Kiama Council is to become the 43rd Australian council to endorse the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Cities Appeal, which is calling on local government to back its campaign to have their country ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The Treaty will forbid all activities related to nuclear weapons, including testing, building, funding and threats to use them but requires ratification by member countries.

With Australia yet to sign up, Councillor Stuart Larkins brought the motion to Council’s August Meeting so Kiama can call on the Federal Government to do so without delay.

“As a council we have the responsibility to protect our citizens and we should take a stand on all things that are important,” Cllr. Larkins says.

“The appeal has been endorsed by hundreds of council areas across the globe.”

These include neighbouring Wollongong, Shellharbour and Shoalhaven councils. 

In Public Access, a member of the ICAN Board, Professor Marianne Hanson, said local government had a role to play in this global issue “because it is cities that are targeted; it is local councils that have to deal with the aftermath”.

“Even a small war would create a nuclear winter that would affect the whole world,” she said.

In 2017, ICAN was the first Australian organisation to receive a Nobel Peace Prize for its work in having the Treaty adopted in the UN.

Councillors Brown and Croxford voted against the motion.