Media Release: New award-winning documentary exposes unresolved nuclear legacies

Media Release: New award-winning documentary exposes unresolved nuclear legacies

Jul 22, 2026 | Campaign Updates, Media Release

CAMPAIGN NEWS:

Media Release: New award-winning documentary exposes unresolved nuclear legacies

Amidst growing international tension and conflicts involving nuclear weapon states, a new feature documentary highlighting the global legacy of nuclear testing will make its Australian premiere in Adelaide this week. 

Written and directed by award-winning British-Canadian filmmaker, Daniel Everitt-Lock, and made over three years, across five countries, including interviews with over fifty victims, survivors and descendants, ‘Our Planet, The People, My Blood’ (2026, 83 mins) serves as a powerful reminder about the human and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons testing. 

Between 1945 and 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were detonated globally, directly exposing Indigenous people, citizens, and military personnel, and contaminating multiple continents. For decades, the physical, psychological and environmental impact of these tests has remained largely absent from public discourse.

The film connects firsthand testimonies from service personnel, First Nations communities, and civilian populations in the Marshall Islands, Australia, the United States, Japan, the UK and beyond—many of whom continue to suffer from cancers, birth defects and generational health conditions. These personal accounts are framed within a broader investigation into government secrecy, institutional denial and the systematic refusal to acknowledge responsibility or provide compensation.

At the centre of the narrative is a landmark legal battle led by nuclear test descendant, Alan Owen, against the UK Ministry of Defence, seeking recognition and justice for affected veterans and communities. The story expands beyond UK borders, revealing how nuclear testing created a global network of victims linked by shared exposure, silence and injustice. 

As nuclear tensions and weapons rhetoric return to the global agenda, ‘Our Planet, The People, My Blood’ reframes nuclear testing not as Cold War history, but as an unresolved humanitarian crisis with ongoing political, ethical and public health implications.

Brought to Australia by Nobel Peace Prize–winning organisation, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) the film will have its Australian premiere ahead of the ALP National Conference in Adelaide on the 23rd of July (The Mercury Cinema), followed by a screening in Perth on the 1st of August (The Backlot Perth), alongside the Australian premiere of First We Bombed New Mexico, directed by Lois Lipman (US). 

Trailers: 

Screening Details:

Including a live panel discussion with Director Daniel Everitt-Lock in conversation with The Hon Melissa Parke, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and former Labor Member for Fremantle, Karina Lester, Yankunytjatjara-Anangu woman, second-generation nuclear test survivor, ambassador for ICAN, and an AUKUS commissioner.

With the Australian Premiere of ‘First We Bombed New Mexico’ (2023, 95 min), directed by Lois Lipman, and including a live panel discussion with: filmmaker, Daniel Everitt-Lock, ICAN Ambassador and nuclear veteran descendant, Maxine Goodwin, The Hon Josh Wilson MP, Federal Member for Fremantle, as well as the Hon Melissa Parke, Executive Director of ICAN International.

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Media Release: Across party lines, parliamentarians unite on Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty

Media Release: Across party lines, parliamentarians unite on Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty

Jul 21, 2026 | Campaign Updates, Media Release

CAMPAIGN NEWS:

Media Release: Across party lines, parliamentarians unite on Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty

Ahead of the Australian Labor Party National Conference in Adelaide, a cross-party group of ALP, Greens and Independent federal parliamentarians have united in calling on the Albanese government to sign and ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

In a video released today, members of the Parliamentary Friends of the TPNW highlighted the ongoing environmental and humanitarian devastation inflicted on First Nations, Pacific, and veteran communities by nuclear weapons testing. They stated that Australia has a profound responsibility to stand in solidarity with frontline survivors and ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again.

“In a time of grave conflict and uncertainty around the world, like-minded governments must take concerted action against nuclear proliferation,” stated Helen Haines, Independent member for Indi.

The TPNW is “a landmark agreement that is providing much needed momentum towards the abolition of humanity’s most dangerous invention,” stated Josh Wilson, Labor Member for Fremantle. “We welcome Australia’s active engagement with the TPNW process and we’re proud of Australia’s long-standing and resolute commitment to a world without nuclear weapons.”

“Our work is supported by a majority of federal parliamentarians representing Australia’s rich and diverse communities,” stated Mark Dreyfus, Labor Member for Isaacs.

