Dissenting Report—Australian Greens
The North West Cape naval communication base attracted
controversy and protest during the Cold War due to the role it played as a
command control and communications centre for US nuclear submarine warfare
against the Soviet Union.
Because North West Cape continues to facilitate, enable and
support nuclear armed submarines, offensive attack weapons platforms, thereby
legitimizing the retention and deployment of nuclear weapons, the Australian
Greens do not believe this treaty should be adopted in its current form.
The Committee has seriously engaged with the question of
nuclear weapons in its inquiry and report, noting that the proposed 25 year
Agreement may pose a conflicting obligation should nuclear disarmament
diplomacy advance within this time frame. However, it has failed to recognise
that allowing nuclear weapon states to continue business as usual deters any
action towards disarmament.
Significant impediments to the commencement and conclusion
of disarmament negotiations are the belief systems that nuclear weapons provide
political power and military security. So long as Australia continues lend
weight and credence to the idea that nuclear weapons bring security by
participating in the US nuclear weapons umbrella and allowing bases on our soil
to facilitate the nuclear weapons apparatus, not only is the coherence of our
disarmament message and efforts compromised, we are also missing an opportunity
to demonstrate that giving a reduced role to nuclear weapons is practically
achievable, and need not result in damaged alliances.
Indeed, working together on disarmament and thereby
liberating massive fiscal, human and technical resources for investment in
human development and sustainability would strengthen the US-Australia alliance
as the international community leaves behind nuclear weapon and the dangerous
and outdated security paradigms they have come to symbolise.
North West Cape continues to be of concern to
environmentalists due to concerns over the possible ecological impact of very
low frequency communications given it is located directly adjacent to Ningaloo
Reef, Western Australia's precious marine sanctuary.
The Australian Greens note that the National Interest
Analysis states that there are a number of issues remaining unresolved regarding
the residual worth of assets and environmental issues that include diesel and
asbestos contamination. The Committee has brushed these issues aside as
reasonable and manageable; however they appear to have not been reasonably
managed over the last 10 years and should be conclusively resolved before
committing Australia to a 25 year agreement.
Senator
Scott Ludlam