Suchergebnisse

In 2003, Iraq was invaded, ostensibly to remove a nuclear threat, by a coalition led by George W. Bush. At the same time select allies were invitited to participate in Bush's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership which aimed to limit the spread of nuclear enrichment and reprocessing. This came as climate change gave emphasis to the development of nuclear energy, especially in Asia. With an abundant supply of uranium and strict nuclear safeguards, Australia was well placed to provide a site for the full suite of nuclear services. The recent AUKUS nuclear submarine agreement has underscored its failure to do so. This article makes the case for the adoption of nuclear power as a necessary step in the development of advanced manufacturing; the provision of a domestic capability to fuel nuclear attack submarines and other naval craft; and as a contribution to global nuclear non‐proliferation.

The Protest Years: The Official History of ASIO 1963–1975. By John Blaxland (Sydney: Allen and Unwin, 2015), pp.xxv + 565. AU$49.99 (cloth).

The 1975–1983 Fraser Government failed to develop an enrichment industry in Australia but did see the initiation of uranium sales following the adoption of the Ranger Enquiry. Both of these developments were shaped by US nuclear commercial and non‐proliferation policies during the Ford and Carter Administrations, which aimed to restrict the spread of enrichment technology. Fraser would come to realise that it was not a question of private ownership of the nuclear fuel cycle, but of accepting a role for Australia in the international fuel cycle as a supplier of cheap yellowcake.

The renewed debate about Australia enriching uranium raises issues associated with a previous attempt thirty‐five years ago. The Atomic Energy Commission hatched plans in the mid‐1960s to position Australia as a supplier of enriched fuel, especially to the Japanese market. This would be done using centrifuge technology, a cheaper and more efficient method than that used by the United States. That fact, along with concerns in Washington to restrict the proliferation of nuclear weapons, led to opposition to rival enrichment programs. Whitlam and Connor miscalculated here. Ratifying the Nuclear Non‐proliferation Treaty was not enough to stay opposition to raising a loan designed mainly to give Australia an enrichment program.

Examines military policy of fighting wars in the name of the British Empire and in partnership with the US during the Cold War. The arc of islands and air defense, Australian atomic strike force, the Canberra bomber, and atomic weapons, strategy, and planning.