Julie Bishop is out of step with Australian opinion on nuclear weapons

Julie Bishop says banning nuclear weapons impractical ABC Radio National, Tanya Nolan reported this story on Friday, April 11, 2014 TANYA NOLAN: Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is representing Australia at a 12 nation summit in Hiroshima today discussing global efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons. Disarmament activists in Hiroshima are lobbying hard for agreement to be reached on a global ban on nuclear weapons.

But Australia is one of a group of countries that is unlikely to support any such push: Ms Bishop says banning weapons won’t get rid of them and any global treaty would be impractical without the support of the world’s nuclear armed states – something unlikely to be achieved.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons say Australia’s position is out of step with the views of most Australians.
It’s released a survey of 1,500 Australians who were asked whether they think the Government should support a global ban on nuclear weapons.

I spoke to Dr Tillman Ruff, co-chairman of the campaign who is in Hiroshima for the Non-Proliferation Disarmament Initiative.

So the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, ICAN has released its poll showing 84 per cent of Australians think the Government should support a global treaty banning nuclear weapons. Don’t you think it would have been more accurate to pose the question would a global ban on nuclear weapons be effective without the support of those countries that have nuclear weapons?

TILLMAN RUFF: Well, that’s a different and rather more complicated question but I think what’s really interesting about this poll is that although this issue hasn’t been front of mind, in front of the media, in front of people’s concerns necessarily, there is still a very strong sentiment of support in Australia for people want the Government to support a global ban on nuclear weapons and it’s interesting to me to look at how widespread that support it. It’s across ages and genders and all parts of the country, all income strata.

TANYA NOLAN: But Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has a point doesn’t she, that any global ban on nuclear weapons won’t be effective if you can’t get the nuclear armed states on board?

TILLMAN RUFF: Well, of course the elimination of nuclear weapons is going to require the states that have them to do that. I mean I think that’s obvious, but what we’ve seen essentially over the last 70 years is a failure of the nuclear armed states to live up to their legally binding obligation under the non-proliferation treaty to disarm.

There are currently no negotiations underway and arguably our, the danger of nuclear weapons being used, many experts are suggesting is actually increasing. Proliferation is certainly not under control so it’s hard to claim that business as usual is getting us very far, very fast.

So what might break the logjam on this, the idea of a ban, a specific legal prohibition that is something that the states that don’t have the weapons could initiate that could change the landscape very dramatically and we’ve seen that other treaties that have banned indiscriminate and inhumane weapons such as land mines and cluster munitions have in fact had a substantial influence on the major users and producers including many of the nuclear armed states, even though they haven’t signed up to those treaties. So simply the international community setting a firm moral, legal, political position that these weapons have unacceptable consequences and can’t be used for any legitimate purpose that’s consistent with international law has influenced the behaviour of those who have the weapon. ………..

TILLMAN RUFF: I think waiting for the crumbs to fall from the table of the nuclear armed states to continue for the whole world to remain hostage, to the threat, any hour of every day of every year to the risk of nuclear weapons being used and jeopardising the future for all of us and our descendents, is an unacceptable situation.

So, you know, the states that have the weapons have so far shown really no serious intent to get rid of their nuclear weapons. ……….

TILLMAN RUFF: The fact that the foreign ministers of 12 nations are meeting in Hiroshima and seeing for themselves at first hand evidence of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that were caused by even one, by today’s standards, very small tactical sized nuclear weapon almost 70 years ago, is an important step and it’s because the fundamental evidence base that has to drive policy around nuclear weapons is not abstract notions of deterrence and geopolitics and strategy and balance, it’s about what the weapons actually do and what’s at stake. …….http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2014/s3983421.htm

April 12, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, politics international, weapons and war

No comments yet.

Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items