached with other countries on international control of the fuel cycle and if the Government were to acquire Australian uranium. [More…]
I suggest that we acquire Australian uranium and control it all the way through the fuel cycle. [More…]
There is no technical difficulty in the way of acquiring uranium. [More…]
While I was in Britain, the Central Electricity Generating Board indicated to me its interest in buying Australian uranium. [More…]
There is no problem about the future of the price of uranium. [More…]
Somebody has sold uranium to Pakistan without exercising any controls over that uranium. [More…]
West Germany, which is also a member of EURATOM, is anxious to sell a reprocessing plant to Brazil, where our uranium also could go. [More…]
On the question of uranium we are the only country in the world that will not own and control its own resources. [More…]
I fail to see the logic in the Government’s position because the decision to sell off Ranger is a consequence of inability to sell Ranger uranium at the current price of $40 per lb. [More…]
The Government’s action on Ranger is to sell a significant national asset at a discount because it will not face up to the realities of the uranium market. [More…]
The uranium market is soft. [More…]
Australian uranium is not critical to the decisions of other countries. [More…]
The Government has claimed that it can help to avoid nuclear proliferation by exporting uranium. [More…]
How ridiculous it is when the Government is allowing the French to mine and develop uranium in Australia, and this they are doing very successfully. [More…]
The Government has agreed to give the South Koreans uranium. [More…]
-The Government has no idea who is mining its uranium. [More…]
Uranium is an energy source that requires the maximum supervision and is not to be hived off to the private sector. [More…]
The Australian Government, irrespective of its policies from a political point of view, when it comes to uranium must always own and control that fuel as every other government does. [More…]
Let me intrude with the consideration that a ship might be carrying uranium- heaven forbid that that should happen, but it might eventuate- or some other dangerous cargo with pollutive potential. [More…]
Has a Federal environmental impact statement been called for on the proposed development of the Ben Lomond uranium deposit in the Herveys Range north-west of Townsville, Qld. [More…]
No Commonwealth Environmental impact statement has been directed in relation to the Ben Lomond uranium deposit because the Minister for Trade and Resources has not been asked to take any action in relation to this uranium deposit and has not designated a proponent within the terms of the Administrative Procedures under the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act. [More…]
As an anxious seller of uranium will he indicate what sites in Australia and the Asian Pacific region are acceptable to the Government for the storage of spent fuel or high level waste? [More…]
There could well be more uranium there than at Ranger, Jabiluka and Nabarlek combined. [More…]
Honourable members will recall that a package of legislation was introduced in the autumn sittings 1 978 to give effect to the Government ‘s decision on the further development of Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
Since the passage of the Act in 1953 there has been a growing emphasis on the utilisation of uranium resources for non-defence purposes which has broadened the potential application of the secur.ity provisions of the Act beyond their original defence related purposes. [More…]
Having regard to the particular position of the Northern Territory arising out of the Commonwealth’s ownership of uranium in the Territory, this amendment will not extend to the Northern Territory. [More…]
There is, however, no change in the Government’s policy that uranium mining in the Northern Territory, other than the Ranger Project, should be authorised under Northern Territory legislation. [More…]
Half of the spending on what the Government calls environmental protection is allocated to assisting the uranium industry. [More…]
Certainly there is a fair amount of copper and uranium as well as other metals there, but there is also a lot of dirt mixed with them. [More…]
Senator Young said that the proven reserves of uranium in South Australia at present were greater than the proven reserves in the Northern Territory. [More…]
There are great copper, gold and uranium deposits at Roxby Downs in the electorate of Grey, an electorate held by a Labor member of parliament. [More…]
More than 45 per cent of the value in the ore is in uranium. [More…]
One startling example- the great copper/gold/uranium development at Roxby Downs in the electorate of Grey. [More…]
Members of the Labor Party here in the Parliament say Don’t mine uranium’ and Labor Party supporters say ‘Don’t mine uranium’, yet we have it very clearly on the record that the Australian Council of Trade Unions disagrees with that policy. [More…]
Here we have a fundamental issue: Whether to mine uranium to meet the demands for energy around the world, to gain earnings for this country through exports. [More…]
The Department of Trade and Resources is responsible for the issue of export licences, the pricing of such vital energy components as coal and uranium and for setting pricing parameters on the export of coal. [More…]
We are told that a united policy is being expressed today but I read in the newspapers at the weekend that the Australian Council of Trade Unions has some different views about what Australia’s energy policy should be with regard to uranium exploitation in this country. [More…]
I want to turn again to the question of uranium. [More…]
Uranium must be regarded as one of the world’s major energy sources. [More…]
Many countries are dependent upon uranium for energy. [More…]
In Australia we must be prepared to develop the uranium industry - [More…]
Uranium is not required for power generating plants, but it is required to enable Australia to obtain overseas currency with which we can then, when the need arises, purchase other energy sources. [More…]
But now what does that Party say about uranium? [More…]
But be that as it may, the whole furore over Roxby Downs is perhaps that we will not mine uranium. [More…]
It has dogmatically refused to have anything to do with uranium and, although a mint of copper and gold happens to be tied up in the Roxby Downs project, it is not to go ahead. [More…]
That is a ridiculous statement for a party which only last week totally opposed and still totally opposes the mining and selling of uranium. [More…]
The Government has made no decision on the Ranger uranium deal. [More…]
