Australia, like most nations, is happy to voice support at the UN for the total abolition of nuclear weapons. Even the P5 nuclear powers endorse this “ultimate” goal: in 2000 they famously made an “unequivocal undertaking” to eliminate their nuclear arsenals completely, although little progress has been made since then, and all are now investing heavily in the modernization of their nuclear stockpiles with the clear intention of retaining them for many decades to come. Australia’s disarmament declarations, like those of the P5 states, should be taken with a grain of salt.

There are fundamental contradictions in our government’s policies on nuclear weapons, as Tanya Ogilvie-White pointed out in her recent blog post. Australia rightly condemns countries such as North Korea for pursuing the bomb, and expresses dismay at the 17-year impasse in the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament. But at the same time it claims reliance on US nuclear weapons for security, and supports nuclear targeting and missile defence through Pine Gap in Central Australia. When it comes to the worst weapons of mass destruction, our foreign and defence policies appear at odds with each other. Read more