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Labor plan to drop ban on new uranium mines welcome: MCA

Mitchell Hooke


The Minerals Council of Australia last week welcomed a speech by Labor’s Senate Opposition Leader, Chris Evans and statements by Queensland Premier, Peter Beattie, which call for the party’s ban on new uranium mines to be dropped at next month’s ALP National Conference.

MCA Chief Executive Mitchell Hooke said Senator Evans’ changed position on the ban was a sensible shift that would contribute to the economic growth and development of Australia and benefit all Australians, especially those in remote and regional areas.

“The Australian Labor Party’s current policy banning uranium mines is outdated and founded in the ideology of a past era, Mr Hooke said.

“The policy retards development in regional Australia and prevents employment opportunities and economic benefits flowing to those in remote locations,” he said.

Mr Hooke called Labor’s current policy illogical, saying it was inherently flawed in that it applies limits on the number of mines while there are no artificial restrictions on production from existing mines.

“Lifting Labor’s ban on new uranium mines will provide greater certainty for the development and expansion of uranium mining at a time when global spot prices have doubled in a year and demand for uranium is growing exponentially,” he said.

According to Mr Hooke, Australia has the largest identified uranium resources compared with any country in the world, but supplies less than a quarter of the global demand for uranium.

“Labor’s opposition to new uranium mines has acted as a major constraint to the industry’s expansion in Australia,” he said.

However, lifting the ALP’s ban is only part of the equation, according to Mr Hooke. He said both federal and state governments needed to invest in the uranium industry to address skills shortages, institutional capacity in R&D and education and training, to ensure the industry has sufficient technical expertise.

- 28 Mar 2007