On the second anniversary of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entering into force, the co-chairs of a cross-party group of parliamentarians, Parliamentary Friends of the TPNW, have released a statement calling on Australia to sign and ratify the treaty. 

The statement—which is co-written by Russell Broadbent MP, Liberal member for Monash, Senator Jordon Steele-John, Greens Senator for Western Australia, and Josh Wilson MP, Labor member for Fremantle, co-chairs of the group—celebrates the already ninety-two countries who have signed the treaty and urges the Australian Government to create a meaningful and lasting legacy by doing the same. “History shows that prohibition treaties on weapons of mass destruction are essential to facilitate progress towards their elimination,” they wrote. “Under the TPNW, nuclear weapons are stigmatised and rejected in their entirety, and a clear pathway is laid out for their eventual elimination.” 

ICAN Australia welcomes the statement and agrees that Australia must play a meaningful role in promoting geo-political stability in our region, concurring with the cross-party co-chairs that moving towards a world without nuclear weapons would promote “a common goal of peace, cooperation, and security ” with our Pacific and ASEAN neighbours.

In their statement, the co-chairs acknowledged the “escalating nuclear threats from nuclear-armed states” and the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on global security. “At a time when the risk of nuclear conflict has significantly increased, and the existing disarmament and non-proliferation architecture has also been under pressure, the TPNW presents a vital opportunity for new and serious progress in moving towards a world without nuclear weapons.”

ICAN Australia Director Gem Romuld, says that “the second anniversary of the entry into force of the TPNW should serve as a reminder that nuclear weapons pose the single greatest threat to life on earth, and as long as they exist they can be used. Nuclear weapons are never a legitimate means of defence. Australia’s most powerful contribution to ending these abhorrent weapons will be to sign and ratify the TPNW.”Over 100 Australian federal parliamentarians have pledged their support for the treaty, including the Prime Minister, and the Australian Labor Party has committed to sign and ratify it in government since 2018. 

The full Parliamentary Friends of the TPNW statement can be read here.

In November 2022 the ABC reported on the Australian Government’s planned deployment of up to six US nuclear-capable B-52 aircraft at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory.

 ICAN Australia is deeply concerned that the aircraft may carry nuclear weapons and contribute to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

 Article 5 of the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, or Rarotonga Treaty, states that ‘Each Party undertakes to prevent in its territory the stationing of any nuclear explosive device.’ As a state party, it is essential that Australia does not allow the deployment of nuclear weapons on the B-52 aircraft that are anticipated to be stationed at RAAF Base Tindal. With dedicated facilities including ammunition depot, maintenance and parking areas, the presence of the B-52s goes beyond mere transit.

The Australian Labor Party’s commitment to sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) represents a widely-supported and important rejection of nuclear weapons and a clear humanitarian response to the horror they represent, at a crucial time of alarming danger of nuclear war and nuclear disarmament in reverse. The TPNW prohibits hosting nuclear weapons as well as assistance with their use or possession. The deployment of nuclear-capable aircraft in Australia would risk inconsistency with both the Rarotonga Treaty and TPNW, and would undermine both Australian government policy and the ALP’s national policy platform. 

 We are aware that in response to commitments made under the New START treaty, of the United States’ fleet of 87 B-52 aircraft (76 of which are in the active inventory), 41 have been stripped of their nuclear capabilities and carry only conventional weaponry[1].

 The Australian government should secure explicit confirmation from the United States that these aircraft would only carry only conventional weaponry. A ‘neither confirm nor deny’ response would not be acceptable; our existing legal obligations require a clear and unambiguous answer from the US on this issue. 

The Albanese Government must ensure that should this deployment be advanced, any B-52s stationed at RAAF Base Tindal should not be nuclear-capable, consistent with Australia’s commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and existing treaties.

[1] Hans Kristensen & Matt Korda (2021) United States nuclear weapons, 2021, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

US Embassy officials in Canberra have warned Australia against signing and ratifying the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, saying it would be inconsistent with Australia’s policy of nuclear deterrence.

 ICAN Australia Director Gem Romuld said “It’s no surprise that the US don’t want their allies to sign on, because if we claim protection from their so-called ‘nuclear umbrella’ then it helps justify their continued retention and possible use of these illegal and indiscriminate  weapons.”

“The majority of nations recognise that ‘nuclear deterrence’ is a dangerous theory that only perpetuates the nuclear threat and legitimises the forever existence of nuclear weapons, an unacceptable prospect.”

As a non-nuclear weapon state, Australia has ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Rarotonga Treaty (South Pacific Nuclear Weapons Free Zone) and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Australia has signed many multilateral disarmament treaties, including those prohibiting chemical and biological weapons, anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions. The US has refused to sign some of these, and has failed to ratify the nuclear test ban treaty championed by Australia. Pressure is mounting for Australia to sign and ratify the TPNW, which entered into force in January 2021.

The Australian Labor Party has committed to sign and ratify the treaty in government. Consistent with this position, it participated in the first Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW in June as an observer and ended its formal opposition to it by abstaining on a UN First Committee vote last month, in which the previous government voted no.

The TPNW asserts there are no acceptable circumstances to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons, and outlaws any role for nuclear weapons in a state party’s security doctrine. There is strong support among Australians, with 76% of the population supporting Australia signing and ratifying the treaty, and only 6% opposed (Ipsos 2022). 

The TPNW allows states parties to remain in military alliances with nuclear-armed states, provided they do not assist or cooperate on nuclear weapons. Several US allies have successfully signed and ratified the treaty: New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand. 

“The nuclear weapon ban treaty is a powerful tool to break the current disarmament deadlock. It’s now up to Australia to reject the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons on our behalf. Like New Zealand and the Philippines, we can remain allies without supporting nuclear weapons or assisting in their possible use. A mature relationship and genuine partnership has the capacity to deal with complexity and Australia must not be a nation that facilitates nuclear weapons.”, Romuld said. 

When moving the 2018 motion committing a future Labor government to sign and ratify the TPNW, Anthony Albanese MP said “I don’t argue that this is easy. I don’t argue that it’s simple. But I do argue that it’s just.”