I rise to speak in support of this motion moved by my friend and colleague the member for Hasluck. As we approach the 80th anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we must reflect on the widespread devastation that saw more than 200,000 people killed in the explosions and subsequent fires, including around 38,000 children. Many more succumbed to injuries, burns and radiation sickness in the months and years that followed. The bombings also caused significant psychological trauma and long-term health problems, including increased cancer rates for survivors and their dependants. The immeasurable harm and enduring legacy of these inhumane bombings will continue to be felt for generations to come. Let us also remember those affected by nuclear bomb testing throughout the world, especially in our Pacific region and right here in Australia, where the effect of the Black Mist fallout at Maralinga and Emu Field continues to have devastating impacts for veterans, their descendants and First Nations communities to this day.

Through the United Nations, the international community came together to stop the spread of nuclear weapons with the landmark Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. It was Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1973 who proudly ratified the nonproliferation treaty and committed Australia to a world without nuclear weapons. The nonproliferation treaty remains to this day the cornerstone of international efforts towards this goal. Australia is also party to, and was instrumental in creating, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty—the treaty of Rarotonga—and continues to lead on the international push for a fissile material cut-off treaty. Australia shares the ambition of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons's goal of a world free from nuclear weapons, and the Albanese Labor government has renewed Australia's role in working constructively with international partners on practical and realistic pathways towards nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.

I must also commend my hometown of Newcastle. The city of Newcastle was first declared a nuclear-free zone in June 1982 by Australia's first female lord mayor, the late Labor lord mayor Joy Cummings. I want to acknowledge the longstanding work of two very important community groups in my electorate, the Hunter Peace Group and Christians for Peace Newcastle, who will be hosting important commemorations to mark 80 years since the devastating nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I want to thank them for organising these commemorations and for their tireless advocacy for peace. As a lifelong supporter of nuclear disarmament, I will continue to do everything I can to support Australia in continuing to lead the way in promoting nonproliferation and disarmament efforts through existing and emerging international legal architecture. I'm proud to be a member of a government that has reaffirmed Australia's deep commitment to working towards a world without nuclear weapons. The catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never happen again. It is the collective responsibility of all of us—indeed, of all nations across the world—to learn from this tragic history and to commit to building a safer future where nuclear weapons are never used again.

Australia must continue to work with our international partners to strengthen the global nonproliferation regime and promote diplomatic solutions for resolving nuclear related concerns and disputes. No-one, for one moment, thinks this is easy work. But it is incumbent on all of us here to ensure a future that is safe for everyone on this planet. If there is a real purpose to commemorating 80 years of this anniversary, it is to double down on our efforts to ensure the elimination of nuclear weapons wherever they might be.