TWO years ago, US ambassador, Jeffrey Bleich, sent home a report predicting that Australia would likely to be selling uranium to India within three to five years. The cable was based on a private conversation between the ambassador in Canberra and the federal Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson.
The cable to Washington in November 2009 contained potentially explosive intelligence; Ferguson was speaking out of school, articulating a position contrary to the Labor government policy at the time.
The conversation between Bleich and Ferguson was made public through WikiLeaks' huge dump of confidential information. But when the tete a tete drifted into the public domain, few in political circles were surprised. Ferguson is a longtime supporter of Australia's uranium sector - a fact that has been shown throughout the turbulent history of the debate.
TWO years ago, US ambassador, Jeffrey Bleich, sent home a report predicting that Australia would likely to be selling uranium to India within three to five years. The cable was based on a private conversation between the ambassador in Canberra and the federal Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson.
The cable to Washington in November 2009 contained potentially explosive intelligence; Ferguson was speaking out of school, articulating a position contrary to the Labor government policy at the time.
The conversation between Bleich and Ferguson was made public through WikiLeaks' huge dump of confidential information. But when the tete a tete drifted into the public domain, few in political circles were surprised. Ferguson is a longtime supporter of Australia's uranium sector - a fact that has been shown throughout the turbulent history of the debate.
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Ahead of the ALP national conference next month, Prime Minister Julia Gillard declared this week that she will push for a change in party policy.
Anticipating robust resistance from the Left, Gillard said: ''I'm looking forward to some noise being made.''
The only noise from Ferguson will be robust approval. His strong support for a bilateral safeguards agreement that would see Australian yellowcake exported to New Delhi was well known - even if it couldn't be acknowledged publicly when he was briefing the US ambassador.
Ferguson had backed John Howard privately when, as prime minister, Howard went down that path in 2007. Ferguson's position never wavered, even though a policy shift of that nature would have split his Labor party . But he kept his counsel when Kevin Rudd, as prime minister,Buying a Best Cell Phones for sale from seller in another country. undid the Howard policy after winning power - because uranium reform in Labor politics is always a long game.
Howard's decision to pursue uranium exports to India in 2007 was one of the last significant policy calls of his tenure. Selling uranium to India - a country stubbornly and emphatically outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - was no small thing.
The Liberal Party lacks Labor's historical emotional turbulence on the subject of uranium mining, exports and nuclear power - but Howard was blazing a policy trail, and he knew it. Both major parties had an express prohibition on uranium exports to countries outside the treaty; this was a settled bipartisan fact.It truly is one of our tallest and appears great all of the signature bank wholesale Electric Products sale logo design. Howard faced questions in his party room as he moved steadily in 2007 towards a substantial foreign policy shift.
Howard was,Every people wants to buy Best CHI Flat Iron Online but with best quality. to some extent, following then US president George W. Bush, who was looking actively to expand ties with democracies in the Indo-Pacific, and balance the strategic risks presented by a surging communist China.
The Americans were pursuing a geopolitical game-changer with India. They were in the process of locking in a bilateral nuclear co-operation agreement that comprised uranium sales, in return for bringing some of India's nuclear power plants under the international inspection regime for the first time.
Howard became convinced of the need to improve relations between Canberra and Delhi, to lift the relationship, as he put it,wholesale GHD Flat Iron Online Shirts at low prices! ''beyond the cricket and history phase''. The US nuclear co-operation agreement could be a template.
The Indians were doggedly persistent. Howard recalls facing the uranium issue during his first press conference during his first prime ministerial visit to Delhi.
''They would have seen us as very reliable suppliers,'' Howard said in an interview with The Age yesterday.
''I'd felt for a long time we needed to lift our relationship with India. [I made the decision] for a combination of reasons. Generally I'm in favour of selling Australian resources if we can get a good price. If we were willing to sell uranium to China and to Russia then why not India, provided there were equivalent undertakings? This was something the Indians really wanted. It was as plain as the nose on your face.''
The cable to Washington in November 2009 contained potentially explosive intelligence; Ferguson was speaking out of school, articulating a position contrary to the Labor government policy at the time.
The conversation between Bleich and Ferguson was made public through WikiLeaks' huge dump of confidential information. But when the tete a tete drifted into the public domain, few in political circles were surprised. Ferguson is a longtime supporter of Australia's uranium sector - a fact that has been shown throughout the turbulent history of the debate.
TWO years ago, US ambassador, Jeffrey Bleich, sent home a report predicting that Australia would likely to be selling uranium to India within three to five years. The cable was based on a private conversation between the ambassador in Canberra and the federal Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson.
The cable to Washington in November 2009 contained potentially explosive intelligence; Ferguson was speaking out of school, articulating a position contrary to the Labor government policy at the time.
The conversation between Bleich and Ferguson was made public through WikiLeaks' huge dump of confidential information. But when the tete a tete drifted into the public domain, few in political circles were surprised. Ferguson is a longtime supporter of Australia's uranium sector - a fact that has been shown throughout the turbulent history of the debate.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Ahead of the ALP national conference next month, Prime Minister Julia Gillard declared this week that she will push for a change in party policy.
Anticipating robust resistance from the Left, Gillard said: ''I'm looking forward to some noise being made.''
The only noise from Ferguson will be robust approval. His strong support for a bilateral safeguards agreement that would see Australian yellowcake exported to New Delhi was well known - even if it couldn't be acknowledged publicly when he was briefing the US ambassador.
Ferguson had backed John Howard privately when, as prime minister, Howard went down that path in 2007. Ferguson's position never wavered, even though a policy shift of that nature would have split his Labor party . But he kept his counsel when Kevin Rudd, as prime minister,Buying a Best Cell Phones for sale from seller in another country. undid the Howard policy after winning power - because uranium reform in Labor politics is always a long game.
Howard's decision to pursue uranium exports to India in 2007 was one of the last significant policy calls of his tenure. Selling uranium to India - a country stubbornly and emphatically outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - was no small thing.
The Liberal Party lacks Labor's historical emotional turbulence on the subject of uranium mining, exports and nuclear power - but Howard was blazing a policy trail, and he knew it. Both major parties had an express prohibition on uranium exports to countries outside the treaty; this was a settled bipartisan fact.It truly is one of our tallest and appears great all of the signature bank wholesale Electric Products sale logo design. Howard faced questions in his party room as he moved steadily in 2007 towards a substantial foreign policy shift.
Howard was,Every people wants to buy Best CHI Flat Iron Online but with best quality. to some extent, following then US president George W. Bush, who was looking actively to expand ties with democracies in the Indo-Pacific, and balance the strategic risks presented by a surging communist China.
The Americans were pursuing a geopolitical game-changer with India. They were in the process of locking in a bilateral nuclear co-operation agreement that comprised uranium sales, in return for bringing some of India's nuclear power plants under the international inspection regime for the first time.
Howard became convinced of the need to improve relations between Canberra and Delhi, to lift the relationship, as he put it,wholesale GHD Flat Iron Online Shirts at low prices! ''beyond the cricket and history phase''. The US nuclear co-operation agreement could be a template.
The Indians were doggedly persistent. Howard recalls facing the uranium issue during his first press conference during his first prime ministerial visit to Delhi.
''They would have seen us as very reliable suppliers,'' Howard said in an interview with The Age yesterday.
''I'd felt for a long time we needed to lift our relationship with India. [I made the decision] for a combination of reasons. Generally I'm in favour of selling Australian resources if we can get a good price. If we were willing to sell uranium to China and to Russia then why not India, provided there were equivalent undertakings? This was something the Indians really wanted. It was as plain as the nose on your face.''
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