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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 2 Hansard (19 May) . . Page.. 308 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

I note the comments made by Ms Tucker about the 36,000 weapons still held by the five official nuclear powers. But it is a matter of great happiness on the part of many people that the number of active weapons in the possession of the two superpowers - the United States and Russia - has diminished in recent years. As the major flashpoint or potential trigger for all-out nuclear war, that reduction by the superpowers must be a matter of great relief to many people in the world. Today, conversely, the biggest threat to world peace, the biggest risk of nuclear devastation, lies in the spread of nuclear weapons to small, less stable nations. Obviously, there are strong signs of weapons of this kind being developed and prepared in the Middle East. The most recent area of attention has, of course, been the Indian subcontinent. We need to indicate, as people living in this region of the world, that we believe that the opportunities which the end of the Cold War has brought ought to be grasped and harnessed in the interests of our entire planet.

The public outrage expressed at the French Government's actions in 1995 is indicative of the feeling that people in this community have about this issue. Although I have not detected the same level or depth of feeling about the tests in India, I do believe that the community as a whole would support the taking of strong measures to indicate to India and its neighbours who may be tempted to follow suit that this is a foolish and counterproductive step to take. There are many steps that have been taken in recent years to attempt to strengthen the process of multilateral nuclear disarmament. They include the international statement on nuclear weapons by generals and admirals in December 1996; the independent commission established by the Australian Government in November 1995 and called the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons; and, of course, progressive attempts to extend the two treaties - the non-proliferation treaty and the test ban treaty - that I have referred to before. The Geneva Convention on Disarmament has made clear that the post-Cold War period is an opportunity to establish new systems for international security, systems that are based on the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Mr Speaker, the amendments that have been circulated by the Labor Party are amendments which the Government has some sympathy for. They are going to be moved by Mr Stanhope. The Government will certainly support paragraph (5). I am told that there have been some amendments to the amendments as circulated. I indicate the Government's support for the amended version of those amendments. Certainly, Australia ought to play a role in encouraging India and Pakistan to become signatories to those two important treaties.

We also believe the Commonwealth Government should seriously consider the question of international sanctions. Whether it ultimately exercises that option is a matter of judgment for the Australian Government at the appropriate time. I will say to the Assembly that the step that we took in 1995 to sever the twin city relationship with the city of Versailles in France as a result of the French tests in the Pacific was probably a step too far. Without reflecting on a vote of the Assembly, those tests stopped soon afterwards; but the relationship with Versailles has not been repaired. I would, therefore, urge us to consider very carefully any particular steps we might take that might damage person-to-person relationships between nations. It is at times like this that we need to strengthen such relationships, not damage them, if we are to drive forward the process of making such treaties a universal reality.

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