Lisa Singh (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Ludlam, move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

  (i) there are close to 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world today, posing a grave threat to all humanity,

  (ii) nuclear weapons remain the only weapons of mass destruction not yet expressly prohibited under international law,

  (iii) the United Nations (UN) will convene a conference from 27 to 31 March 2017 and 15 June to 7 July 2017 to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination,

  (iv) the UN General Assembly has encouraged all UN member states to participate in the conference, and

  (v) Australia, as a state party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, is legally required to pursue negotiations in good faith for nuclear disarmament; and

(b) urges the Australian Government to participate constructively in the conference.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for one minute.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia shares with the international community the goal of a peaceful and secure world free of nuclear weapons. Australia will not participate in the forthcoming UN conference on the negotiated treaty to ban nuclear weapons. This approach is consistent with Australia's clear and longstanding position on the proposed nuclear weapons ban treaty. Australia voted against the United Nations General Assembly resolution No. 71, calling for negotiations on a nuclear weapons ban treaty. Australia was among 83 countries that did not vote in favour of that resolution and among 38 countries to vote against it. The proposed ban treaty would not advance nuclear disarmament. It will be ineffective in eliminating or even reducing nuclear weapons arsenals. It would not enhance security. It would have no effective verification measures to ensure compliance, and it risks undermining the nuclear nonproliferation treaty by creating ambiguity and confusion through parallel obligations and by deepening divisions between nuclear and non-nuclear-weapon states.

Question agreed to.