In June 2006 the Prime Minister appointed a taskforce, headed by Dr Ziggy Switkowski to undertake a review into uranium mining, value-added processing and the contribution of nuclear energy in Australia in the longer term. This report is intended to contribute to a wide ranging public debate on energy technologies and the potential role of nuclear energy.

Key findings included:

• Consultations revealed support for the expansion of Australian mining and export of uranium. Skill shortages, government policies and legal prohibitions restricting the growth of the industry would need to be urgently addressed. 
• Downstream steps of uranium conversion, enrichment and fuel fabrication could add a further $1.8 billion of value annually if all Australian uranium was processed domestically. However, high commercial and technology barriers could make market entry difficult.
• Nuclear power is likely to be between 20 and 50 per cent more costly to produce than power from a new coal-fired plant at current fossil fuel prices in Australia. 
• The earliest that nuclear electricity could be delivered to the grid would be 10 years, with 15 years more probable.