.......... never read such rubbish from a politician! check this out - this is full article from West Australian newspaper today;
Carpenter opens door to uranium
24th March 2007, 6:45 WST
Alan Carpenter performed a stunning backflip yesterday by saying WA has a nuclear future.
He said the State should not follow Queensland’s lead in mining and exporting uranium but keep its thousands of tonnes of yellowcake in the ground to ensure domestic energy supply for decades to come.
Just three weeks ago the Premier told Parliament he would introduce a Bill to prohibit the establishment of nuclear power stations and enrichment facilities within WA and outlaw the construction and operation of nuclear facilities in the State.
But yesterday Mr Carpenter produced a stunning backflip stating economic, not environmental, reasons for maintaining a moratorium on uranium mining in WA while promoting a possible nuclear future.
Opposition Leader Paul Omodei said Mr Carpenter spent the best part of a year as Premier running a massive scare campaign against uranium mining and nuclear power while talking up Chernobyl-type disasters and nuclear waste dumps.
But yesterday Mr Carpenter said he would be seen as a “klutz” in 50 years if as Premier he exported all WA’s uranium without considering the State’s future energy needs.
“In 30 or 40 years time, Queensland’s uranium supply will be gone,” he said.
“If WA has uranium in 30 or 40 years time, I think people then will be saying ‘thank God they didn’t decide to ship all this out 30 years ago to make a quick buck at that time. Thank God they thought strategically and long term about WA’s energy supplies, not for five years or 10 years, but for the long term’.”
Mr Carpenter said WA had only a 40 to 50-year supply of gas and a relatively small coal supply and likened WA’s uranium deposits to a “future fund”.
“What are we going to do if and when we run out of gas, what are we going to do for our own energy supplies?” he said.
“We have got uranium but why don’t we save it for ourselves for the long-term future. Why don’t we take a long-term strategic view of WA’s energy requirement needs for the future and if you like, look at uranium as a potential future fund of energy.
“Why don’t we have the uranium that is in our ground now sitting there for us if and when we need it in the future rather than shovelling it out the door right now for a quick cash return.”
Mr Omodei said WA had a window of opportunity to raise substantial revenue by exporting uranium overseas now.
Greens MP Paul Llewellyn said Mr Carpenter was out of touch with energy technology.
GRAHAM MASON (reporter) ------------------------------------------ Queensland uranium companies here I come!
(20min delay)