Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration and Border Protection) Share this | Hansard source

I would say to the member for Melbourne that if we do cut ourselves off from technology we will not be able to solve the problems that face us. It is good to see modern economies and modern nations like India, France and other parts of the world taking on board available technological solutions to power generation—dealing with the problems of climate change and dealing with the challenges faced by emerging economies, and doing so in a sensible way. That is what this bill is assisting Australia also to do in the provision of uranium for civil purposes and nuclear power generation. The public can have confidence in the provisions that are in this bill, the negotiations that this government has undertaken with the government of India, the protocols that are in place, the requirements that Australia has put in place and the developments in the arrangements for nuclear cooperation.

I will not reiterate everything that has been said by previous speakers in relation to the details. However, I want to ensure that people understand that the bill codifies, for the special case of India, the content of Australia's relevant international obligations for the purposes of the relevant laws. The bill will give legal and commercial certainty to specific developments in this bilateral relationship and include a new bilateral maritime exercise; an agreed framework for security cooperation, incorporating meetings on cyber policy, counterterrorism and maritime cooperation; continuation of the foreign ministers framework dialogue; continued growth in the people-to-people links and the collaborations in science, education and technology; and the conclusion of the nuclear cooperation agreement.

Engagement with Australia by Indian ministers has improved. We have had the prime ministerial visit and seen minister after minister, including senior ministers, Finance Minister Jaitley and Coal and Energy Minister Goyal. Finding a way to normalise the nuclear status of India has been an essential part of the shift that we have seen in recent years. I believe that the bilateral relationship between India and Australia has been greatly strengthened by our support for its campaign for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. The support that Australia has provided in this regard has reinforced the impression of us as a reliable partner, an honest broker and a good regional ally—as India has attested to.

In setting up the new safeguard arrangements with the International Atomic Energy Agency and concluding nuclear cooperation agreements with countries like the United States, Canada and Australia, India has been willing, I think for the first time, to bind itself to the international standard safeguard arrangements over its declared civil nuclear sector. It is very important to remember that those arrangements exist between the United States, Canada and, of course, now Australia. India, as I have said, offers a significant new market for Australian uranium. Successive Australian governments have worked with India to put in place the nuclear cooperation agreement and the administrative arrangements to allow exports to proceed for civil power generation.

It is important that we pass this bill. It is important that we speak with tolerance and respect about our Indian allies when we make our contributions in this House and recognise that they are a peaceful power, that they are using our uranium for peaceful purposes and that they are, by generating power through nuclear power and given the rapid expansion that is expected in Indian economy, also making a great contribution in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. So, when we do seek to make our contributions here today, I hope all members of the chamber will be respectful of that relationship and of that certainty that is required between two great countries like India and Australia.

It is important that Australians and Australian governments continue to consider accessing technological solutions to address the challenges that face our country as well. It is good to see attitudes changing towards nuclear science, medicine, technology—and hopefully also power generation in the near future—in the development of our country. When you consider the attitudes that have been held here in the past, the fact that we will be exporting uranium to countries around the world and that the major unions in this country are relaxing and removing their historic opposition to important developments in uranium, you can see that the grounds are shifting in support of what is and what can be a great technological solution to the power generation needs of our country as well.

It is my pleasure today to recommend this bill to the House. I think it is an extremely significant development between India and Australia. This will form the platform for great trade between our two countries and for the expansion of the Indian economy that we all want to see in the world today. It will mean peaceful collaboration and peaceful cooperation in our region with enhanced economic development and economic trade, and that is something we can all recommend. I welcome this bill and I welcome the continued ongoing trust in and mutual development of the bilateral relationship between Australia and India. I commend the bill to the House.

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