CAMPAIGN NEWS:
For a nuclear-free future
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A farewell note from Gem Romuld, signing out as ICAN Australia Director.
Taking on nuclear weapons is one of humanity’s greatest challenges. Not just because of the ruthless industry that develops and builds them but also due to their political status and the imaginative power they wield. It’s as if they are magical creatures, bestowing fear and exerting control wherever they are pointed. For many people, imagining the end of nuclear weapons is like imagining the end of the world as they know it; it’s a fantasy, a noble goal, but not a reasonable prospect. Half the challenge to move the conditions for nuclear disarmament forward is the mental leap; convincing others that nuclear disarmament will make them safer, that nuclear-armed leaders can disarm, that the nuclear world order is not permanent, natural or inevitable.
It takes courage and a great deal of fierce optimism to demand nuclear abolition. That’s why I love the vision and the work of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and why I’ve been honoured to spend 12 years working on the campaign in our corner of the world. We celebrate and push for meaningful steps along the way, but never do we relent on demanding nuclear abolition. This abolitionist orientation is what makes the ICAN campaign unique, bold and powerful. It’s grounding in the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons is another core feature, recognising the ongoing damage done by nuclear colonialism on First Nations land and bodies worldwide, and fighting for justice.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons represents the most significant challenge to the global nuclear order in decades. It sets a new common standard and forces every nation to choose, is it for or against nuclear weapons? And here is Australia’s predicament: our government presents itself as vehemently opposed to nuclear weapons, while simultaneously supporting their potential use on our behalf, both politically and practically. The governing Labor Party has committed in policy to sign and ratify the ban, but has thus far refrained from doing so. We can make this signature happen, and we must, before “rotational” AUKUS submarines and “visiting” nuclear-capable bombers entrench Australia more deeply in US nuclear war planning and preparations. We have a window of opportunity, while the man who held ICAN’s Nobel Peace Prize medal aloft, proudly introducing Labor’s national commitment to sign the treaty, is Prime Minister.
It may be tempting to give up, in a swamp of realpolitik malaise, but that is not the way of the abolitionist. This difficult work is an everyday practice of love for the planet and its people, and is world-changing along the way to the ultimate goal.
My involvement in ICAN came out of my experience and commitment to countering the nuclear industry in Australia, opposing uranium mines and nuclear waste dumps. I was brought on board by the late great ICAN co-founder Dr Bill Williams, and Tim Wright, both of whom were powerful influences in my development as a professional ratbag.
If you’ll indulge me, I’ll share a few highlights of my time at ICAN:
Being in the room when the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted at the UN in New York on 7 July, 2017, as the conference room erupted in applause, tears and hugs. I wrangled a collection of people present that day into reading out every single line of the Treaty for me to stitch this video together, capturing a moment in time. I saw Hiroshima survivor Setsuko Thurlow and Aunty Sue Coleman-Haseldine, Kokatha elder and nuclear test survivor, speak to the conference floor and celebrate this bittersweet moment: so much has been lost but nuclear weapons were finally banned under international law.
When the TPNW opened for signature on 20 September 2017, and we knew Australia was not going to be there signing on the dotted line, a friend and I climbed up onto the awning in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra, holding up a massive banner saying “Sign the nuclear weapons ban treaty”. We stayed there for a few hours while TV cameras swarmed below before the police dramatically abseiled from the top of the building to arrest and remove us. We were released without charge.
Winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I was in a traffic jam in Sumatra, Indonesia, on holiday with friends, when the news came through. Later on we hosted a big party at the Melbourne Town Hall with music, art and speeches, and watched the ceremony live from Oslo.
We organised a group of people to cycle from Melbourne to Canberra in 2018, touring the Nobel medal and talking about the ban treaty in small towns along the way. The ride concluded with a protest march escorted by fire trucks, a group of parliamentarians welcoming us to Parliament House and ICAN flags lining the bridge over Lake Burley-Griffin.
A team of us descended on the December 2018 National Labor Conference in Adelaide and worked the room and the halls while a few good people engaged in tough negotiations behind the scenes to reach Labor’s strong and clear commitment to signing the TPNW. When the future Prime Minister stood on stage to move the resolution, holding our Nobel Peace Prize medal aloft, we knew it was a hugely significant moment. Back at our accommodation, Tim, Marcus and I downed some bubbles, stunned, exhausted, and hopeful.
In 2023 we hosted an “Atomic Survivors Delegation”, bringing First Nations nuclear test-impacted women Karina Lester and Aunty June Lennon, as well as nuclear veteran Douglas Brooks and veteran descendent Maxine Goodwin to Canberra. They went from meetings to media spots to events, speaking about how nuclear weapons testing in Australia changed their lives for the worse. Their heart, humanity and commitment was deeply affecting, I hope the Foreign Minister felt it too.
2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the dawn of the nuclear age, with the Trinity nuclear explosion in New Mexico and the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki a few weeks later on 6 and 9 August 1945. This year has seen an impressive rise in nuclear disarmament activism with commemorations, events and mobilisation nationwide to get the TPNW signed now.
Over the years we’ve been a creative team and on occasion have created video clips including the re-worked Rihanna “(Don’t want your) Nuclear Umbrella” and the dismantling of a large missile prop outside the gates of Pine Gap, for a video called “How to dismantle an atomic bomb“. The angle grinder discs were worn down quickly so we had to resort to brute and hilarious force.
In the early years of the TPNW, anything seemed possible, and then the covid-19 pandemic hit, as well as a devastating summer of bushfires. Like so many progressive campaigns, it took time to recover and build momentum again, especially throughout years of Liberal/National government. The nuclear-armed states have made progress more difficult, by continuing to spend billions, showcasing new delivery vehicles and throwing around nuclear threats. Every act of war stalls the possibility for disarmament, as fear reigns and bold action goes on the backburner. We’ve seen nuclear-armed states start wars, and in the case of Israel, two years of genocide on the Palestinian people. We’ve seen the Australian Government doggedly pursue the AUKUS alliance, inviting nuclear dangers, handing over billions of dollars and tying us more deeply to the US military. Militarism is increasingly creeping into Australian civic life, including schools and universities, as the government seeks to expand weapons manufacturing in this country. Countering these forces is difficult and takes a significant mental toll on everyone affected by war and racism at home and worldwide.
We’re also seeing a growing movement of people who have become literate in military supply chains and how exactly Australia is complicit in mass violence elsewhere in the world. War is closer to home when it’s supplied by the factories down the road and facilitated by the Cabinet room in Canberra. Challenging the US alliance has never been more popular with so many Australians revolted by President Trump and everything he stands for. This moment, and the next year or two, hold great possibility for good people to get something back and to win something meaningful.
I’m stepping down as ICAN Australia Director, making way for someone brilliant to take the campaign forward, and to shift into the climate movement. I take great comfort knowing the brilliant staff team of Jemila, Jesse and Imogen have everything well in hand, and will continue to be an experienced, creative and dedicated team to support the new Director. I also take comfort from my plan to join the ICAN Australia board as a volunteer in 2026 to get Australia’s signature on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
My final and favourite highlight is of course the people who’ve inspired, taught, accompliced and accompanied me in this work here in Australia and worldwide. Shout outs to some of my ICAN heroes Aunty Sue, Dave, Dimity, Jemila, Jesse, Karina, Margie, Marianne, Ray, Robert, Scott, Tim, Tilman and the rest of you, too many to name, in all corners of this continent and the world.
Thank you. And let’s keep going.