Business Council of Australia Supports Labor Plan to Lift Uranium Export Ban to India

The debate in Australia whether to lift the bank on uranium export to India or not continues with pro and anti groups airing their sides.

The Business Council of Australia backed Prime Minister Julia Gillard's proposal to amend the Labor Party's policy subject to important safeguards. Council President Tony Shepherd said the change would boost Australia's relations with India, which is one of the country's most important trading partners.

"Diversifying our exports in terms of the products and services we supply and the destinations we supply them to will help strengthen our economy against the potential of economic shocks internationally," Mr Shepherd said in a statement.

"Trade has always been important to Australia's economy and this announcement lifts the potential for mutual benefits to flow from the relationship with India, which is Australia's fifth biggest trading partner," he added.

Two-way trade between India and Australia reached $21 billion in 2010.

Mr Shepherd said in supporting the export ban lifting, India must meet international standards, including transparency requirements to ensure that the Indian government would use the uranium sources from Australia for non-military purposes.

On the other side of the argument, Fortescue Metals Group Chief Executive Nev Power accused Ms Gillard of using the uranium export policy as her payback to large Australian mining firms for their support of the proposed mining tax. He pointed out that BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Exstrata are hardly saying anything against the minerals resource rent tax.

"It's no coincidence I guess that BHP would be the largest beneficiary of exporting uranium," Mr Power said.

"Now out of the blue Julia has decided that it'd be a great idea to export uranium.... Who knows, perhaps it's got to do with the development of Olympic Dam," he added.

Even within the Labor Party, there is dissent with the export ban lifting proposal.

The first to express opposition was Queensland Premier Anna Bligh who insisted the state will not review or revise its policy against uranium mining.

On Tuesday night, MP Anthony Albanese said he supports the existing platform and opposes the planned policy shift. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who is in India, supported Ms Gillard's stand.

The prime minister said even if Australia had supported the non-proliferation treaty for the past 50 years, India is a special case due to the international processes the south Asian country went through. Ms Gillard said that it would be a different policy if Pakistan or Israel were the proposed buyers of uranium sourced from Australia.