Tag: ban nuclear weapons

Media Release 1 2026

Denis Doherty

Sydney marks the 81st Anniversary of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombings

Media Release: for immediate release

The use of nuclear weapons on two Japanese cities at the end of World War 2 continues to haunt us with the advent of this terrible weapon.  The weapons are so indiscriminate and killing so many civilians at once make these weapons unusable.

This year is the 80th anniversary of the testing of nuclear weapons by the US in the Marshall Islands and reminds us of the massive damage done to First Nations peoples in the Pacific and later in Australia by the British starting in 1952.

The current wars in Ukraine and Iran could both spin out of control and the risks of the use of nuclear weapons in these conflicts are real. 

Australia must sign the UN Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), Prime Minister prior to his winning the election promised to sign the treaty but he has not made any moves to do so and we are calling on him and the government do so now in this time of crisis.

Details of the Event

Hiroshima/Nagasaki March and Rally

August 1, 1 pm Meet at the Sydney Town Hall Square and later march to the Defence Plaza 320 Pitt.

Speakers include:

Dr Ruth Mitchell – children’s specialist; Matt Murphy Gen Sec ETU; Ms Abigail Boyd Greens Member of the NSW Legislative Council; Dr Alison Broinowski former Australian Diplomat.

Conference

Denis Doherty

80 years of Hiroshima and Nagasaki –
89 seconds to midnight

In person conference

book your ticket

https://events.humanitix.com/80-years-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-89-seconds-to-midnight

August 10 Sunday 4 pm- 6 pm

NSW Teachers Federation Auditorium

37 Reservoir St, Surry Hills

Online use this link

click here at the appropriate time

This link will open a zoom link – please open at around 4 pm on Sunday 10th August

conference advertising

Speakers

Ruth Mitchell

Ruth Mitchell is a neurosurgeon at Sydney Children’s Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW. She is currently Chair of the Board of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). She also chairs the board of the Ubuntu Lab, an emerging museum of the humanities. Recently awarded the 2022 Convocation Medal by her alma mater, Flinders University, for her work with ICAN, she was also the 2019 winner of the John Corboy Medal from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons for her advocacy for diversity and inclusion in surgery, and was the inaugural Australian Medical Association Doctor in Training of the Year in 2016. She has previously served as Co-Chair of the ICAN Australia Board, and Vice President of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War.

Dr Vince Scappatura

Dr Vince Scappatura is currently Sessional Academic in the School of International Studies at Macquarie University. He has a PhD in International Relations and is author of The US Lobby and Australian Defence Policy. He is currently working on the Nuclear-Capable B-52H Stratoforterss Bombers Project for the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainabillity. A compilation of his recent publications can be found at https://mq.academia.edu/VinceScappatura

Tom Unterrainer

Tom is the chair of the UK Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). His role in the country (the UK) which will be building the next generation of AUKUS submarines which will eventually arrive in this country around 2040’s or 2050’s is extremely important to us. We want to forge a relationship with people in the UK who oppose this AUKUS madness. We want the peoples of both our countries to see that spending the huge sums on submarines will make both countries not more secure but poorer with huge social problems.

Rally and March for Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Denis Doherty

Saturday August 2 12 noon

details for the March and Rally

Route of the March

Route of the March

Speakers

Jenny Leong – Greens MP for Newtown

Gem Romuld – Director ICAN Australia

Sara Haddad – Palestinian Writer

Message for Hiroshima /Nagasaki Day 2025

World on the brink of Nuclear Disaster

Three times this year we have been very close to nuclear catastrophe of one form or another.  We had the India – Pakistan conflict, Ukraine – Russia conflict and recently Israel/US – Iran in the ‘12 day war’.  We were faced with either nuclear facilities being bombed or nuclear weapons being used by one country on another!  Either way nuclear radiation and massive numbers of deaths were on the cards.

Last year the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Hibakusha of Japan.  The heroism of these victims of Hiroshima/Nagasaki constantly campaigning for nuclear disarmament has been recognised by the world but the message has not seeped into the heads of the major governments of the world including our own.  The US and Israel are constantly breaking agreements and treaties while they take warlike actions that increase the likelihood of more war and brings the world closer to a nuclear exchange from which no nation will be spared.

It is time to double our efforts to get Australia to sign the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).  The PM promised before he was elected that he would sign the treaty, but it has been ignored.

Australia continues to promote war by assisting Israel to complete its ethnic cleansing of Gaza by massive violence.  Continues to make plans to buy the hideously expensive AUKUS submarines while the US hammers us to double our military spending and to get us involved in a war against China.  Meanwhile our housing crisis is still not solved, our hospitals are without psychiatrists and our nurses are angry because they are being underpaid.  Australia is going in the wrong direction.

Organised by: The Hiroshima Day Committee PO Box 145 Glebe NSW 2037.  Email: hiroshimacommitteesydney@gmail.com; Website: hiroshimacommittee.org