DOCSLIB.ORG

Nuclear Free New Zealand: 1987

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Nuclear Free New Zealand: 1987 ISSN 0114-9199 ISBN 0-908881-14-2 WORKING PAPER NO. 8 NUCLEAR FREE NEW ZEALAND: 1987 - FROM POLICY TO LEGISLATION Robert E White April 1998 Author's Address: Centre for Peace Studies University of Auckland Private Bag 92019 Auckland New Zealand Tel. +64 - 9 - 3737599 ext. 8364 Fax. +64 - 9 - 3737445 E-mail [email protected] ii CENTRE FOR PEACE STUDIES WORKING PAPERS This Working Paper series presents current research carried out by members and associates of the Centre for Peace Studies, and aims to cover topics dealing with matters relating to a broad range of peace issues. Publication as a Working Paper does not preclude subsequent publication in scholarly journals or books. Unless otherwise stated, publications of the Centre for Peace Studies are presented without endorsement, as contributions to the public record and debate. Authors are responsible for their own analysis and conclusions. Centre for Peace Studies University of Auckland Private Bag 92019 Auckland New Zealand iii ABSTRACT This is the second in a planned series of working papers dealing with aspects of New Zealand's nuclear free policy and legislation. These papers are intended to cover the introduction of the policy in 1984 and the legislation in 1987, and related developments in New Zealand following each of these events. The first working paper in the series, Working Paper No.7, Nuclear Free New Zealand - 1984 New Zealand Becomes Nuclear Free July 1997, argues that New Zealand did not become truly nuclear free, free of nuclear weapons, until 1984 when Labour put its nuclear policy into effect, despite frequent claims that former Prime Minister Keith Holyoake had made New Zealand nuclear free in 1957. Also disputed are claims that New Zealand banned visits by nuclear armed and powered vessels during periods prior to 1984. Events subsequent to the election in 1984 that finally saw the nuclear policy implemented for the first time early in 1985 when the USS Buchanan was refused permission to visit are followed using new material relating to this incident released late in 1996 under the Official Information Act. The paper concludes with an extensive chronology of events relating to the nuclear policy from the 1984 election to the the tenth anniversary of the signing into law of the legislation an 8 June 1997, and a table comparing a number of factors related to the nuclear issue as they were in 1984/5 and as they are now, 1995/7. The present paper follows the passage of the nuclear free policy into law on 8 June 1987, nearly three years after Labour came to power promising to enact this legislation. The passage of the nuclear free Bill through Parliament is followed in summaries of the debates, and by examining the manoeuvres of the various political parties involved in respect of the Bill. Evidence is presented supporting the claim that ANZUS has always been seen by the United States as a nuclear alliance, part of American global deterrence strategy, despite claims to the contrary in the 1980s by the major political parties in New Zealand. The reactions of New Zealand's major allies to the legislation are examined and analysed. Arguments are presented to support the claim that these reactions arose from concerns that the legislation might seriously undermine the operation of the American and British neither confirm nor deny policy (NCND) then in force, by encouraging other non-nuclear nations to adopt similar policies. One consequence of the move to legislation was the suspension by the United States of its security obligations to New Zealand under the ANZUS treaty, amounting to a suspension of New Zealand from active participation in ANZUS. The legality of this suspension is examined in chapter three. Finally, chapter four presents a new analysis of the motivation for the switch by the National Party early in 1990 to supporting the legislation, and looks at the present state of support for the nuclear free policy and legislation in the New Zealand Parliament. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE The author, now retired from the University of Auckland, has an extensive record of research in nuclear physics. Since 1986 he has been engaged in research related to nuclear policies and strategies. He was a founder member of Scientists Against Nuclear Arms (NZ) in 1983, and has been the Director of the Centre for Peace Studies since it was established late in 1988 in the University. He holds the degrees of Doctor of Philosophy (1957) and Doctor of Science (1981). iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author is greatly indebted to Wellington based peace researcher and activist Nicky Hager for his advice and input. With his proximity to Parliament and politicians, and to government departments, he has developed an unusual level of contact with many of the personalities of importance in this study. Access to documents obtained by Peter Wills under the US Freedom of Information Act and elsewhere, and advice concerning them, was of considerable value. Willing cooperation from Jerome Elkind is also acknowledged. Thoughtful comment, and careful editing by John Gribben and Peter Wills is gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported financially by grants from the University of Auckland and the Centre for Peace Studies. v CONTENTS Acronyms/Abbreviations vi INTRODUCTION 1 References 4 CHAPTER ONE THE PASSAGE OF THE BILL 1.1 Legislation - Why? 5 1.2 Passage of the Bill - Procedure 7 1.3 Introduction and First Reading of the Bill - 10 December 1985 9 1.4 Report of the (Select) Committee 16 1.5 The Second Reading 17 1.6 Consideration by a Committee of the Whole House 23 1.7 The Third Reading, and Royal Assent 25 References 26 CHAPTER TWO REACTIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS 2.1 Introduction 27 2.2 ANZUS, Neither Confirm Nor Deny, and Sections 9 and 11 28 of the Act 2.3 Sections 5 and 6 of the Act 33 Section 5 and the Americans 34 Section 5 and the British 36 New Zealand Forces in the Persian Gulf 37 Section 6 40 References 41 CHAPTER THREE THE LEGALITY OF THE SUSPENSION 3.1 Introduction 42 3.2 The Suspension - Is it Legal or Not 42 3.3 A New Zealand Legal Opinion - Jerome Elkind 45 3.4 Another New Zealand Opinion - Stuart McMillan 46 3.5 Conclusion 46 References 46 CHAPTER FOUR THE PRESENT 4.1 Introduction 47 4.2 The 1990 Switch by National - A Re-examination 47 4.3 The Present 51 References 56 APPENDIX ONE The Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 57 APPENDIX TWO The Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone Act 69 APPENDIX THREE Telegram, 