1944
Following requests from the British and US governments, systematic exploration for uranium begins in Australia.
1939-45
The Manhattan Project is formed by the US with assistance from Britain and Canada to secretly build the atomic bomb before the Germans. »The Manhattan Project
August 1945
1948
The Australian government offers tax-free rewards for uranium ore discoveries. A major deposit is discovered at Rum Jungle in the Northern Territory - the first of several uranium mines. Its deposits are used in British weapons manufacture.
»Timeline of Uranium Mining in Australia (PDF)
1951
ANZUS treaty (security treaty between Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America) is signed and forms the basis for the construction of US military bases, including Pine Gap, in the 60s and 70s. Australia and Britain develop nuclear-capable long-range missiles, which are tested in Australia, but never realised. »The Anzus Treaty
1952
First British atomic test takes place in the Montebello Islands off Western Australia. Two more atomic devices are exploded at Emu Field, part of the Woomera Rocket Range in South Australia. The first of these is alleged to have been responsible for the 'black mist' - a mysterious cloud that descended upon Aboriginal communities to the north-east of the test site, causing vomiting, diarrhoea, skin rashes and sore eyes.
»Images of the blasts
1953
The Government establishes the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (AAEC) to explore uranium mining, atomic energy, research and training.
1956
The British atomic testing is transferred to a permanent site - Maralinga in South Australia. Seven atomic tests are conducted at Maralinga between 1956 and 1958. So-called 'minor trials' continue until the early sixties. The UK's subsequent attempts to clean up the contaminated sites are not successful. The region's Aboriginal inhabitants, the Maralinga Tjarutja people, experience severe after-effects from the radiation, leading to a Royal Commission in 1984.
»"The A-bomb goes up" - The Adelaide News, 15 October 1953
1958
Australia's first nuclear research reactor is provided by the UK. The High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR) begins operation at Lucas Heights, Sydney, on Australia Day.
»The Lucas Heights Reactor
1961
A small second Australian nuclear reactor, also based in Lucas Heights, begins operation. The reactor is called 'Moata', an Aboriginal name meaning 'gentle firestick'. It is shut down in 1995.
1963
The United States and Soviet Union sign the UN's Limited Test Ban Treaty, which prohibits underwater, atmospheric, and outer space nuclear tests. It does not ban underground testing. More than 100 countries have ratified the treaty since 1963.
1966
France continues to conduct nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere above French Polynesia. Between 1966 and 1974 France carries out 41 atmospheric tests above the atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa. »Read more
1968
Creation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) calling for a halt to the spread of nuclear weapons capabilities. Australian Prime Minister John Gorton refuses to sign but Australia becomes a signatory in 1973 after Gough Whitlam gains power.
1969
Plans for a nuclear reactor at Jervis Bay, NSW, are approved. It is proposed as a power plant but by the late 1960s there is a considerable drive for Australia to become a fully fledged nuclear power, with many nuclear reactors and weapons-producing capability.
Decades later, it is revealed in Cabinet papers that the Government also supported the venture because "the Commonwealth will acquire a facility with important long term defence implications".
»See the 1969 Cabinet document proposing the reactor
1971
Growing anti-nuclear demonstrations and the possibility of Australia producing nuclear weapons sink the project. New Prime Minister William McMahon cancels the Jervis Bay reactor.
1972
The Labor Government decides that any uranium mining should be delayed until Aboriginal claims to the affected land are investigated.
1975
To allay serious community opposition to new uranium mines and concern over nuclear weapons, the Government establishes a public federal inquiry into all aspects of the nuclear industry - the Fox Inquiry or Ranger Uranium Inquiry.
»Read a summary of its findings
After the ALP loses office, the party adopts a policy of banning uranium mining and export until problems with weapons proliferation and waste disposal are addressed.
1976
The new Liberal Government gives conditional approval for the Ranger, Olympic Dam/Roxby Downs and Narbarlek uranium mines to proceed.
1977
In nationally coordinated demonstrations, the anti-nuclear movement attracts up to 50,000 marchers in the major cities. Sections of the anti-uranium movement campaign for the ALP in marginal seats in the federal election.
1979
Equipment failures and human error contribute to a meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A series of events leads to the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.
»Three Mile Island: The Inside Story
1983
The Bob Hawke-led Labor Party sweeps to power and enacts the "Three Named Uranium Mines" policy the following year, restricting uranium mining to existing mines. The policy is notionally intended to phase out uranium mining in the longer term after the closure of the current mines.
1984
The Nuclear Disarmament Party is born and wins a Senate seat. The ALP national conference gives support to the ANZUS treaty, the US bases and visits of nuclear warships to Australian ports. Shortly after, the government decides to resume uranium sales to France.
1984
A Royal Commission is established in response to health concerns in the Aboriginal community as a result of the British nuclear tests in South Australia. The commission finds the test site has been left heavily contaminated and recommends the land be rehabilitated and returned to its traditional owners.
1985
Greenpeace protest ship Rainbow Warrior is sunk in New Zealand waters by French Intelligence. The ship was protesting against French nuclear testing at Mururoa, in French Polynesia.
»"The bombing that shocked the world"
1986
The Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster in the Ukraine. Soviet troops are dispatched to help fight the fire and contain the reactions in the melted core. The incident at Chernobyl is described as the greatest industrial disaster in history, releasing one hundred times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. »Read more
1987
The AAEC becomes the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). In a role change, it engages in environmental research and producing radioisotopes for hospitals. »ANSTO website
1996
The new Howard Government dumps its Labor predecessor's "three mines" policy.
1998
A proposal by an international consortium, Pangea Resources, to establish a nuclear waste dump in Australia is leaked to the media. The plan, to store 20 per cent of the world's spent nuclear fuel and weapons material at a Western Australian site, is publicly condemned and abandoned.
»Read more about the Pangea proposal
2000
The Ranger mine in the Northern Territory and the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia continue to operate, but Narbarlek has closed. A third uranium mine, Beverley in SA, is operating. Several advanced projects, such as Honeymoon in SA, Jabiluka in the Northern Territory and Yeelirrie in WA are on hold because of political and indigenous opposition.
A large scale clean up is completed in outback South Australia after nuclear testing during the 1950s contaminated the region. The clean up lasted three years, costing over AUD$100 million.
»"Maralinga finally cleaned up"
However, controversy over the methods and success of the operation are raised.
»"Maralinga: The Fall Out Continues"
16 June 2005
Senate passes a motion opposing nuclear power in Australia.
4 August 2005
The Federal Government overrides the Northern Territory and takes control of the approval process for new uranium mines.
Read press: »"Howard seizes NT"
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Dr Frank Cain, a political expert and Lecturer in Defence and Australian Political and Economic History at the University of New South Wales has told Wikinews that many political commentators are finding Prime Minister John Howard's revival of the nuclear debate "surprising".

