Fuel for thought: nuke debate heats up - Business - Business - smh.com.au


AT THE Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate meeting in Sydney this week, the focus was on initiatives the six member countries could adopt to reduce their production of greenhouse gases.
Nuclear power was one topic at the forefront, as the US, Japan, South Korea, India and China all operate nuclear power plants - and are planning to build more to help tackle the issue of climate change. Australia, never having built a nuclear power plant, is clearly the odd one out.
The nation's lack of a nuclear power industry might seem curious to foreigners when Australia possesses more uranium than any other country - although it has large reserves of other energy sources such as coal and natural gas, and a small population.
Despite its large trade deficit, Australia mines a relatively low proportion of its uranium reserves, meaning it isn't milking the export market as much as it could.
It's not due to lack of interest from mining companies, which view Australia as a dream destination because of its stable political system, skilled workforce and abundant natural resources.
Rather, it's restrictive Australian government policy - at both the federal and state level - that has so far prevented most of the country's uranium from being mined.
Under the Coalition Government, federal policy has changed, but all state Labor premiers except South Australia's Mike Rann oppose mining uranium, in part because of Labor's long opposition to it.
The policy has forced local miners to look overseas for viable projects.
Take Perth's Paladin Resources. Instead of mining or even closely studying one of its deposits in Western Australia, it will start production at its Langer Heinrich project in Namibia this year. And next on its list is a deposit in Malawi, one of the world's poorest and most corrupt nations.
Paladin managing director John Borshoff is upfront about why his company is developing its first projects abroad. Countries in southern Africa are "less politically hostile" than Australia, he says. "I know that sounds ironic," he's quick to add.
Borshoff has a point. WA's premier, Dr Geoff Gallop, is adamant no uranium mining will be allowed in his state while he remains in office - and his current term lasts until 2009.
"In terms of uranium mining, I'm the premier. We took this policy to the election [last year]," Gallop told the Herald."Our uranium will stay in the ground in Western Australia."