This month’s NSW Teachers Federation Council coincides with Hiroshima Day’s 80th anniversary.
On this day in 1945, more than half a million people were horrifically killed when the United States dropped nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
To mark the tragedy, teachers heard from Gem Romuld, Australian Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
Gem spoke about how ICAN’s campaign for Australia to sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is crucial in the fight for peace.
“If we don’t get rid of them, nuclear weapons will without a doubt be used again,” Gem warned. “Nuclear weapons have brought nothing but terror and loss… Hiroshima and Nagasaki are an eternal warning.”
The TPNW is the first global agreement to comprehensively ban the development, possession, use, and threat of use of nuclear weapons.
In 2017, ICAN was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their work fighting for this agreement.
Gem graciously brought the medal to Council, giving teachers the opportunity to hold it and reflect on the campaign’s significance.
She also encouraged teachers to write to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urging him to commit to signing the treaty as soon as possible. Templates and further information, and action here.
New research shows that two-thirds of Australians want the government to sign and ratify the TPNW.
“80 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Australians are crystal clear — our country must take action to ensure these weapons are never used again. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the global pathway forward,” Gem said.
Federation is a proud partner of ICAN and is committed to the ongoing fight for peace.
Last weekend on Saturday 2 August, Federation members attended the Hiroshima Day Committee Sydney rally and marched through the CBD, reaffirming that peace is and always will be union business.
