Australia Urged to Ban Nuclear Weapons

By Kyle Evans

Topic: Nuclear Weapons

July 7, 2026, at 5:01 am

Activists want Australia to sign a treaty against nuclear weapons.

Maxine Goodwin's father died of cancer when she was a teenager.

He told her he was in a plane that flew through a radioactive cloud.

Maxine's father was a radio mechanic in the Australian Air Force.

He was stationed in a town where Britain did nuclear tests in the 1950s and 60s.

Maxine's father is in this old photo from the Australian War Memorial.

The first test was called Operation Hurricane.

Maxine's father serviced planes used in the nuclear tests.

The planes flew through radioactive clouds to check for radiation.

Britain's first atomic bomb was tested near Australia in 1952.

One plane flew through a very radioactive cloud on its way back.

Maxine's father didn't tell her much about his experiences.

Maxine lost her father to cancer when she was 16.

Her father didn't talk about his time in the Air Force for 20 years.

When he got sick, Maxine wondered if the radiation caused his cancer.

Maxine thinks the radiation is why her father got cancer.

Nuclear Legacy

Studies have looked at cancer rates in people who were at nuclear tests.

The first British hydrogen bomb was tested in 1957.

A study found that people who were at the tests got more cancer.

Maxine's story is like many others who were affected by nuclear tests.

In Fiji, people who were at the tests got thyroid cancer and leukemia.

The US did many nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands.

Now, Pacific activists are working with Australians to stop nuclear arms.

They want Australia to sign a treaty against nuclear weapons.

Reverend James Bhagwan led the Pacific activists to Parliament.

Their goal is to get Australia to sign the treaty.

If Australia signs, it would mean no nuclear weapons can be in Australia.

Some people think this could hurt Australia's relationship with the US.

Pacific activists joined Australians to stop nuclear arms.

Broken Promises

Many countries signed the treaty against nuclear weapons in 2017.

Anthony Albanese said Labor would sign the treaty if they won the election.

He said it was the most important issue for humanity.

Before he was prime minister, Albanese supported a nuclear ban.

The Labor Party agreed to support the treaty, but they haven't signed it yet.

The government is worried about how the US will react.

Co-founder of ICAN, Dave Sweeney, said the US is the biggest obstacle.

The US doesn't want any limits on its military actions.

Australia helps the US with its nuclear weapons through some bases.

The treaty could make it harder for the US to use its nuclear umbrella.

But Sweeney said that shouldn't stop Australia from signing the treaty.

Some countries that are friends with the US have signed the treaty.

They have US bases, but they don't allow nuclear weapons.

Sweeney wants Australia to do the same.

He's pushing the government to sign the treaty before the next meeting.

But the government might not listen.

Maintaining the Status Quo

The government said it's worried about the treaty's rules and enforcement.

They're also worried it might hurt another treaty, the NPT.

The NPT is an older treaty that tries to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

It has three main goals: stop the spread of nuclear weapons, help countries use nuclear energy peacefully, and get rid of nuclear weapons.

The NPT has been working since the 1960s and has many member countries.

Some critics say it's not working well because some countries are still building up their nuclear arsenals.

But the government said the NPT has helped reduce the number of nuclear warheads.

Experts agree that the NPT is still the best way to limit nuclear weapons.

One expert, Jane Hardy, said the NPT is effective and has helped prevent nuclear catastrophes.

She said Australia can support the idea of banning nuclear weapons without signing the new treaty.

She doesn't think the US would ever ask Australia to use a nuclear weapon.

More news from ABC Pacific

July 7, 2026, at 5:01 am

See more ABC coverage

Practice Listening