Australia and weapons of mass destruction

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Weapons of mass destruction
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Australia is not currently known or believed to possess weapons of mass destruction, although it has participated in extensive research into nuclear, biological and chemical weapons in the past. Australia currently chairs the Australia Group, an informal grouping of countries that seek to minimise the risk of assisting chemical and biological weapon proliferation. All states participating in the Australia Group are parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention, and strongly support efforts under those Conventions to rid the world of chemical and biological weapons.^[1] Australia in recent years has considered the expanded use of nuclear fuel for energy purposes.

[edit] Biological Weapons

Australia has advanced research programs in immunology, microbiology and genetic engineering that support an industry providing world class vaccines for domestic use and export.^[2] It also has an extensive wine industry and produces microorganisms on an industrial scale to support other industries including agriculture, food technology and brewing. The dual use nature of these facilities mean that Australia, like any country with advanced biotechnology industries, could easily produce biological warfare agents.

The Australian Microbial Resources Research Network lists 37 culture collections, many of which hold samples of pathogenic organisms for legitimate research purposes.^[3] In the wake of the Japanese advance through SE Asia during World War II, on December 24, 1946, the secretary of the Australian Department of Defence, F.G. Shedden, wrote to Macfarlane Burnet and invited him to attend a meeting of top military officers to discuss biological warfare. In September, 1947 Burnet was invited to join the chemical and biological warfare subcommittee of the New Weapons and Equipment Development Committee and subsequently prepared a secret report titled "Note on War from a Biological Angle". ^[4] It 1951 the subcommittee recommended that "a panel reporting to the chemical and biological warfare subcommittee should be authorised to report on the offensive potentiality of biological agents likely to be effective against the local food supplies of South-East Asia and Indonesia". ^[5] The activities of the chemical and biological warfare subcommittee were scaled back soon after, as Prime Minister Robert Menzies was more interested in trying to acquire nuclear weapons. ^[5] Australia signed the Biological Weapons Convention on 10 April 1972 and deposited a certificate of ratification on 5 October 1977. ^[6]

[edit] Chemical Weapons

An observer examining an unexploded 25 pound gas shell following a trial of gas weapons at Singleton in 1943.

Australia conducted extensive research into chemical weapons during World War II. Although Australia has never produced chemical weapons it did stockpile chemical weapons sourced from the USA and Britain.^[7] Chemical weapons known to have been stockpiled included mustard gas, phosgene, lewisite, adamsite and CN gas. Some of the stockpiled weapons in the form of mortar and artillery shells, aerial bombs and bulk agents were sent to New Guinea for use against Japanese tunnel complexes.^[7] No actual use of the weapons was recorded although there were many trials using 'live' chemical weapons (such as shown in the picture to the right). After World War II the chemical weapons were disposed of by burning, venting (for phosgene) or by dumping at sea. Some 21,030 tons of chemical weapons was dumped in the seas off Australia near Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. This has been covered in a Defence report by Geoff Plunkett.[1]

A stockpile of 1,000 pound phosgene bombs was discovered at Embi Airfield in 1970 and disposed of by Australian Army personnel, and up to 1990 drums of mustard gas were discovered in the jungle where they had been tested.^[7] Another stockpile of chemical weapons was discovered at Maxwelton, Queensland in 1989^[5]. Australia signed the Chemical Weapons Convention in January 1993 and ratified it with the Chemical Weapons (Prohibition) Act in 1994.^[7]

[edit] Nuclear Weapons

Operation Hurricane, a 25kt nuclear test, Monte Bello Islands, Australia

Australia does not have nuclear weapons and is not currently seeking to develop them, although administrations have investigated the idea and may have done some initial research into the question. ^[8] Australia hosted British nuclear testing at Monte Bello Islands, Emu Field and Maralinga between 1952 and 1963. Maralinga was developed as a joint facility with a shared funding arrangement^[9]. As well as building the HIFAR reactor Australia imported gas centrifuges in the 1950s giving it the potential to enrich uranium. The Australian HIFAR nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights, Sydney, operated from 1958 to 2006 and has now been replaced by the OPAL reactor in 2006. The new reactor is designed to use low-enriched uranium fuel and an open pool light water system. ^[10] Australia has substantial deposits of uranium which account for 30% of the world's known reserves.^[11] Until March 1996 government policy restricted exploitation of uranium deposits to three established mines. Current policy is to develop the export potential of Australia's uranium industry by allowing mining and export of uranium under strict international agreements designed to prevent nuclear proliferation. ^[12]

Australia signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty on 1 July 1968 and ratified the treaty on 23 January 1973. ^[13] Sir Philip Baxter first head of the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC), now the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and first Vice Chancellor of the University of New South Wales openly advocated Australia acquiring a weapons grade plutonium stockpile and thus nuclear weapons.^[14]

An Australian F-111

Like virtually every other developed nation and most larger developing nations, Australia has weapons systems which could be used to deliver nuclear weapons to its neighbours, if nuclear weapons were developed. In the 1960s it purchased F-111 aircraft which were criticised at the time as being too expensive and too limited for the then available conventional weapons.^[15] Australia currently has 71 F/A-18 strike fighters and 36 F-111 strategic bombers. Some military observers question the decision to phase out the F-111 fleet by 2010, citing the F-111s' important role in recent years, including the crisis in East Timor.^[16]

The Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, recently began a study into the issues surrounding an increase in Australia's uranium usage.^[8] Amongst the topics of the study will be a domestic uranium enrichment plant for supplying low-enriched fuel for nuclear power reactors, either domestic or foreign. A commercial-scale enrichment plant would also be capable of producing sufficient highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapons program. An Australian company has been actively developing a novel process for uranium enrichment, Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation (SILEX). ^[17]

[edit] References