“The treaty has given countries and citizens hope and a promising new pathway towards the abolition of these weapons,” stated Senator Jordon Steele-John, federal Greens member for Western Australia. 

ICAN Australia welcomed the statements and backed calls for the government to listen to its own parliamentary ranks by signing the TPNW within this parliamentary term.

“Seeing this extraordinary cross-party unity underscores both the urgency of this issue and the clear opportunity the ALP National Conference presents,” said Janet Craven, Director at ICAN Australia. “After eight years of talking about signing and engaging as an observer state, the Albanese Government must honour its own commitment and take decisive steps toward joining the Treaty.” 

About the Parliamentary Friends of TPNW – Parliamentary Friends of the TPNW is a forum for federal parliamentarians to meet and interact with nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation advocates on matters relating to the TPNW and to discuss ways to ensure the Treaty’s success into the future. The group was launched during the 46th Parliament in June 2020, co-chaired by Ged Kearney MP (Australian Labor Party), Ken O’Dowd MP (National Party) and Senator Jordon Steele-John (Australian Greens). Current members included in the video are:

 

  • Josh Wilson MP (Labor Member for Fremantle and current co-chair)
  • Senator Steph Hodgins-May (Greens Senator for Victoria)
  • Dr Helen Haines MP (Independent Member for Indi and current co-chair)
  • Renee Coffey MP (Labor Member for Griffith)
  • Louise Miller-Frost MP (Labor Member for Boothby)
  • Mark Dreyfus KC, MP (Labor Member for Isaacs)
  • Senator Jordon Steele-John (Greens Senator for Western Australia)
  • Nicolette Boele MP (Independent Member for Bradfield)
  • Tania Lawrence MP (Labor Member for Hasluck)
  • Matt Smith MP (Labor Member for Leichhardt)
  • Senator David Shoebridge (Greens Senator for New South Wales and current co-chair)
  • Senator Lisa Darmanin (Labor Senator for Victoria)
  • Sharon Claydon MP (Labor Member for Newcastle)
  • Alison Byrnes MP (Labor Member for Cunningham)
  • Senator Charlotte Walker (Labor Senator for South Australia)
  • Susan Templeman MP (Labor Member for Macquarie)
  • Dr Andrew Leigh MP (Labor Member for Fenner)

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ICAN Australia welcomes Tonga’s historic step toward a nuclear-free world & calls on Albanese to align with Pacific and also sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

ICAN Australia welcomes Tonga’s historic step toward a nuclear-free world & calls on Albanese to align with Pacific and also sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Jul 8, 2026 | Campaign Updates, Media Release

CAMPAIGN NEWS:

ICAN Australia welcomes Tonga’s historic step toward a nuclear-free world & calls on Albanese to align with Pacific and also sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Australia warmly welcomes the Kingdom of Tonga’s decision to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

By taking this decisive step, Tonga has reaffirmed the Pacific region’s historic, unwavering leadership in global nuclear disarmament. Tonga joins the overwhelming majority of its Pacific neighbours, including Fiji, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Samoa, and New Zealand, in creating a region that is ensuring nuclear weapons and testing are comprehensively rejected.

“The Pacific understands the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons, having borne the brunt of hundreds of nuclear explosions. By embracing the TPNW, Tonga’s actions send a clear message that real security is achieved through total prohibition and disarmament. We congratulate the government and people of Tonga for joining the TPNW, and call on the Albanese Government to now join the global majority of nations and join the TPNW without any further delay” said Janet Craven, ICAN Australia Director. 

Tonga’s accession to the TPNW places Australia’s ongoing delay in signing the UN nuclear weapon ban treaty under a sharp spotlight. Despite the Albanese Government’s stated commitment to the Pacific, and Labor’s longstanding promise to join the TPNW, Australia remains a glaring gap in a region united against nuclear arms under the TPNW.

In light of Australia’s recently inked regional security treaties and defense pacts including the  Vuvale Union with Fiji earlier this week, the federal government’s continued reliance on nuclear deterrence is at direct odds with the strategic priorities of Pacific allies. If Australia truly wishes to act as vuvale or family with our Pacific neighbours, it must align its security strategy with the region’s long-standing commitment to remaining nuclear free. 

