Australia 'on track' to begin uranium supplies by year-end

Nuclear deal yet to be ratified by the Parliament

Australia said it is “on track” to begin supplying uranium to India by December as part of the Australia-India civil nuclear deal, even as the Australian Parliament is yet to ratify the deal.

Under the agreement, signed in September last year, Australia will sell uranium to India to enable the latter to meet its nuclear energy programme objectives.

“We have 40 per cent of the world’s uranium and this deal is important for India as well as for us,” said Andrew Robb, trade minister of Australia.

All negotiations on the deal are complete. As per the process, Australia would have to wait for the ratification to be able to implement it.

However, according to sources the deal has come under scathing attack in Australia with their political parties, civil societies and environment activists questioning the safeguard clauses enumerated in the deal.

A Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) recommended implementing the deal but not approve selling of uranium to India.

According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), "Nuclear commerce with India on arguably less stringent terms than those applied to NPT signatories compliant with their NPT non-proliferation obligations undermines the purpose, credibility and value of the NPT. The deal with India, which (also) contravenes Australia's obligations under the South Pacific Nuclear Weapons Free Zone, cements Australia as part of the problem of nuclear danger rather than part of the solution."

On the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), Robb said although a lot of issues are still pending for negotiations, he is confident it will be concluded within the set deadline of December 2015.

"The deal is now depending on the services while we have respectable deal on goods. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi is keen on Indian services gaining more market access there across all sectors," he said.