Uranium not to be used for weapons: govt

The federal government has made assurances that Australian uranium exported to
Russia won't be used to make nuclear weapons.
Anti-nuclear campaigners are still to be convinced, citing security concerns and
Russia's poor disarmament record.
The nuclear fuel material appears set to be exported to Russia after the government
brushed aside concerns raised in a parliamentary committee about uranium being
stolen.
The government will complete a more detailed analysis before it makes a final decision.
Australia refuses to sell uranium to India, but it will allow exports to Russia on
the basis it is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd used this argument on Friday when asked about the
possibility of the material being used to produce nuclear weapons.
"With Russia we have, of course, a country which has signed up to the relevant
international legal instruments, and on top of that, of course, we have our own
bilateral safeguard arrangements with them as well," he told reporters in Sydney.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia was satisfied the uranium would only
be used for civilian purposes.
"We've given this very exhaustive consideration," he told ABC Radio on Friday.
"We spoke in detail with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and we've come to
the conclusion that we can safely export uranium to Russia and it won't be diverted
for military purposes."
Trade Minister Simon Crean said Canada and Japan had similar arrangements with Russia.
But the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons said Russia's nuclear
security was poor and argued its record on disarmament was woeful.
"Australia would effectively be relinquishing responsibility for supplying the raw
ingredient for bomb fuel to a nuclear weapons state with an acknowledged lack of
transparency in its civil-military arrangements," spokesman Bill Williams said.
The Australian Uranium Association, however, said the government's move was based on
a considered assessment of security and monitoring arrangements.
"We welcome new opportunities to supply our low-carbon fuel to countries which can
use it to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance the security of their
energy supply," chief executive Michael Angwin said.
The coalition wants uranium sales to Russia to begin, but the Australian Greens are
concerned about the former communist giant's existing arsenal of nuclear weapons.
The government indicated on Thursday it would open the way for uranium exports to
Russia.
The Howard government cut a deal to start selling uranium for civilian purposes but
Labor waited for the joint parliamentary standing committee on treaties to deliver
its findings.
While the committee expressed concerns in 2008 about power plant inspections and the
risk of nuclear material being stolen, the Rudd government responded by saying
appropriate safeguards were in place.