“In a region increasingly militarised through AUKUS and great-power competition, Tonga’s accession is a powerful assertion of Pacific sovereignty. True security in the Pacific is built on a foundation of climate justice and total denuclearisation, not the false promise of extended nuclear deterrence,” stated Reverend James Bhagwan, General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches.

“While our Pacific nations unite to construct a genuine Ocean of Peace, Australia’s continued reliance on nuclear deterrence remains a profound contradiction to its claims of regional family and solidarity.”

The TPNW is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, with provisions requiring states to assist victims and remediate environments contaminated by nuclear testing. ICAN urges the Australian government to look beyond traditional defense pacts and support the tangible humanitarian frameworks already championed by Pacific states. 

“The Pacific deserves complete freedom from nuclear weapons and their threat—not simply their management, but their total elimination. For decades, our communities and veterans have carried the severe intergenerational scars of colonial nuclear testing,” added Merewalesi Tuilau, Director of the Fiji Nuclear Veterans and Families Association.

“Australia cannot claim to stand with us in bilateral security pacts while refusing to sign the TPNW. It is time for the Albanese government to listen to the demands of Pacific states and match words with action.”

– ENDS – 

H.E. Viliami Vaʼinga Tōnē, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations (center) deposits their instrument of accession with David Nanopoulos, Chief of the Treaty Section at the United Nations (right) and Seth Shelden, ICAN (left)

H.E. Viliami Vaʼinga Tōnē, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations (center) deposits their instrument of accession with David Nanopoulos, Chief of the Treaty Section at the United Nations (right) and Seth Shelden, ICAN (left)

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Media Release: Pacific nuclear justice delegation call on PM to sign UN Nuclear Ban Treaty, as 80th and 60th anniversaries of Bikini and Moruroa tests mark a region still seeking justice

Media Release: Pacific nuclear justice delegation call on PM to sign UN Nuclear Ban Treaty, as 80th and 60th anniversaries of Bikini and Moruroa tests mark a region still seeking justice

Jul 1, 2026 | Campaign Updates, Media Release

CAMPAIGN NEWS:

Media Release: Pacific nuclear justice delegation call on PM to sign UN Nuclear Ban Treaty, as 80th and 60th anniversaries of Bikini and Moruroa tests mark a region still seeking justice

A delegation of Pacific nuclear survivors and advocates is in Canberra today to call on the Australian Prime Minister to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). They are joined by Anangu-Yankunytjatjara woman and second-generation nuclear test survivor Karina Lester, and members of the Parliamentary Friends of the TPNW.

The visit falls during two significant anniversaries: July 1 marks 80 years since the first US test detonation at Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands; July 2 marks 60 years since the first French test detonation at Moruroa Atoll, Mā’ohi Nui (French Polynesia). The anniversaries were acknowledged in a motion put forward on Monday by Labor member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, who said: “With the legacy of nuclear testing still felt deeply in Australia, our region and across the world, we want nuclear weapons testing to be relegated to history. […] I will continue to advocate for the importance of sustained international commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, including the Treaty on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

“The experiences of the Marshall Islands and other Pacific communities remind us that decisions made by powerful nations can have consequences that last for generations. We ask the world to remember our history, stand with survivors, pursue nuclear disarmament, and place human dignity, justice, and peace at the centre of global decision-making.” — Samuel Barton, Marshall Islands Student Association (MISA)

“In a region increasingly militarised through AUKUS, the Quad and great-power competition, signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons would be a clear commitment to a nuclear-free Pacific and a genuine Ocean of Peace.” — Rev. James Bhagwan, General Secretary, Pacific Conference of Churches

“The Pacific demands and deserves complete freedom from nuclear weapons and their threat – not simply management, but total elimination. Australia has shown it can lead. Australia must match its history with urgent new action.” — Merewalesi Tuilau, Fiji Veterans and Families Association

“Our lands, oceans and bodies carry the nuclear radiation scars and are further at risk to the climate impacts. The Pacific has carried this legacy for 80 years. Now we ask Australia to help carry the responsibility for ensuring it is never repeated.” — Frances Namoumou, Ecumenical Animator, Ecological Stewardship and Climate Justice, Pacific Conference of Churches

Background notes:

  • The Parliamentary Friends of the TPNW is a cross-party forum, currently made up of 47 federal parliamentarians who meet and interact with nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation advocates on matters relating to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and to discuss ways to ensure the Treaty’s success into the future.
  • Federal Labor committed to signing the TPNW in 2018 but has yet to do so. The delegation is highlighting the urgent need for signature ahead of the ALP National Conference later this month.The Canberra events are part of a wider lobby and advocacy tour to Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne running Monday 29 June to Friday 3 July, sharing testimony from communities affected by nuclear testing and calling for a Pacific that is decolonised, demilitarised, denuclearised and decarbonised.
  • Articles 6 and 7 of the TPNW on ‘victim assistance, environmental remediation, and international cooperation and assistance’seek to address ongoing and unresolved humanitarian, human rights, and environmental impacts from nuclear weapons.

