Tania Lawrence (Hasluck, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1)commemorates the 80th anniversaries of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, which caused the deaths of over 200,000 people and left enduring human, environmental and generational harm;

(2)congratulates Nihon Hidankyo on their 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for their lifelong work to draw the world's attention to the impact of nuclear weapons, and acknowledges the profound suffering of direct and descendent nuclear bomb survivors (Hibakusha) and nuclear test survivors, including First Nations communities and military veterans affected by British nuclear testing in Australia and the Pacific;

(3)recognises the importance of a robust international legal architecture for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, including the cornerstone Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga) and a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty;

(4)reaffirms that Australia shares the ambition, with States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, of a world without nuclear weapons;

(5)welcomes global efforts to reduce the risk of nuclear war and strengthen disarmament norms; and

(6)calls on the Government to continue engaging constructively in international disarmament forums and to work with allies, civil society, and affected communities to advance practical steps towards a world without nuclear weapons.

I rise today in solemn remembrance of one of the darkest chapters in human history: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which occurred 80 years ago this August. Over 200,000 lives were lost, many in an instant and many more through the long shadows of radiation sickness, injury, displacement and generational trauma. They were not just numbers. They were children walking to school, parents preparing meals, nurses, artists and builders, their lives interrupted, families erased, futures lost. Those who survived—hibakusha—carried not only the physical scars but also the burden of memory, of trauma passed through generations, and I acknowledge and welcome to the parliament Mr Isao Morimoto, a second-generation hibakusha.

Despite such profound suffering, the survivors have chosen the path of peace. They have spoken not in vengeance but in warning. They have shared their stories with unwavering courage and in doing so have changed the conscience of the world. We honour the survivor group, Nihon Hidankyo, awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. For decades they have borne witness to and remind us again and again of what nuclear weapons really do. Their work embodies human resilience and moral clarity, they have ensured that the world cannot look away.

As a representative of Hasluck, I also reflect on our own history here in Australia of the First Nations communities and military personnel affected by British nuclear testing on our soil. Many lived through the devastation without consent, without information and, for far too often, without justice. In places like Maralinga and Montebello Islands in WA, the legacy of these tests linger in the land, in the bodies of survivors and in the intergenerational trauma passed on down through the families. We can cannot look forward to peace unless we are honest about the harm that was done here at home. I acknowledge and welcome to the parliament Karina Lester, a second-generation nuclear-test survivor and ICAN ambassador.

I represent the people of Hasluck and I style myself as a fighter for Hasluck. I fight for opportunity, I fight for fairness and I fight for a future grounded in hope and stability. But, as we have seen, that fight would be over the moment a nuclear war begins. None of our dreams will survive it; there will be no winners. The idea that some lives are dispensable, that some human beings are essentially worth less is not only morally obscene but is also the foundation of this kind of destruction. We must fight against apathy and against the illusion that the threat is someone else's problem. Our enemies are not other nations or other people; they are the forces of fear, cynicism and indifference. Nuclear war must never happen. We must never allow it to happen, and there is no greater security issue facing any of us.

This motion reaffirms Australia's longstanding commitment to a world without nuclear weapons. It speaks to our values, the dignity of every human life, the rule of law and a fair go for future generations. It reflects our defence interests because nuclear conflict serves no nation and secures no lasting peace. And it underscores our humanitarian responsibility to those who have suffered and to those who stand to suffer if we do not act.

Change is possible. In 1986, there were over 70,000 active nuclear warheads. Today, that number is under 4,000. That didn't happen by accident. It happened because people fought for treaties, for diplomacy and for a new way forward. Treaties matter. Effort matters. Australia has long supported the international legal frameworks that underpin nuclear disarmament, particularly the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the treaty of Rarotonga, which keeps the South Pacific nuclear free. We, furthermore, welcome the growing number of countries joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. While Australia has not yet signed this treaty, I strongly support the ongoing engagement in the multilateral disarmament efforts.

We must work constructively with allies, civil society and, crucially, affected communities to make tangible progress. Let us honour the victims, the survivors and the advocates with more than words; let us honour them with action. I commend the motion to the House.

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is there a seconder to the motion?

