Australia PM defends nuclear sale

By Nick Bryant
BBC News, Sydney

India currently has 14 nuclear reactors

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has defended his controversial decision to sell uranium to India.

The decision overturns Australia's long standing rule of not exporting to countries which have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Mr Howard said the decision is the best way to bring India into the nuclear mainstream.

But the opposition Labor Party has vowed to block any deal if it wins power in federal elections this year.

"India does have a very good non-proliferation track record. It has indicated that it does not intend to join the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. So we think it worthwhile finding practical ways to bring it into the non-proliferation mainstream," Mr Howard said.

Australia holds 40% of the world's known uranium reserves and has traditionally been very careful and very choosy about which countries it sells to.

Policy shift

Up until now its key stipulations were that customers should have ratified the global Non-Proliferation Treaty, that the radioactive material would be used only for peaceful purposes and should not be passed on to a third country.

So by announcing that it is prepared to sell uranium to energy-hungry India - a country which has refused to sign up to the non-proliferation pact - the Howard government has signalled a major reversal of policy.

India does have a very good non-proliferation track record John Howard

In the face of strong criticism at home, John Howard has defended the decision, saying it would curb global warming by promoting nuclear power. Australia is also in negotiations to sell uranium to China.

Safeguards will be put in place before any uranium exports begin.

Delhi has to agree to international inspections of its power plants and hammer out the fine and troublesome details of its new nuclear partnership agreement with Washington.

Still the opposition Labor party remains vehemently opposed and has threatened to tear up any deal with India if it wins the upcoming national election.

Australia's decision to sell uranium to India will follow India's similar deal with the US.

First agreed with the White House in March, the US-India deal reverses three decades of American anti-proliferation policy.

Under the agreement, India will gain access to US civilian nuclear technology and uranium and be allowed to reprocess fuel - a move that could theoretically allow India to make more nuclear weapons.

India's nuclear weapon stocks are currently estimated to be between 70 and 120.