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Labor MP Susan Templeman, moves powerful motion commemorating Pacific nuclear test legacies

Labor MP Susan Templeman, moves powerful motion commemorating Pacific nuclear test legacies

Jun 29, 2026 | Campaign Updates

CAMPAIGN NEWS:

Labor MP Susan Templeman, moves powerful motion commemorating Pacific nuclear test legacies

To mark two solemn anniversaries of nuclear testing in the Pacific region. Susan Templeman MP – Labor Member for Macquarie and member of the Parliamentary Friends of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) moved a motion in the Federation Chamber in the House of Representatives.

Eighty years ago this week, nuclear weapons began devastating our Pacific region – in the Marshall Islands, Mā’ohi Nui, Kiribati, and here in Australia at Maralinga, Emu Field and the Montebello Islands. Over 315 nuclear ‘test’ explosions scarred the lands, waters, bodies, cultures and poisoned the food chains on which the regions people depended on.

In attendance were Pacific representatives visiting Parliament to raise the profiles of the anniversaries in Austalia and highlight Australia’s moral and regional responsibility to step up efforts in the region to support affected communities, making a clear call for Australia to advance these objectives by signing and ratifying the TPNW.

The delegation this week included Mere Tuilau from the Fiji Nuclear Veterans and Families Association, Samuel Barton from the Marshall Islands Student Association, Rev James Bhagwan and Frances Namoumou of the Pacific Conference of Churches, and Australia’s First Nations Ambassador and second generation test survivour Karina Lester.

In speaking to the motion in the lower house, Susan Templeman MP highlighted the shared histories of nuclear testing in the Pacific region, including in Australia, and the significant leadership of Pacific Island Nations in breathing new life into disarmament endeavours with their early embrace of the TPNW.

The motion was also spoken to by Michael McCormack MP -Nationals Member for Riverina, Matt Smith MP – Labor Member for Leichhardt, Helen Haines – Independent Member for Indi, and Joanne Ryan MP – Labor Member for Lalor.

The full transcipt of speeches is available here.

The first of July marks the 80th anniversary of the first US nuclear detonation in the Marshall Islands. The second of July will mark 60 years since the first French detonation at Mururoa atoll. This motion is an opportunity to acknowledge the harmful and enduring environmental, cultural and health consequences of cumulative historical United States, French and British nuclear testing in the region carried out between 1946 and 1996. 

Pacific nations demonstrated significant leadership in ensuring the entry into force of the TPNW, with 10 Pacific states among the original 50 when it entered into force.  The Solomon Islands was the most recent Pacific Island state to ratify the treaty, in 2024.

I’ll continue to advocate for the importance of sustained international commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Time is running out.

Susan Templeman MP

Member for Macquarie, Australian Labor Party

We spend so much money in the world on weapons and on defence. When you look at the situation there in the beautiful Marshall Islands, you have to wonder why it is not being cleaned up.

Of course, it wasn’t just the United States; it was the British and it was the French as well. We know that. Sadly—unfortunately—Pacific Islanders and their beautiful region were used as a testing ground, and the effects are still being felt. It is up to those who did the testing to clean up their mess.

Michael McCormack MP

Member for Riverina, The Nationals

If we’re not able to tell the truth about these events, both from the recent past and from the more distant past, then we betray everyone who suffered and we leave behind those who had everything taken from them.

This included forced removal of communities. Once you’re removed from a place that your ancestors have called home, you lose that spiritual connection as well. The ancestors need to be present.

There can be no greater devastation than a nuclear weapon upon ancestral land. It changes everything, right down to the molecular DNA. We know what radiation sickness does. We’ve seen it.

This didn’t have to happen, but it did. It is now on us to remember and ensure that this never happens again. 

