Freo residents petition Mayor to uphold City’s nuclear free stance

The Stop AUKUS WA and the Nuclear-Free Western Australia action groups are petitioning the Mayor of Fremantle, Hannah Fitzhardinge, and the City of Freo Council to take a range of steps to ensure nuclear powered or armed submarines are banned at Stirling Naval Base, Garden Island, near Fremantle.

The petition, which is open for signing by residents of the City until tomorrow, will be presented to the City of Fremantle on Wednesday 14 August 2024, at 6 pm at Walyalup Civic Centre, Fremantle.

The presentation will be preceded by a photo shoot at 5.30 pm at the Civic Centre.

The text of the petition, which you can sign online until tomorrow , reads as follows.

To: The Mayor of Fremantle

We, the undersigned residents of the City of Fremantle, respectfully request that the Council:

1. Call on the Commonwealth Government to ban the berthing of nuclear powered or armed submarines at Stirling Naval Base given its proximity to a large urban population.*

2. Explain how else it will respond to the fact that nuclear powered and nuclear armed submarines in Cockburn Sound are inconsistent with the City’s Nuclear Free Policy and pledge to support the Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons.

3. Ensure that residents and visitors are immediately informed of the presence of nuclear powered and/or armed submarines, safety procedures in place and appropriate public response to accidents including the provision of iodine tablets.

4. Seek clarification of the extent of its responsibilities in the event of a nuclear safety breach. *

The rationale for this petition is:

The AUKUS defence security pact between Australia, UK and the USA will lead to increased berthing of nuclear powered, and likely nuclear armed, submarines at HMAS Stirling Naval Base and the traversing of these vessels through Cockburn Sound.

This contradicts the established Fremantle Nuclear Free Policy and the City‘s endorsement of ICAN’s global appeal for cities to support the Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Current documentation of nuclear safety for visiting nuclear warships to WA (HAZMAT Annexe A*) is inadequate in terms of coordination of response, radiation monitoring, public warning, response protocol, training for responders, incident recovery, etc.

The published protocol designates affected local governments as being responsible for recovery, including decontamination, rebuilding, medical rehabilitation, etc.

Probability of nuclear accidents is uncertain, mainly due to secrecy surrounding military nuclear capability, but there is increasing probability of Stirling Naval Base being a first strike target in the event of hostilities breaking out between China and the USA and allies.

*HAZMAT Annexe A. Radiation Escape from a Nuclear Powered Warship (NPW). State Hazard Plan (2022). State Emergency Management Committee, Government of Western Australia.

As initiator of this petition, I am the primary point of contact and am responsible for advising petitioners of the outcome of this petition.

Sam Wainwright, samuel.d.wainwright@gmail.com 0412 751 508
21A Jarvis St, O’Connor. WA

By Michael Barker, Editor, Fremantle Shippijg News

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* For more Fremantle Shipping News stories on AUKUS related issues, look here. And don’t miss our feature article from last April Why Freo’s Nuke Free Policy Needs Upholding bu Christine Owen.

** If you’d like to COMMENT on this or any of our stories, don’t hesitate to email our Editor.

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