Australia's Nuclear Horizon: Moving Beyond the Drumbeat of Risk Inflation
The 2006 Switkowski review report commissioned by the Howard government highlighted some of the economic and foreign policy benefits that could flow from a major expansion of Australia's uranium export program. It also identified the long-term advantages for Australia's energy security flowing from the development of a national nuclear industry. The report has been condemned by anti-nuclear groups, who argue that proposals for Australia's continuing and, possibly, deeper involvement in the nuclear fuel cycle are unacceptable. The primary risk identified is that Australian uranium exports will contribute to global nuclear proliferation pressures, but claims concerning nuclear-related terrorism are also an increasingly common theme in anti-nuclear commentary. These arguments, in turn, are framed within a broader set of assumptions about the ‘immoral’ nature of any engagement in the nuclear fuel cycle. This article examines the most prominent claims put forward by anti-nuclear proponents and argues that many of them are based on an unnecessary inflation of risk.
Energy for whom? Uranium mining, Indigenous people, and navigating risk and rights in Australia
Relationships between uranium companies and Traditional Owners traditionally have been characterised by conflict, negative impacts and the denial of rights, especially in Australia. It is estimated that 70 per cent of global uranium deposits are located on the traditional lands of First Peoples, while in Canada and Australia, the percentages are higher. Although opposition to uranium developments remains high, First Peoples increasingly are receptive to uranium developments on their lands. This paper explores engagement between uranium companies and Traditional Owners and identifies avenues to improve relationships. The Ranger uranium mine in Australia's Northern Territory is used as an empirical vehicle through which the following question is answered: can more mutually beneficial outcomes be achieved through greater attention to the rights of First Peoples and to the social and business risks precipitated by uranium developments? Based on the findings of the Ranger case study, the paper that risks and impacts can be reduced or ameliorated through greater emphasis on the rights of First Peoples and the risks to and from operations. Corporate risk and impact assessment tools and processes should work in tandem with, and facilitate, grass-roots relationships between companies and Traditional Owners in order to create shared value.
Learning to live with uncertainty: The strategic implications of North Korea's nuclear weapons capability
This article challenges the popular assumption that North Korea's nuclear weapons capability poses a dire threat to international security. It argues that the adverse impact of North Korea's acquisition of nuclear weapons has been exaggerated and that pessimistic accounts of the strategic implications of this capability have overlooked the strong status quo bias inherent in North Korea's worldview. These accounts have also glossed over the primarily defensive motives underpinning Pyongyang's quest for nuclear weapons. There are dangers attached to North Korea's nuclear capability, especially the possible transfer of fissile material to terrorist groups or rogue states, and the effect it may have in spurring regional neighbours to reassess their non-nuclear status. Contrary to common assumptions, however, the idea that a nuclear-armed North Korea is determined to foment regional instability and challenge the strategic status quo in East Asia is not supported by a close reading of Pyongyang's motives and worldview. The behaviour and statements of the regime suggest that the DPRK is predisposed to accept the logic of deterrence in its relationship with the US. As long as Washington maintains an active and robust posture of extended strategic deterrence on the Korean peninsula, the regime in Pyongyang will continue to be dissuaded from initiating the use of nuclear weapons against other regional states.