A Hiroshima Day event with Peter Garrett and ICAN Australia

Eighty years after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the fire still burns — in memory, in resistance, and in the global movement to abolish nuclear weapons.

On 6 and 9 August 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were obliterated by American nuclear weapons. Tens of thousands were killed instantly. Survivors and their descendants still bear the physical and emotional scars.

Eighty years on, nuclear-armed states continue to threaten the world — and Australia risks becoming more deeply complicit. But there is another path, one that the global majority is already forging. The vehicle to take us down that path is the nuclear weapon ban treaty.

As nuclear tensions escalate and Australia becomes more entangled in nuclear alliances, this one-hour online event brought together survivors, artists, campaigners and parliamentarians to reflect on Hiroshima’s legacy — and the urgent task of disarmament.

Watch the recording of The Fire Still Burns: Hiroshima, Resistance and Disarmament here:

Speakers included:

Peter Garrett – Musician, environmentalist and former federal cabinet minister. Best known as the frontman of Midnight Oil, Garrett has spent decades campaigning on issues of peace, justice and nuclear disarmament. He served as Minister for the Environment and Minister for Education, and is a longstanding critic of nuclear weapons and the nuclear industry.

Isao Morimoto – Second-generation Hibakusha and son of the late author/illustrator Junko Morimoto. Isao will share personal reflections on his mother’s life and survival.

Gem Romuld – Director, ICAN Australia, leading national efforts to promote the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and challenge Australia’s support for nuclear militarism.

Scott Ludlam – Writer, former Greens Senator and lifelong national and international campaigner for peace and climate justice (MC)

The event also featured video contributions from Australian parliamentarians and civil society leaders, music and storytelling to honour the memory of Hiroshima and those working for peace today.