MEDIA RELEASE  4 September 2014

Indian nuclear deal a dangerous dud - Greens

The Australian Greens say Tony Abbott is dealing the entire world a bad hand by sending  Australian uranium to India.

“Uranium is not like copper and iron ore. It is a strategic mineral and a trade that Australia  should be getting out of,” said Greens nuclear spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam.

“It’s extraordinary that Tony Abbott is signing a nuclear deal with India in the same week  Australia has suspended future uranium exports to Russia due to security concerns.

“Tony Abbott’s tour with his entourage of uranium executives just proves again that he’s  governing for mining interests, at the expense of genuine community interests.

“Former Indian officials have said themselves that the Indian government is reserving foreign  uranium for its civil nuclear power program, which has a terrible safety record, so that it can use  domestic uranium supplies for plutonium production.

“Australia should not be opening up a new line of atomic instability with India, which has  refused to sign up to international legal agreements on non-proliferation and disarmament. No  safeguards agreement in the world can protect against a country that’s doing that,” said Senator  Ludlam.

“The prospect of selling uranium to another nuclear power is incredibly cavalier. Instead,  Australia should be tapping into the extraordinary potential of Indian solar sector, which is  finally achieving results at scale.”

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