‘Australia’s refusal to sell uranium a policy decision’

“The opposition to the sale of uranium to non-NPT signatories is embedded in the doctrine of the Labour Party, and in our country, it is very difficult for the Government to take contrary decisions,” McCarthy said, during an unofficial visit to a school for the special children, here on Tuesday.

Despite having abundant resources at their disposal, Australia was not a nuclear power, he pointed out, adding historically and psychologically, there was an aversion towards nuclear weapons, as the British and French had tested theirs in the Pacific region in the 1950s before Australia became independent.

This refusal to sell uranium was not aimed at India, he asserted, adding that being a signatory to the NPT was a prerequisite for getting supply of the mineral fuel. “Both sides know where the other party stands,” McCarthy said.

Newly-elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had announced that his party was against supplying uranium to India while he was the Opposition leader.

Though this refusal had hogged the limelight in the recent times, Australia’s relations with India were deeper than that, McCarthy said.