Prime Minister: I want to outline my approach to a number of issues at the forthcoming Australian Labor Party national conference. First, I want to deal with the question of selling uranium to India. The Labor Party’s current position prevents us from selling uranium to India because it is not a part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The time has come for the party to change this stance. I believe this for three reasons.
First, selling uranium to India will be good for the Australian economy and for Australian jobs. If I can just give you some quick statistics: Australia is the world’s third largest supplier of uranium. Uranium contributes over $750 million to our economy, creating over 4,200 jobs. India is expected to increase its use of nuclear power from its current three percent of electricity generation to 40 per cent by 2050. India is our fourth biggest export market, a market worth nearly $16 billion to Australia with enormous potential to grow. I think these figures give us a sense of the size and scale of the economic opportunity for Australia in the future. As India rises and brings hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, it will need more energy. It is looking at supplying 40 per cent of the energy need through nuclear energy. We are a very big supplier of uranium, so having access to this new and growing market is good.
Second, I believe this will be one way of taking a step forward in our relationship with India. We have a good relationship with India. It is the world’s largest democracy, a stable one and we have worked on our links with India. As I have described to our people before, Australia faces a unique set of opportunities in this Asian century, where we live in the right region of the world that will see strong economic growth. India as a rising giant will be a part of this economic growth.
Third, I believe this change should take place as circumstances have developed in the international community. It made sense when there was a widely supported international strategy to bring India into NPT. But the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement changed the strategy. It effectively lifted the de-facto international ban on cooperation with India in this area. Consequently, given the change in diplomatic circumstances around the world, for us to refuse to budge is all pain with no gain. I believe our national platform should recognise that reality.
Journalist: Now that NPT should no longer be a concern with regard to uranium supply to India, does this open doors for Australia to consider selling uranium to other countries such as Israel?
PM: No, it doesn’t, as there’s an important issue here with India, which you need to understand, to understand my perspective. India approached the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) in relation to its agreement with the US, that the latter would sell uranium to India. The board of governors of IAEA and NSG agree that the US should be able to sell uranium to India. They got an exemption from NSG; indeed Australia supported this and we are represented on the board of governors of IAEA. At that level, we also supported the arrangements between the US and India.
So, this puts India in a class of its own. When you look at other nations, whether it be Pakistan or Israel, they are not in that same class. Also, as far as I am advised, Israel is not seeking Australian uranium and it doesn’t rely on a domestic civil nuclear industry for its power supplies.
Journalist: Prime Minister, the three rationales you mentioned, as guiding your thinking on the India uranium issue, have existed since John Howard made the decision that you are now making, in 2007. So, why has it taken you so long to get a sharp end to the Labor Party’s thinking in relation to this issue?
PM: The events that I referred to, the US and India, an agreement to sell and buy uranium, NSG giving India an exemption, the board of governors of IAEA dealing with the question, happened in 2008-2009. So, it is true that just looking at the timeline, these matters could have been discussed at the last conference, but if we’d done that, it would have been before the international community and Australia itself had had the opportunity to observe these new arrangements, bedding down and to make an assessment of them.
Edited excerpts from Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s press conference in Canberra on November 15
