CITIES APPEAL:
Queanbeyan-Palerang, NSW
The ICAN Cities Appeal was endorsed by Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council, on 8th May 2024.
MOTION
Councillors Katrina Willis and Bryce Wilson moved that Council:
That Council write to the Prime Minister, the Hon Anthony Albanese endorsing the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapon (ICAN) Cities Appeal as follows:
“Our city/town is deeply concerned about the grave threat that nuclear weapons pose to communities throughout the world. We firmly believe that our residents have the right to live in a world free from this threat. Any use of nuclear weapons, whether deliberate or accidental, would have catastrophic, far-reaching and long-lasting consequences for people and the environment. Therefore, we warmly welcome the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by the United Nations in 2017, and we call on our national government to sign and ratify it without delay”
CARRIED.
FURTHER ACTION:
2025: Queanbeyan-Palarang commemorates 80th anniversaries of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On the 23rd July 2025, Queanbeyan-Palarang Regional Council (NSW) passed a commemorative motion which acknowedged the 80th anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and reaffirmed its support for the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Councillors Katrina Willis and Bryce Wilson moved that Council:
1. Note:
a. August 6 and 9, 2025 mark the 80th anniversary of the first use of atomic weapons on civilians, at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, respectively.
b. Up to 140,000 people are thought to have died from injuries sustained during the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tens of thousands more people died from the long-term effects including radiation poisoning and burns.
c. The use of any nuclear weapon, whether deliberate or accidental, would have catastrophic, far-reaching and longlasting consequences for people and the environment.
2. Acknowledge the efforts of the survivors of the August 6 and 9 atomic bombings to work for a world free of nuclear weapons, for which they were awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
3. Reaffirm its support for the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Resolution 211/24).
4. Write to the Prime Minister, the Hon Anthony Albanese, to inquire why the Australian Government has not yet given effect to its commitment to sign and ratify the Treaty.
The resolution was carried.
Queanbeyan-Palarange Reginal Council also coorindated a local event to commemorate the 80th anniversaries of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at a special service on August 6th, 2025. More details of the event are available here