Twyford Phil: Motions — Nuclear Disarmament—Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Review Conference 
Twyford Phil: Motions — Nuclear Disarmament—Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Review Conference 
[Volume:662;Page:10806] 
PHIL TWYFORD (Labour) 
: 
 I move  
That this House recognise the historic opportunity to advance the cause of nuclear disarmament at the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference May 3-28; acknowledge the leadership on this issue by United States President Barack Obama; and call on the New Zealand Government to take an active role in this issue drawing on our country’s proud nuclear-free stance working together with other like-minded nations to support the United Nations Secretary-General’s Five Point Plan for Nuclear Disarmament including preparations for the development of a Nuclear Weapons Convention 
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For more than two decades nuclear disarmament efforts have floundered but a year ago in Prague a new US President declared America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons. Since then the world has watched keenly hoping that this generation will break the deadlock. In recent months we have seen the green shoots of an antinuclear spring. The US and Russia have negotiated a treaty to reduce their stockpiles. The US Government has conducted its Nuclear Posture Review. Some NATO States have called for the removal of nuclear weapons from Europe. President Obama hosted last month a summit in Washington to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists. Now Governments gather in New York to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. The world is watching with high hopes. 
Twenty-three years ago we were ostracised by our traditional friends because of Labour’s antinuclear law. That reinforced in our nation a deep commitment to our nuclear-free policy as a symbol of our rejection of nuclear deterrence and our concern for the planet. That the Prime Minister was invited to Washington by the United States specifically because of our nuclear-free status speaks volumes about the fact that the world has caught up with New Zealand on this issue. But now is not the time to rest on our laurels. Now is the time to lead. We did it before and we can do it again. 
Others are looking to us. Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans both visited New Zealand in recent months urging the Government to take a leadership role on this issue. US Vice-President Joe Biden said to the Prime Minister: “New Zealand could play a leadership role working with other countries demonstrating that the world free of nuclear weapons would be a better place.” But the Prime Minister did not even mention New Zealand’s nuclear-free status in the three-page document he presented to the Nuclear Security Summit. To the Prime Minister I say: “Don’t be an antinuclear lion in the New Zealand media and a mouse in Washington or New York.” His comments on the nuclear issues seem to be only for a domestic audience and as some commentators have observed he seemed to be using the access gained by our antinuclear credentials to leverage a free-trade agreement. 
Well I say to this National Government that trade is vital to our nation but it is not everything. New Zealanders are passionately antinuclear. We want our nation to be a voice of conscience to argue the antinuclear case in the streets at the World Court and at international meetings. If we can make a difference and make this world safer for our grandchildren we should. But it will take courage. We will have to stand up and be counted and sometimes disagree with powerful friends. Norman Kirk did it David Lange did it Helen Clark did it and history recognises them for it. 
We can continue to work patiently at initiatives to build confidence in disarmament getting weapons off their hair-trigger alert and building support for nuclear-weapon-free zones. But the challenge now is to lift our eyes to the bigger goal. The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has proposed a five-point plan to get us there. New Zealand should explicitly commit to the plan and work with other like-minded nations to build support for it. The Government should call for preparatory talks on a process leading to the nuclear weapons convention. Many MPs in this House have already endorsed that call. 
I want to finish with a quote from President Obama from his Prague speech: “Human destiny will be what we make of it. … let us honor our past by reaching for a better future. Let us bridge our divisions build upon our hopes and accept our responsibility to leave this world more prosperous and more peaceful than we found it.”