 Oliphant was an advocate of nuclear weapons research . He served on the post @-@ war Technical Committee that advised the British government on nuclear weapons , and publicly declared that Britain needed to develop its own nuclear weapons independent of the United States to " avoid the danger of becoming a lesser power " . The establishment of a world @-@ class nuclear physics research capability in Australia was intimately linked with the government 's plans to develop nuclear power and weapons . Locating the new research institute in Canberra would place it close to the Snowy Mountains Scheme , which was planned to be the centrepiece of a new nuclear power industry . Oliphant hoped that Britain would assist with the Australian program , and the British were interested in cooperation because Australia had uranium ore and weapons testing sites , and there were concerns that Australia was becoming too closely aligned with the United States . Arrangements were made for Australian scientists to be seconded to the British Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell , but the close cooperation he sought was stymied by security concerns arising from Britain 's commitments to the United States . 
