Uranium is the yellow cake that isn’t popular at kids’ birthdays, street parties, or the anywhere that people want to live.
Depending on which side of the table people stand on, or how big a slice of the cake they can claim, opinion regarding the mining of uranium in Australia divides the country like no other commodity.
That division runs to both sides of politics with the Labor Party more likely to reach a verdict on gay marriage than it is on mining uranium.
The Liberal Party appears to be totally on song, but with its recent one vote margin election for Party President reflecting its last leadership poll, which came on the heels of a rift regarding climate change; it’s hard to imagine everybody in the party room singing around the same piano.
Bob Brown and the Greens may be in a position of unparalleled power at present but the reality is that the mining of uranium in Australia and its exportation already happens.
It is also garnering more support, particularly from governments at state and territorial level.
“Uranium is very important to the economy of the Northern Territory,” Northern Territory Minister for Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources Kon Vatskalis told the Australian Uranium Conference in Fremantle.
“The Territory government remains committed to supporting uranium exploration and the responsible development of new uranium mines in the Territory.”
The Northern Territory produces around half of Australia’s uranium from the Ranger mine east of Darwin.
There is any number of obvious challenges facing the Australian uranium sector.
These were highlighted by the impact of the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan, which raised a range of serious issues surrounding nuclear energy.
As a result of the tragic events at Fukushima, governments around the world subsequently reassessed their nuclear power programs.
This has seen a drop in demand for uranium creating economic concerns for global uranium producers.
“What I can say, without any equivocation, is that the nuclear situation in Fukushima will cast a long shadow over your industry and will have to be front of mind in your considerations as you move forward,” Liberal Party shadow minister for Energy and Resources Ian Macfarlane told the uranium conference.
“That said, I am still confident in the future of the uranium industry in Australia and globally and I am equally confident about the role our exported uranium will play in radically and significantly reducing global emissions and powering one of the most important sources of low-emission electricity.
“While major nuclear energy players such as China and the United States have indicated they will review their nuclear programs, this should not be interpreted out of context nor taken to signify any end or diminishing of the nuclear era.
“It is only natural and prudent that nations that are dependent on nuclear energy to take the opportunity to assess the full impacts of the situation in Japan and we should encourage reasonable and rational assessment of the lessons that have been learnt there.”
Macfarlane turned his vision on the domestic situation indicating some issues much closer to home that he feels the Australian uranium sector needs to consider.
“The next greatest challenge for the uranium industry in Australia is the persistent fragmentation of regulations and the approval process that goes with them,” Macfarlane said.
“Australia continues to have multiple, inconsistent regulatory regimes for uranium mining and a Federal Government that is not showing the political will, or stamina, to address that.
“As a result the uranium industry’s development is piecemeal and certainly does not take full use of Australia’s natural advantage.”
Macfarlane indicated there was some positive movement for the sector in some states such as Western Australia as well as South Australia, which supports uranium mining and exporting.
He was less enamoured with his home state of Queensland of which he said, “Old ideological prejudices prevail at the expense of sound and practical policies.”
“Queensland maintains its blanket ban on uranium mining despite the evidence of the enormous economic boost a uranium industry would create in that state,” he said.
When it came to power in 2008 the government of Western Australia, led by Premier Colin Barnett lifted the state’s ban on uranium mining.
That decision was made with the intention of creating a uranium mining industry in the state.
Opening the Uranium Conference on Day One, Western Australia Minister for Mines and Petroleum Norman Moore said he believed nuclear power was a vital part of the future energy mix and that the long-term outlook for uranium is positive.
“Consequently Western Australia remains committed to the safe development of new supplies of uranium to support the energy sector,” Moore said.
“I’m pleased to say that our state’s uranium sector continues to make steady progress towards getting our first mine into production.”
There is much speculation within Western Australia regarding that state’s Labor Party, which still maintains a no uranium mining policy.
The concern is should a mine become operational under the Liberal’s watch would it be closed were a Labor government elected.
Federal Special Minister of State Gary Gray said that Canberra would not be paying out any compensation on behalf of the state if it decides to close uranium mines.
“They cannot expect the Federal Government to compensate for that massive potential cost, which no doubt will be measured in the tens or perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars,” Gray told the conference.
“You’re entitled to take your principle position but you have to pay for it too.”
