Author: Elise West
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Prospects for Peace for Korea – what are the issues, the prospects and what we can do?
Prospects for Peace for Korea. WILPF Australia webinar, 55 minutes, abridged This year, 2023—the 70th anniversary of the Korean War Armistice—the Korean Peninsula continues to face the threat of war. With the tenuous ceasefire still the only formal mechanism in place to prevent armed conflict, tensions are again rising. Recognising the dire need for greater…
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AUKUS: A False Solution to a False Problem
In March this year, the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, along with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Richard Marles, unveiled a $368-billion-dollar plan detailing Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines over the next thirty years (Office of the Prime Minister 2023). The plan is part of AUKUS, a trilateral security coalition formed by…
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Australian Peacekeeping: Our Best Kept Secret?
“Australia has been committed to overseas peace building more frequently than it has participated in overseas wars. Yet our national narrative of war is far more well known than the detail of our humanitarian efforts to prevent conflict.” Margaret Reynolds (WILPF Australia’s National President and former Federal Minister) reflects on the progress of Australia’s peacekeeping…
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WILPF Submission to Senate Select Committee into Australia’s Disaster Resilience
WILPF has submitted several recommendations to a Senate Select Committee for Australia’s Disaster Resilience regarding the possible reforms to be made to the Australian Governments disaster relief processes. The submission draws on a research report published by WILPF in 2020, Militarisation in Australia: Normalisation and Mythology. WILPF Australia welcomes the opportunity to make a submission…
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Open letter signed by 110 academics calls for AUKUS rethink
From the Guardian Blog written by Daniel Hurst: More than 100 Australian academics and scholars have called on the Albanese government to rethink its nuclear-powered submarine plan, arguing it is risky, expensive and will increase dependence on the US. An open letter to the government, signed by 110 people, argues it is “imprudent to hitch Australia’s…
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WILPF Addresses Changes to Defence Act
WILPF has submitted a letter to the Australian Government regarding the possible reforms to be made to current Defence legislation, addressing the changes and how the proposal will actually affect us. You can find more information about the reform here. We write representing the oldest global peace advocacy organisation Women’s International League for Peace and…
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Penny Wong has inherited huge challenges as Foreign Minister
Our National President, Margaret Reynolds writes about the challenges Penny Wong has inherited in her role as Foreign Minister. She is surrounded by alpha males controlling the defence and security debate, convinced that only deadly military weapons can secure a safe future for Australia. She heads a department historically seen as weak and irrelevant by…
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Call Richard Marles: why are US weapons makers getting even more influence?
Many Australian women will be alarmed to read that the Federal Government is quietly preparing to increase our nations dependence on the international arms industry and directing even more taxpayers dollars into secret deals to build up the Defence Departments war fighting capability. You can read more about this issue in Michelle Fahy’s recent article…
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Australian women say NO to AUKUS on International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day 2023: Say No to AUKUS and another overseas war! We urge the Federal Government to listen to the voices of Australian women to guarantee peace and security. We reject those irresponsible and strident voices advocating an American agenda of increased militarization and preparations for war with China. Australian women need to speak…
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Why I Will be Voting Yes for An Aboriginal and Islander Voice to the Australian Parliament
A Personal Reflection by Margaret Reynolds, President, WILPF Australia One of the frustrating experiences of ageing is watching how younger generations seem to ignore or avoid the lessons of history! At best younger policy makers try to reinvent the wheel or at worst they disregard aspects of older policy that might assist deal with new…