We reproduce here the official statement from the Uniting Church on Monday 20th March, 2023. You can find the press release here.
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) Assembly expresses its grave concerns with recently announced details of the $368 billion AUKUS security agreement and the plan by Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.
“Reliance on weapons for peace and security can never achieve a just and lasting peace.”
“In the Uniting Church, we believe Jesus is our peace and so we are committed to being a peace-making community. True security and peace come from seeking to build relationships of trust and understanding, not through bigger military spending,” said Uniting Church in Australia President Rev Sharon Hollis.
The UCA has since its inception called on Australia to be guided by concern for the entire human race rather than self-interest, and as such has regularly called for actions which prioritise peace. In its 2003 Statement Uniting for Peace, the Uniting Church declared “reliance on weapons for peace and security can never achieve a just and lasting peace”.
“What we recognised then is also true now. Security cannot be achieved through armament. When security relies on fear of the enemy, we will never see the world reconciled,” said Rev Hollis.
“The huge cost of the AUKUS submarines will put further pressure on a budget already in structural deficit.”
“Spending on the AUKUS agreement, including the purchase and building of the AUKUS submarines, must not come at the expense of spending on overseas aid, action on the environment, education, health and social security and welfare — things we believe build long term peace and security.”
The UCA further expresses concern that the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines amplifies the risk of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and further degradation of the environment. It is unclear whether this venture will result in the creation of nuclear facilities in Australia, or where nuclear material from the submarines will be disposed at such times as they reach end-of-life.
“We have long opposed nuclear weapons and join the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in calling on the Government to immediately sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
The Uniting Church further echoes the World Council of Churches in denouncing the military industrial complex which profits from the economics of war and violence and the proliferation and export of weapons.
“As followers of Jesus, we will continue to work and pray for peace and invest in relationships and programs that build peace through justice and community development,” said Rev Hollis.
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