Antinuclear

Trump and nuclear weapons worry Young Labor, 

Ahead of Scott Morrison’s landmark visit to the US this week, where the US President will host the Prime Minister at a state dinner, Australian Young Labor passed two motions at its national conference on the weekend warning about the Trump administration’s “erratic policies”.

NSW Young Labor president Paul Mills, who moved two ­motions opposing US missiles in Australia and committing to the US alliance, said Labor should “draw the line at nuclear weapons”.

Mr Mills said his US alliance motion endorsed “sentiment ­expressed” by former Labor foreign minister Gareth Evans, of “Less US, more self-reliance, more Asia, and more global ­engagement”.

“We would expect state conferences from around Australia to carry similar motions and for the policy to be adopted at the next ­national ALP conference to which I’ve been elected one of three Young Labor delegates,” Mr Mills said.

Mr Morrison hosed down suggestions last month that the US was aiming to deploy ground-based missiles in Darwin amid the battle for dominance in the Indo-Pacific ­region between China and the US.

Security experts last month warned of weaknesses in the ­nation’s defence capabilities in northern Australia, calling for more personnel and upgraded air bases as part of a long-term strategy.

Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles — a strong supporter of the US alliance — told The Australian the government had “previously ruled out ­receiving any formal request for US missiles being stationed in Australia”.

“This is consistent with conversations Labor had with the Secretary of Defence in early August. Australia and the United States are natural allies; we have shared values of democracy, human rights, the rule of law and shared aspirations to build a global rules-based order,” Mr Marles said.

Mr Mills praised the comments of former prime minister Paul Keating opposing the deployment of US missiles and said it would render as impossible “any sovereign Australian decision about participating in American warfare directed at a third country”.

It also makes Australia a ­nuclear target,” he said.

Young Labor’s 50 delegates, who passed the motion unanimously, are the first branch of the party to endorse the anti-missile position.

The motion said the “federal Labor leadership should be unequivocal in asserting: Australia must not become a missile base”.

Young Labor’s agreed platform on the US alliance says it remains “beneficial for Australia’s national security interests and should ­recognise that regardless of Trump’s presidency, we should not lose sight of the continuing benefits” of the security pact.