PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS

Dr HAINES (Indi) (19:21): I rise to speak on the 80th anniversary of the commencement of nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. I commend the member for Macquarie for putting forward this important motion, and I welcome our honoured guests in the chamber today from the Pacific. When nuclear weapons testing began in the Pacific in 1946, the world was fragile.

The Second World War had just ended and the use of an atomic bomb a year earlier had changed the nature of war and the nature of global power. The United Nations was established to help stabilise world order, but there were no agreed rules to govern nuclear weapons and deep mistrust between world powers fuelled the acceleration of the arms race. In the Pacific post war, many islands were controlled by colonial powers or administered as United Nations trust territories.

Designed to provide stability and protection, it also left the region vulnerable to decisions not in their interests, and the Pacific became a testing ground for the most destructive weapons ever created. The first postwar nuclear test, aptly named Operation Crossroads, took place on 1 July 1946 at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Entire populations were displaced to enable the tests.

They were removed from their ancestral lands to remote islands with little food, unreliable water supply and limited natural resources. Within two years, people were starving. The second test—Baker—followed soon after as an underwater detonation, leaving the area seriously radioactive and unable to be safely approached for some time.

The Baker test prompted President Truman to abandon his third underwater test. Over the following decades, hundreds of nuclear detonations were carried out across the Pacific by the United States, the United Kingdom and France. The nuclear legacy in the Pacific is profound and enduring.

Extreme radiation exposure has caused lasting health impacts, including increased rates of cancer, birth defects, reproductive health issues and chronic illness. Ecosystems were contaminated, damaging reef structures, polluting groundwater, rainwater and traditional food sources. Communities were forced from their homes and ancestral lands, fracturing cultures and disrupting practices sustained over generations.

Australia was not just a neighbour to nuclear testing but part of the system that enabled it. British nuclear tests were conducted on Australia's own soil between 1952 and 1963 at Monte Bello Islands, Emu Field and Maralinga, with particular consequence, as we've just heard, for our First Nations people and for veterans personnel. The relationship between Australia and the Pacific is deep and affectionate and we have a responsibility to play a role in ensuring nuclear testing never occurs again in this region.

I am proud that Australia does not have a program to develop nuclear weapons and has consistently supported the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. However, I want Australia to strengthen this resolve further by joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This treaty is a commitment to never develop or use nuclear weapons or to host another country's nuclear arsenal.

Importantly, it would require countries to assist victims and remediate contaminated environments. It fills a significant gap in international law and, importantly, it provides a framework to eliminate nuclear weapons and their associated facilities. I acknowledge the work of organisations such as the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize recipients—ICAN—and the Quakers for their persistent advocacy.

I'm not naive about the strategic challenges we face in our global environment. In the face of the Middle East crisis, Associate Professor Tilman Ruff AO, founding chair of ICAN Australia, has urged Australia not to be 'complicit partners in a system that normalises nuclear threats'. We cannot ignore that these weapons have the capacity to cause immense human suffering and environmental harm, nor can we allow their threat to become routine in international disputes.

So this week we welcome this delegation representing nuclear impacted communities from the Pacific. I'm looking forward to hearing from you about your lived experience, the challenges you face and what you are asking of us, because this anniversary is not just a moment of remembrance; it is truly a call to action, to listen to the lessons of history and to play our part towards a future free of nuclear weapons.

I commend this motion to the House.