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Australia to sell uranium to India – but ban on Israel stands
Australia's PM Julia Gillard pushing to overturn ban on uranium sales to India in move that would promote diplomatic, economic ties between two countries but says no plan to open potential sales to Israel
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is pushing to overturn a ban on sales of uranium to India, removing a diplomatic thorn between the two countries and potentially opening up a new and growing market for Australian suppliers.
Australia has refused to sell nuclear material to India because it has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), but Gillard's ruling Labor party will debate lifting the ban at its conference next month.
"I believe the time has come for the Labor party to change this position. Selling uranium to India will be good for the Australian economy and good for jobs," Gillard told reporters.
Gillard said the policy shift would apply only to India and not open up potential sales to Israel or Pakistan, as only India had sought and received an exemption from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
"So that puts India in a class of its own," Gillard said. "When you look at other nations, whether it be Pakistan or Israel, they are not in that same class."
The move is set to spark heated debate at the party's December conference, but should easily pass with support from Labor's dominant right faction. The policy does not need to go to parliament for approval, but the conservative opposition also supports uranium sales to India.
Gillard's policy shift comes on the eve of US President Barack Obama's visit to Australia and would bring Australia's uranium policy into line with the United States.
'Discriminatory and flawed'
Washington in 2008 signed a landmark civil nuclear agreement with India over the use of uranium for nuclear energy.
Australia has almost 40 percent of the world's known uranium reserves, but supplies only 19 percent of the world market. It has no nuclear power stations.
India has refused to sign the nuclear NPT, arguing it is discriminatory and flawed in allowing only countries which had tested nuclear weapons before 1967 to legally possess them.
Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are the only other non-signatories to the treaty.
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