Writer
Sue Wareham
Dr Sue Wareham OAM has spoken and written widely on peace and disarmament issues, and is President of the Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia). She is a former Canberra GP. FB: @MAPWAustralia, T: @MAPW_Australia
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SUE WAREHAM. Abbott – a natural fit for a war memorial sliding from commemoration to propaganda
People who have the power to set the direction of national cultural institutions need to reflect appropriate values. The appointment of Tony Abbott to the Council of the Australian War Memorial reminds us of just how much the Memorial has lost touch with the values of many Australians. A man whose public life has been Continue reading »
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SUE WAREHAM. Nuclear weapons must be rejected
Professor Hugh White’s recent suggestion that Australia might need to consider nuclear weapons is highly provocative and dangerous. He is helping to legitimise these instruments of terror, and gives credence to the deeply flawed notion of nuclear “deterrence”. Australia must instead support global efforts for nuclear weapons elimination, especially the Treaty on the Prohibition of Continue reading »
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SUE WAREHAM. How the Australian War Memorial has lost its way.
In a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories inquiry into Canberra’s national institutions Sue Wareham ,on behalf of the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) calls for major changes at the AWM The submission notes that the inquiry’s purpose is to report on strategies that Canberra’s national Continue reading »
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SUE WAREHAM. Honouring the war dead means learning from the horror.
This Anzac Day, as on every other, we will hear of the horrors of war to which many of our service people have been exposed, horrors that certainly call into question any notion of us assuming the title “homo sapiens”. We will “honour the fallen” and utter the hallowed words “lest we forget”, as we Continue reading »
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SUE WAREHAM. Parliamentary debate on going to war is long overdue.
This week marks the 15th anniversary, on March 20, of one of Australia’s most disastrous foreign policy decisions – our involvement in the invasion of Iraq. To characterise this as “our” involvement, however, does a great disservice to the millions of Australians who were vehemently opposed to the decision that was made by just one Continue reading »
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SUE WAREHAM. PM Turnbull’s ‘jobs’ argument for war profiteering is a sham.
PM Turnbull’s push to make Australia a major weapons exporter puts paid to any pretence we might have of being a peace-loving nation. And his claim that it’s all about jobs is a sham. War profiteering is one of the least effective ways to create jobs. Continue reading »
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SUE WAREHAM. Open letter: Parliament, not ministers, must decide Australia’s response to a Korean war
The possibility of war between the United States and North Korea – particularly a war triggered by one too many provocative moves by an unpredictable leader, leading to miscalculation or misinterpretation – continues to threaten millions of people. The consequences of any such war, even a “conventional” one, would be dire. Continue reading »
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The Australian War Memorial and weapons manufacturers
The peace of the world for future generations is anathema to the interests of those who profit from warfare. As we commemorate again the “war to end all wars”, and every war since, one can only wonder what the diggers would have thought, as we allow the industry that profits from the cruelty of wars Continue reading »
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SUE WAREHAM. How independent is the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
ASPI’s oft-repeated claim of independence – immunity from the influence of the corporations who help fund the organisation – does strike one as rather naive for experts who might otherwise be seen as “hard-headed realists” in a tough world. Corporations are, after all, accountable to their shareholders to whom they must demonstrate that funds are Continue reading »
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SUE WAREHAM. Why is Australia not fully behind efforts to prohibit nuclear weapons?
It’s about time for some good news. Heaven knows, we need it after 2016’s litany of human failures to find peace between ourselves and with our struggling planet. But as a Christmas gift of historic proportions, the UN – which is to say its member states – has taken the most promising action in decades Continue reading »