I just make the observation that on world parity prices of $40 per lb for uranium, this asset is worth about $6,000m to $7,000m. [More…]
In view of the Government’s opposition to Australian Government ownership of the Ranger uranium mine, will the Government allow ownership of the mine by any foreign government or government authority? [More…]
On that occasion I said that the Government was exploring the opportunities for selling off its interest in Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd and that it was examining the possibilities. [More…]
At the moment it seems to say that the Government should not be stepping out of the project but at the same time it does not want the Government to develop uranium. [More…]
The only obstacle that is holding up investment and development in South Australia, as the Deputy Prime Minister has made clear, is the State Government’s ban on uranium and the Government’s consistent obdurate refusal to apply the normal principles of a free enterprise environment which will enable that State to get up and go- [More…]
Is not that saying to the people of South Australia and to the Western Mining-BP consortium, that whatever their $50m feasibility study produces, the Corcoran State Labor Government will not allow development of that great copper, gold and uranium deposit. [More…]
That is the kind of development which the Corcoran Labor Government is denying to the people of South Australia because it is blind to the fact that the mining of uranium is safe. [More…]
All the investigation by the Australian Government, the Northern Territory Government, the Queensland Government and the Western Australian Government establishes that the mining of uranium is as safe as the mining of any other mineral in Australia. [More…]
We are looking at the safety of the mining of copper, gold and uranium. [More…]
I note that in the Adelaide Advertiser oi 21 July of this year, one of the leading experts on mineral development in South Australia, Mr N. Jackson of the Australian Mineral Development Laboratories- I have heard the honourable member for Hawker (Mr Jacobi) refer to AMDEL as a body of some authority- said that South Australia’s three major uranium deposits at Roxby Downs and Lake Frome have the potential to generate earnings of more than $4,500m. [More…]
-This evening I want to discuss for a few moments the question of atomic energy and the production of uranium in Australia. [More…]
In 1947 the Labour Party of Great Britain first used atomic uranium to explode the first bomb. [More…]
It was the Labour Party in the United Kingdom that first got itself involved in the use of uranium by way of a bomb. [More…]
We are now going into an era where, at the present moment, the Labor Party in Australia is still completely opposed to the mining of uranium. [More…]
It is quite puzzling that a political party should be opposed to the mining of uranium in this country and should be opposed to its use for peaceful purposes overseas. [More…]
Firstly, she has the production of uranium; secondly, she has the possibility of enrichment; and thirdly, because of Maralinga, she has the possibility to consider whether we should take back all the enriched uranium which we send abroad, to bring it back to this country for recycling. [More…]
For goodness sake, here is the most fantastic opportunity for this country to be engaged in the most major saving of power that is known in the world today: the production of uranium, the enrichment, and eventually the dealing with and recycling of the rods that are thrown out of uranium reactors throughout the world. [More…]
It is absolutely essential that this country comes to its senses and once and for all discards the outmoded attitudes of the Opposition concerning uranium. [More…]
If we in this country are going to pay any more attention to the cries which the Opposition make concerning uranium we will only put this nation 25 years behind in a new science. [More…]
We should be able to mine, enrich and look after all the uranium throw-outs of the world - [More…]
It could have been further built upon by the great Roxby Downs project with its copper, uranium and many other minerals of great value to Australia. [More…]
But because of the policies of the Australian Labor Party in relation to uranium, nothing happens. [More…]
For the information of honourable members, I present the first report of the Uranium Advisory Council 1978-79 and I seek leave to make a statement relating to this report. [More…]
-For the information of honourable members I have pleasure in tabling the first report of the Uranium Advisory Council covering the operations of the Council for the period ended 30 June 1979. [More…]
Honourable members will remember that one of the principal recommendations of the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry was that a uranium advisory council should be established to advise the Government and report to Parliament with regard to the export and use of Austraiian uranium having in mind the hazards, dangers and problems of and associated with the production of nuclear energy. [More…]
As honourable members will see from the report, the Council has been most industrious in informing itself on issues related to the nuclear fuel cycle and it has had already initiated studies of several issues which it sees as relevant to the development of the uranium industry in Australia. [More…]
The extensive briefings provided to the Council by departments and related statutory bodies, referred to in the Council’s report, reflect the Government’s desire that the Uranium Advisory Council be fully informed on matters of Government policy. [More…]
I have already asked the Council for its views on the possibility of the Government disposing of its interests in the Ranger uranium project. [More…]
In formulating the role and functions of the Uranium Advisory Council, the Government was conscious of the suggestion of the Ranger inquiry that the Council should have a substantial degree of independence and be able to undertake periodic reviews of Government policy. [More…]
I consider that the Uranium Advisory Council has an important role to play which will not only involve it in responding to matters referred to it by the Government from time to time, but also will require the Council to demonstrate a significant measure of initiative in order to establish the level of public confidence envisaged by the Ranger inquiry. [More…]
In relation to the Ranger uranium project, honourable members are aware that the Government is examining proposals for the acquisition of its interests in the project. [More…]
