Meeting on 3rd February 2024 in Marrickville, representatives of more than 30 peace and community organisations endorsed the Marrickville Declaration, a document that highlights the dangers of the trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (AUKUS). Given the grave implications of AUKUS, the Marrickville Declaration commits the signatories to a public campaign aimed at getting the Australian government to withdraw from this pact.
Reproduced below is an edited version of a media release on the meeting and its outcomes prepared by Independent & Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN). The full version can be accessed here.
IPAN – Media Release – 20th Feb 2024
Representatives of more than 30 community organisations have endorsed the Marrickville Declaration, a document that highlights the dangers of the AUKUS agreement and commits the signatories to a campaign for the Australian government to withdraw from the pact.
Meeting at Marrickville, Sydney, in February, the groups set themselves the ambitious, yet necessary, goal to galvanise broad social support to oppose AUKUS and the war drive against China being pursued by the United States and blindly followed by the Australian government.
Together, they have established a committee to Mobilise Against AUKUS and War, which will cooperate with existing labour movement and peace groups, faith groups and broad progressive organisations to build a stronger peace and nuclear disarmament movement.
Speaking for Mobilise Against AUKUS and War, Dr Alison Broinowski from Australians for War Powers Reform said: “The unthinking continuation of Scott Morrison’s AUKUS policy by the Albanese government has been a deep disappointment. But more than that, it is a dangerous policy that threatens Australian lives and our environment.
“We are not only at risk of being dragged into a deadly war, the government also has no plans to deal with the high-level nuclear waste generated by the AUKUS submarines. And we know that AUKUS funds from Australia are already underwriting the US nuclear weapons industry.
“The US has become an unstable ally. With Donald Trump a real chance of returning to the White House, we cannot risk Australian lives with AUKUS.”
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The Marrickville Declaration highlights that the $368 billion to be spent on nuclear submarines detracts from addressing urgent social and community needs, not least the fight against the impact of climate change.
The signatories of the Marrickville Declaration stand in solidarity with First Nations communities, who will inevitably be left to bear the consequences of any nuclear waste and/or testing facilities built on unceded Indigenous land.
The Declaration calls on signatories to oppose AUKUS through all non-violent means available and promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
It calls on the government to provide full details of the AUKUS agreement, including its purpose, timing and cost, and to initiate a thorough investigation into ensuring national security, including through a truly independent foreign and military policy.
The Declaration comes nearly a year after Marrickville Peace Group hosted a public meeting in Marrickville Town Hall, under the title “Can War be Avoided or Will Our Peace be Shattered?”.
That meeting, addressed by former Foreign Minister Bob Carr, Senator David Shoebridge, Dr Alison Broinowski and US Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, took place just a few days after the AUKUS agreement was finalised in San Diego. Hundreds attended the meeting in the Prime Minister’s electorate, demonstrating strong public opposition to the AUKUS project.
For further comment contact:
– Dr Alison Broinowski: 0422 608 580 / broinowska@gmail.com
– Peter Murphy: 0418 312 301 / peter_murphy1_au@bigpond.com
– For general information, contact Nick Deane, Marrickville Peace Group, 0420 526 929 / homishdu@yahoo.com.au
The Marrickville Declaration can be accessed here.
Notes
Also refer to the following articles:
– Nick Deane, ‘Mobilising opposition to AUKUS – The Marrickville Declaration’, Pearls and Irritations, Feb 22, 2024.
– Paul Gregoire, ‘The Marrickville Declaration Asserts Civil Society Resistance to AUKUS’, Sydney Criminal Lawyers, Feb 23, 2024.
Points to ponder:I am ninety, have never seen any Government reverse economic conditions so dramatically, as are called for now, in their first full year in office; foundations need months of study and preparation, when did this happen? are smoke and mirrors involved? I for one do not trust Labor, and I have been a Labour supporter all my adult life. The latest “Kicker” is the Aust/U.S.2023 version of the Force Posture agreement. In it Albanese commits Australia to War with China under U.S. control, and that, within four years; any fair dinkum Military man will tell you: Australia will be forced to introduce “National Conscription” in order to comply with the terms and expectations, and implications set out in this agreement. Australian sons and daughters must be trained to kill or be killed. When pray, did Albanese consult us about this evil and unnecessary prospect? Even now, as we speak, Australia is being stock piled with al the U.S. war making equipment and supplies; Australia has become a front line forward operating supply base for this U.S. war with China. Albanese has moved all our military concentrations to the top end, leaving their vacated bases to be filled with the planned National Service recruits. None of this is known , debated or discussed by the Australian population. You must ask yourself why?