Australia came close to building a nuclear power reactor in the Jervis Bay Territory in the late 1960s but was later abandoned in 1971 after massive anti-nuclear demonstrations. The fear that Australia would produce nuclear weapons as a by-product of its nuclear energy programs killed the plans and a change in government ended the plans.

The fear that the Jervis Bay reactor could have been used to produce weapons grade plutonium was substantiated when secret 1969 cabinet documents were released in 2000 stating that "The government will acquire a facility with long term defence implications" and "Over 25 years of operation the reactor will provide six tonnes of plutonium".

Anthony Albanese, the opposition's Shadow Minister for Environment and Heritage accused Mr Howard on Tuesday of living in the past and of not being serious about the debate.

In an interview with Wikinews, Dr Cain said that there are a number of possibilities for Mr Howard's nuclear revival. Dr Cain said one of these could be to challenge the opposition over its three mine policy. "One of his (Howard's) motives might be to challenge the ALP over its three-mine policy" said Dr Cain.

Dr Cain warned that such a move would be unpopular with younger voters, "The young people would not support his programme for the uranium mining companies to expand their mine numbers and production" he said.

Speaking on the economics of nuclear energy in Australia, Dr Cain said it was still uneconomic due to Australia's large supplies of coal and natural gas. "It still remains uneconomic for Australia to commence generating electricity from nuclear plants.  Our coal supplies will last for another century and the natural gas deposits seem unlimited.  These gas supplies will probably displace coal generation and thereby reduce the greenhouse gas problem" he said.

Martin Sevior, an associate professor in particle physics at the University of Melbourne told ABC Radio on Monday that nuclear power can be generated "almost as cheaply as coal". He said in the future nuclear power should be able to be produced for $AUD40 per megawatt-hour, versus the current price of $30 per megawatt-hour for coal.

Prof Sevior said that when the cost of carbon sequestering was included in the running costs for coal fired power plants that nuclear energy was "very, very competitive".

John Price, a professor at Monash University and expert in nuclear energy (having designed some in the UK) told ABC Radio that nuclear energy is competitive in many parts of the world, including Europe, North America and Eastern Asia.

Prof Price said that the use of nuclear energy in Australia is "inevitable" in Australia's future and that it may well be economically competitive with new lower emission coal fired power plants of which the costs are not known.

According to Prof Price, Victoria will need to generate 3 gigawatts more electricity within the next ten years, but conceded that it is likely that gas and coal fired plants will be built to meet that need.

Howard would not be proposing for the government to own its own uranium enrichment plant and would need to entice an overseas company to establish a plant in Australia according to Dr Cain. Dr Cain questioned whether a company from France, Russia, the US or China would be willing to come to Australia to "do what it has been doing quite well in its own country for decades".

Dr Cain said overseas companies would see "no financial advantage for them to do so".