Labor Policy and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Statement in Detail

Nuclear Disarmament

1. Acknowledges the growing danger that nuclear weapons pose to us all and the urgent need for progress on nuclear disarmament.

2. Acknowledges the deep and ongoing consequences of nuclear testing in Australia, which have been borne disproportionately by our First Nations peoples, as well as testing in the Pacific.

3. Commits itself to redoubling efforts towards a world without nuclear weapons and strengthening the non-proliferation regime.

4. Congratulates the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on its work in returning to global prominence the cause of nuclear disarmament;

5. Acknowledges the value of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the Ban Treaty) which came into force on 22 January 2021,and its aspiration to rid the world of nuclear weapons for all time; 

6. Welcomes the positive steps taken by the Albanese Labor Government to engage with the Ban Treaty, including by sending an observer to the first Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW in Vienna, June 2022 and changing Australia’s vote on the annual UNGA resolution on the TPNW in 2022 from ‘oppose’ to ‘abstain’ and encourages attendance at the second Meeting in New York, November 2023.

7. Acknowledges the centrality of the US Alliance to Australia’s national security and strategic policy.

8. Labor in government will sign and ratify the Ban Treaty, after taking account of the need to:

a) Ensure an effective verification and enforcement architecture;

b) Ensure the complementary interaction of the Ban Treaty with the longstanding Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty;

c) Work to achieve universal support for the Ban Treaty.

9. Labor will take urgent action to reduce the risk of nuclear war by continuing its proud record of seeking nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation by:

a) Contributing to global progress towards addressing the matters outlined in paragraph 8 by;

b) Advocating to the United States that it actively negotiates with Russia, China and other nuclear armed states to develop a follow-on treaty to the New START treaty with a view to realising the objective of Article VI of the Treaty on the Non -Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), namely, a world free of nuclear weapons; 

c) Seeking to work with partners and allies to build upon the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament to develop an initiative which proposes a way of working with states possessing nuclear weapons to achieve Article VI of the NPT and encouraging transparency among all states with nuclear weapons in relation to their use doctrine and the composition of their arsenals, while continuing to strengthen non-proliferation goals in the Indo Pacific region; and

d) Considering steps that can be taken with respect to further assistance for affected communities and further environmental remediation in relation to the British atomic tests that occurred on Australian territory, consistent with Article 6 of the Ban Treaty, and considering further collaboration and assistance to Pacific Island communities affected by nuclear testing in the Pacific, consistent with Article 7 of the Ban Treaty.

Adopted unanimously on 19 August 2023 at the National Labor Conference.

Mover: Senator Penny Wong (SA)

Seconder: Brendan O’Connor MP (VIC)

Statement in Detail

Nuclear disarmament

Congratulates the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons on its work in returning to global prominence the cause of nuclear disarmament;

Acknowledges the value of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the Ban Treaty) and its aspiration to rid the world of nuclear weapons for all time; and

Acknowledges the centrality of the US Alliance to Australia’s national security and strategic policy. Labor in government will sign and ratify the Ban Treaty, after taking account of the need to:

1. Ensure an effective verification and enforcement architecture;
2. Ensure the interaction of the Ban Treaty with the longstanding Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty;
3. Work to achieve universal support for the Ban Treaty. Labor will take urgent action to reduce the risk of nuclear war by continuing its proud record of seeking nuclear disarmament by:
4. Working to create the conditions necessary to achieve a pathway to universal support for the Ban Treaty;
5. Advocating to the United States and Russia for the renewal of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) Treaty for the period beyond 2021;
6. Advocating to the United States that it actively negotiates with Russia, China and other nuclear armed states a follow on treaty to the New START treaty with a view to realising the objective of Article VI of the Treaty on the Non -Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT): a world free of nuclear weapons; and
7. Seeking to work with partners and allies to build upon the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and develop an initiative which proposes a way of working with states possessing nuclear weapons to realise the aspiration of Article VI of the NPT seeking to encourage transparency among all states with nuclear weapons over their doctrine and the composition of their arsenals, and continuing to strengthen non-proliferation goals in the Indo Pacific region.

Resolution 397R

Chapter 11

Nuclear disarmament

Mover: Anthony Albanese (NSW)

Seconder: Richard Marles (VIC)

Labor:

1. Congratulates the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons on its work in returning to global prominence the cause of nuclear disarmament;
2. Acknowledges the value of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the Ban Treaty) and its aspiration to rid the world of nuclear weapons for all time, and;
3. Acknowledges the centrality of the US Alliance to Australia’s national security and strategic policy.

Labor in government will sign and ratify the Ban Treaty, after taking account of the need to:

• Ensure an effective verification and enforcement architecture;
• Ensure the interaction of the Ban Treaty with the longstanding Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty;
• Work to achieve universal support for the Ban Treaty.

Labor will take urgent action to reduce the risk of nuclear war by continuing its proud record of seeking nuclear disarmament by:

• Working to create the conditions necessary to achieve a pathway to universal support for the Ban Treaty;
• Advocating to the United States and Russia for the renewal of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) Treaty for the period beyond 2021;
• Advocating to the United States that it actively negotiates with Russia, China and other nuclear armed states a follow on treaty to the New START treaty with a view to realising the objective of Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT): a world free of nuclear weapons; and
• Seeking to work with partners and allies to build upon the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and develop an initiative which proposes a way of working with states possessing nuclear weapons to realise the aspiration of Article VI of the NPT seeking to encourage transparency among all states with nuclear weapons over their doctrine and the composition of their arsenals, and continuing to strengthen non-proliferation goals in the Indo-Pacific region.

Note: the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was negotiated and adopted in 2017.

Chapter 11: Australia’s place in a changing world

Maintaining our national security

86. Prohibiting and eliminating nuclear weapons is a humanitarian imperative. Civil society and non-government organisations in Australia and internationally who form the global movement to secure a ban on nuclear weapons do important work. Labor will act with urgency and determination to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
87. Given the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, Labor firmly supports the negotiation of a global treaty banning such weapons and welcomes the growing global movement of nations that is supporting this objective.