Diplomatic cables and ministerial briefings, obtained on September 9 by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) under FOI laws, reveal that the Coalition Government has become increasingly “worried” about the “growing momentum” behind the Austrian-led Humanitarian Pledge to ban nuclear weapons.

This growing momentum was confirmed once again when foreign ministers and other high-ranking government officials met at the United Nations on Wednesday September 30 to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

It was reported that many of these officials agreed that the Humanitarian Pledge on nuclear disarmament had opened up new possibilities to achieve much-needed progress towards abolishing these weapons of mass destruction.¹ Continue reading Australia undermines Austrian-led nuclear ban initiative →

According to press reports in Britain recently, it has been revealed that the Russian ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, laid out a three-point plan in 2012 which included a proposal for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to cede power at some point after peace talks had begun between the regime and opposition parties.

This proposal, however, was rebuffed at the time by the US and other Western nations. In commenting on this peace proposal, former Finnish president and Nobel peace prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari said the failure to consider the Russian offer had led to a “self-made disaster”.

The same report in The Guardian noted that in 2012 “the death toll from the Syrian conflict was estimated to be about 7,500. The UN believes that toll passed 220,000 at the beginning of [2015], and continues to climb. The chaos has led to the rise of Islamic State. Over 11 million Syrians have been forced out of their homes.”

This revelation about how the the US, Britain and France rejected Russia’s proposal in 2012, appears to have been ignored so far by Australia’s mainstream press.

To learn more about this story, read The Guardian’s report ‘West ‘ignored Russian offer in 2012 to have Syria’s Assad step aside”, Sep 17, 2015 here.

On September 9, Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed that Australia will extend its airstrikes in Iraq to ISIS targets in Syria.

This decision had been under consideration for a number of weeks. On August 21, Abbott announced that a “formal request” had been received from the US to join bombing missions in Syria. However, according to a Fairfax Media report on August 26, the driving force for the formal request came from the Prime Minister’s office, not Washington.

Following the PM’s announcement, Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, said that these RAAF aircraft would likely begin operations over eastern Syria within a week.

It can be safely predicted that these bombings, far from “degrading and ultimately destroying ISIS”, will not only cause more civilian casualties, but will also anger the Syrian civilians in these ISIS dominated areas. For the most part, these captive communities loath ISIS, but they also resent being attacked by American and Australian bombs. Continue reading Greens, Wilkie denounce decision to bomb Syria →

The Independent Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) has issued a media release strongly opposing the prospect of RAAF planes carrying out bombing missions in Syria.

This follows a statement made by Prime Minister Tony Abbott on August 21 that indicated the likelihood of Australia joining the United States in carrying out airstrikes against ISIS targets in Syria.

The PM claimed that he had received a “formal request” from the US administration for the RAAF to carry out bombing missions in Syria.

The US has been carrying out airstrikes in Syria for many months and RAAF planes have been involved in refuelling aircraft engaged in these missions. Continue reading IPAN opposes Australian airstrikes in Syria →

Protesters converged on the recent biennial Talisman Sabre 2015 (TS2015) military exercises which were held simultaneously for the first time within the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, near Rockhampton in Queensland and at Fog Bay, south west of Darwin.

During the protests, peace activists criticised Australia’s strategic alliance with the US and the dangers it poses to human security in this region. They argued that TS2015 served to make our military assets usable in future US confrontations and wars especially in the South East Asia region.¹

Continue reading Protests at Talisman Sabre 2015 →

The Talisman Sabre military exercises (TS2015) which are about to begin in northern Australia represent the largest combined military exercise undertaken by the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Around 30,000 service personnel, including 12,000 Australians, are taking part. There will be contingents from the US, NZ and, for the first time, Japan.

