Senator Christine Milne



Howard's nuclear flirtation makes region less safe: Greens

Senator Milne, 5th July 2006

Prime Minister John Howard should drop all plans for Australia to expand uranium  mining, enrichment, fuel leasing and storage of high-level waste, and instead use  Australia's position to strengthen the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Australian  Greens said today.

"We should be an honest broker in the region instead of pushing more and more fuel  into the nuclear fuel cycle," Australian Greens energy spokesperson Senator Christine  Milne said in Hobart.

"It is hypocritical of the Prime Minister to condemn North Korea's nuclear ambitions  and missile firing while agreeing to supply uranium to China and supporting the  United States in its bid to send nuclear technology to India.

"Nuclear weapons are a huge threat to peace and security. UN Secretary-General Kofi  Annan and International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradi recently  called for a moratorium on any further uranium enrichment because of the  proliferation risks emerging from countries including Iran, Burma, China and North  Korea.

"The Prime Minister's focus on the profits to be made from Australia adding to the  nuclear fuel cycle is reflected in the discussion points issued by the nuclear power  review panel which give a cursory mention to the profound ramifications of nuclear  proliferation and threats to the environment."



Contact: Katrina Willis 03 6234 4566 or 0437 587 562