I also mention that I have asked my Department to investigate the possibility of divesting the Government’s shareholding in Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. As I have mentioned, I asked the Uranium Advisory Council for its views on the possibility of the Government disposing of its interests in the Ranger project. [More…]
In its letter the Council does refer to environmental, safety and other controls and regulations on uranium development. [More…]
As I previously advised the House, this interest exposes the falseness of the argument of those people who say that there is no market for or interest in uranium. [More…]
Indeed, the market outlook for uranium over the balance of this century is very encouraging. [More…]
I have been advised by the Australian Uranium Export Office that the demand for natural uranium is expected to increase from 37,000 short tons U308 this year to about 100,000 short tons U3Os in 1990. [More…]
Indeed, in regard to the period beyond the late 1980s, the question is not whether there will be a market for uranium but whether there will be a productive capacity available to meet the requirements of the reactors then in use. [More…]
There can be no question that the orderly development now of the Australian uranium mining industry will not only bring economic benefits to this country, both over the next decade and beyond, but also it will make an essential contribution to world energy requirements to the overall betterment of future international economic stability and prosperity. [More…]
Uranium Advisory Council First Report- Ministerial Statement, 13 September 1979. [More…]
-This is an amazing statement by the Minister for Trade and Resources (Mr Anthony) and also an amazing report from the Uranium Advisory Council. [More…]
The Government has said consistently that it intends to be responsible about uranium mining and in response to the advice which it receives from the various instrumentalities and monitoring bodies that it has established. [More…]
Quite obviously, the Uranium Advisory Council is very unhappy with the kind of treatment which is being meted out to it by the Government. [More…]
The Minister quite properly says that since its first meeting in January 1979 the Uranium Advisory Council has done a considerable amount of work. [More…]
I refer to the first report of the Uranium Advisory Council, a report which is sent to the Minister under the name of Sir Laurence McIntyre, a former distinguished public servant and chairman of this body, a man not given to this kind of expression unless there is good cause. [More…]
Changes in Government policies relating to foreign investment in uranium projects, reported by the Treasurer in June when he announced the approval granted to the Yeelirrie project, is another example. [More…]
Now, so much for all the platitudinous nonsense we have heard from the Government about how it is going to monitor uranium, establish the right kinds of bodies and get the best advice! [More…]
The Government has made one request only for advice from the Uranium Advisory Council. [More…]
The Minister also took the opportunity to mention that he is investigating the possibility of selling Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd. [More…]
So not only do we have the prospect of Ranger being sold but also the Deputy Prime Minister now says that he is considering selling the Government’s share of Mary Kathleen, the only operating uranium mine in Australia. [More…]
The report of the Uranium Advisory Council and a letter sent by it to the Minister are very interesting. [More…]
That is, some members of the Uranium Advisory Council: that if a sale of the Government’s holdings in Ranger is to take place it should be made to a consortium of demonstrably Australian companies. [More…]
That is, the Government may want to sell out on Australia but obviously the bureaucrats involved in the Uranium Advisory Council are tendering advice to the Government that it should not sell Ranger. [More…]
No doubt they will be tendering the same advice to the Government that it should not sell its holdings in the Mary Kathleen uranium venture. [More…]
The Government is getting that advice from its advisers, not just from the Opposition, so it is quite reasonable for the Opposition to say that the Government has absolutely ignored the Uranium Advisory Council. [More…]
Obviously the Uranium Advisory Council believes that the Government should hold to Ranger itself. [More…]
In its letter the Uranium Advisory Council continues: [More…]
a loss of confidence in Australia, and particularly Ranger, as a supplier of uranium among consumer countries; [More…]
a reduction in public confidence in environmental safety and other controls and regulations concerning uranium development, including those governing the sale of the product. [More…]
Now that development of uranium mining has commenced at Nabarlek, Jabiru and Yeelirrie and operations have recommenced at Mary Kathleen in Queensland, what would be the cost in terms of jobs if the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Australian Labor Party policy banning uranium mining were implemented? [More…]
Were officers of the ACTU ever given information on the reasons for the Government’s decision to approve uranium mining? [More…]
Let me give the honourable gentleman some figures concerning the impact on jobs, actual and potential, if the ACTU ban on uranium mining were ever implemented. [More…]
It is quite apparent to the House, as it was to the people of South Australia, how damaging the ACTU ban on uranium mining would be to the creation of real jobs in Australia. [More…]
The honourable gentleman asked me whether any officers of the ACTU were given information about the Government’s plans for uranium mining. [More…]
We made available to them all the information which the Government had which in our minds justified the approval of uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
It is, therefore, pertinent to note that Mr Hawke, Mr Ducker and Mr Kelty all supported the mining of uranium in Australia. [More…]
Quite clearly, they were satisfied, as the Government was satisfied, that it was completely safe to mine uranium in Australia. [More…]
We know from Mr Hawke ‘s own statements to the ACTU Congress that in private conversations Mr Cook said that he agreed that uranium mining should and would go ahead. [More…]
I would say that it is probably wide enough to encompass all those people who presently quite legitimately are engaged in political opposition to the concept of uranium mining. [More…]
In addition, the Government has elected to proceed, contrary to the recommendations of the Fox Commission, with the mining of uranium at Ranger under the repressive Atomic Energy Act and the related Approved Defence Projects Protection Act. [More…]
