Provision of public
information on the development, management and regulation of WMD
non-proliferation treaties, and Australias role in these activities.

Milestone H1

Management of an effective program to inform and educate the
public on nuclear safeguards and CWC issues, and promotion of an understanding
of the CTBT and its verification arrangements.

Activities

As in the past, this years ASNO Annual Report contains a
considerable number of background articles and information on nuclear, CWC and
CTBT issues. These articles and
information have been read and used by many parts of the community and formed
the basis of public briefings.

Messrs Carlson and Leask have provided the media with
background briefings on a number of topics.

Basic details of permitsissued, revoked and varied under the Safeguards Act were published
in the Commonwealth Government Gazette.

ASNOs web site was modified to bring it in line with the
Departmental standard and material was updated. All ASNO publications were listed and a start made at linking
them to the web site.

CWC Related Activities

ASNO ensured that facility operators, which might be
affected by the Convention, were informed of their obligations. This involved the publication and
distribution of updated industry brochures, together with an active program of
on-site consultations.

Forms for licence applications and annual declarations were
made available on the web site.

In the April 2001 edition of the Chemistry in Australia
Journal, Dr Shaw wrote an article on Implementation of the Chemical Weapons
Convention.

After the CWC Regional Workshop, Melbourne in May 2001, ASNO
held an industry symposium which, building on the Workshop itself, sought to
educate and link Australian industry and academia.

Arising from this outreach, ASNO has had several invitations
to make presentations to university courses, primarily those involving
chemistry, law and international studies.

General Activities

Aimed at both multi-skilling its staff and offering an
educational service to Government agencies, ASNO extended its series of
technical seminars covering technologies, threats and non-proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction. These
seminars attracted a significant involvement from officials working on WMD
non-proliferation from several agencies (see page 62).

Performance Assessment

ASNO has used a wide range of material to inform the public
and officials about current nuclear issues.

ASNOs technical seminar series has proved effective in
enhancing knowledge of WMD issues and stimulating debate among officials within
Government agencies.

Industry has expressed appreciation for efforts to keep them
informed about changes under the CWC and domestic legislation. An evaluation of ASNOs relationship with industry shows that
dissemination of information has fostered an acceptance and broader
understanding of the CWC and its verification mechanisms.