Australian Labour politician changes tack on uranium sales to India

Outgoing South Australian premier, Mike Rann, made a U-turn on his long-standing opposition to exporting uranium ore to India saying it was time to rethink the issue. Rann joins a growing list of Australian Labour Party luminaries who are backing a retraction of long-standing Labour policy not to export uranium ore to non-NPT signatory nations.

Rann, a long-serving premier of South Australia, hands his premiership over to education minister Jay Weatherill today.

Asked on a television news programme if the federal government was wrong to ban uranium exports to India, Rann said: "I actually believe it's probably timely for a sensible discussion about that.

"We've seen various groups . . . recognising India and so I think it's probably time to have a rethink on that in terms of the very strict standards that India is now prepared to sign up to."

Rann's remarks come just a week after he signed off on approvals for BHP Billiton's proposal to expand the Olympic Dam mine in the state's far north. "It will be the world's biggest uranium mine," he said.

For long Rann remained a longstanding opponent of uranium exports to India, characterising potential sales as a "grave mistake" and "extremely foolhardy".