We know that he is one of those honourable members who wants to get involved in the uranium mining industry. [More…]
If fact, even though he recognises that there is an interrelationship between the uranium mines and nuclear warthat is the spread of nuclear weapons- that is of no concern to him at all. [More…]
An agreement is necessary to open the way for the export of Australian uranium to meet the energy needs of the European Community. [More…]
The Government has always considered that an agreement with Euratom is the most practical means of meeting Australia’s nuclear safeguards requirements for the export of uranium to the European Community. [More…]
This is in relation to the mining of uranium- and subsequently, my colleagues - [More…]
In fact, he said that quite clearly they were satisfied, as the Government was satisfied, that it was completely safe to mine uranium in Australia. [More…]
At those meetings at no time did any of the individuals mentioned support the Government’s decisions, nor did any of them agree with the Government that it was completely safe to mine uranium in Australia. [More…]
The Minister has these aide memoire which came out of those two meetings and I challenge him to table it to establish whether Kelty, Ducker and Hawke, or for that matter Cook, agreed or disagreed with the Government on the question of the mining of uranium. [More…]
The third point is that the Minister went on to say that at some later stage Peter Cook had confided privately with Mr Hawke that he agreed with uranium mining. [More…]
Hawke or anyone else say that Mr Cook had supported the Government’s decision in relation to uranium mining. [More…]
1 ) Is he able to say whether the head of the United States Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Competition, Mr Alfred Dougherty, proposes to urge Congress to impose ceilings on the amount of coal and uranium properties that the larger oil companies can own, as was reported in the Financial Review of 19 September 1978. [More…]
Has his attention been drawn to the fact that an increasing number of Australia’s coal and uranium reserves are passing into the hands of oil companies. [More…]
Does the Government have any mechanism which monitors oil company penetration into alternative energy resources; if so, what has been the amount of known (a) coal and (b) uranium reserves owned by oil companies during each of the last 10 years. [More…]
Uranium: Effects on Health (Question No. [More…]
A transuranium register would include persons coming in contact with transuranic elements such as plutonium but exclude those in contact with uranium. [More…]
I make the point that in recent weeks there has been all the evidence of a build-up of a campaign to create a confrontation situation relating to the mining and export of uranium. [More…]
Should such a situation occur where those people who have genuine objections to the mining and export of uranium seek to take action to demonstrate that proposition- and the Prime Minister uses his national security powers, as I am sure he would if he thought it was politically advantageous to bring the Army in on a pretext of national security- and picket, demonstrate or in any other way protest against the loading, shipping or movement of that uranium, they will find themselves in breach of the terms of this clause and be deemed to be carrying out acts of subversion. [More…]
A package of six uranium Bills, covering uranium development, Aboriginal land rights, nuclear codes, national parks and environmental protection measures, has been passed through the Parliament by this Government. [More…]
The Commonwealth and the Northern Lands Council have reached agreement on terms and conditions for mining the Ranger uranium deposits in accordance with the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act. [More…]
We are aware of the fact that the former president of the Australian Labor Party, who is hoping to become a member of this House, tried to convince the Australian Council of Trade Unions that it ought to support the Government in its policies for the production of uranium; but he failed. [More…]
He failed because there are people who are seeking, for reasons quite divorced from problems of safety, to prevent Australian uranium from being mined. [More…]
Australia, with its vast resources of energy components such as coal or uranium, is in a much better situation to face a projected energy crisis than most other Western nations. [More…]
With the United States, the Soviet Union and other nations relying increasingly on nuclear power, we in Australia, who have something like only 20 per cent of the world’s uranium supplies, can have little influence indeed on the world trend towards the use of nuclear energy. [More…]
At its most recent conference in Adelaide, the Australian Labor Party showed a most unrealistic approach to nuclear power and the mining of Australia’s supply of uranium. [More…]
Mr Hawke, the President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, stands head and shoulders above the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Hayden) and his Labor Party colleagues in his realistic and pragmatic approach to uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
At the ACTU congress, Mr Hawke made a strong defence of his belief that Australian uranium should be mined. [More…]
For a lot of our friends on the Left, it is ali right to stop the economic development of the west by making uranium and electricity more expensive. [More…]
Mr Hawke said that he did not see why other countries like South Africa should grow rich from the sale of uranium while Australia turned its back and left uranium in the ground. [More…]
There cannot be and will not be any stop to uranium mining in Australia. [More…]
The unions involved in the mining of uranium cannot afford to ban it and the men concerned would simply leave their unions if any attempt was made to close down the mines. [More…]
The Supervising Scientist very properly referred the report to the Northern Territory Department of Mines and Energy, which is the supervising authority responsible for the regulation of all uranium mining activity in the Northern Territory. [More…]
The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows: (1), (2), (3) and (4) The only uranium mining carried out in Australia since 1972 has been in Queensland and that State’s authorities are responsible for the regulation of all aspects of the uranium mining there. [More…]
Of course, while the Labor Party was in office it was like uranium and everything else- nothing happened. [More…]
Everybody overseas considers that we have one of the highest standards of living in the world and that 14 million people on this continent are in possession of some of the world’s greatest energy supplies, including uranium. [More…]