Anne Stanley (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Hasluck for bringing forward this motion. That said, there are a number of elements and parts to this motion, and whilst I am very much against nuclear war and nuclear armaments—I am—we cannot place a 2025 lens over what happened 80 years ago. There are 39,658 Australians on the Roll of Honour from World War II. How many more Australian diggers would have lost their lives had Hiroshima and Nagasaki not brought a swift end to the Pacific theatre of war? I'm not saying it was the right thing to do, because many, many tens of thousands of innocent people lost their lives in those incidents—and they were far worse than 'incidents'; that almost downplays them—on 6 and 9 August 1945. We should find, in our hearts, the peace to ensure that it never actually happens again. But we can't look now and say that they were bad for doing it then, because it was the only course of action they felt could have been taken to stop Japan's imperialistic push in the Pacific.

You only have to look at the Sandakan monument in Wagga Wagga. There are so many names—150 men from the local district who died on that death march. The Japanese were very cruel. Let's make no mistake. Let's not beat about the bush. Let's not sugar coat this. The Japanese were very cruel to Australian and British soldiers in their prisoner of war camps. But I will say this: in Cowra, in central-western New South Wales, during the 5 August 1944 breakout when 1,104 Japanese prisoners of war broke out from the internment camp there, 231 of them lost their lives. Four Australian soldiers did as well. But, from that, there is now an understanding; Cowra is a town of international peace and friendship. There is a friendship bell, a peace bell, that they gong in the town on auspicious occasions. There is a cemetery there that is the only recognised Japanese military cemetery outside Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. It is that important. I congratulate Nihon Hidankyo on the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. We've had many, many Japanese ambassadors, diplomats and even survivors of the Cowra breakout go to the central-western town and talk about peace. That's the important thing.

For us to now condemn any action that was taken in 1945 is to try to rewrite history. Let's try not to do that, because, 80 years ago, Japan was not going to surrender. They were going to take more Australian lives. They were going to continue their cruelty in the jungles of Borneo and Papua New Guinea. They would have kept their attempted incursion of this country, and we may well be speaking a different language now had the actions by the Americans and by the Allied Forces not been taken. Labor, of course, with Prime Minister Curtin, did the right thing by bringing Australian troops back from the European theatre of war to fight for our country, to fight in this theatre of war. It's interesting that this motion immediately follows the Victory in the Pacific Day motion, commemorating, celebrating of sorts, 15 August. But for VP Day, it could have been a very different Australia to the one that we live in now. But for, sadly, the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it could have been a very different Australia to the one that we live in now.

People like John 'Black Jack' McEwen were very quick to reorganise trade with Japan, to build Japan back up to where they needed to be, to reconstruct those wonderful four main islands—and a wonderful people. Japanese people are very, very good people, make no mistake. They're trustworthy, diligent and hard working. They have all the same ethics that we do. But, back in World War II, when we'd lost nearly 40,000 troops, what was done was done. It brought a very swift end to the deadliest conflict that mankind has ever known. To that end, whilst we're against nuclear arms, it was something that was relatable then and certainly saved a lot of lives.

Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was entered into force on 5 March 1970. The text of the treaty begins by acknowledging both the 'devastation that would be visited upon all mankind by a nuclear war and the consequent need to make every effort to avert the danger of such a war and to take measures to safeguard the security of peoples'. Equally, it begins with the statement that 'the proliferation of nuclear weapons would seriously enhance the danger of nuclear war' and a declaration that the nuclear arms race must cease through 'effective measures in the direction of nuclear disarmament'.

Article 7 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons recognises the 'right of group of states to conclude regional treaties in order to assure the total absence of nuclear weapons in their respective territories'. The South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, the treaty of Rarotonga, is one such regional treaty, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of its conclusion on 6 August 2025. It too begins by acknowledging that the treaty parties are 'united in their commitment to a world at peace' and outlines an 'obligation to make every effort to achieve the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons' because of 'the terror which they hold for humankind and the threat which they pose to life on Earth'.

Eighty years on from the first and only use of nuclear weapons in war, both treaties remain as important and relevant as ever. We under the devastation that would be wrought by nuclear war and must make every effort to avoid these weapons being used or tested again. We are supported in this endeavour by article 6 of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty, which prescribes:

Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.

