Blue Sky Mining

It may not matter whether Australian uranium is exported from three mines or thirty...

This proposal, according to Labour leader Kim Beazley should define Australia's uranium policy. But maybe it does matter - not everyone in Labour is prepared to forget a legacy of environmental disaster, exposing yet more tensions within the party.

The recent history of Australia's uranium policy hinges on the infamous turnaround of the Labour Party in 1983, who rode to power on a popular anti-uranium stance, then proceeded to shape a restricted system of keeping three mines open, leading to a paradoxical dilemna between the populist policy of phasing out mining altogether, and the economic imperative of striving to be the worlds leading uranium producer.

This Hawke era policy has remained in place throughout the Howard regime, despite their explicit intentions to develop a number of new mines. Now that the global uranium market appears to be taking off, the push for new mines is becoming more intense, but in opposition, what does Labour stand to gain from following the Liberal party in lockstep on this issue?