N-free bill 'courageous stand’

Press, 14 December 1985, Page 9

N-free bill 'courageous stand’

Nuclear-free legislation should take precedence over A.N.Z.U.S. and related agreements keeping New Zealand’s ports and airfields open to nuclear-weapon carriers in time of war, says the New Zealand Nuclear-Free Zone Committee.

The committee applauded the Government’s nuclearfree bill as a “courageous stand against nuclear madness,” said the committee’s secretary, Mr Larry Ross. “Clearing the world of increasingly dangerous and

unstable weapons systems is essential to human survival,” he said. A public body, such as a nuclear materials commission, should be set up to enforce New Zealand’s nuclear-free laws and decide on proposed warship visits, said Mr Ross. The commission would gather evidence from any source, hear submissions, make inspections, and reach decisions on existing and proposed military installations or any proposed visits of warships or aircraft.

The “trust me” policy was not fair to the Prime Minister or the public, he said. The Government should install the authority to implement its nuclear-free laws and then act as required to strengthen and uphold the law, said Mr Ross. The bill had its weaknesses, he said. It might not be strong enough to keep New Zealand nuclear-free in wartime which was when the country needed it the most. The weaknesses in the bill

could be corrected through public submissions, said Mr Ross.

“Bases in New Zealand, such as Tanimoana which could link the country to a nuclear war infrastructure, should be examined to see if they contravene the spirit of the bill.”