Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697635909833.pdf (Australia)
Joint Standing Committee on Treaties Inquiry into Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament E-mail <jsct@aph.gov.au> PO Box 6021, Parliament House, Canberra, ACT, 2600.

Ph (02) 6277 4002 SUBMISSION TO INQUIRY INTO NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION AND DISARMAMENT I request that the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties recommends the cancellation of all of Australia's uranium export treaties because of the unacceptable risk of Australia's uranium exports contributing to nuclear weapons proliferation.
My reasons are as follows; Despite the rhetoric of the groups with a vested interest in continuing the nuclear industry safeguards are clearly not working given that many countries who have built nuclear power or research reactors have gone on to use their 'peaceful' nuclear facilities for covert weapons research and/or production.
In the past decade the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Illicit Trafficking Database has recorded more than 650 cases that involve efforts to smuggle nuclear and radioactive materials.

In any event detecting diversion of nuclear materials is totally unacceptable when prevention is what is needed.

The current safeguard arrangements are totally inadequate and under-resourced and the safeguards that are actually needed in order to be effective are enormous.
It is impossible to keep a track of all the Australian uranium that leaves our shores forever, which is how long this material remains hazardous for.

Every year that this export continues more material is unaccounted for, adding to the risk of it being used by terrorists to build nuclear weapons.
Given the political and geological instability of the world and the fact that radiation knows no borders, it has become more urgent than ever that we stop our contribution to the global nuclear chain by phasing out the mining and export of uranium.

Coalition/Labor support and approval for uranium sales to China has set another precedent: uranium sales to undemocratic, secretive states with appalling human rights records.
There have been no IAEA safeguards inspections in Russia since 2001; Russia is undemocratic and secretive and human rights abuses are widespread; incidents of theft/smuggling from Russian nuclear sites are common; and Russia is in violation of its disarmament obligations under the NPT and still the Government has not ruled out uranium sales to Russia Ii is unacceptable that while AONM is meant to be subject to IAEA safeguards from the enrichment stage onwards, ASNO is willing to make exceptions; for example ASNO has recommended that the Australian government agree to the processing of Australian uranium in an unsafeguarded enrichment plant in Russia.
I do not agree with the claims made by ASNO that nuclear power does not present a weapons proliferation risk; that Australia sells uranium only to countries with "impeccable'' non-proliferation credentials; and that all AONM is "fully accounted for''.

This is clearly not the case when you examine the facts.
With uranium exports accounting for just one-third of 1% of Australia's export revenue and a less than 0.1 % contribution to employment there is very little benefit from having a uranium industry in Australia.

This industry however is highly detrimental to Australia, the world and future generations.

It is simply not worth the risks involved and I believe the average Australian would be horrified if they knew the facts surrounding the uranium industry.
Thank you for the opportunity to express my views and I await the outcome with interest.

Sincerely Dawn Jecks Phone: Home: