Queensland may allow uranium mining if Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg defeats Anna Bligh in the upcoming State election.
Springborg sees the economic advantages of uranium mining, and said that if it passed the necessary environmental hurdles a State Liberal National Party (LNP) would give it the go ahead.
The Queensland Government currently allows uranium exploration, granting permits as recently as December 2008.
“I see absolutely no sense in cutting off job opportunities for Queenslanders when just across the border in the Northern Territory, in South Australia, in Western Australia, thousands of Australians are being employed in the uranium industry under Labor governments,” he said.
“Why should Queenslanders not have this job opportunity in a time of economic downturn and why should the royalties be denied to this state?”
Premier Anna Bligh maintains her objections to uranium mining, believing the start up costs are too high, but Mount Isa’s Labor MP Betty Keirnan recently broke Queensland party ranks and said that she supported the uranium industry.
“Labor’s hopelessly divided,” Springborg said.
“There are thousands of jobs involved in this (uranium).”