NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN AUSTRALIA

CIVIL SOCIETY DECLARATION

2 April 2026

In 2026, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Australia invited Australian and Pacific Island civil society organisations to sign on to the “No Nuclear Weapons in Australia Declaration”. More than 150 organisations are calling on the Albanese government to prohibit the entry, transit or presence of nuclear weapons in Australian territory, waters and airspace, uphold Australia’s commitments to a nuclear weapons-free world, and sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Plans are advancing for Australia to host US nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and potentially nuclear-armed submarines. Australia’s willing acceptance of US policy of neither confirming nor denying the presence of nuclear weapons on these vessels, means Australia could unknowingly host American nuclear weapons in future. 

These dangerous developments don’t just make us complicit in nuclear warfare; they put a target on our backs. By becoming a launchpad for nuclear-capable vessels, we are inviting the risk of a devastating nuclear accident to our own shores.

We are not the only ones worried about this situation with concerns about AUKUS growing across our region, particularly with heightened global tensions around nuclear weapons.

That is why we have worked with civil society groups throughout the Pacific region to launch a new No Nuclear Weapons in Australia Declaration to push back on these policies of nuclear ambiguity and to reject Australia having any role in nuclear war. 

Read the Declaration here

More than 150 groups, representing millions of people including the Community and Public Sector Union, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the Australian Conservation Foundation, Amnesty International, The Uniting Church, Pacific Elders Voice, the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and many others have endorsed the call.

The massive scale of this Declaration sends a clear message that Australians and our neighbours in the Pacific will not accept the world’s worst weapons on our doorstep.

Central to the Declaration is a collective demand for Australia to uphold the spirit and letter of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Rarotonga. As a founding signatory, Australia has a permanent obligation to ensure our region remains shielded from the existential threat of nuclear weapons and the horror of renewed testing.

April 5, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized