ICAN campaigning against uranium sales to India

James Norman, December 2011:  In stating support for Australia to open up uranium sales to India, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has not only opened up a toxic can of worms inside her own party, she has also set herself on a perilous collision course that threatens to undermine Australia's non-proliferation credibility and our international treaty obligations.

According to legal advice provided by ANU Professor Don Rothwell, Australia cannot lawfully sell uranium to India unless the nuclear-armed nation opens up all of its nuclear facilities to the International Atomic Energy Agency. We already know that just isn't going to happen. India has always stubbornly refused to sign the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty so they are not going to allow full-scale weapons inspections now.

The ALP has a long-standing policy of not supplying uranium, a dual-use fuel that can be used for both nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons to countries that have not signed the treaty or accepted full-scope safeguards. And for very good reason.

We have already seen some of the fallout over Gillard's position shift within the ALP. Already the party is split over the issue, with senior ALP figures including Doug Cameron describing the move as a "sellout".

Kevin Rudd stated this week that, although he will support Gillard's position (did he have a choice?), he still takes weapons proliferation concerns very seriously and "this will not be a lay-down misere".

Not surprising, seeing as he built his former leadership on non-proliferation rhetoric.

Not only did Gillard fail to consult her Foreign Minister on this policy shift, she also failed to properly consult her lawyers.

Gillard must recognise that Australians don't want to aid a nuclear weapons race in the Indian subcontinent.

We now know that selling Australia's uranium to India would not only be dangerous and irresponsible, it would also be illegal.

James Norman is from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. This article was first published in the Daily Telegraph.