Peace and anti-nuclear activism

Here are a couple of press releases I sent out this week. The first was to notify the media of my pre-selction as the Democrats candidate for Melbourne. I explain that one of the focuses of my campaign will be on challenging the Government and Opposition over their stances on nuclear issues.

Dems pick anti-nuke campaigner for Melb

The Australian Democrats have chosen Tim Wright , a 22-year-old anti-nuclear campaigner and
Melbourne University law student, as the party’s candidate for the seat of Melbourne in this year’s federal election.

Tim spent the first half of the year in Africa persuading government ministers to ratify the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. He is now on the management committee of the
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

“Nuclear will be a big issue this election. Australians are justifiably alarmed that our Prime Minister seems happy to sell uranium to just about anyone who asks for it. We no longer exercise caution in this area,” he said.

“Australia once led the world in promoting nuclear disarmament. Now we’re very much contributing to the problem by nestling under the United States nuclear umbrella.

“My greatest fear is that it’ll take another Hiroshima or Nagasaki before we finally muster the political will to ban the nuclear bomb once and for all.

“The Government also seems hell-bent on developing a nuclear power industry for Australia . Of all the stupid ideas it has come up with over the last decade, this it surely one of the stupidest,” he said.

“Nuclear power is dirty, dangerous, uneconomical and unsustainable. We should be concentrating on renewables, which don’t produce waste that is harmful to human health.”

And here's a press release I sent out this morning about the International Day of Peace, which is tomorrow. Once again, the Government has refused to support a global ceasefire for the duration of the day.

Government snubs Peace Day

The Australian Government has refused to support a 24-hour global ceasefire which the United Nations is trying to broker tomorrow for the International Day of Peace.

“What’s the point in having a peace day if the guns still fire and the bombs still fall?” asked Tim Wright, president of the Melbourne-based Peace Organisation of Australia.

“Australia said yes to a UN resolution in 2001 which made Peace Day a ceasefire day. But each year since then it has refused to do anything to help bring about a break in hostilities.

“Its excuse this year is, bizarrely, that to actively support a ceasefire would jeopardise the security of our servicemen and servicewomen. But I suspect the Government is just being lazy on this.

“The ceasefire idea has huge merit. Families can be reunited. Aid workers can access areas that are ordinarily off limits. And people are spared the daily burden of fear for their own lives and the lives of each other.

“But, most importantly, it gives people in war zones time to look beyond the barricades to see if there’s an alternative path. One day of peace could conceivably lead to two days or three. In fact, there's no limit.

“I find it absurd that, in 2007, we still consider warfare a legitimate way to resolve disputes. Let's try to stop killing each other - at least for one day,” he said.

I'll be speaking at a couple of public forums tomorrow about peace and poverty alleviation. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I think that one cannot exist without the other.