7. DIANNE YATES (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control
What initiative will New Zealand take at the United Nations General Assembly this year to reduce the risk of use of nuclear weapons?
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister for Disarmament and Arms Control) Link to this
New Zealand will introduce a resolution into the first committee of the United Nations General Assembly next month, calling for all States with nuclear weapons to remove such weapons from high-alert and launch-on-warning status. This resolution is in response to the threat posed by having literally thousands of nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert, and is consistent with the recommendations of the report of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, which was released last year.
Launch-on-warning status is a nuclear posture intended to ensure quick responses in the event of an apparent nuclear attack. For example, if the attack were to be between Russia and the United States, a nuclear-armed missile would take approximately 25 minutes to get from one continent to the other. If the attack was from a submarine-launched missile, it could be considerably less than that—a matter of sheer minutes. Any State that perceives there may be an attack on it, that has its arms on launch-on-warning status, and that then retaliates does not know whether the apparent attack is real, whether it might have been the result of terrorist infiltration into a nuclear facility, or whether the launch of a missile from the other side might have been the result of a technical malfunction or an accident. Clearly that is a high-risk situation, and to move those weapons back from hair-trigger alert makes a lot of sense and will be widely supported.
What other initiatives on disarmament is New Zealand likely to lead at this year’s United Nations General Assembly?
New Zealand will also lead a resolution, along with Mexico and Australia, promoting the bringing into force of the comprehensive test-ban treaty. New Zealand will lead a second resolution, together with Brazil, to promote the building of support for a southern hemisphere free of nuclear weapons. We will work with our partners in the New Agenda Coalition to promote a resolution on nuclear disarmament generally. All of those initiatives are evidence of New Zealand’s ongoing leadership in our effort to rid the world of nuclear weapons of mass destruction. We should be proud of the lead that New Zealand is taking under a Labour-led Government.