Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer stated Australia needed to consider whether to begin uranium enrichment, and Prime Minister John Howard has called for a "full-blooded" debate on nuclear power and uranium mining, leading many to wonder if the government is considering nuclear power generation in Australia.

Australia currently has no nuclear reactors. There are 441 reactors currently in operation worldwide.

The Australian reported on May 21 that Howard was discussing nuclear issues during a visit to Canada, which has substantial uranium reserves.

Downer told ABC Television that Australia, with 30 to 40 percent of the world's known uranium reserves, needed a dispassionate discussion of nuclear issues, saying, "There's the question of whether Australia itself would eventually, some time, no doubt in the far distant future, build nuclear power stations.

There's a question of whether Australia would ever enrich uranium -- in other words, we go up the processing chain, rather than just dig it out. There needs to be at least a debate and some consideration about that."

Howard did not comment on whether Australia might export the enriched uranium if it went down the enrichment path.

Sen. Bob Brown said the Howard government's position conflicted with its strong stand against terrorism, remarking, "We are now in an age of handbag-sized nuclear weapons and the spread of technology means the inevitable increased danger of terrorists ... getting hold of nuclear technology."

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