In fact, both States  prohibit uranium mining.   New South Wales has recently allowed uranium exploration only.

THE HINDU 4 May 2012,   reports that  New South Wales Minister for Resources and Energy and Central Coast Christopher Peter Hartcher announced on Friday that both New South Wales and Queensland State governments in Australia had changed their laws which prohibited mining and sale of uranium.

Also Mr Hartcher is quoted “We also respect India’s decision on not signing the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT)”  http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3384772.ece

See this article - No plans for uranium mining ban rethink   http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-02/no-plans-for-uranium-mining-ban-rethink/3984350?section=business   By Stephen Smiley ABC News May 02, 2012   “The State Government says it has no plans to revisit Queensland’s ban on uranium mining.”

Queensland Premier Newman has recently reiterated the position that uranium mining is banned in Queensland.

And as for  Mr Hartcher “respecting” India’s decision on the NPT, he is in the minority.  Most Australians are appalled at the idea of selling uranium to a country that won’t sign the NPT.

On 26 April 1986, a nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in the Ukraine melted down and spewed radioactive materials across Europe and beyond. The human, environmental and economic impacts of the accident were profound and continue.

“Chernobyl literally exploded the myth of the ‘peaceful atom’ and caused many nations to reconsider the risks and costs of nuclear power,” said ACF nuclear free campaigner Dave Sweeney.

“On the anniversary of Chernobyl and in the continuing shadow of Fukushima it is important Australia also reviews and reconsiders the costs and consequences of our involvement in the global nuclear trade as a significant supplier of uranium – the basic fuel for both nuclear power and nuclear weapons.”

Last year it was confirmed in the federal Parliament that Australian uranium was in the failed Fukushima reactor and is now causing contamination in Japan.  However the federal government has failed to act on calls – including from the UN Secretary General – to review the industry.

ACF has called for the federal government to learn from Chernobyl and Fukushima and:

• ·         Commission an independent assessment of the environmental and social impacts of uranium mining in Australia (as recommended in the UN review into the Fukushima crisis)
• ·         Stop selling uranium to nuclear weapon states pending an independent review of importing countries’ compliance with international disarmament obligations
• ·         Strengthen international and multi-lateral initiatives by including specific performance requirements and review mechanisms in new and existing Agreements and contracts

“Uranium is the asbestos of the 21^st Century: like asbestos, the product works, but at too high a cost – and like asbestos Australia will one day stop mining and supplying it. In the meantime we need to step up to our responsibilities and review and address the impacts of the uranium trade. To fail to do so is to fail to learn from the lessons of Chernobyl and Fukushima and to fail to stop the next nuclear disaster,” Mr Sweeney said.

Four Mile uranium mine gets lease Adelaide Now, by: Julian Swallow  April 27, 2012 ALLIANCE Resources and its joint venture partner Quasar Resources have been granted a 10-year mineral lease over their Four Mile project, ending months of negotiations. Mineral Resources minister Tom Koutsantonis said on Friday that South Australia was a step closer to its next major uranium mining development. However, no timetable or funding commitment has as yet been made by the venture partners, who remain locked in a legal dispute……
The minister said that the mineral lease in the state’s far north
allowed the venture partners to develop a mining and rehabilitation
program for the Four Mile project…..

Environmental disturbance would be minimised, he said, by processing
the resource at the nearby Beverley uranium mine which is owned by
Quasar’s affiliate, Heathgate Resources.

The Four Mile project has been beset by legal disputes between
Alliance, which has a 25 per cent stake through its  wholly-owned
subsidiary, Alliance Craton Explorer, and  Quasar.

In March Alliance Resources expressed disappointment when the Federal
Court denied it the access it sought to documents held by Quasar.

It wanted to see books, records and agreements relating to the Four
Mile venture.

In the middle of February the venture partners settled their legal
dispute over a native-title mining agreement covering Four  Mile.

The dispute was about whether Quasar had the right to enter into a
native title agreement for the project that would be binding on
Alliance Resources…..
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/mining/four-mile-uranium-mine-gets-lease/story-e6fredhu-1226341077336

Uranium ban lifted by NSW Parliament, Herald Sun  AAP March 28, 2012 LEGISLATION to repeal a ban on uranium exploration has passed through the NSW Parliament, with MPs in the state’s Upper House supporting it by 20 votes to 18. The legislation passed through the Legislative Council unamended today, despite opposition from Greens and Labor MPs…

.. Separate legislation would be required to lift the NSW ban on uranium mining.