The exercises demonstrate the closeness of the alliance between Australia and the US – but will also serve to make that alliance even closer. Continue reading Talisman Sabre 2015 →

During ‘Question Time’ in the House of Representatives on Tuesday 16th June, Andrew Wilkie (Member for Denison in Tasmania), asked Prime Minister Tony Abbott the following question:

“The Iraq war has raged for 12 years and created the circumstances for the rise of Islamic State, and all on the basis of the lies about weapons of mass destruction and Osama bin Laden. Seeing as we helped to start this war and create the Islamic state threat, will you acknowledge the Howard government got it very wrong and agree to a proper war inquiry?” Continue reading Andrew Wilkie Calls for Iraq War Inquiry →

MPG has written a long letter to the Minister for Defence, Kevin Andrews, following the extraordinary statement made (and then retracted) by US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, Mr David Shear.

MPG has expressed the view that Mr Shear actually knew what he was saying – and that his ‘mistake’ has revealed the US government’s true intention of positioning military assets in Australia, permanently. This causes deep concern, as tensions between the US and China escalate. Meanwhile Australia, by constantly enhancing the alliance, has effectively taken sides with the US, placing the nation at risk of becoming involved in conflict. Read the letter in full here.

The Minister has been invited to contradict MPG’s position.

For more information, read MPG’s Briefing Paper: The Australia/US Alliance here.

The Gallipoli Centenary Peace Campaign hosted a public forum at the Petersham Town Hall on 22 April called ‘Gallipoli and Anzac after 100 Years: Lessons and the Prospects for Peace Today’.

Despite the wild weather, over 80 people attended the forum to hear three speakers: Douglas Newton (historian), Margot Pearson (Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – WILPF) and Anne Noonan (Medical Association for Prevention of War – MAPW). Continue reading Anzac Forum →

Sydney’s ‘Welcome Refugees’ rally, held in Belmore Park on Sunday 19 April, attracted over 3000.

The Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) reported that this year’s rally was as big as last year’s well attended Palm Sunday rally, despite the date having to be changed due to trackwork being carried out on the city’s rail system on 29 March.

Speakers at the rally included Ian Rintoul (Spokesperson, Refugee Action Coalition Sydney), Graeme McGregor (Refugee Campaign Coordinator, Amnesty International Australia), Ged Kearney (President, ACTU), Dr Sue Wareham (Vice President, Medical Association for Prevention of War), Kyol Blakeney (President, SRC University of Sydney), Lydia Shelly (Islamophobia Register) and Shokufa Tahiri (Hazara Women for Change).

Read Sue Wareham’s full speech here. Continue reading ‘Welcome Refugees’ rally in Sydney a success →

On March 3, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the deployment to Iraq of an additional 300 Australian troops. As if to emphasise the gap between rhetoric and action, when making the announcement he said “This is not mission-creep…”. From MPG’s perspective, mission-creep is exactly what it is.

The Prime Minister described the deployment as “prudent and proportionate” and “in the national interest”. He went on to argue that it was important for domestic security, saying that Australia must do its bit to disrupt and degrade IS at its source. Continue reading More troops to be deployed to Iraq →

According to the ABC (Feb 25), sources have revealed that the Abbott Government is soon to commit hundreds of additional Australian troops to the war in Iraq.

Already Australia has 200 special forces personnel in Iraq and the ABC has reported that the extra troops will be part of a joint Australia-New Zealand mission to train Iraqi soldiers. Continue reading Abbott Government “poised to send additional troops to Iraq” →

‘NEVER AGAIN: LET’S END THE DETENTION OF CHILDREN ONCE AND FOR ALL’. This is the headline on a detailed statement issued on February 13 by the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA). The statement has been endorsed by more than 200 community groups across Australia – including our own group.

The full text of RCOA’s statement can be read here. More information about RCOA can be accessed here.

In response to an announcement by NZ Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee on February 10 that the NZ Defence Force will begin “special contingency training” for possible deployment to Iraq, more than 30 representatives of peace, justice and faith organisations in that country have signed an Open Letter on Military Deployment to Iraq to all Government Ministers and Members of the New Zealand Parliament.  The letter expresses strong opposition to New Zealand becoming in any way involved militarily in the current conflict in Iraq and Syria. Continue reading NZ – Open letter on military deployment to Iraq →