Australian Uranium to China, a Worry for Many Reasons Second shipment of uranium heads to Australia, environmental whistleblowers still in jail By Shar Adams Epoch Times Staff 18 Nov 09 AUSTRALIAFor David Noonan, spokesperson for the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF), .“We believe it is unacceptable for the Australian government and BHP to look the other way and to claim that they can conduct trade simply for profit, particularly the uranium sector, and ignore all those human rights and transparency issues that are so apparent in China,” Noonan told The Epoch Times.The case of Sun Xiaodi highlights just some of the concerns the ACF has with the China deal.
Whistleblowers like Sun Xiaodi and his daughter are being punished for raising legitimate concerns about the environment, in this case nuclear contamination and slack environmental and workplace safety practices, Mr. Noonan said, adding that it “demonstrates clearly that China is not going to be accountable in what may happen with Australian uranium in the future.”………………
The Australian Greens say China cannot be trusted to abide by international safeguards, and it is impossible to monitor how Australia’s uranium is used in China.
Noted by Greens senator, Christine Milne, is the secrecy surrounding China’s military industrial processes.
Under the joint agreement Australia’s uranium is only to be used at “declared facilities,” but Senator Milne said, declared facilities are only declared at Chinese discretion.“The Chinese government can withdraw these facilities from IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) oversight at any time simply by stating concerns about national security,” she said.
The Greens say they want Australia to withdraw from the 2006 deal because of China’s failure to comply with Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty disarmament obligations; its failure to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; and its failure to separate its military and civilian nuclear sectors.
Epoch Times – Australian Uranium to China, a Worry for Many Reasons
