The plans for six US long-range nuclear weapons-capable B-52 bombers to be hosted in northern Australia, as disclosed by ABC Four Corners on 31 October, represent a grave undermining of our security.
Australia is marching headlong into yet another disastrous war, which could be a nuclear war in which we are targeted.
Right now, the danger of nuclear war is widely assessed as being at least as high as it has ever been. It is imperative that Australia refrain from any steps that other nations will see as confrontational and that could increase that danger.
The ALP Government has committed to signing and ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), under the terms of which states parties must “never under any circumstances… assist, encourage or induce” anyone to engage in any nuclear weapons-related activities.
Inviting our ally to station on Australian soil the very aircraft that are designed to carry these weapons of mass destruction is an appalling breach of faith with the Australian people. It is not possible for the government to pretend it is committed to a nuclear weapons free world while welcoming the aircraft that deliver these weapons.
At the very least, the government must make absolutely and transparently clear that nuclear weapons will never be allowed here. There is no place for the “neither confirm nor deny” policy by which Australians are denied the right to even know whether there are nuclear weapons on aircraft or vessels stationed here.
The South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, to which Australia is party, already prohibits any stationing of nuclear weapons in the region. The government should clarify that they will remain compliant with this Treaty and in step with Pacific parties on the issue.
Much is made of the dangerous myth of “nuclear deterrence”, a theory that suggests that preparing for nuclear war helps prevent nuclear war. In reality, preparing for nuclear war puts all of humanity on a knife-edge, as multiple crises have demonstrated. It is imperative that the momentum towards nuclear weapons abolition that the TPNW has created be strengthened rather than undermined.
MAPW repeats its call for the Australian government to sign and ratify the Treaty. This would be by far the strongest protection against the slippery slope towards Australia stationing, or even acquiring, these horrific devices.
MAPW also expresses sincere concern at the rapid development of northern Australia as a military outpost of the US, ramping up the momentum and rhetoric towards war with China. Every step of this process has been done with a shameful degree of secrecy, with zero consultation with the Australian people or even their elected representatives. This is how authoritarian regimes operate, not democracies.