Russell Trood (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Faulkner. I refer to the foreign minister’s answer to a question yesterday in the other place in which he advised that, in considering whether to ratify a uranium sales agreement with Russia, the Australian government would:

... take into account not just the merits of the agreement but recent and ongoing events in Georgia ...

Is it the government’s view that the foreign minister’s posturing will actually have a discernible impact on Russia’s policy towards Georgia? Isn’t it more likely to damage Australia’s international reputation as a reliable supplier of resources?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia has had a safeguard agreement with Russia in place since 1990, as Senator Trood well knows. He also knows that the previous government negotiated a new bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement which would allow for the use of Australian uranium in Russia’s nuclear power reactors. That new agreement was signed during the APEC summit in September last year.

I think it is actually worth while, given that Senator Trood has asked me this question, to recall some of the comments that were made by the previous government at the time that deal was signed. For example, former Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr Downer said that the agreement was ‘consistent with other nuclear safeguards agreements we have with a range of other countries around the world’. Former Prime Minister Howard said that the agreement:

... completely updates the arrangements for nuclear safeguards between our two countries.

The approach of the Rudd government on coming to office was to table the agreement in parliament in May of this year and, of course, the government has submitted the agreement to the parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Treaties for examination. The government looks forward to receiving the report of the treaties committee and will certainly be taking account of the issues that that committee raises.

It is true that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Smith, told parliament yesterday that the government will make a final decision on ratification at the appropriate time, and it also true that Mr Smith informed the House of Representatives yesterday that the government will take into account not just the merits of the agreement but also recent and ongoing events in Georgia and Australia’s bilateral relationship with Russia when considering ratification.

On the question of safeguards, the government’s starting point is that the agreement meets Australia’s longstanding safeguards requirements and promotes the highest international standards in this area. One of the issues that has been raised in evidence before the treaties committee is that the IAEA has not conducted any safeguards inspections at any Russian facility since 2001. It is also true that Russia has invited IAEA inspection of its facilities. My understanding is that Russia has, in fact, offered to help pay for the cost of some of these inspections. The Senate may be interested to learn that the IAEA has undertaken two safety reviews in Russia in the past two years, and Russia has invited the IAEA to review Russia’s national nuclear safeguard regulatory system in 2009. Specifically in relation to Senator Trood’s point about Georgia, when considering ratification— (Time expired)

Russell Trood (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. One of the joys of being in this place is listening to Senator Faulkner’s wonderfully elliptical responses to questions. This was a beautiful example this afternoon.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question, Senator Trood. This is question time.

Russell Trood (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

He completely managed to avoid the underlying thought in my question. In light of his response, I ask: does this kind of veiled threat serve to establish a bad precedent? Doesn’t it legitimise Russia’s outrageous behaviour in cutting off gas supplies to eastern Europe in 2006 and 2007?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the adjectives that Senator Trood used in relation to my answers, I think was fair—‘wonderful’. I accept that. I do not accept ‘elliptical’. In relation to Georgia, of course the government will take into account recent and ongoing events in Georgia. We will take into account Australia’s bilateral relationship with Russia. I would commend to Senator Trood and the Senate the strong statements that the Minister for Foreign Affairs has made and the strong statements that the Prime Minister has made in relation to the Australian government’s concerns about the actions of the Russian government in relation to Georgia.