the year 2000, Australia is expected to ship 136 million tons of coal abroad, surpassing the United States as the world's leading exporter.
The half million tons of uranium oxide discovered in Australia since 1970 represent about 20 percent of known world reserves. During 1972-75, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's Labor government blocked most mining and prevented exports. Both aboriginies and most labor unions shared his concerns over environmental and safety hazards. But Liberal Malcolm Fraser,...