Greens concerned trade nuking our foreign policy

John Key must speak out strongly about New Zealand’s proud record of being nuclear-free and push the Obama administration to commit to a timetable to eliminate all nuclear weapons, said Green Party Co-Leader Dr Russel Norman today.

The New Zealand Prime Minister is speaking at a National Security Summit held by United States President Barack Obama in Washington DC. Media reports suggest that John Key won’t even mention our nuclear-free policy, the most prominent aspect of our clean and green reputation, and the very reason he was invited to the meeting.

Dr Norman expressed concern that New Zealand’s talking up a free-trade deal with the United States may be infringing on the Prime Minister’s ability to speak out strongly on our nuclear-free policy.

“We are rightly recognised as a world leader when it comes to our nuclear-free policy.

“We should not trade off the importance of pushing for a nuclear weapons free world in a cowardly attempt to curry favour with some embittered US bureaucrats with a Cold War mentality.

“John Key shouldn’t hide our nuclear-free flag, he should fly it proudly,” said Dr Norman.

“In fact, he should go further and call on the Obama administration to support the Nuclear Weapons Convention, a multilateral convention supported by the United Nations General Assembly that details a UN process for eliminating all nuclear weapons.

“New Zealand is at this meeting because our nuclear-free courage and wisdom is finally being recognised by the United States Government,” said Dr Norman.

“Mr Key should instead use our political capital to push Obama to take the next step – a UN timetable to make the whole world safe from nuclear weapons.”

“For its own part New Zealand needs to vote consistently for a nuclear free world at the United Nations. In the past this hasn’t always been the case.”

Link explaining the Nuclear Weapons Convention
http://www.icanw.org/nuclear-weapons-convention