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Queensland's uranium ban creates an "air of uncertainty"

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https://www.afr.com/business/energy/nuclear-energy/qlds-uranium-ban-unfortunate-says-ian-macfarlane-20150610-ghk4sp

Queensland's uranium ban 'unfortunate' says Ian Macfarlane

by Simon Evans

Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has said a decision by the Queensland government to ban uranium mining creates an "air of uncertainty" around Australia's strong credentials as a future key player in the nuclear industry as global demand starts to revive.

Mr Macfarlane said the decision by the Palaszczuk government also comes at a time when the Queensland economy needs all the help it can get, and when Australia needs to send a strong message to the world that it is open for business in the uranium sector.

He also said there was a clear message from global leaders at the G7 meeting this week in Europe that the pursuit of low-carbon emission technologies will only speed up, and the uranium industry in Australia is well positioned to play a major role, given it is already the world's third-largest producer.

"Base load, zero emission, the only way it can be produced is by hydro and nuclear," he told Fairfax Media after delivering a speech at an international uranium conference in Adelaide on Wednesday.

He said the G7 message was clear and Australia should be pushing hard to be at the forefront of maximising its uranium industry.

"That's obviously a huge plus for Australia," he said, referring to the G7 communiques on pursuing low-carbon goals.

He is annoyed at the timing of the uranium ban decision in Queensland, reintroduced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk after it had been overturned by the Newman government in 2012.

Treasury 'needs the dough'

"It just creates an air of uncertainty. It's unfortunate," Mr Macfarlane said. "People just won't invest."

It was also damaging to the Queensland economy. "The Queensland Treasury certainly needs the dough."

Mr Macfarlane said he didn't want to pre-empt the findings of the royal commission under way in South Australia into a potential expansion into nuclear enrichment, power and storage away from just uranium mining, but acknowledged the federal government would need to set up a fresh legislative framework to allow a nuclear industry in South Australia.

"It's a great initiative," Mr Macfarlane said. "Let's just see what the findings are first."

He said it was refreshing to see a Labor government, led by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, undertake such a move at a time when there was backward thinking on a nuclear industry by much of the rest of the Labor Party.

Earlier, in his speech, he pointed to strong demand from China, India and the United Arab Emirates for uranium to power nuclear reactors as being an important driver of the global market, but that Australia faced strong competition from low-cost producers of uranium in Africa and central Asia.

He said an extra 24 reactors were now under construction in China on top of the 26 already in operation, and a further 40 were in the planning stage in that country.