Page 3911 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 September 2018
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The global community has made significant progress to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, down from an estimated high of almost 65,000 weapons in the mid-1980s to around 10,000 today. However, for the first time in more than 30 years, there are no nuclear disarmament negotiations underway or planned.
Instead, we are witnessing investment by nuclear-armed states to modernise their nuclear arsenals. This is deeply concerning. As I have said, we must show our support for international efforts to halt and reverse this worrying trend. This may seem like an issue far removed from the responsibilities of the ACT government, but all governments and elected representatives have a responsibility to stand together in calling for the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
Madam Speaker, I know that many in ACT Labor and the union movement, including me, have attended their share of protests in the past and we are proud to stand again together in this call. By making the pledge, members of the Legislative Assembly can express their deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that would result from the use of nuclear weapons and stand together in calling for national governments around the world to ban their use.
Thanks to ICAN’s leadership and advocacy, the UN treaty was signed by 60 countries and passed on 7 July 2017. Many of our neighbours in the Asia-Pacific, including New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, have either signed or ratified the treaty. It is unfortunate that the Australian government has done neither.
We appreciate the many nuances of the international diplomacy rightly handled by the national government on our behalf. But the Australian community is entitled to tell their government that they expect denuclearisation to be a principle that is pursued. I deeply hope that the Australian government can find a way to join with the nations I have mentioned already by signing, and eventually ratifying, this treaty.
My motion today calls on members of the Legislative Assembly to join with colleagues from parliaments and communities around the world in sending exactly this message and signing the ICAN parliamentary pledge in support of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Again, I welcome the arrival of the ICAN Nobel peace ride to Canberra and I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (12.11): The Greens are very pleased to support the motion moved by the Deputy Chief Minister. On behalf of the ACT Greens, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, on their recent receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize. It is the first time that an organisation founded in Australia has won the Nobel Peace Prize.
As members would be aware, the Nobel Peace Prize is the pre-eminent accolade for people and organisations working toward the peaceful resolution of some of humanity’s most difficult and dangerous problems. The Nobel Committee awarded the prize to ICAN for its work:
… to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.
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