Over 200,000 people lost their lives when, on 6 and 9 August 1945, two atomic bombs were detonated on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—that is 200,000 people in addition to the millions of people who died because of the Second World War. Each had a name, a dream, a purpose. Those dreams were wiped out in an instant. Those purposes would never be realised. But the names live on and must serve as a constant reminder that the path to nuclear weapons is not the right path, not the path that the world should ever entertain.

In addition to the 200,000 lives lost in August 1945, countless additional people suffered physical and psychological trauma. They too had their dreams and their purposes wiped out, or severely limited, in a similar vein to those who suffered because of nuclear weapons testing that took place after August 1945, including in our Pacific neighbourhood and, indeed, in our own country. The enduring effects of nuclear weapons testing continue to be profoundly felt in Australia, in our region and across the world. Nuclear weapons testing must be relegated to history.

The Australian government remains unwavering in its support of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as the basis upon which the global nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament regime rests. Its existence has been decisive in promoting global security in the last half-century, and it stands as an instrument that is rightly directed to preventing the growth of nuclear weapons. The Australian government's commitment to a world without nuclear weapons remains as strong as ever. As long as nuclear weapons exist, Australia will continue to partner with the international community to work towards their elimination by curtailing their spread and reducing the risk both of their use and of nuclear conflict at all. Practical and constructive pathways are part of this imperative, including by reinforcing the role of the Rarotonga treaty in our region.

The 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a time to reflect on both the lives that were lost and the lives that were adversely and severely impacted. It is also a time to reflect on the position our country wants to take in the region and on the global stage for future generations. Those future generations deserve the strongest levels of dedication and commitment to nuclear nonproliferation to ensure a pathway to nuclear disarmament and a world without nuclear weapons.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in support of this motion moved by my friend and colleague the member for Hasluck. As we approach the 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we must reflect on the widespread devastation that saw more than 200,000 people killed in the explosions and subsequent fires, including around 38,000 children. Many more succumbed to injuries, burns and radiation sickness in the months and years that followed. The bombings also caused significant psychological trauma and long-term health problems, including increased cancer rates for survivors and their dependants. The immeasurable harm and enduring legacy of these inhumane bombings will continue to be felt for generations to come. Let us also remember those affected by nuclear bomb testing throughout the world, especially in our Pacific region and right here in Australia, where the effect of the Black Mist fallout at Maralinga and Emu Field continues to have devastating impacts for veterans, their descendants and First Nations communities to this day.

Through the United Nations, the international community came together to stop the spread of nuclear weapons with the landmark Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. It was Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1973 who proudly ratified the nonproliferation treaty and committed Australia to a world without nuclear weapons. The nonproliferation treaty remains to this day the cornerstone of international efforts towards this goal. Australia is also party to, and was instrumental in creating, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty—the treaty of Rarotonga—and continues to lead on the international push for a fissile material cut-off treaty. Australia shares the ambition of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons's goal of a world free from nuclear weapons, and the Albanese Labor government has renewed Australia's role in working constructively with international partners on practical and realistic pathways towards nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.

I must also commend my hometown of Newcastle. The city of Newcastle was first declared a nuclear-free zone in June 1982 by Australia's first female lord mayor, the late Labor lord mayor Joy Cummings. I want to acknowledge the longstanding work of two very important community groups in my electorate, the Hunter Peace Group and Christians for Peace Newcastle, who will be hosting important commemorations to mark 80 years since the devastating nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I want to thank them for organising these commemorations and for their tireless advocacy for peace.

As a lifelong supporter of nuclear disarmament, I will continue to do everything I can to support Australia in continuing to lead the way in promoting nonproliferation and disarmament efforts through existing and emerging international legal architecture. I'm proud to be a member of a government that has reaffirmed Australia's deep commitment to working towards a world without nuclear weapons. The catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never happen again. It is the collective responsibility of all of us—indeed, of all nations across the world—to learn from this tragic history and to commit to building a safer future where nuclear weapons are never used again.

Australia must continue to work with our international partners to strengthen the global nonproliferation regime and promote diplomatic solutions for resolving nuclear related concerns and disputes. No-one, for one moment, thinks this is easy work. But it is incumbent on all of us here to ensure a future that is safe for everyone on this planet. If there is a real purpose to commemorating 80 years of this anniversary, it is to double down on our efforts to ensure the elimination of nuclear weapons wherever they might be.

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.