Matt Smith MP

Member for Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party

Australia was not just a neighbour to nuclear testing but part of the system that enabled it. British nuclear tests were conducted on Australia’s own soil between 1952 and 1963 at Monte Bello Islands, Emu Field and Maralinga, with particular consequence, as we’ve just heard, for our First Nations people and for veterans personnel.

The relationship between Australia and the Pacific is deep and affectionate and we have a responsibility to play a role in ensuring nuclear testing never occurs again in this region. I am proud that Australia does not have a program to develop nuclear weapons and has consistently supported the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. However, I want Australia to strengthen this resolve further by joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

This treaty is a commitment to never develop or use nuclear weapons or to host another country’s nuclear arsenal. Importantly, it would require countries to assist victims and remediate contaminated environments. It fills a significant gap in international law and, importantly, it provides a framework to eliminate nuclear weapons and their associated facilities. 

Dr Helen Haines MP

Member for Indi, Independent, Co-Chair Parliamentary Friends of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

The motion moved in the Federation Chamber on Monday 29 June:

 Ms Templeman : To move—That this House:

That this House:

(1) notes the 80th anniversary of the commencement of nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific, during which over 300 nuclear detonations were conducted across the Marshall Islands, French Polynesia, Kiribati and surrounding region;

(2) gives solemn acknowledgment of the harmful and enduring environmental, cultural, and health consequences of cumulative historical United States’, French, and British nuclear testing in the region, carried out between 1946 and 1996, including the:

(a) exposure of hundreds of thousands of Marshallese, Ma’ohi, and I-Kiribati people to levels of radiation which have contributed to increased cancer rates and other illnesses related to radiation exposure;

(b) exposure of tens of thousands of military service members and workers to radiation levels which have resulted in ongoing consequences for their health and the health of their families;

(c) loss of culture, health and social cohesion resulting from the forced relocation and displacement that separated Pacific Islanders from their families, homes, and ancestral lands; and

(d) widespread environmental impacts which include the contamination of drinking water, food sources and arable land, and the damage to coral reefs and marine ecosystems;

(3) supports the continued strengthening of Australia’s deep partnership with the Pacific family and our longstanding regional cooperation, and in this context, recognises the significance of:

(a) Australia’s continued efforts to support radiation monitoring and nuclear test site assessment in partnership with Pacific nations while recognising that more work can be done to fully address the fallout that persists at former nuclear test sites; and

(b) Australia’s foundational role in and continued implementation of the obligations under the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, which in December 2026 will mark 40 years since it entered into force;

(4) further notes Australia’s history of British nuclear weapons testing in the Monte Bello Islands, Emu Field, and Maralinga, and the disproportionate and ongoing impacts this continues to have on First Nations communities and the environmental and cultural value of their country and the significant impacts on Australian service members and their families;

(5) affirms the importance of sustained international commitment to nuclear non-proliferation through established multilateral frameworks that advance peace and collective security, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and noting the contribution of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons;

(6) commends the advocacy of victims/survivors in Australia and the Pacific for their steadfast commitment to advancing global nuclear disarmament and their leading role in advancing, signing and ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, including its entry into force in 2021; and

(7) emphasises the urgent imperative for all states to refrain from nuclear weapons testing and to engage in genuine, transparent, and verifiable nuclear disarmament efforts in line with their commitments to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty, including its entry into force, which Australia and its Pacific neighbours strongly support.

A sustained international commitment to practical measures that reduce nuclear risks, strengthen the global non-proliferation and disarmament architecture, and lower the chances of nuclear weapons ever being used again is critical. 

As a government, we acknowledge and welcome the advocacy that’s present in the room this evening, and we want to stand with the Pacific in making sure that our world here has changed and that we work together as sovereign cousins, if you like, to ensure the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons internationally.

The Pacific has a loud voice in this space. I welcome that, and I welcome it here in Canberra this week.

Joanne Ryan MP

Member for Lalor, Australian Labor Party

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Pacific Peace Pilgrimage

Pacific Peace Pilgrimage

Jun 12, 2026 | Campaign Updates

CAMPAIGN NEWS:

Pacific Peace Pilgrimage

80 years on from the first of some 300 nuclear explosions conducted in the Pacific, the impact on the fragile ecology of the region and the health and mental well-being of its peoples has been profound and long-lasting. The ‘testing’ on First Nations land in Australia at Maralinga, Emu Field and the Monte Bello Islands, and across the Pacific, including in the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Mā’ohi Nui (French Occupied Polynesia) has left behind radioactive legacies felt far beyond borders.

