Australia’s ruling Labor Party representatives have passed a motion to remove a ban on uranium exports to India after a passionate debate that saw sharp divisions in the cabinet. While 216 delegates voted in favour of the decision, 185 Labor representatives expressed their opposition to any such move. The party had imposed the ban on uranium export to non-signatories of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) like India four decades back. Earlier, prime minister Julia Gillard had urged that Australia should sell uranium to India to boost trade and also to enhance bilateral ties with India. “We are at the right time in the history of the world to seize a new era of opportunity of the Asian century,” Julia Gillard said while addressing the Labor National Conference on Sunday. “We need to make sure that across our regions we have the strongest possible relationships we can, including with the world’s largest democracy, India,” she said. “That is why today we should determine to change our platform and enable us, under safeguards, to sell uranium to India,” Gillard said even while anti-uranium mining protesters flocked outside the conference venue. Gillard also highlighted the fact that Australia sells uranium to China but not to the world’s largest democracy with a clean nuclear record. Those opposing overturning of the policy on uranium exports to India included four ministers in the Gillard cabinet.
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