States cool on Beazley’s uranium play

FEDERAL Labor leader Kim Beazley has announced his party will change its 25-year opposition to uranium mining, if it agrees to scrap its ‘three mines’ policy at the ALP national conference next year. My Beazley favours replacing the ban with a more stringent set of safeguards to control uranium purchases and how it would be used. He remained opposed to nuclear power in Australia but said exporting uranium would help to build Australia’s prosperity as well as paying off Prime Minister John Howard’s foreign debt. Mr Beazley’s plan received mixed views from the states, including a show of support from uranium-rich South Australia. In Western Australia, Premier Alan Carpenter reiterated that the granting of mining and exploration leases would remain the responsibility of states and his government’s ban on uranium mining would remain.