 

This Pacific Peace Pilgrimage will shine a light on the history and intergenerational impacts of nuclear ‘testing’ in the Pacific region, including here in Australia.  ICAN Australia is working with The Quakers and the Pacific Conference of Churches to welcome nuclear-impacted communities from the Pacific and Australia for a series of events which will highlight pathways towards nuclear justice in the region and call for a future that is decolonised, demilitarised, denuclearised and decarbonised.

Nuclear detonations in the Pacific: 80 years on

From the beginning of the nuclear age, Pacific islands have been used for the development
and proliferation of nuclear weapons. The plane Enola Gay left the Micronesian island of Tinian to carry the atomic bomb to Hiroshima, Japan, in August 1945. The following year, the United States began testing nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands

On July 1st, it will be 80 years since the first American nuclear detonation in the Marshall Islands.  July 2nd will be 60 years since the first French detonation at Moruroa Atoll in Mā’ohi Nui.

Over the next five decades, more than 315 nuclear test explosions were conducted across the region by France, Britain and the United States. Seeking ’empty’ spaces, the Western powers chose to conduct cold war programmes of nuclear ‘testing’ in the deserts of central Australia or the isolated atolls of the central and south Pacific.

The impacts of these detonations and all that followed were catastrophic. But the nuclear threat isn’t only historical. The continued existence of nuclear weapons, that are carried through continents and oceans continue a threat throughout the Pacific.

Join us at one of these events:

July 1: Morning Vigil, Parliament Lawns, Ngunnawal & Ngambri Country / Canberra

Join us to commemorate these significant anniversaries with a candlelight vigil, led in prayer and reflection.

 

This event is hosted by the Parliamentary Friends of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the Pacific Conference of Churches, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and the Quakers.

This is a short event, so please aim to be on time.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP TO THE MORNING VIGIL

July 2: Public Event: Quaker Centre, Ngunnawal & Ngambri Country / Canberra

Commemorating the legacy of nuclear detonations in the Pacific: 80 years on

A gathering for nuclear justice in the Pacific – decolonised, demilitarised, denuclearised and decarbonised.

6:00 pm: Candlelight vigil & commemoration – taking solidarity photo
6:30 pm: Shared dinner – more details to come!
7:00 pm: Slideshow and story sharing circle

Special Guests include:

  • Mere Tuilau – Fiji Nuclear Veterans and Families Association director.
  • Samuel Barton – Student at University of the South Pacific (USP), Suva, and President of the Marshall Islands Student Association.
  • Frances Namoumou – Ecumenical Animator – Ecological Stewardship and Climate Justice – Pacific Conference of Churches
  • Reverend James Bhagwan – General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches

CLICK HERE TO RSVP TO THE PUBLIC EVENT.

July 3: Public Event, Newtown Neighbourhood Centre, Gadigal Country / Sydney

Commemorating the legacy of nuclear detonations in the Pacific: 80 years on.

A gathering for nuclear justice in the Pacific – decolonised, demilitarised, denuclearised and decarbonised

6:00 pm Candlelight vigil & commemoration – taking solidarity photo
6:30 pm Shared dinner – more details to come
7:00 pm Slideshow and story sharing circle

Special Guests include:

* Reverend James Bhagwan, Pacific Conference of Churches
* Mere Tuilau, Fiji Nuclear Veterans and Families Association

This event is organised by the Pacific Conference of Churches, The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Greenpeace and the Quakers. With thanks to our co-hosts for supporting!

CLICK HERE TO RSVP TO THE PUBLIC EVENT


July 3: Public Event, Balam Balam Place, Wurundjeri Country / Melbourne

Commemorating the legacy of nuclear detonations in the Pacific: 80 years on.

A gathering for nuclear justice in the Pacific – decolonised, demilitarised, denuclearised and decarbonised

6:00 pm Candlelight vigil & commemoration – taking solidarity photo
6:30 pm Shared dinner – more details to come!
7:00 pm Slideshow and story sharing circle

Special Guests include:

* Samuel Barton, President of the Marshall Islands Student Association
* Frances Namoumou, Pacific Conference of Churches.

