Don't mention the 'N' word

Katharine Murphy

September 27, 2007

Australia has signed an important nuclear energy agreement. So why the odd announcement?

A COUPLE of weeks ago, a senior Australian official you've probably never heard of strapped himself into the comfortable end of an aeroplane bound for Vienna. After the long journey, he went along to an important meeting, and acting with the authority of the Commonwealth, signed a document that commits Australia to being a full partner in a global energy grouping you will know about only if you follow national political events with abnormal interest.

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If you are interested in understanding what happened in Vienna you can pop onto the website of the US Department of Energy and read all the documentation, including a GNEP statement of principles committing member countries to doing things alarming to opponents of nuclear energy, including expanding the number of power plants, managing waste and establishing international supply frameworks. The US, China, France, Japan, Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Poland, Slovenia, Ghana, Jordan, Lithuania, Romania, Ukraine, and, yes, Australia, signed on the dotted line.

Possibly about now you need a bit more information about this grouping to understand where our analysis is going. GNEP is a partnership of countries committed to using nuclear energy. The alliance comprises fuel suppliers and users. While still in its formative stages, this grouping is about making a serious commitment to nuclear as a long-term energy source rather than as the stop-gap alternative you put up with until something nicer comes along.

To read the full article from The Age, click on:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/dont-mention-the-n-word/2007/09/26/1190486391722.html