NZ Nuclear-Free Day

Written By: - Date published: 9:32 pm, June 8th, 2021 - 3 comments
Categories: China, Disarmament, disaster, Environment, Japan, Pacific, Russia, uk politics, us politics, war - Tags:

June 8 is the anniversary of Aotearoa’s 1987 nuclear-free legislation. NZOnScreen is running a retrospective of our proud history, the Nuclear-free Collection. It is well worth a watch. I particularly liked the movie “Nuclear Reaction,” with Big Norm seeing off the French, Big Dave seeing off the Americans and Kiwi Keith was clear about where we stood. The nuclear risk is worse now than it has ever been.

Joe Biden recently told the Japanese Prime Minister that the US stood ready to defend them even to the point of nuclear war.

The United States restated its unwavering support for Japan’s defense under the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, using its full range of capabilities, including nuclear.

That must have thrilled the Japanese. Nuclear madness is alive and well, with the US spending trillions to upgrade its nuclear arsenal, and the UK increasing their stockpile of warheads. What a waste – weapons that can’t be used, because if they are we are all dead.

Now that the US has shifted its strategic position from the ‘war on terror’ to ‘extreme competition’ with the named states China, Russia, Iran and North Korea and the antagonistic narrative heats up we are moving back to the high risk environment that categorised the anti-Soviet ‘cold war.’ The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than it has ever been. War talk is back in Australia and the US.

The anti-nuclear movement today is but a pale shadow of the 70’s and 80’s.

I remember sailing around the nuclear cruiser Truxtun with Fran Wilde in Jim Kebbell’s boat as it entered Wellington harbour.

We have banned those vessels from our harbours so while don’t see it up close the risk they brought is still very much alive.

It doesn’t matter if the  bombs erupt in the South China Sea as global winter will bring an early end to life on our planet.

I’m grateful to NZOnscreen for the reminder of when Aotearoa/New Zealand stood strong for peace.

 

3 comments on “NZ Nuclear-Free Day ”

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  1. weston 1
    9 June 2021 at 5:57 pm

    Doesnt feel like us nzders stand up for anything much anymore let alone nuclear feels more like a mad panic of buy now consumerism a mad rush to get more mostly chinese stuff like lemmings at a fire sale .I heard jacinda the other day on the back of a question about our relationship with china say how we would always say what we felt or something along those lines but beyond carefully crafted pr speak seems to me its not the case .Did we say anything when that head chopping piece of work mbs organized the murder and dismemberment of khashoggi while his wife waited perhaps 30 meters away for example ?I must have missed it if we did .None of our media seem the slightest bit concerned of the fate of julian assange rotting in a uk jail for the crime of telling the world the truth and the issue of the usa ,s frequent violations of international law never rates a mention let alone condemnation .Anytime something positive gets said about the sixties an seventies and a more simple way of life in nz on ts its oh but you couldnt buy a new car or a piano etc etc etc Sound gloomy but i think the rot might have set in .

    • KJT 1.1
      9 June 2021 at 7:11 pm

      That well illustrated the dangers of single issue politics.

      While the anti nuclear weapon movement was a great thing.

      It was the smokescreen the Neo-liberals used, to steal our country from under our feet.

      • weston 1.1.1
        9 June 2021 at 8:19 pm

        We were like moths to a flame i guess ….watching Nuclear Reaction as mike suggested it looked to me that there was an interesting kinda something special about joe bloggs back then even richard prebble looks normal unhurried as he digs in his garden perhaps we still were islanders then