P A R L I A M E N T  O F  A U S T R A L I A

H O U S E  O F  R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

MEDIA RELEASE :

ROOM 10, SECOND FLOOR

MANCHESTER UNITY BUILDING

CNR KEIRA AND MARKET STS

WOLLONGONG, N.S.W. 2500

t e l  29 6455 Wollongong.

Tel.726832 Parliament House.

STEWART WEST,

SHADOW MINISTER FOR  /

ENVIRONMENT AND CONSERVATION.

MINISTER SUCCUMBS TO JABILUKA PRESSURE

The Minister for Trade and Resources, Mr Anthony, has obviously  succumbed to pressure from Pan-Continental Mining Limited  and Getty Oil Development Company in giving conditional  approval for the Jabiluka uranium project to proceed and  in authorising the partners to commence negotiations for  the sale of uranium oxide. '

These two companies are very concerned that a contracting  world uranium market could cause them to miss out on maximum  sales thus placing the $600m investment at risk.

The Minister and the Government are culpable over this issue  because they have in fact authorised a sales drive for Jabiluka  uranium in the full knowledge that present environmental and  safety regulations have proved inadequate at Nabarlek and Ranger.

The ludicrous situation wherein the Northern Territory Government  authorises codes of practice and then leaves the company to  be responsible for daily monitoring of mining procedures, and of  the tailings and run-off ponds will evidently be allowed to  continue at Jabiluka. The project area should be an integral  part of Stage 2 of the Kakadu National Park.

The Northern Territory Government cannot be trusted to  adequately protect the environment of Kakadu National Park. The  continued listing of the park on the World Heritage List could  now be placed in jeopardy by this huge uranium mine.

By 1985 the Australian Atomic Energy Commission predicts a western  world total uranium consumption of 39,000 tonnes, revised  downwards from the ,1975 prediction of 108Â·,000 tonnes.

The AEG also predicts an Australian share of the world market of 20%.  In predicting total Jabiluka sales of 4,500 tonnes to 9,000 tonnes  per year, Mr Anthony seems to think that Jabiluka will provide  virtually all of total Australian uranium sales.

This must be clearly bad news for the other producers.such  as ERA and Denison mines.

The certainty of future over-production in Australian uranium  under this Government can only mean increased competition  for sales and even further price depression, a collapse _

of safeguards allowing reprocessing to produce plutonium, thus  increasing the risk of proliferation of nuclear weapons.  /OVET

2.

At a time when world oil prices are falling and

increasing capital costs and rising interest rates are  pushing the nuclear power industry into further decline,  it is absurd for Mr Anthony to support $600m worth  of wasted investment in Jabiluka. '

CANBERRA

16 March 1982

