Ian Macdonald (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Northern Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

It is important that the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency reports to the parliament. I am pleased to see the chief executive’s report for the period 1 October 2008 to 31 December 2008. We in Australia are all interested in radiation protection and nuclear safety.

This brings to my mind the question of nuclear energy and uranium. What I as a Queenslander am perplexed about is that in my state of Queensland the Labor government—and indeed this has a federal consequence as well—seems to be all over the ship on uranium issues. I raise this because the member for Mount Isa, Betty Kiernan, a Labor member, has said that she is very much in favour of uranium mining. I thought that it was Labor Party policy, both here and in the state of Queensland, to oppose uranium mining. I am aware that Mr Bill Ludwig, a very important man in the union movement in Queensland—he is from the AWU—and a person whose family tentacles reach even this august chamber, is also very supportive of uranium mining under certain circumstances. So I am confused as to what this is all about.

Those of us from Queensland would recall that the recent but one Labor minister for mines was Mr Tony McGrady. Mr McGrady was, prior to Ms Kiernan, the member for Mount Isa and a very important and influential person in the Labor Party. I understand that Tony, in his retirement, is now a lobbyist for the uranium industry. I understand that he totally supports not excluding uranium from the mix. I have heard other people say that, too. With climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, we have to look at all options—