Say NO to a nuclear submarine base in Australia

March 16, 2022
Issue 
A protest against the proposed nuclear submarine base in Newcastle. Photo: Kathy Fairfax

The following open letter to the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Defence Minister Peter Dutton has been initiated by several peace groups and can be signed at the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network site.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a new naval base will be built on the east coast for future nuclear-powered submarines, as part of the new AUKUS agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Brisbane, Newcastle and Port Kembla have been shortlisted.

Add your name to this open letter to the Coalition government opposing a nuclear base anywhere in Australia.

We, the undersigned, oppose the government’s proposed nuclear submarine base in Newcastle, Illawarra or Brisbane because:

• Locations where nuclear submarines are based become targets if there is a war.

• Nuclear-powered submarines use highly enriched, nuclear-weapons-grade uranium, making them extremely dangerous. An accident or malfunction could result in a submarine becoming a floating nuclear bomb.

• The billions in public funds being spent on this could instead create secure jobs in benign industries, such as renewable energy systems.

• There is no safe solution to managing nuclear waste or disposing of the submarines at the end of their life.

• Nuclear-powered submarines are likely to be a Trojan horse for the establishment of a nuclear industry in Australia.

• We are opposed to war because it destroys people, countries and ecologies.

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