Australia’s US alliance is preventing the country from signing and ratifying the Treaty for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, despite overwhelming public support for the government to do so.

A recent ABC 4Corners program highlighted the failure of the Albanese Government to sign and ratify the Treaty for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

The program also went back in time to show Anthony Albanese moving the motion at an ALP National Conference establishing that an ALP Government, in power, would sign and ratify the Treaty. Richard Marles, now the Minister for Defence, seconded that motion. The same motion to sign the Treaty when in government has been passed at successive ALP National Conferences.

The ALP came into power in 2022 but did not sign the Treaty in its first term of government. Now into its second term of government it has still indicated no intention of doing so. It is not lacking the numbers “on the floor” as it has a substantial majority in parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles was questioned on 4Corners as to why the government has not signed it. He had no answer, except to suggest that it is different when you are in government. He gave no indication that the Government will sign the Treaty in this second term of government. And the government steadfastly holds to this position despite the polls showing an overwhelming majority of Australians want the Treaty signed as a step towards keeping the world safer from nuclear war.

It doesn’t require a great deal of intelligence to deduce the reason for the ALP Government’s reluctance to sign the Treaty. Simply put, signing and ratifying it requires mandatory consequential action to close United States access to certain military installations in Australia related to US nuclear war fighting abilities. And to take that action would put in jeopardy the US military alliance with Australia.

The ALP Government and, in this matter, the Liberal Coalition, are subserviently and enthusiastically committed to this alliance.

States signing and ratifying the TPNW must not support in any way the nuclear war fighting operations of a nuclear power. Australia is currently providing, or about to provide, at least four installations which assist the United States’ nuclear war fighting ability.

Pine Gap provides the US with real time and vital satellite surveillance data to the US nuclear war room in Nevada via the Relay Ground Station in Central Australia, for use in a nuclear war. It would have to be closed to the United States if the TPNW was signed and ratified.

The Harold Holt Communications Station at NW Cape at Exmouth in WA enables the United States to communicate with its nuclear-armed, hunter-killer submarine fleet while they are submerged and through this facility can send them the trigger signal to launch their nuclear missiles. Clearly, signing and ratifying the TPNW would require closing United States access to this communication facility.

The porting and maintenance facilities currently under construction at HMAS Stirling in WA at the cost of $8 billion to the Australian taxpayer, is to service United States and United Kingdom nuclear hunter-killer submarines. The United States refuses to confirm or deny whether their nuclear submarines are armed with nuclear weapons.

So an Australian government which signed and ratified the TPNW would need to halt this construction program and refuse porting and maintenance facilities to US nuclear submarines in order to be compliant with the Treaty.

A fourth installation is being constructed at RAAF base Tindal in the NT. Parking and support facilities are being established at that base for up to six United States B52 bombers, some of which can be nuclear-armed. Again, it is the policy of the US to neither confirm or deny that such bombers are carrying nuclear weapons. The same consequential actions would emanate from the signing and ratifying of the TPNW. Such facilities could not be provided to a nuclear-armed power, in this case, the United States.

All four of these military facilities have been established under the umbrella of the US-Australia military alliance. The facilities at HMAS Stirling are being established under AUKUS, a subset of the alliance. The facilities at Tindal are under the US Force Posture Agreement, also a subset of the US alliance.

Australians want to reduce the risk of nuclear war and want the government to sign and ratify the Treaty. It is vital that we now recognise the US alliance and the military facilities established under its umbrella as representing the major obstacles to doing so.

The way forward to a more peaceful world means ending this alliance.

IPAN, the independent and peaceful Australia network is campaigning for the cancellation of AUKUS and termination of the Force Posture Agreement as steps towards ending the US alliance. 

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.