1875 also appears as the postal address of the following organisations: Canberra and South East Region Environment Centre; Friends of the Earth, Canberra; Movement Against Uranium Mining; Mumimbidgee Monitor Association; South Coast Committee; Action for Public Transport; and the Australian Conservation Foundation. [More…]
We have seen the same people at the Timor demonstrations, the same ones at the uranium demonstrations, the same ones at the unemployment demonstrations and the same ones in Tasmania. [More…]
I ask the Prime Minister a question about uranium. [More…]
I refer him to the fact that approval has been given for the development of the Ranger, Nabarlek, Yeelirrie and Roxby Downs uranium deposits- that is, excluding Pancontinental Mining Ltd- and that production from the first three mines will reach 8,000 tonnes per annum by 1985 with at least a further 3,000 tonnes from Roxby Downs. [More…]
Given that the Australian Atomic Energy Commission estimates of annual world demand for uranium have dropped from 115,000 tonnes in 1973 to 54,000 tonnes in 1978 and that the surplus in world uranium production will be more than 30,000 tonnes a year by 1985, does this not mean that Australian uranium will be in acute oversupply and will be sold into a buyers market with tumbling prices and safeguards deterioration? [More…]
Will the Prime Minister confirm that not one new uranium contract has been entered into since 1972? [More…]
Finally, will he expatiate upon his Government’s bullish assessments for Australian uranium sales by telling the Parliament precisely where all this uranium is to be sold? [More…]
The Government has made decisions about the mining and export of uranium under the strictest possible safeguards because it believes that there is a need to supply energy in an energy-short world. [More…]
It does not help Australian security at all for Australia to stay out of the business of selling uranium and let other people do it in the way that may be less secure and less safe than if Australia itself had been involved. [More…]
This service is available to uranium mining companies as an extension of the normal national film badge service although the severe temperature and humidity conditions encountered at uranium mines have required the development by the Laboratory of a new badge using thermoluminescent phosphors in lieu of the normal radiation sensitive film. [More…]
Is the Minister for Foreign Affairs aware of paragraph 22 of the Australian memorandum submitted to the Appeals Court in Chicago in the case involving the four Australian uranium companies, which states: [More…]
Does the Government consider that (a) residents who have expressed legitimate concern about the siting of the Research Establishment and the levels of radioactive discharges in the atmosphere and in the Woronora River (b) all or any Australian opponent to the nuclear industry, and (c) opponents to the Government’s decision to mine uranium, pose serious threats to Australian security. [More…]
Does the Government have the right to place any opponents under surveillance at any particular time whenever allegations of security risks are made relating to the operations of the Commission, mining of uranium and the nuclear industry. [More…]
What are the (a) maximum and (b) minimum estimates of the (i) past and (ii) projected proportion of the costs of administration of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs devoted to the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and/or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
My Department is not involved in the kind of activities indicated, although some officers are engaged full or parttime on activities related to the monitoring of the impact of uranium mining on Aboriginals in the Alligator Rivers region. [More…]
The Government’s half share in the Ranger uranium project is to be sold, probably to foreign investors. [More…]
When we announced in 1977 the Government’s decisions to proceed with the mining and export of uranium, we emphasised Australia’s concern to pursue a broad-based approach to non-proliferation issues. [More…]
As a major potential exporter of uranium, Australia has a special responsibility to work for measures to ensure that nuclear weapons do not put humanity at risk. [More…]
But when I asked him whether it meant that Australia would not permit the high enrichment or reprocessing of Australian uranium, the Prime Minister replied that he did not mean that. [More…]
That proposal cuts across the fundamentally greedy motive of the Government’s uranium export policy. [More…]
Does anyone suggest that the whole nation should not be concerned at the possible environmental effects of uranium mining at Roxby Downs? [More…]
The honourable member for Robertson had the hide to boast about the Ranger uranium inquiry. [More…]
He- said that the Labor Party set up an environmental inquiry into the mining of uranium at Ranger. [More…]
The Labor Government put the taxpayers of Australia in hock to the extent of hundreds of millions of dollars to finance the Ranger uranium venture, yet the honourable member for Robertson has the hide to come in here and say: ‘We were very sensitive to the environmental issues of uranium mining.’ [More…]
When we talk of the enormous burst of prosperity in Queensland, Western Australia and to a lesser extent the Northern Territory, where uranium and other projects have been boosted to the skies as the great saviours of our economy, I think that we ought to look a little further ahead and ask ourselves what will be the eventual outcome of this sort of emphasis, this sort of stress. [More…]
1 ) Has the Government considered the report of the first stage of the joint Japan-Australia uranium enrichment study. [More…]
A report on the joint Japan/Australia study on uranium enrichment was presented to the Government in October 1 978. [More…]
In the context of the Government’s announcement on 23 January that the Government will be proceeding to study the feasibility of the establishment of a commercial uranium enrichment industry in Australia, discussions are continuing between Australia and Japan. [More…]
What are the (a) maximum and (b) minimum estimates of the (i) past and (ii) projected proportion of the cost of administration of his Department devoted to the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and/or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
and (b) Two positions have been allocated in my Department specifically for activities devoted to some aspect of the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and/or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
