Australia’s nuclear partnership
On September 16 this year, Australia signed up to the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, a US-led international partnership for recycling nuclear fuels to make them unusable for nuclear weapons. While Australia is a major uranium exporter, it doesn’t currently enrich uranium, or accept other countries’ nuclear waste, so some have questioned Australia’s involvement in the partnership. The Wire spoke to anti-nuclear activist Dr Helen Caldicott and asked her what she thought the implications for Australia are. For another viewpoint, The Wire spoke to Michael Angwin, Executive Director of the Australian Uranium Association. He refutes the suggestion that by joining the partnership, Australia is committed to enriching uranium and accepting nuclear waste in the future.