Accessibility: Both the South Building and the House are wheelchair accessible via lift. Wide corridors and accessible toilets are situated on each level. The grounds are entirely accessible via flat concrete paths and ramps.

CLICK HERE TO RSVP TO THE PUBLIC EVENT

 

Pacific Peace Pilgrims

Rev. James Bhagwan is an ordained minister, writer, preacher and regional advocate. His work is shaped by the Pacific’s experience of colonialism, militarisation and environmental harm.

Nuclear justice is a long-standing concern of the Pacific churches. Rev. Bhagwan’s advocacy is rooted in solidarity with communities affected by nuclear testing and militarisation across Oceania, including Mā‘ohi Nui/French Polynesia, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Indigenous communities in Australia. For him, nuclear harm is not only a political or security issue, but a spiritual, ecological and human one — touching land, ocean, health, memory, truth-telling and future generations.

Reverend James Shri Bhagwan

General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches

Merewalesi Tuilau is a rights activist, facilitator and a leader from Fiji. Her advocacy on self-determination, nuclear, and ocean issues comes from over 10 years of engagement with Pacific agencies and governments within regional civil society organisations, movements and International.

Merewalesi’s passion in people as stewards of the vast Pacific Ocean is a testament of our call to safeguard, guide and determine our destiny, and to navigate our narratives until we the people of Oceania are fully free. Merewalesi serves as United Liberation Movement for West Papua Fiji Head of Mission and is an expert for Nuclear Weapons with ICAN International for Fiji Veterans and Families Association. 

Merewalesi Tuilau

Fiji Veterans and Families Association

Samuel Barton is the President of the Marshall Islands Student Association (MISA), at the University of the South Pacific (USP) in Fiji, where he is in his final year studying law. Samuel was a lead organiser of the Nuclear Victims Remembrance Day event at University of the South Pacific this year. 

Samuel Barton

Marshall Islands Student Association (MISA)

Frances Namoumou is a Pacific climate justice advocate, a Methodist, and an Indigenous Fijian (i-taukei) woman whose work bridges faith, gender justice, peacebuilding, and ecological stewardship across local, regional, and global spaces. As Ecumenical Animator for the Ecological Stewardship and Climate Justice Programme of the Pacific Conference of Churches, she accompanies churches and communities across Oceania as they respond to the interconnected challenges of climate change, displacement, biodiversity loss, gender inequality, and the pursuit of a just and peaceful transition.

Frances Namoumou

Ecumenical Animator - Ecological Stewardship and Climate Justice - Pacific Conference of Churches

Australian Survivors in Solidarity

Karina Lester is a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands) in the far northwest of South Australia. Karina grew up in the remote community of Mimili in the beautiful Everard Ranges with her father’s people and is determined to keep her language alive for future generations.    

Karina is a senior Aboriginal language worker, an ICAN Ambassador and a prominent nuclear free advocate, sharing not only her late father’s (Yami Lester) story but her grandmother’s story of the impacts of the British Nuclear Tests in the 1950’s – 1960’s on people and country. Karina participated in the negotiating conference for the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in 2017, has attended two out of three meetings of states parties to the TPNW and has toured Australia on several speaking tours. She has played a leading role in campaigns to prevent international nuclear waste storage in South Australia.

Karina Lester

ICAN Ambassador, AUKUS Public Inquiry Commissioner

Maxine Goodwin is the daughter of an Australin nuclear veteran. In 1952, Maxine’s father, a Royal Australian Air Force radio technician, was deployed to Onslow, Western Australia, for Operation Hurricane—the first British atomic test in Australia. He was responsible for servicing Dakota aircraft tasked with coastal security monitoring. He later recalled being onboard an aircraft that detected intense radioactivity the day after the detonation.

Maxine has spent more than twenty years researching her father’s story and has contributed to arts projects highlighting the experiences of nuclear test veterans and their families. In 2023, she joined an ICAN delegation to Canberra to highlight the harms caused by nuclear weapons testing and urge the Prime Minister to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). In July 2025, Maxine visited the Montebello Islands and Onslow, Western Australia, with a group of artists, writers, researchers and other nuclear descendants to explore the legacies of nuclear testing firsthand.

Maxine Goodwin

ICAN Ambassador

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