In addition, a number of officers of my Depanment undertake from time to time as pan of their normal duties tasks related to uranium matters. [More…]
The Depanment currently has a proposal with the Public Service Board for a number of positions specifically for activities associated with uranium mining and milling. [More…]
Are workers in Australian uranium mines subject to whole body radiation monitoring; if not, what kind of monitoring takes place and what are the results of the radiation monitoring at the mines presently in use. [More…]
Workers in Australian uranium mines are not subject to whole body monitoring. [More…]
Under the provisions of the Code of Practice on Radiation Protection in the Mining and Milling of Radioactive Ores developed by my Department, it is required that uranium mine workers shall be monitored to ensure that the radiation protection standards for both external and internal sources of radiation are not exceeded. [More…]
No attitude of ours to oppose the mining and exporting of Australian uranium will change this. [More…]
I would like to speak about the uranium activities that we saw, which for me was the high point of the whole trip. [More…]
The feed for that plant is about 18,000 tons per annum of natural uranium which assays at about 0.7 per cent. [More…]
The production that comes from the enrichment plant is 10.8 million separative work units, which is equivalent to 2,500 tonnes of enriched uranium 235 which assays as 3 per cent to 4 per cent uranium 235. [More…]
The tailings that come out of that enrichment plant consist of 0.2 per cent uranium 235. [More…]
Mr Speaker, you will recall that in the uranium process the role of an enrichment plant is very similar to the role of an oil refinery in the oil industry. [More…]
The uranium is taken to a stage where it can be used as a feed for the reactors, in the same way that an oil refinery upgrades the oil for feed for uses to which petroleum products are put. [More…]
I would like to say something about the uranium process because I think it is very important to Australia, and it is something to which we should be giving very serious consideration. [More…]
The process basically is a gasified uranium hexafluoride flow which goes through three stages, the first being a compressor, the second being a diffuser and the third being a heat exchange. [More…]
In an enrichment plant, all the surfaces exposed to uranium have to be nickel coated. [More…]
The only other thing that is needed in an enrichment plant is the uranium, and Australia has that uranium. [More…]
There is a serious risk of Australia getting into exactly the same position with uranium as it did with wool. [More…]
We should not allow that to happen in relation to uranium. [More…]
We should extract that uranium and convert it to yellowcake, as we intend to do, and we should also invest the $2 billion that is necessary to establish a uranium enrichment plant in Australia. [More…]
What effect would such a decision have on the consideration of other projects, such as the establishment of uranium enrichment plants in Australia? [More…]
This, in fact, has the effect of meaning that a number of Australian businessmen who are executives and directors of uranium mining companies cannot visit the United States for fear of being arrested and being sent to gaol. [More…]
The Uranium Advisory Council has discussed a wide range of matters during its meetings. [More…]
The Uranium Advisory Council Secretariat is currently staffed by five officers employed under the Public Service Act: one Assistant Secretary (Level 1 ), one Senior Research Officer/Librarian (Class 7), one Administrative Officer (Class 6), one Clerical Assistant, Grade 3 and one Stenosecretary, Grade 1. [More…]
British Petroleum owns 100 per cent of Clutha Development, a NSW collier, 49 per cent of the Clarence colliery and, for good measure, 50 per cent of Roxby Downs, one of the largest copper/ uranium mineralisations in the world. [More…]
To cap it all off the Labor Party publicly proclaims an intention of repudiating any valid international contracts for the export of uranium entered into by prior governments. [More…]
The first corrects a simple error in the calculation of the size of the Ranger project area subsequent to the adjustment to the southern boundary in accordance with the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry recommendation. [More…]
The present Government objects to that when the Labor Party tries to tie its hands on uranium policy but it does not mind trying to do it itself. [More…]
In accordance with the statement of 23 January 1979, arrangements for the proposed study of the feasibility of undertaking commercial uranium enrichment in Australia are being discussed with State Governments, the Northern Territory Government and private industry. [More…]
A recently completed international study- ‘World Uranium Potential An International Evaluation’ (OECD-NEA/IAEA, December 1978) estimates that the speculative resources of the Australian and Oceania area range from 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 tonnes of uranium. [More…]
The possible deferral of the plutonium economy was one of the considerations of the Government in reaching its decision to allow the further development of Australia’s uranium resources. [More…]
While some countries plan to establish or keep open the option of using fast breeder reactors and the associated fuel cycle, the economic incentive to turn to them will decrease if secure supplies of uranium are available at fair and reasonable prices. [More…]
Only as a major exporter of uranium is Australia in a position to exert influence and to take initiatives to strengthen nuclear safeguards whilst supplying essential sources of energy to an energy-deficient world. [More…]
It is also known that among those organising the campaign have been the Uranium Producers Forum and the Liberal Party organisation itself. [More…]
What are the (a ) maximum and ( b) minimum estimates of the (i) past and (ii) projected proportion of the costs of administration of his Department devoted to the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and/or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
A number of positions has been allocated in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet for activities devoted to some aspect of the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and/or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
Activities related to uranium matters have been undertaken by a number of officers of the Depanment of the Prime Minister and Cabinet from time to time as pan of their normal duties. [More…]
