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mantra
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Let me guess - GNEP (Global Nuclear energy Partnership). To put it simply the Neo-conservative & Nuclear Big Boys Club who have a lot of money invested in this. Under Howard, Australia was invited to join. They are also connected to the AEI (American Enterprise Institute) where Howard has been spending time recently.
The Federal Government is pushing the development of a nuclear industry in Australia. But there are two faces to the nuclear debate: the public story we hear from the government and what’s really going on.
The government's story: The government wants to open more uranium mines in Australia and increase the export of uranium. The government says this will earn Australia more export income.
The real story: There is a concerted push for Australia to import deadly nuclear waste produced from the uranium we export. The more uranium we export, the greater this push will become.
The government's story: Until recently, we were told that the government was just keeping a ‘watching brief’ on George Bush’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. GNEP is a major push by the US President to have the US coordinate a so-called ‘global nuclear rennaisance’. The Prime Minister, John Howard, was briefed about GNEP when he visited Washington in May 2006. During APEC2007, the Prime MInister announced that it was his government's intention to join GNEP and that the Government would attend a GNEP meeting in Vienna on 16 September 2007. Now we are being told that GNEP would NOT mean that Australia would build an international nuclear waste dump.
The real story: GNEP is about a small nuclear club that has enrichment capability leasing nuclear fuel to the rest of the world. Leasing means that the GNEP club - or a small subset of its members - would take back the highly toxic nuclear waste, after the fuel is burnt in nuclear power plants. The United States is keen to have Australia participate in GNEP because Australia is a friendly ally, with a large stable land mass and a relatively small population - ideal for a place to dump the world's nuclear waste.
In June 2007, the Liberal Party unanimously endorsed establishing the entire nuclear fuel cycle in Australia, including an international nuclear waste dump. This endorsement is a necessary prerequisite for the Government signing off on such a development in Cabinet.
The government's story: The government is considering the establishment of a uranium enrichment plant in Australia. The public reason is to ‘add value’ to uranium and earn more export income.
The real story: With an enrichment plant, the government would have the ability to develop nuclear fuel, a key role of "fuel supplier" nations within GNEP. The government would also have the technical ability to make fuel for nuclear weapons. A decision to build an enrichment plant in Australia could trigger a nuclear arms race in the Asian region.
An enrichment plant in Australia would produce large volumes of radioactive waste (called ‘depleted uranium’). Where would this waste go?
The government's story: The government is pushing hard for 25 nuclear power plants in Australia by 2050. The story we’re being told is this: if we’re concerned about global warming, then we must accept that nuclear power is part of the solution.
The real story: Even the country with the biggest domestic nuclear power industry in the world – the US – hasn’t been able to build a centralized high-level nuclear waste dump, far from where people live. So, after 50 years, all the deadly nuclear waste from US nuclear power plants is being stored indefinitely at these plants, close to major cities. And, after 50 years of the nuclear industry, there is no safe, proven method of long term disposal.
And another thing: the PM’s nuclear report – released on 29 December 2006 – shows that even with 25 nuclear power plants, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are projected to rise very significantly. The real solutions to climate change are energy efficiency and renewable energies. The government has consistently failed to promote these two safe and lasting solutions.
http://www.nuclearfreeaustralia.com.au/articles/brief-analysis
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