Amid all the chatter over Australia's nuclear future in recent weeks was the lone voice of a clergyman. The chair of the Anglican Communion's International Environmental Network, Bishop George Browning, said there was a moral facet to the argument. If Australia was to expand exports of uranium to fuel the booming economies of China and India, the land down under also had an obligation to take back the waste.
The Anglican Bishop of Canberra-Goulburn says if China and India need to use nuclear energy, at least until they can find other more efficient and renewable energy sources, then Australia probably has an obligation to assist them.
'However, if we begin to sell we must act responsibly,' Bishop Browning says. 'Given that uranium ore can go astray, should we not take more moral responsibility for the destiny of the product by processing the rods here in Australia?'
'Given that we have one of the most geologically stable continents in the world, should we not also agree to store the waste? Moral responsibility almost certainly does not end when the raw product is sold.'
In business language, the concept is called "nuclear leasing".
One of its greatest proponents is Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile, who recently called on the government, and the general public, to keep an open mind on the issue. Mr Vaile has now been joined in the debate by a host of senior political figures, including Prime Minister John Howard. Mr Howard, who held talks on nuclear energy in Canada (the largest producer of uranium in the world, ahead of Australia) during his recent visit, says it is time for a national debate on the issue.
'The scene on nuclear energy is going to change significantly in our country,' he said. 'The pressure for change is driven in part by environmental considerations, it's driven in part by the soaring price of fuel, it's driven in part by a realisation that confronting the problem of high energy pricing is one of the big economic challenges of nations such as Canada and Australia.'
'I want a full-blooded debate in Australia about this issue and I want all of the options on the table.'
It is uncertain just how serious the government is about nuclear power. If you talk to Federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane, you get a decisive answer. He believes the government's energy white paper, released only 18 months ago, will soon need rewriting to take in the