In 1987, the

Fourth Labour Government The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...

passed the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act. The Act essentially declared New Zealand as a

nuclear free zone A nuclear-free zone is an area in which nuclear weapons (see nuclear-weapon-free zone) and nuclear power plants are banned. The specific ramifications of these depend on the locale in question. Nuclear-free zones usually neither address nor proh ...

. The purpose of the Act was ambitious and wide-ranging: “to establish in New Zealand a Nuclear Free Zone, to promote and encourage an active and effective contribution by New Zealand to the essential process of

disarmament Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as ...

and international arms control”.

Summary of the Act

The Act established the legal framework for New Zealand's anti-nuclear policy. The Act sets out the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone consisting of all New Zealand territory (including ocean territory and airspace) and bans nuclear powered ships from entering into New Zealand waters. It also prohibits the acquisition, stationing and testing of nuclear explosive devices. Immunity from the law was granted to ships and aircraft exercising the right of innocent passage and/or the right of transit passage, as well as ships and aircraft in distress. In addition to legislating for a national nuclear-free zone, the Act implemented four international treaties. These included the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...

, the Seabed Arms Control Treaty, the

Biological Weapons Convention The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), is a disarmament treaty that effectively bans biological and toxin weapons by prohibiting their development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpil ...

and the Treaty of Rarotonga. The Act established the Public Advisory Committee for Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC). PACDAC is a committee of nine experts that advise the Government on disarmament and arms control. The Act also created a separate ministerial portfolio of Arms Control and Disarmament.

Background

Anti-nuclear public opinion played a huge role in setting the stage for this Act. In the years leading up to the Act, strong anti-nuclear opinions were mounting. Visits to New Zealand by

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

navy ships caused publicity and protest. Anti-nuclear opinion was exacerbated with the sinking of the Greenpeace protest ship the

Rainbow Warrior (1955) ''Rainbow Warrior'' was a Greenpeace ship involved in campaigns against whaling, seal hunting, nuclear testing and nuclear waste dumping during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (the French i ...

on 10 July 1985. Maire Leadbeater observed that New Zealand’s nuclear free policy and the resulting legislation demonstrated “how ordinary people created a movement that changed New Zealand’s foreign policy and identity as a nation”. Maire Leadbeater, How New Zealand Became Nuclear Free, Otago University Press, 2013 The New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 was the result of the New Zealand Labour Party’s victory in the 1984 election. On 12 June 1984,

Richard Prebble Richard William Prebble (born 7 February 1948) is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996, becoming its leader from 19 ...

introduced the Nuclear Free New Zealand Bill, which called for the exclusion of nuclear powered ships from New Zealand. Kevin Clements, Back from the Brink: The Creation of a Nuclear-Free New Zealand, 1989 New Zealand National Party MP

Marilyn Waring Dame Marilyn Joy Waring (born 7 October 1952) is a New Zealand public policy scholar, international development consultant, former politician, environmentalist, feminist and a principal founder of feminist economics. In 1975, aged 23, she beca ...

threatened to

cross the floor In parliamentary systems, politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a different political party than which they were initially elected under (as is the case in Canada and the United Kingdom). ...

and vote for Prebble's anti-nuclear bill. This challenged Prime Minister Robert Muldoon's leadership, as the National Government had a majority of only one person in Parliament. Muldoon announced on 14 June 1984 that he would call a snap election. The question of nuclear ship visits became central to the 1984 election. July 1984 saw the New Zealand Labour Party sweeping to power with their strong anti-nuclear policies. Many supporters of the Labour Government asserted that the party had been elected to make New Zealand nuclear free. They promised to declare New Zealand nuclear free and work actively for a nuclear weapons free zone in the South Pacific. This was a popular stand, and by the end of the year nearly 40 towns and boroughs had declared themselves nuclear free. In February 1985, the Lange Government rejected the arrival of the USS Buchanan ship. The Reagan Administration retaliated by taking strong punitive action against New Zealand. They terminated intelligence flows and military ties with New Zealand. Despite this, the Lange government remained committed to their anti-nuclear policy. David Lange stated that if the security alliance was the price New Zealand must pay to remain nuclear-free, ‘it is the price we are prepared to pay’. The Labour Government’s asserted New Zealand’s independence and passed the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987.

Significance of the Act

As Sir

Geoffrey Palmer Geoffrey Palmer may refer to: Politicians * Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 1st Baronet (1598–1670), English lawyer and politician *Sir Geoffrey Palmer, 3rd Baronet (1655–1732), English politician, Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicestershire *Geoffrey Pa ...

observed, the enactment of the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 was “a signal statement of New Zealand’s determination to stand up for a principle in which its people believe”.Palmer QC, Sir Geoffrey, The Significance of the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987 (September 2017). (2017) NZLJ 295. The significance of the Act lies in its affirmation that New Zealand exists as an independent and proud democracy concerned about the future of the planet. The Act has given New Zealand a significant voice in the international community.

Developments

In 2000, the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone Extension Bill was introduced into Parliament with the aim of extending the New Zealand nuclear free zone from 12 miles to 200 miles and to prohibit the transit of high level nuclear waste, nuclear weapons and nuclear powered ships through that extended zone.Grant Hewison (2014) New Zealand’s Nuclear Free Zone Extension Bill, Maritime Studies, 2001:119, 17-24 However, this was rejected by Parliament in the second reading stage. In 2006, a survey was carried out of all political parties represented in New Zealand Parliament asking for their positions on the Act. The findings showed near universal support for the Act. The National Party pledged it will retain the legislation unchanged should it become the government. The Act received the 2013 Silver Award of the

World Future Council The World Future Council (WFC) is a German non-profit foundation with its headquarters in Hamburg. It works to pass on a healthy and sustainable planet with just and peaceful societies to future generations. FuturePolicy.org The website f ...

’s annual future policy Award, in partnership with the

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) (french: Bureau des affaires du désarmement) is an Office of the United Nations Secretariat established in January 1998 as the Department for Disarmament Affairs, part of United Nations Secretary-Gen ...

and the Inter-Parliamentary Union. The Act was recognised as being a leader amongst peace and disarmament initiatives and for having fundamentally changed New Zealand’s culture, role and identity on the world stage.

References

External links

Text of the Act
{{David Lange, state=collapsed Nuclear-weapon-free zones Statutes of New Zealand

Nuclear Free Zone A nuclear-free zone is an area in which nuclear weapons (see nuclear-weapon-free zone) and nuclear power plants are banned. The specific ramifications of these depend on the locale in question. Nuclear-free zones usually neither address nor proh ...