What are the (a) maximum and (b) minimum estimates of the (i) past and (ii) projected proportion of the costs of administration of his Depanment devoted to the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and /or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
A number of positions have been allocated in my Depanment specifically for activities devoted to some aspect of the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and/or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
In addition an Australian Uranium Export Office and a Uranium Advisory Council have been established. [More…]
What are the (a) maximum and (b) minimum estimates of the (i) past and (ii) projected proportion of the costs of administration of his Depanment devoted to the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and /or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
A number of positions has been allocated in my Depanment specifically for activities devoted to some aspect of the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and /or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
Activities related to uranium matters have been undertaken by a number of officers of my Depanment from time to time as pan of their normal duties. [More…]
Science and the Environment: Uranium (Question No. [More…]
What are the (a) maximum and (b) minimum estimates of the (i) past and (ii) projected proportion of the costs of administration of the Department of Science and the Environment devoted to the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and/or the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
A number of positions have been allocated in my Depanment specifically for activities devoted to some aspect of the marketing, use, supervision, control and assessment of Australia’s uranium ore and for the products, services and activities derived from its existence. [More…]
Activities related to uranium matters have been undertaken by a number of officers of my Depanment from time to time as pan of their normal duties. [More…]
1 ) On which dates and from which ports has uranium ore, yellowcake or other uranium products been exported from Australia since 1975? [More…]
In which cases was the uranium from (a) the Australian Atomic Energy Commission stockpile, (b) Mary Kathleen and (c) other sources? [More…]
Exports of uranium concentrates have taken place from Townsville, Brisbane and Sydney. [More…]
and (3) The total quantity of uranium concentrates exported from Australia from 197S to 12 November 1979 is of the order of 4,000 short tons of uranium concentrates valued in excess of $200m, of which less than 2,000 short tons have been drawn from the Commonwealth’s uranium stockpile. [More…]
Customer countries have been Japan, the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany where, in each case, the uranium has been used for electricity power generation. [More…]
These exports are being converted to uranium hexafluoride either in the United Kingdom, Canada or the United States; enrichment is taking place in the United States. [More…]
Has the Uranium Advisory Council inspected all environmental reports and recommendations made by government and semi-government officials and authorities at every stage of uranium mining operations at Rum Jungle; if so, what recommendations has the Council made to ensure that there will be no repetition of the environmental damage which has occurred at any other site at which uranium mining proceeds; if not, will he refer the matter to the Council for a report. [More…]
I refer the honourable member to the reference to the former mining operations at Rum Jungle on page 6 of the first report of the Uranium Advisory Council which I tabled in Parliament on 1 3 September 1979 (Daily Hansard, pages 1085-87). [More…]
I also refer the honourable member to the Ministerial statement on uranium development I made on 25 August 1977. [More…]
The Government’s policy in respect of uranium development takes fully into account the need for environmental protection. [More…]
As indicated in my statement of 13 September 1979 on the tabling of the first report of the Uranium Advisory Council, the Government does seek the views of the Council on the development of individual uranium projects. [More…]
I have referred to the Council Pancontinental Mining Limited ‘s final environmental impact statement on the Jabiluka project together with the comments, suggestions and recommendations provided by the Minister for Science and the Environment under the Environment Protection Administrative Procedures of the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974. lt is my intention to do the same in respect of Noranda Australia Limited ‘s Koongarra project and of other proposals for uranium development. [More…]
1 ) Has the Minister’s attention been drawn to a report in the Northern Territory News of 4 September 1979, claiming that ( a ) Mr Solomon Nayilibity, employed for some years by Queensland Mines as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer, lived with his family for about 6 months in a core shed belonging to the company, (b) the shed and a nearby tank containing radioactive samples were marked as radioactive, (c) the company has claimed that (i) unmineralised dust samples only were in the shed and were not dangerous and (ii) Mr Nayilibity did not mention any fears of radiation to a company spokesman who saw him during August 1979, (d) the company has not replied to Mr Nayilibity ‘s request for a medical test, (e) the test would be unlikely to disclose irradiation effects which might take decades to appear, (f) uranium samples were spilt from a split bag over a former company exploration camp site and registered more than the maximum 5000 microrems/hour on a counter, 85 times the safe public exposure limit and (g) Aborigines hunt and camp in the area but the company has no commission to re-enter the area. [More…]
What steps have been taken by uranium rnining companies to increase safety and correct bad housekeeping practices. [More…]
The first allegation was that Mr Solomon Nayilibitj, a local Aboriginal who is an employee of Queensland Mines, and his family and other Aboriginals had some years ago lived for approximately 6 months in a core shed containing uranium bearing core samples. [More…]
Some of this bagged material contained uranium ore. [More…]
Queensland Mines Limited have no details of the discarded drill cuttings nor of the uranium content of the samples. [More…]
Clearly any accumulated exposure would have been less than the annual dose limit of 500 millirem per year laid down in the Australian Code of Practice on Radiation Protection in the Mining and Milling of Radioactive Ores for members of the public living in the vicinity of uranium mines. [More…]
