NT uranium enrichment would 'decimate tourism industry'.


The Northern Territory Government has poured scorn on the Country Liberal Party's (CLP) plans to investigate a uranium enrichment industry in the Territory.
The CLP's central council meets this weekend and the federal Member for Solomon, Dave Tollner, says he will support a motion to formally investigate the viability of enriching uranium locally.
Territory Business Minister Paul Henderson says there is no business case for the proposal and it would decimate the tourism industry.
"For the Northern Territory to be badged as the centre of the world's nuclear power and uranium industry - from mining through to nuclear waste depositories to somewhere where you refine the product - I think we've got other areas for this economy to go," he said.
"To badge our economy as a nuclear dominated economy, what's that going to do to our tourism industry? I reckon it would decimate it."
But Mr Tollner says all of Australia's mined uranium is exported through Darwin and governments should consider the value of enriching it domestically.
"I think it is something that should be investigated to see if it would be viable," he said.
If the motion is approved, a CLP policy committee will look at where an enrichment plant could be built as well as security issues and potential job creation.
Mr Tollner says it is important to get accurate information about the issue.
"I tend to think that the community here in the Northern Territory are fairly sophisticated and they would be very keen to know exactly what nuclear enrichment could mean for the Northern Territory," he said.
"I don't know whether they would support it or not, but I know they would be very keen in getting more information on it."