Author: Elise West
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ANZAC Day is not a day to prepare for war
Most Australians will be saddened that Anzac Day 2022 was claimed by Peter Dutton to urge our nation to prepare for war with China. The military option is never the way to secure peace. Generations of young Australians have sacrificed themselves because old military minded men can only think of peace in terms of preparing…
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WILPF calls for peace in Ukraine
WILPF Australia strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine and we call for peace and an end to war. No more wars – not now, not ever again. In our letter to Prime Minister Morrison, WILPF has urged the Australian Government to stand united with the international community in calling for Russia to cease its…
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Inaugural Joan Shears Peaceful Pathways Awards
The inaugural Joan Shears Peaceful Pathways Awards at Jabiru Community College in Brisbane were made possible by a coalition of peace groups subscribing to a fund to award a Year 12 and a Year 10 student. The Queensland branch of WILPF donated towards the awards. Joan Shears OAM dedicated her life to working for peace…
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Improve your advocacy for demilitarisation in Australia!
The WILPF research report Militarisation in Australia: Normalisation and Mythology presents evidence and analysis of increasing militarisation in Australia. There are now short fact sheets available for advocacy in talking to your friends and family, and to politicians, about: the dramatic increase in military expenditure in Australia over the past decade the continuing expansion of…
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MEDIA RELEASE RE AUKUS: Major Defence Contract Should wait for Public and Parliamentary Approval
MEDIA RELEASE: AUKUS 26 November 2021 MAJOR DEFENCE CONTRACT SHOULD WAIT FOR PUBLIC AND PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL Recent statements by the Defence Minister, Peter Dutton that he is proceeding with his commitment to the AUKUS contract with the United States and United Kingdom to introduce nuclear submarines to the forward planning of the Australian Defence Department…
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“We Want YOU!” to help us in Australia’s demilitarisation
Just over a century ago, the notorious Uncle Sam appeared on posters around the United States, encouraging young men to join the United States’ army in a veiled performance of patriotism. The two World Wars saw Australia follow Great Britain into a cumulative ten years of devastation and heartbreak, which would be glorified as a…
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WILPF Australia launched its demilitarisation campaign
WILPF Australia launched its demilitarisation campaign on Thursday, 28 October 2021 – during the UN International Week of Disarmament – with a webinar analysing the increased normalisation of militarisation in Australia. The webinar was underpinned by a ground-breaking report released by WILPF in May of this year, Militarisation in Australia: Normalisation and Mythology, which dissects…
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WILPF urges immediate action by the Australian Government to alleviate the suffering of the Afghani people
Submission to the Senate Foreign affairs Defence and Trade References Committee, October 2021 Introduction to WILPF WILPF is an international feminist organisation established in opposition to World War 1 in the Hague in 1915. We work in 37 countries to bring together women of different political, cultural and religious beliefs and advocate for peace and…
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Women, Peace and Security and the End of the Korean War – what are the lessons?
On the Korean peninsula, women activists, religious groups, domestic and international civil society organisations have been working together for reconciliation for over seven decades to bring about the end of the Korean War. While the guns may have ceased firing 68 years ago, the “war” continues, and today the Korean peninsula continues to be affected…
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Footpath Demonstration for Maralinga and to Bring Back the Brisbane Nuclear Free Zone Signs
WILPF Qld members and other Brisbane peace groups held a footpath demonstration for Maralinga and to bring back the Brisbane Nuclear Free Zone Signs. Sixty-five years ago, on the 27th of September 1956, British forces began the atomic bombing of the Anangu peoples and their land at Maralinga. The following 2021 commemorative speech was given…