The NSW Greens and environment groups condemned the passing of the
legislation, saying the Government had no mandate for uranium
exploration.

“The community does not support uranium mining and, over the coming
months, the Government will hear this loud and clear,” Greens MP Jamie
Parker said.

“The O’Farrell Government did not take this policy to last year’s
election and the public will be horrified that it has overturned this
important socially and environmentally responsible protection.”

The Nature Conservation Council, Australian Conservation Foundation
and Beyond Nuclear Initiative called for an independent inquiry into
uranium mining in NSW.

“Premier O’Farrell has said this is not about mining, but about
exploration and gathering evidence, so we trust he will support a
full, robust and independent inquiry to examine the adequacy of NSW’s
regulatory regimes, the experience of uranium mining in other
jurisdictions and the views of relevant stakeholders,” Dave Sweeney
from the Australian Conservation Foundation said in a statement.

Chief of the NSW Nature Conservation Council Pepe Clarke said
thousands of people had signed a petition calling for the exploration
ban to be maintained.

“We urge the Government, Opposition and crossbench MPs to support a
full, robust and independent inquiry into the ramifications of opening
up NSW to uranium exploration and mining,” Mr Clarke said.

NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson said the overturning of the
longstanding uranium exploration ban was a broken promise.

“This is a massive backflip by the Premier and represents a huge
breach of faith with the people who elected him only 12 months ago,”
he said.

Mr Robertson said Mr O’Farrell had declared to Parliament in August
2011 that the Government had no plans to allow uranium mining or
exploration.

“That declaration has been exposed as a straight-out lie,” he said.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/archives/old-news-pages/uranium-ban-lifted-by-nsw-parliament/story-e6frf7ko-1226312775899

Inquiry should probe O’Farrell’s okay to uranium search – ecology groups, Cowra Community News,
http://cowracommunitynews.com/viewnews.php?newsid=142&id=4    28 March 12, STATE and national environment groups have called for an independent public review into uranium mining in New South Wales as legislation to allow exploration is due to be debated in parliament today (Wednesday).

Premier Barry O’Farrell has no mandate to change a long-standing and popular policy banning uranium projects in the state, the Nature Conservation Council of NSW, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Beyond Nuclear Initiative say in a joint statement. The groups have criticised the lifting of the ban on uranium exploration, urging the State Government to set up a public inquiry into the uranium industry.

“Premier O’Farrell has said this is not about mining, but about
exploration and gathering evidence, so we trust he will support a
full, robust and independent inquiry to examine the adequacy of NSW’s
regulatory regimes, the experience of uranium mining in other
jurisdictions and the views of relevant stakeholders,” says the
Australian Conservation Foundation’s Dave Sweeney.
“For 26 years NSW has maintained a socially and environmentally
responsible policy prohibiting uranium exploration and mining,” says
Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative.
“The nuclear industry poses health risks to workers and the community
and long-term hazards to the environment.”
The Nature Conservation Council’s Pepe Clarke says: “Premier O’Farrell
did not take this issue to the community at the state election, so he
has no mandate for an initiative that would have such a long-term
impact on NSW’s society and environment.
“Since Premier O’Farrell announced his intention to open up uranium exploration in this state, thousands of people have signed a petition calling on the government to maintain the uranium ban.
“We urge the government, opposition and crossbench MPs to support a
full, robust and independent inquiry into the ramifications of opening
up NSW to uranium exploration and mining,” Mr Clarke says.

“Olympic Dam is one of our largest mines and is expected to raise billions of dollars of profits from the copper, uranium, gold and silver mined there – yet not one of these minerals will be included in the MRRT,” Senator Wright said.

“The owners of this massive hole, BHP Billiton, are smiling all the way to the bank.   Their deal with the South Australian Government locks in pitifully low royalty rates for 45 years, with no guarantees of one extra job in the state, and the government footing the bill for infrastructure.  And Australians will not receive a cent from the mine under the MRRT.

“The net economic return toSouth Australiain years 10-20 of the project could be as low as $10m per year and that is even before millions are given back to BHP Billiton through federal subsidies like the diesel fuel rebate.

“But the real losers of this deal are our children and grandchildren – we are giving their resources away for a pittance while at the same time leaving them to deal with the enormous toxic legacy of managing the world’s largest radioactive waste dump.

