Articles 
PEOPLE FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
HUMAN SURVIVAL PROJECT
AS NEW START NUCLEAR ARMS TREATY EXPIRES AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT MUST DO MORE TO PREVENT NUCLEAR ARMS RACE, NUCLEAR WAR
As the New START arms control treaty expires later today (Thurs 5th Feb), and the very last treaty limiting nuclear arms disappears leaving no restraints whatsoever on nuclear arms and potential nuclear arms racing, and as the Doomsday Clock hands tick down to an unprecedented 85 seconds to 'midnight', closer to a potential apocalypse than ever in history, including during the heights of the cold war, the Australian Government, known for having at times taken constructive initiatives in this area, is silent.
So too is the opposition. Though the world is closer to the brink of nuclear disaster than ever in its history, apart from the odd question in senate estimates from Senator Shoebridge, you would never know this by listening to the Australian Parliament.
The Expiry of New START, which limited the number of warheads and the number of launchers that the United States and Russia could deploy to 1500 and 700, means that in theory, either or both of the two countries could build as many warheads and as many launch vehicles as they like, of whatever type or range they see fit. In practice, one hopes they will be slow to engage in an unrestrained arms race.
Donald Trump has initially reacted to a proposal by Putin to extend the validity of START by a further 12 months, by saying it seemed a good idea. However nothing has come of it. A little later he said that if new START expires it expires. A new, better, treaty could then be negotiated.
That may not be so easy. New START was itself negotiated when US/Russia relations were in much better repair than they are now. Furthermore, Trump is insisting that a new treaty must include China, whose arsenal of approximately 600 warheads as the last guesstimate is considerably less than the US and Russian totals of between 3-4,000. Given this, and Russia’s increasing insistence that if China is included so too should the UK and France (each with between 200 and 300 warheads). All this would make the entire process of negotiating a new treaty much much more challenging than New START – challenging enough – had ever been.
Nonetheless, there are practical steps that can be taken even by governments such as Australia who though they do not have their own nuclear weapons, will be critically affected by the use of them by others. These are outlined in a letter sent a few days ago the Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong, and members of Parliament (attached).
They include the signature and ratification of the TPNW (Ban Treaty), and action in the UN and other forums to promote nuclear risk reduction measures such as No First Use. (NFU).
At various times the Government has either promised to do these things or expressed interest in doing them. No actual concrete actions have been taken.
John Hallam
Nuclear Disarmament Campaigner
People for Nuclear Disarmament
Human Survival Project
Convenor, PNND Australia
Co-Convenor, Abolition 2000 Nuclear Risk Reduction Working Group
Member,
Global No First Use Steering Committee
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