Radioactive Show

Today we continue looking at the AUKUS military pact and in particular the tightening of the relationship between Australia and US military operations.As Vince Scappatura points out in his article 'Australia’s evolving nuclear posture: avoiding a fait accompli' published in Pearls and Irritations on the 12 October "AUKUS epitomises Australia’s geostrategic transformation and evolving nuclear posture within the US alliance. The significance of this transformation is reflected in the fact that Australia will soon become ‘the only ally in the world to host and support military operations by forward-deployed US strategic bombers and SSN attack submarines’. This comes in addition to hosting mature US expeditionary Marine capabilities and a more recent rotational presence of US Army personnel and permanent associated support infrastructure.  Perhaps more significant than providing a ‘vast military launchpad’ for multiple forms of US power projection is the developing role of the ADF to seamlessly integrate with American military forces and to provide what is approaching full-spectrum support operations, including for nuclear missions."Countering this was a focus of the recent Independent and Peaceful Australia Network 2024 Conference 'Sleepwalking into war?' We hear Dr Lisa Natividad from Guam where the US has both airforce and naval bases speaking at a public meeting to open the conference at the Perth Library on Friday 4 October.  Lisa Natividad is a professor of social work and Chamoru Studies at the University of Guam. She is a founding member of the Pacific Indigenous Women’s Network and I Hagan Famalao’an Guahan.  She has been affiliated with the International Peace Bureau and the International Network of Women Against Militarism. We then catch up with long-time peace and anti-nuclear campaigner and former Independent Senator for Nuclear Disarmament Jo Vallentine to discuss the outcomes of the conference.You can read the conference decalaration here.

Today we hear from Whadjak Nyungar man Reverend Mitch Garlett and Senator Jordan Steele-John speaking at a Public Meeting at the Perth Library on October 4 that opened the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network's 2024 Conference called 'Sleeping Walking into War?"On Thursday 10th October the controversial Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bills were rushed through parliament without debate after the Labour government secured last minute support from the Coalition to pass the legislation,  sidelining crossbenchers they had been in negotiations with. The Bills establish a nuclear safety framework for the AUKUS nuclear submarines, including a new Naval Nuclear Safety Regulator and transitional arrangements. A Senate Inquiry into the Bills recommended amendments to prevent high level nuclear waste from other countries from being stored in Australia. But while amendments to the bill partially addressed this by preventing storage of spent nuclear fuel, the reprocessed fuel from submarines, as well as any irradiated reactor parts, are still allowed to be stored here under the legislation that passed on Thursday.

Today we speak with Dr. Margie Beavis about the newly released report from the Quit Nukes campaign 'Risky Business: An Update on Super Funds and Nuclear Weapons'.  The campaign is a collaboration between the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW) and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The report shows that in 2023 fourteen major Australian superannuation funds invested $3.4 billion in the companies that produce the worst weapons of mass destruction.  We also speak with the QLD Convenor of the Independant and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) Annette Brownlie about the IPAN 2024 Conference 'Sleepwalking into war?'.  And we bring you a message from Kokatha representatives Aunty Sue Coleman-Haseldine and grandson Alex on the anniversary of the first Maralinga atomic tests on 27 September.

We reflect on a week of activities, presented by the Disrupt Land Forces 2024 coalition of organisations, in protest to the biggest weapons expo in the southern hemisphere that was held at the Melbourne Convention Centre from 11-14 September.  We hear a speech given by Walpiri elder Ned Hargraves Jampijinpa at the 'Vigil for Gaza:  Shared Voices in Solidarity' held in Batman Park on 12 September.  And Marisol Salinas, Mapuche organiser with the Latin American Solidarity Network, lets us know about the 'Tejiendo Rebeldias: Grassroots Movements and First Nations Solidarity Gathering' coming up from 17-20 October.

We're joined by Wage Peace organiser Margie Pestorius, long-time peace activist Lee Rhiannon and Walpiri elder Ned Hargraves Jampijinpa to talk about the Disrupt Land Forces Festival of Resistance.  We discuss the impacts of the military industrial complex on communities here and around the world, and the importance of coming together to work in solidarity to build a future of peace and justice for the world!

Today we speak with Dr. Vince Scappatura about the NUCLEAR-CAPABLE B-52H STRATOFORTRESS BOMBERS: A VISUAL GUIDE TO IDENTIFICATION that he has prepared alongside his colleague Richard Tanter.  You can learn more at the Nautilus Institute's website. Dr Vince Scappatura teaches Politics and International Relations at Macquarie University. His latest book is The US Lobby and Australian Defence Policy and he was a Panel Member for the Independent and Peaceful Australia Networks People's Inquiry (2020-2022).We also play a part of a presentation by long time Anti-nuclear campaigner David Noonan at an IPAN webinar on August 13 2024, entitled "Suboptimal: Understanding and contesting AUKUS and the domestic nuclear power push”.You can put in a submission to an inquiry underway by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCT) into AUKUS. Submissions to the inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCT) into AUKUS are being accepted until September 2, 2024.The Independent and Peaceful Australia network have created a submission template with key points for consideration, that should lessen the workload for anyone who can make a submission.Treaty Title: Agreement among the Government of Australia, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Government of the United States of America for Cooperation Related to Naval Nuclear PropulsionMore details available here: https://www.aph.gov.au/jsct'Tips on making a submission' by IPAN.Final Submissions are to be lodged online Lodge my submission – Parliament of Australia (aph.gov.au)If this is your first time submitting online to an inquiry you will need to create a My Parliament log in.For any queries: Email [email protected] also Making a submission to a committee inquiry – Parliament of Australia.See also Making a submission Summary of Guidelines.Here are some suggested concerns and matters to raise in your submission – use your own words as much as possible. And do not feel you have to comment on all of the 7 points listed in the ‘Points for Submission’ doc.For more info: Jonathan Pilbrow, Executive Officer 0403 611 815 [email protected]

Today we are joined by Disrupt Wars organiser, Nathalie Farah, to talk about the Disrupt Land Forces 2024 Festival of Resistance.  Running from September 8 - 14 in Melbourne,  Disrupt Land Forces seeks to disrupt the largest arms fair in the southern hemisphere at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Later in the program we bring you some archival audio of the AIDEX arms fair protests on Remembrance Day 11 November, 1991 featuring Robbie Thorpe, Anthony Kelly and Sue Casey.  From the Radioactive Show archives with thanks to Eric Miller and Sam Gibbard.Music on the show is Planet Love by Mitch Tambo.

This week's show hosted by Johan on Musqueam lands shares recordings from Don't Nuke the Climate's webinar on 3.08.24. We hear from the voices of Scott Ludlam and Trish Frail. We also share an archival recording of John Trudell speaking on Liberation at the Black Hills' Survival Gathering 1980.

As we remember the lives lost and devastation caused by the US bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 79 years ago, we bring you voices from the 'Nuclear Never Safe' Vigil on the steps of St.Pauls Cathedral in Melbourne on Friday 9th of August.  In conjunction with the anniversaries of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this week the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons released a new report that reveals the devastating effects of nuclear weapons on children.  Tim Wright, ICAN International’s Treaty Coordinator reads from the report.