Australia may have exported WMD technology
November 30, 2004 - 1:38PM/the AUSTRALIAN
Australia may have "innocently" exported nuclear technology to parties with weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, Defence Minister Robert Hill said today.
Senator Hill did not specify whether it was state or non-state bodies that may have obtained Australian-sourced goods, but he urged all South-East Asian nations to closely monitor their exports of "dual-use" goods.
"They can be exported quite innocently and there have been suggestions that some may have been exported from Australia innocently that have been used within WMD, at least research programs," he said.
He described the goods as "nuclear-area technologies that can have legitimate non-threatening value, but at the same time can be used within a nuclear weapons program".
He had no reports of such products being obtained by terrorist organisations.
Senator Hill's comments came as Greenpeace accused the federal government of supporting Lucas Heights-based company Silex Systems Ltd in its research of laser-based enrichment of uranium.
A new report from the environment group claimed research by Silex, which has 2,000 square metres of floorspace at the taxpayer-funded Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation (ANSTO), could inadvertently help the spread of nuclear weapons.
The government's support set a "dangerous double standard that erodes international efforts to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons-related technology," Greenpeace campaigner James Courtney said.
Senator Hill would not comment specifically on Silex.
"Any company that is exporting a dual-use or potential dual-use technology from Australia that falls within the definitions within our legislation requires export approval and we examine that very carefully," Senator Hill said.
"We look at the record of the intended recipient, the state and company or institution that's receiving those technologies, and sometimes we give guidance to the company.
"Sometimes under our legislation we simply advise them that the export will not be permitted."
Australia's system for monitoring exports was "quite sophisticated" and "we would like to see our efforts in that regard reciprocated by all states within our region".
Senator Hill also told delegates from 19 countries at a Proliferation Security Initiative meeting in Sydney that Australia was committed to ensuring "the most effective controls on trade in dual-use goods".
The entire South-East Asia region must improve efforts to combat the spread of WMDs, Senator Hill said.
- AAP
WHAT? Innocent exports of nuclear technology to parties with weapons of mass destruction programs?
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