Tuesday, 14 September 2010 Tania Winter THE Australian Uranium Association says comments by Greens nuclear spokesman Scott Ludlam opposing new uranium mines in the country are anti-democratic and hold no weight when it comes to Labors uranium policy. Association communication director Simon Clarke told MiningNews.net the group was confident it had the support of Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Resources Minister Martin Ferguson when it came to uranium mining in Australia. It is yet to have this confirmed in writing from the prime ministers office, but the associations chief executive Michael Angwin wrote to Gillard before the recent selection, seeking assurance that the alliance with the Greens would not damage the industry. We havent had a response yet, but no doubt she will when she can we know she is a very busy person, Clarke said. But Minister Ferguson has given public assurances that the proposed Minerals Resource Rent Tax would not be extended to the uranium industry and we are confident of his support. Frankly, we dont see any reason to expect there will be any change and we expect Labor will continue to support the expansion of the industry as it has done since it abolished its no new mines policy in 2007.
Clarke was responding to an article in The Australian, in which Ludlam said his party would use its new-found leverage with the Labor party to attempt to stop all new uranium mines, including those planned in the next few years by BHP Billiton and Canadian giant Cameco.
While Ludlam admitted the Greens did not have the power to directly block uranium mining applications brought under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, it could lobby ministers under the alliance and make its own submissions opposing environmental clearances.
Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie said he would not back any moves for new uranium mines in Australia and would look very critically at expansions to existing mines.
A mining executive said although the Greens would be unable to vote down mining applications in parliament as the government and Coalitions numbers would overwhelm crossbench opposition, the industry was worried about backroom deals between Labor and the Greens. Minister Ferguson has defended the future of uranium mining, calling it a fact of life.
He told ABC radio this morning he was not concerned by the Greens stance.
Its not new, but clearly they are trying to create an air of uncertainty about investment in Australia, he said.
Ferguson said approval for uranium mining rested with state and territory governments, subject to environmental considerations.
We only export uranium to countries who have a bilateral (agreement) with Australia, guaranteeing that its used with safe hands, for peaceful purposes, Ferguson added.
Clarke cautioned people to look at the latest comments by Ludlam and the Greens at arm lengths and with a cool and calm head.
It is interesting that the Greens, and Ludlam in particular, should be so prominently and aggressively expressing their stated intention and telling the world what they are going to achieve, when it doesnt appear from anything that has happened up until this point that there is more likelihood of them being any more successful than they have in the last 20 years, he said.
The Greens have one member of the House of Representatives, admittedly after July next year they will have a much stronger position in the Senate, and they have an agreement with the ALP which says they are permitted to propose policy change, which the ALP can do with it as it wishes.
For the moment they [the Greens] are getting their 15 minutes of fame, but it doesnt mean much more than that.
Clarke added the association had been seeking to engage with the Greens on areas such as nuclear non-proliferation, but had received no response.
They dont even bother to decline, they just dont respond, so clearly they dont want to talk to us, he said.
We still have one or two letters outstanding with Senator Brown [Greens leader Bob Brown], but he doesnt respond either.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia chief executive Reg Howard-Smith said the Greens views were driven by outdated ideology and a disregard for regional jobs and investment.
In the last financial year, more than $A55 million was spent by companies exploring for uranium in WA, he said.
We urge Federal Labor to maintain its support for the development of new uranium mines, provided they meet environmental and safety requirements.
According to the Department of Mines and Petroleum, WA has known resources of 201,000 tonnes of uranium oxide in 27 projects.
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