Two state Labor premiers have reacted angrily to a federal opposition frontbencher's suggestion that they will drop their bans on uranium mining.
Federal Labor resources spokesman Chris Evans told a conference in Perth that Queensland and Western Australia's position on uranium mining was illogical and would eventually be scrapped.
Federal Labor dumped its decades-old ban on new uranium mines at its national conference last April, but gave state governments the right to maintain their bans.
Queensland and WA have made it clear they do not intend to change their policies.
Senator Evans said federal Labor had no plans to intervene, as it had "neither the power nor the will to do so".
But he said he believed the policies would eventually change.
"I think it unlikely in the short term, but much more likely than it was prior to federal Labor's national conference decision in April," Senator Evans told the Australian Uranium Conference.
"The question state governments must now confront is why they should continue to ban uranium mining in their state when there is no federal impediment to mining and South Australia and the Northern Territory reap the benefits of their development of their uranium reserves.
"The logic of state bans on uranium mining is unsustainable and the bans will eventually be removed."
Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said if that was what Senator Evans believed, he should have put his case at national conference instead of allowing the states to keep their bans.
"If that is his view, why didn't he argue at the national conference that it (the decision) should be binding on the states?" Mr Beattie said.
WA Premier Alan Carpenter said he had no plans to change his state's policy.
"I don't know how many times I will have to repeat this - whilst I am the premier of Western Australia there will not be uranium mining in this state," he said.
"There are lots of commercial interests wanting to see uranium mining begin in Western Australia because they know it will lead to enormous pressure for us to become a nuclear waste dump - that's not going to happen."
Senator Evans said he understood that industry was critical of the state policies but urged delegates to the conference to consider the states' positions.
"For premiers Beattie or Carpenter to allow uranium mining would be a reversal of commitments made to their electorates," Senator Evans said.
"Both the state ALP policy and the electoral undertaking of the respective state governments would have to change before mining proceeds in either state."
The respective economic conditions in each state also had to be considered, he said.
"While South Australia has been desperate for economic development opportunities, Queensland and WA have been booming," Senator Evans said.
"Despite the market opportunities for uranium miners with proven resources being very good, the WA and Queensland governments are under no significant economic or political pressure to alter their position.
"Developments in community attitudes will obviously have a major impact on future developments."
He pointed out that WA was the only state to elect a Nuclear Disarmament Party candidate to the Senate in 1987.
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