“The Greens will ultimately support this tax, because in this case, something is better than nothing. But there is no doubt that this taxation regime needs to be strengthened so we can all get a fair return for our shared mineral wealth and invest it in things that will benefit all Australians like Denticare, the NDIS and quality public education.”

“There has been no official word from the authorities in Australia over the shipment (of the waste) and I have not received any formal communication,” he said at Parliament lobby.

Though helping facilitate Lynas’ investment in setting up the plant here, he noted there were conditions that the company must fulfil with the onus on them to obtain approval for waste shipment to Australia if the need arose. “We are not here for the purpose of just helping Lynas. We have set conditions and they must follow,” he said.

The Atomic Energy Licensing Board’s (AELB) imposed five conditions for the issuance of a temporary operating licence for the Lynas plant which includes locating a suitable site for a permanent disposal facility. “If Lynas cannot process the wastes here according to our standard or cannot find a permanent disposal site, then they have to seek a site outside this country…..

“Otherwise, I am not giving the licence as they have signed for that,” Ongkili repeatedly said…..  Ongkili said Lynas Corporation chose to have its rare earth plant in Malaysia because the cost to operate the facility here was 30% of that in Australia….. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp file=/2012/3/28/parliament/11002216&sec=parliament

Political and Construction Hurdles for Malaysia Rare Earths Plant NYT, By LIZ GOOCH and KEITH BRADSHER March 21, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — A controversial rare earth metal refinery in Malaysia encountered further obstacles this week, with the country’s political opposition refusing to participate in a parliamentary committee set up to investigate the safety of the plant and with hints that the refinery could face further construction delays.

The plant,which is being built by the Australian company Lynas, is one of two
giant projects intended to break China’s near-monopoly on the
production of rare earths; the other is in the California desert near
Death Valley. But the Malaysian project, on the outskirts of Kuantan,
one of the country’s largest cities, has become a lightning rod for
activists and residents concerned about possible radiation leaks…..
The refinery has received a temporary operating license from the
Malaysian government, but the project has already had a series of
delays and protests. Last month, demonstrations in Kuantan and at
least three other cities around the country, including Kuala Lumpur,
attracted thousands of protesters.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court on Tuesday directed Malaysia’s Atomic
Energy Licensing Board to provide details of the temporary license
that it gave Lynas. The court acted after a group of residents near
the refinery filed an application for a judicial review of the
license, said K. Shanmuga, one of the group’s lawyers.

Lynas originally planned to finish the factory by last September,
despite warnings by engineers that it would not be ready then. But the
company ran into delays and ended up announcing in the fall that the
project would not be finished until the second quarter of this year.

An engineer with a detailed knowledge of the project said Wednesday
that another delay had come up in recent days. Complex electronic
components that require a long time to manufacture were ordered late
and will not be ready for the first phase of the refinery’s
construction until November, said the engineer, who requested
anonymity to avoid retaliation by Lynas in the close-knit mineral
processing industry.

Parts of the refinery can be commissioned without the components,
including kilns for drying ore, the engineer said, but other sections
of the production process require the components.

Lynas denied that it was facing further construction delays, saying in
a statement that any parts arriving late this year would be for either
a spare parts inventory or a planned second phase that would double
the capacity of the refinery…..

Attempts by Lynas to reassure the public that the plant is safe have
failed to satisfy activists and opposition parties.

The Malaysian government announced Saturday that it would establish a
bipartisan parliamentary committee to investigate public concerns
about the safety of the plant. Critics assailed the move as a public
relations exercise in advance of elections widely expected to be held
later this year.
The committee was to include four members from the governing
coalition, three from the opposition and one independent member. But
on Tuesday, the opposition announced that it would boycott the panel.

Fuziah Salleh, the opposition member of Parliament for Kuantan who has
been a leader of the protest movement, said the opposition had decided not to take part in the committee because the government was using the panel to try to quell public worries. She contended that the government would allow the plant to go ahead regardless of the
committee’s findings…..
James Chin, a political scientist and the director of the School of
Arts and Social Sciences at Monash University in Malaysia, said that
under the rules of Parliament, the government could still proceed with
the panel even if the opposition refused to take part.

Mr. Chin said that the safety of the plant could become a concern for
more voters but that for now it was mainly an issue for people who
lived near the refinery….. Ms. Fuziah said another rally was planned
for next month.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/business/global/political-and-construction-holdups-for-malaysia-rare-earths-plant.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

“If the (Australian) government accepts waste, why not they (Lynas) stay in own country?” Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack asked. Wong said Lynas Corp was “clearly taking advantage” of Malaysia’s
“loose environmental laws” and “non-functioning administration”.

