Fed: Brown says Howard plan 'bomb' of a policy

AAP General News (Australia)
04-28-2007
Fed: Brown says Howard plan 'bomb' of a policy

CANBERRA, April 28 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard's nuclear plan is a bomb of a policy
that most Australians would not accept, Greens leader Bob Brown said today.

Senator Brown said the Greens in the Senate would fight hard against proposed changes
to the Howard government's own laws from the late 1990s banning nuclear power stations.

"It's a bomb of a policy from Mr Howard because Australians simply don't want a dangerous
nuclear future for their children," he said.

"Nuclear is not the answer to climate change. Australians know that."

Under the Coalition's new plan, announced by Prime Minister John Howard today, the
government will remove all excessive restrictions on mining, processing and exporting
of Australian uranium as preliminary steps to embarking on domestic nuclear power generation.

Senator Brown said the government was motivated by the high price for uranium on the
world market.

"That's the driving factor here. Like the Labor Party, the Howard government is too
close to the big end of town," he said.

"People are concerned about the future wellbeing and security of their families and
this is the wrong direction. It is unnecessary."

Senator Brown said increased exports of uranium to the world by either Labor or the
Coalition raised the risk of nuclear proliferation.

He said this was a dangerous policy.

"People don't want nuclear reactors in Australia, they don't want uranium enrichment
and they don't want the nuclear waste dump that (Environment Minister) Malcolm Turnbull
says we must be looking at," he said.

AAP mb/lh/mn

KEYWORD: NUCLEAR BROWN

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