re: all the goodies on our inventory list rocketed
taken from another post here on h/c
---------------------------------------------------- China in talks to buy our uranium By Dennis Shanahan June 04, 2005 From: AUSTRALIA is negotiating conditions to export uranium to China for the first time as nuclear power moves on to the Howard Government's political agenda.
The federal Government has been holding talks with Beijing for weeks on a regime of nuclear safeguards that could kick-start a lucrative uranium export trade to China. Although nuclear energy is banned in Australia, the issue is being hotly debated within government ranks as it develops a post-Kyoto environmental policy.
Echoing NSW Premier Bob Carr, who this week raised the prospect of nuclear energy being developed as an environmental alternative to fossil fuels, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer called yesterday for a debate on nuclear power stations in Australia as part of world efforts to combat global warming.
"I do think there should be a debate and there should be a sophisticated debate in the context of climate change," he said.
Mr Downer also revealed that officials had made good progress in negotiations with China on exporting uranium.
"We have entered into those discussions and the negotiations are moving ahead reasonably positively," he said.
"It is in Australia's national interest, since we export uranium, that there be a global expansion of nuclear energy."
Mr Downer is the second senior minister - after Science Minister Brendan Nelson - to call for a nuclear debate. His comments come as more than half of the Liberal Party's backbenchers have signalled that they want a formal inquiry into nuclear energy in Australia.
The Howard Government agreed yesterday at the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Canberra to work with the states on climate change through a carbon-trading system.
Opposition resources spokesman Martin Ferguson said yesterday that the ALP was opposed to nuclear power stations in Australia but added that he could understand the need for a debate on uranium demand. "No one sees Australia entering into nuclear power but there is a huge international demand for Australia's resources," Mr Ferguson said.
Mr Carr's position was also backed by former Australian Conservation Foundation leader and federal Labor MP Peter Garrett.
Dr Nelson this week linked the issue to climate change and Australia's water shortages. "Do we not owe it to future generations to have a serious look at nuclear power?" he asked.
"We're already in the nuclear cycle, with a third of the world's uranium deposits. Sixteen per cent of the world's power is generated by nuclear power. In doing so, 600million tonnes of carbon is not spewed into the atmosphere."
Dr Nelson said nuclear power could also be used for large-scale water desalination.
"Nuclear power is not without its problems, but given the looming environmental deadlines bearing down on us, shouldn't we at least have a serious look at it?" he said.
Victorian Liberal backbencher and former Liberal Party director Andrew Robb also said yesterday that Australia needed to have a debate over nuclear energy as part of the challenges it faced on energy and the environment.
"It is eminently sensible that the question of nuclear energy should be debated," Mr Robb said.
Another Liberal backbencher, former CSIRO scientist and West Australian MP Dennis Jensen, has backed a national debate on nuclear energy.
Liberal MPs say that more than 20 Liberal backbenchers want a formal parliamentary inquiry to look at the issue of nuclear power in Australia.
But Industry and Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane has continued to rule out developing nuclear power stations.
The push to consider nuclear energy as an option and increase Australia's uranium exports comes as the Howard Government is developing a new post-Kyoto global warming policy.
John Howard is considering unveiling a new strategy on global warming at the UN in September that will be aimed at using technology and co-operation with the US, India and China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Australia exports uranium for power generation overseas, earning more than $400 million a year, with the prospect of large growth in demand.
Mr Downer said yesterday the progress of the uranium export negotiations with China had been specifically raised with him by the chairman of China's National People's Congress, Wu Bangguo, during his visit last month.
Any exports would be under a safeguards agreement, and to give strong and unqualified endorsement to nuclear energy as a legitimate tool to lower greenhouse gas emissions, he said.
"Nuclear energy can be expected to have an important place in meeting future energy needs over the next few decades," Mr Downer said.
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