M115 22 September 1994

AUSTRALIA SIGNS CONVENTION ON NUCLEAR SAFETY

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Gareth Evans, today announced Australian

The Convention was signed by the Australian Permanent Representative to the  International Atomic Energy Agency, Mr Ronald Walker, when it opened for  signature on 20 September during the IAEA General Conference.

"Conclusion of the Nuclear Safety Convention establishes an important international  framework for achieving and maintaining high standards of safety and levels of  emergency preparedness at nuclear power plants," Senator Evans said.

"Although Australia has no nuclear power plants, our involvement in negotiations  and our early signature of the Convention reflects our determination to contribute to  a continuous improvement in global standards for the safety and physical protection  of nuclear materials."

An important part of the Convention is its provision for a peer review process in  which parties meet to discuss reports on the measures taken by other signatories to  implement the obligations of the Convention.

"This process will enhance transparency and confidence in relation to the nuclear  power programs of signatories," Senator Evans said.

The Nuclear Safety Convention was negotiated under the auspices of the IAEA. It is  the third in a series of safety-oriented conventions following the 1986 Chernobyl  accident. The other two are the 1986 Conventions on the Early Notification of a  Nuclear Accident and on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or

Radiological Emergency. Australia is a signatory to the two earlier Conventions.

CANBERRA

