News Stories – 3 May 2007
Negotiations to expand the Australia-Russia Nuclear cooperation agreement
Australia and Russia have commenced negotiations on expanding their 1990 nuclear cooperation agreement to bring its scope into line with Australia’s other nuclear agreements.
Australia’s Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, announced on 27 April that Australia and Russia had started negotiations on expanding the 1990 Australia-Russia agreement concerning the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The aim is to bring the scope of this agreement into line with Australia’s other nuclear agreements, specifically to allow Russia to use Australian uranium in nuclear power reactors.
The expanded agreement will retain and build on the strict safeguards conditions contained in the current agreement in line with Australia’s other safeguards agreements.
Australian and Russian officials met in Canberra 23-26 April; good progress was made and a second round of negotiations is planned for Moscow in late May.
An important factor paving the way to these negotiations was Russia’s decision in 2006 to separate its military and civil nuclear programs and place civil facilities under its safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Providing uranium exports to Russia is consistent with our growing trade relationship.
Russia is planning a significant expansion of its nuclear energy industry over the next two decades, which offers clear environmental benefits over relying on fossil fuels for base-load power.
The proposed agreement is also expected to provide a framework for broader scientific and commercial cooperation between Australia and Russia.
Australia provides humanitarian assistance to North Korea
Australia is assisting North Korea meet its ongoing humanitarian needs particularly in health, hygiene and nutrition by providing nearly $4 million in assistance.
An visit by Australian senior officials to North Korea in March confirmed the pressing need for humanitarian assistance.
According to the United Nations World Food Programme, 37 percent of North Koreans suffer from malnutrition, and two-thirds of North Korean children do not receive enough food because of a one million tonne food shortfall.
Many North Koreans do not have access to clean water and adequate sanitation.
Australia’s assistance will be delivered through United Nations agencies and the International Red Cross.
Australian will give the World Food Programme $1.5 million to help it provide food for 1.9 million North Koreans.
It will provide $1.5 million to support the United Nations Children’s Fund water and sanitation program.
The World Health Organisation will receive $467,000 to supply emergency health services and essential medicines.
The International Red Cross will be provided with $500,000 to support disaster management initiatives and water supply and sanitation programs.
News Stories – 26 April 2007
31st Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting
Cairns Group calls for an intensification of work at all levels to secure a breakthrough in the WTO Doha Round.
Minister for Trade, Mr Warren Truss, chaired the 31st Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting in Lahore, Pakistan, from 16-18 April 2007. This followed a G6 Ministerial meeting in New Delhi (Australia, Brazil, the EU, India, Japan and the United States). The meeting showed that Cairns Group members are more united and determined than ever to push for agricultural reform.
The Group has been strengthened by new members Pakistan and Peru.
Cairns Group Ministers reaffirmed their ambition to achieve a far-reaching outcome in the Doha Round, expressed a strong sense of urgency to finalise the negotiations this year, and agreed to an intensive work program - the Lahore Agenda - in all three pillars of the agriculture negotiations to maximise the prospects for convergence in coming months.
The Cairns Group is committed to working collectively, constructively and intensively with all WTO Members, the WTO Director-General and Chair of the agriculture negotiations to support the multilateral process in Geneva.
Prime Minister Howard opens Australia's New Nuclear Reactor
Australia demonstrates support for safe nuclear science.
The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, recently opened Australia's new $400 million nuclear research reactor, Open Pool Australian Light-water (OPAL), at Lucas Heights near Sydney.
The ceremony was also attended by Professor Werner Burkart, the IAEA's Deputy Director General, and Head of its Department of Nuclear Sciences and Application, and Dr Julio De Vido, the lead Minister from Argentina.
The Prime Minister said the occasion was "a wonderful day for Australian science. It is a triumph of the belief, by not only scientists, but also those who believe in the central role of science in the Australian community".
The OPAL reactor replaces the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation's (ANSTO) previous reactor, the HIFAR High Flux Australian Reactor, which was shut down at the end of January.
OPAL's use of low enriched fuel and light-water cooling presents a low proliferation risk compared to the high-enriched fuelled HIFAR reactor.
OPAL will allow ANSTO to continue supplying nuclear medicines to about half a million Australians each year.
ANSTO's silicon irradiation production business will grow, providing material for the semiconductor industry.
ANSTO's Bragg Institute - which manages and operates ANSTO's seven new neutron beam instruments - has already attracted major interest from local and international scientific researchers.
Australia-Vietnam human rights dialogue
Australia-Vietnam human rights discussions were constructive and robust, and will continue.
The fifth round of the Australia-Vietnam human rights dialogue, held in Hanoi on 16 April, was conducted in a cooperative and constructive atmosphere.
Discussions were productive and robust.
Key issues such as religion, ethnic minorities and freedom of expression and association were discussed in detail.
The first year of implementation of the bilateral technical cooperation program was discussed in positive terms, leading to in-principle agreement to continue the program for a further cycle.
Under the program to date, the Australian Government has provided assistance to the People’s Supreme Court in Vietnam to improve access to justice and the Vietnam Women’s Union to develop information on women’s legal rights.
Site visits on 17 and 18 April provided the opportunity to further strengthen links between Australian institutions with human rights responsibilities and their Vietnamese counterparts, such as the Ho Chi Minh Political Academy’s Human Rights Institute.
Australia’s invitation to Vietnam to attend the next dialogue in Canberra was warmly received.
Australia launches new travel advisory service.
Australia launches a new campaign to better protect Australians travelling abroad.
On 22 April Foreign Minister Alexander Downer launched Smartraveller II, a public information campaign to promote the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s travel advisory service.
Each month around half a million Australians travel overseas.
The Smartraveller campaign provides information to make sure their travel remains safe and is a positive experience.
Government funding for the campaign is $13 million over four years and is in addition to the $80 million committed last year to enhance Australia’s consular services.
This underlines the Government’s commitment to provide Australians with access to consular services abroad.
The key campaign messages to Australian travellers are to:
- consult the Smartraveller website before travelling to obtain information about the countries to be visited and to sign-up for free updates of the travel advice;
- register travel on the Smartraveller website either on-line or at an Australian embassy or high commission so that consular officials will be able to contact travellers in an emergency; and
- take out travel insurance.
The campaign will see the Smartraveller website updated to make information easier to access and provide more information to people from non-English Speaking Backgrounds (NESB), assisting the Department in reaching NESB communities.
The website address is www.smartraveller.gov.au