Australia: No request from Lynas to accept waste http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/australia-no-request-from-lynas-to-accept-waste By Lisa J. Ariffin March KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — Canberra
has yet to receive any request from Lynas Corp to accept radioactive waste from the Australian miner’s controversial rare earth plant in Gebeng, Kuantan that will be ready this June.

“Australia has not received any request to import residues from the plant,” an Australian High Commission spokesman told The Malaysian Insider when contacted today.

“A request of this kind would be addressed in accordance with relevant
Customs and environmental laws,” he added.

On Monday, Lynas had denied reports that the Western Australian government had refused to accept the radioactive waste from the miner’s RM2.5 billion rare earth plant in Malaysia.

The Australian mining firm, currently under tremendous pressure to
prove its refinery would pose no danger to Malaysians, had told local
media personnel during a dinner that the Australian government was
merely reacting according to common conditions that any country would
have with regards to such materials.
“We would expect Lynas and the Malaysian government to handle residues
in accordance with relevant Malaysian regulations and the terms of the
operating licence,” the spokesman said.

When contacted today, several anti-Lynas groups remained sceptical
towards Lynas’s announcement.

“If the (Australian) government accepts waste, why not they (Lynas) stay in own country?” Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack asked. Wong said Lynas Corp was “clearly taking advantage” of Malaysia’s
“loose environmental laws” and “non-functioning administration”.

“The temporary operating license (TOL) can be issued without
scientific facts, and now they (the government) [are] talking about
setting up a (parliamentary select) committee. The administration is
totally not functioning,” he said.

“The contradictory statements from various government departments and
ministers… (show) how the whole procedure is being abused.

“Do not belittle us Malaysians,” he added.

Stop Lynas, Save Malaysia chairman Tan Bun Teet echoed his comrade’s
sentiments, saying Australia “won’t be stupid enough to accept waste
that will increase toxicity in their country”.

“For the past 50 years, toxic wastes that were kept in (Australia)
will be very much less than what Lynas will produce in a year,” he
said.

“I don’t believe the Australian government will accept it (the waste
from the Lynas plant),” he added.

Tan then labelled Lynas chief executive Nick Curtis’ statement as
“part of their (Lynas’) works to convince the government” that their
rare earth refinery was safe to operate in Malaysia.

“We are concerned about how they are going to manage the waste, that’s
the point.

“He has not answered this question. If Australia is prepared to take
it back, then just say they are willing to take it back,” he said,
referring to Curtis. Earlier yesterday, the Dewan Rakyat approved the
formation of a parliamentary select committee (PSC) to engage all
stakeholders within next three months over the controversial
multibillion ringgit project that is expected to fire up its
operations by year-end.

The dinner on Monday, organised by the International Trade and
Industry Ministry, is believed to be part of Putrajaya’s attempt to
explain the Lynas issue to critics of the plant, who resolutely insist
that its residues would pose harmful levels of radiation to local
folk.

But despite Curtis’ claim that the Australian government had not
rejected Lynas’s waste material, the CEO could not offer a guarantee
that the company would return the residues back to its home country.

Grilled for over two hours during the dinner by media members who
appeared unconvinced by Curtis’ repeated assurances regarding Lynas,
the CEO could only offer his company’s pledge to adhere to the
conditions attached to the two-year temporary operating licence (TOL)
from Malaysia’s energy regulator, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board
(AELB).

Among the most significant condition that Curtis highlighted was
Lynas’s signed undertaking that it would submit a detailed plan for a
permanent disposal facility (PDF) for waste, within 10 months of
receiving the TOL.

But Curtis said that setting up the waste facility at such an early
stage was an “unusual” practice as, in most cases, the rehabilitation
of a site would only be carried out at the tail end of the refinery’s

The table shows the conditions under the Australian proposal compared to LAMP.

Regardless of what justification the government gives, any person of general intellect can deduce that LAMP is shifted to our shores because Lynas wants to dump its waste here. How can our government inflict such indignity on the very people it is elected to protect?…

[6] “Proposed rare earths mining and beneficiation at Mt Weld, Laverton and secondary processing at Meenaar, near Northm”, Ashton Rare Earths Ltd, August 1992.    http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/lets-de-politicise-the-lynas-issue-stop-lynas-coalition