Australia's election Saturday will be fought mostly over domestic issues, especially interest rates. While Labor is well ahead in the polls, its victory is not assured. But whoever becomes prime minister after the election will face some contentious decisions on nuclear issues. And it's not just Australians who will be watching closely.
The first decision might come relatively soon, in the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) with regard to India. The NSG coordinates export controls on sensitive nuclear and dual-use equipment, materials and technology to ensure their peaceful use. NSG guidelines ensure that apart from the five "declared" nuclear powers, such materials are provided only to signatories of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
If the proposed nuclear deal between India and the United States is ever ratified by both legislatures, America will seek an exemption for India in the NSG, even though India has refused to sign the NPT. That's more than a little ironic because the NSG was set up in the first place because India lied and cheated before testing a nuclear weapon in 1974 (a so-called peaceful nuclear explosion).
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