The other was a number of uranium ore specimens found on the ground in two spots within the camp area. [More…]
) Radiological health matters related to uranium mining in the Northern Teritory arc subject to the provisions of the Mines (Radiation Protection) Regulations 1978, which are jointly administered by the Director of Mines and the Chief Medical Officer of the Northern Territory. [More…]
All uranium mining operations in the Alligator Rivers Region are now subject to a large body of applicable laws and agreements relating to control of environmental and public health impact. [More…]
-The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable member’s question: (1)1 was referring, in my reply to Senator Georges, to assertions made in press statements issued by Aboriginals in Europe recently that Aboriginal people have been and remain ‘the target of a consistent policy of genocide for 200 years’, that they are now in the last phase ‘leading to the complete destruction of the Australian Aboriginals’ and that the Australian Government is driven by avarice and has ruthlessly pushed aside the desires and fears of the Aboriginal people in order to start mining uranium’. [More…]
What is the total cost of the Government’s intervention through the United States Court of Appeals in the case brought by Westinghouse against Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Limited, Pancontinental Mining Limited, Mary Kathleen Uranium Limited, Queensland Mines Limited and other uranium rnining companies. [More…]
Has his attention been drawn to comments of the Australian Mining Industry Council that due to a sharp decline in world demand for uranium and the discovery of major uranium reserves abroad, the estimates of the volume and price of uranium sales contained in the Fox Report are a serious over-estimation of the current probabilities; if so, and in view of the major uncertainties in the uranium market and the unresolved questions concerning the impact of uranium mining on the Australian economy, will he formulate a paper on the economic aspects of uranium mining for debate by the House. [More…]
I am aware of various views, both from within Australia and from overseas, on the market outlook for uranium in the short and long term. [More…]
The Australian uranium industry has a dynamic growth potential and undoubtedly has a very important role in supplying essential base loads for electricity generation in many countries. [More…]
Earlier this month the first contracts since December 1972 were signed providing for the export of 2,500 short tons of uranium concentrates over the period 1983 to 1992. [More…]
They also require International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards to be applied to equipment, other than analytical instruments, especially designed or prepared for the separation of isotopes of uranium which is transferred. [More…]
I believe that it would be fully consistent with the objectives of the guidelines to interpret those applying to the transfer of equipment and associated technology especially designed or prepared for the separation of isotopes of uranium, as including laser isotope separation. [More…]
Laser isotope separation facilities were not specifically included on the trigger list because, at the time that it was compiled enrichment of uranium by laser techniques was at an early stage of research and development. [More…]
The Government understands that, in addition to Australia, the following countries are conducting research and development on laser isotope separation of uranium: the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. [More…]
There are indications that some additional countries have at some time carried out initial investigations on enrichment of uranium by laser isotope separation methods, but it is not clear whether they have carried these further. [More…]
1 ) In view of the Prime Minister’s statement to the House on 17 October 1979, that what is now happening represents a three-fold expansion of uranium requirements over the next 10 years (Hansard, page 2 102), is he able to say what is the estimated annual demand for uranium by (a) the United States of America, (b) the United Kingdom, (c) France, (d) West Germany, (e) Italy, (f) Japan, (g) the Republic of Korea, (h) Taiwan, (J) the Philippines, (k) Finland and (1) Canada during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985 and (iii) 1990. [More…]
ls he also able to say in each case what is the assured supply of uranium under existing sales agreements. [More…]
Is he also able to say what is the estimated annual production of uranium by (a) the United States of America, (b) Canada, (c) South Africa, (d) Namibia, (e) France, (f) Niger, (g) the Gabon and (h) other Western and Third World countries during (i) 1980, (ii) 1985 and (iii) 1990. [More…]
-The answer to the honourable member’s question is as follows: ( 1 ), (2) and (3)1 refer the honourable member to the joint OECD Nuclear Energy Agency/International Atomic Energy Agency report ‘Uranium Resources, Production and Demand ‘of December 1977. [More…]
What approvals have been granted to (a) Mary Kathleen Uranium Ltd, (b) Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd and (c) Queensland Mines Ltd for the export of uranium in pursuance of contracts entered into force Before 2 December 1972. [More…]
What was the (a) date of approval, (b) weight of uranium approved for export, (c) weight of uranium actually exported and (d) source of the uranium in each case. [More…]
Through which ports has the uranium been transported and at which plants has it been processed or used in each case. [More…]
In Australia the previous government decided on an environmental inquiry before there was any further development of uranium. [More…]
I refer to the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. [More…]
The 12 witless men now seem to be replaced by the blustering bravado of the 17 members of the ACTU executive who apparently will lead the ALP into any future political posture they may wish to take with respect to uranium without the elected members of the Parliamentary Labor Party having much say or opportunity to condone it. [More…]
Australian uranium as a lever to obtain access to the Community for Australian agricultural produce, notably meat, dairy products and sugar. [More…]
The ploy of a pointed trade-off, which Mr Fraser is apparently determined to pull off, is seen in some quarters as, in addition, a politicalisation of the trade in uranium at a time when the United States President, Mr Carter, is using the same approach to retard the development of the fastbreeder reactor and, through this, the spread of military nuclear technology. [More…]