As election pledges go, the Liberals' promise to lift the ban on uranium mining in Western Australia (WA) is a big one.

But that's exactly what the leader of the opposition Basil Zempilas has said he'll do if brought to power in March 2029.

But with currently a 30 seat majority in favour of Labor, it is a big if. However, Zempilas is undaunted.

"It's time to lift the ban on uranium mining," he confidently said, adding the revenue could be used to help pay for the state's hospitals, schools, roads.

"We should be maximising the use of our incredible natural resources, but under WA Labour we aren't, because since 2017 the state government has banned new uranium mining projects in WA, blocking what could be a billion dollar industry for our state.

"Global demand for uranium is strong, and it's forecast to double by 2040 as countries around the world seek reliable low emissions energy sources. It's also increasingly essential for powering AI data centres, advancing biomedical science, and supporting emerging technologies," he said recently, banging the uranium drum loud and proud.

And maybe he has a point.

The Northern Territory (NT) and South Australia (SA) currently mine uranium and export it safely under strict safeguards to customers in Japan, South Korea and the United States.

As Zempilas says, "Why should we miss out?"

And it's not as if it's just a small opportunity either. According to the World Nuclear Association, Australia is home to around a third of the world's uranium – the biggest resource anywhere. In 2022 Australia produced 4820 tonnes of uranium and was the world's fourth ranking producer, producing 8% of global uranium.

But with no domestic nuclear power industry in Australia, all of the uranium produced is exported.

Now, I readily admit, untying the bans on the nuclear power generation in Australia is a long and tortuous journey, but lifting the ban on the mining of uranium, to take advantage of markets and an already existing uranium export pipeline, would be much more simple.

There's been a lot of noise created recently about whether gas exports should be hit harder by the taxman and the benefits that a proposed 25% gas tax could bring to our communities.

So, why not establish a new uranium mining industry right here in WA and tax it appropriately? Domestic uranium miners happy. International customers happy. Taxman happy.

What's not to like?

I'm off for a lie down – not sure how I feel about actually agreeing with a politician.