FOREIGN AFFAIRS—TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Senator Singh, pursuant to notice of motion not objected to as a formal motion, moved general business notice of motion no. 727—That the Senate—

 (a) affirms its support for:

  (i) the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons, and

  (ii) the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as the essential foundation for the achievement of nuclear disarmament and the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime;

 (b) notes:

  (i) ratification by the United States and Russia of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms [New START] on 5 February 2011,

  (ii) unilateral nuclear arsenal reductions announced by France and the United Kingdom,

  (iii) the strong working relationship between Australia and Japan on issues of non-proliferation and disarmament, including more recently by establishing the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative to take forward the 2010 NPT Review Conference outcomes, and

  (iv) the unanimous views presented by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties in Report 106: Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament; and

 (c) calls for:

  (i) further cuts in all categories of nuclear weapons and a continuing reduction of their roles in national security policies,

  (ii) states outside the NPT to join the treaty as non-nuclear weapon states,

  (iii) ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty by all states yet to do so,

  (iv) the immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiations for a verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for weapons purposes,

  (v) stronger international measures to address serious NPT non-compliance issues,

  (vi) Iran, Syria and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to comply with United Nations Security Council resolutions,

  (vii) political and financial support for a strengthened IAEA safeguards regime, including universalisation of the Additional Protocol,

  (viii) further investigation of the merits and risks of nuclear fuel cycle multilateralisation,

  (ix) exploration of legal frameworks for the abolition of nuclear weapons, including the possibility of a nuclear weapons convention, as prospects for multilateral disarmament improve,

  (x) efforts to establish a Middle East zone free from weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, freely arrived at by all regional states, and

  (xi) efforts to reduce the threat of nuclear terrorism within the framework of the IAEA and the Nuclear Security Summits.

Statements by leave: Senators Singh, Birmingham, Ludlam and Xenophon, by leave, made statements relating to the motion.

Question put and passed.