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The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has put her weight behind the overturning of a ban on uranium sales to India. “I believe the time has come for the Labour party to change this position. Selling uranium to India will be good for the Australian economy and good for jobs,” she said.
The Australian premier also argued that India was in a class of its own, as although it had not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it had received an exemption from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Australia currently imposes a lifelong ban on the sale of uranium to India as New Delhi is not a signatory of the NPT. The Labour party is expected to debate the issue at a conference next month. Gillard anticipates support from the Labour party as well as the conservatives. The policy would not need to go to parliament for approval.
