Latest developments
The current Liberal-National government in Australia opposes the TPNW, arguing that the Treaty 'seeks to delegitimise extended deterrence' and 'would be inconsistent with our US alliance obligations'.1 The opposition Labor Party in 2018 made a formal commitment to 'sign and ratify the Ban treaty' when in government, after taking into account the need to ensure complementarity with the NPT and an effective verification and enforcement architecture.2 It reaffirmed this commitment in 2021. A federal election in Australia is expected no later than May 2022. More than 90 federal parliamentarians in Australia (around 40% of the parliament) have signed ICAN's Parliamentary Pledge. Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney are among close to 40 cities in Australia that have committed to ICAN’s Cities Appeal.
Recommendations
- Australia should ensure that nuclear weapons do not have a role in its national defence plans and security policies. It should renounce the possession and potential use of nuclear weapons on its behalf, for instance through a declaratory statement, and refrain from endorsing future statements in support of weapons of mass destruction.
- Australia should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.