27 September 1989 76 vi ACRONYMS - ABBREVIATIONS ANZUS Treaty between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States FPDA Five Power Defence Arrangements MMP Mixed Member Proportional representation NCND The policy of neither confirming nor denying the presence or absence of nuclear weapons on vessels, aircraft, or at any location NGO Non-governmental organisation NPV Nuclear powered vessel NPW Nuclear powered warship NZPD New Zealand Parliamentary Debates PACDAC Parliamentary Advisory Committee on Disarmament and Arms Control SAS Special Air Service SPNFZ South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone USG United States Government USN United States Navy 1 INTRODUCTION This is the second in a series of working papers examining aspects of New Zealand's nuclear free policy and its operation since it was introduced in July 1984 by the newly elected Labour Government headed by Prime Minister David Lange. The 1984 policy became law on 8 June 1987 as the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act, referred to as the Act below. This study also examines the operation of the Act over the last decade. These working papers bear the common title, Nuclear Free New Zealand, and individual specific titles. The first in the series, 1984 - New Zealand Becomes Nuclear Free, was published as Working Paper No.7 by the Centre for Peace Studies in June 1997 to mark the tenth anniversary of the enacting of the legislation. It examined and debunked claims that New Zealand had been made nuclear free much earlier by a former Prime Minister, Keith Holyoake, and clarified incorrect claims that in the early 1970s there had been a ban on visits to New Zealand by nuclear armed or powered warships. It also presented new material concerning events in late 1984 and early 1985 that related in particular to the proposed visit in March 1985 by the USS Buchanan. The documents, only recently released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, referred to as the ministry below, show collaboration by New Zealand, Australian and American government officials to reassure the New Zealand government that the visit would be acceptable under the new nuclear free policy. The visit failed because these officials could not in the end guarantee absolutely that the Buchanan would be free of nuclear weapons at the time of the visit. The working paper examines the question of whether or not the Buchanan was nuclear armed at that time. It concludes that while the ship may well not have been carrying nuclear weapons, it would have been difficult to establish this with the absolute certainty the Lange government finally saw was required if the visit was to proceed. Pressure from within the Labour Party, from his caucus, and from the peace movement and the public generally made it impossible for Lange to allow the visit without this absolute certainty. There are strong suggestions in these documents of collusion among these ANZUS government officials to undermine the nuclear policy by weakening it to be more in line with the Australian, Danish and Norwegian types of nuclear armed or powered warship visit policies.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Nationalist Rhetoric in Australia and New Zealand in the Twentieth Century: the Limits of Divergence
    Nationalist Rhetoric in Australia and New Zealand in the Twentieth Century: The limits of divergence Jack Alexander Henry Doig Bachelor of Arts Post-Graduate Diploma History Graduate Diploma Education Masters in International Studies A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2013 History, Philosophy, Religious Studies and Classics i Abstract This thesis analyses the nationalist rhetoric of successive Australian and New Zealand governments over the twentieth century. It uses political rhetoric to analyse the way that ideas about race, Empire and geopolitical identities were invoked, transformed and discarded in Australia and New Zealand. Each chapter in this thesis is a case study of an event that caused the two governments to articulate visions of Australia and New Zealand and their place in the world. It draws upon transnational and comparative historiography dealing with Australia and New Zealand, as well as scholarship seeking to understand nationalism and geopolitics. It uses these theoretical frameworks to explain the resilience and then rapid decline of British settler nationalism in Australia and New Zealand and analyse the post-British nationalisms that took its place. This thesis begins at a time when Britishness pervaded most aspects of nationalist rhetoric in Australia and New Zealand, and it ends in 1990 where governments adopted explicitly post- British post-racial national identities. It explains this transformation by analysing a series of case studies through the twentieth century that illustrate the decline of the British Empire and the attempts by governments in Australia and New Zealand to define a new place for themselves within the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Shaping the Bureau Or Maximising the Budget? Rational Choice, Historical
    Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. Shaping the Bureau or Maximising the Budget? Rational choice, historical institutionalism and bureaucratic reform in New Zealand A dissertation presented in fulfilment of the requirements fo r the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics Massey University, Turitea campus, New Zealand Richard Hugh Alter-Shaw 2001 11 Abstract In early 1997, the recently fo rmed National/New Zealand First coalition government embarked upon an Employment Strategy which was to generate extensive structural upheaval in the New Zealand public service. In short order, the largest government department was dismantled, a second was much reduced, and three new bureaucracies were created. This dissertation searches fo r the causes of the trajectory and outcomes of those institutional reforms. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data, the thesis explores the motives of the senior politicians and officials involved in the Employment Strategy, tests the relative influence of those actors over decision-making, and examines the bearing which institutional arrangements within the political executive had on the course and consequences of the Employment Strategy. Two theoretical approaches are used to make sense of the data. The rational choice case for bureaucratic change proposes that the institutional shape of the public sector is a function of instrumental bureaucratic conduct. Specifically, budget-maximisation is assumed to result in an increasing number of government departments, each consuming an expanding budget and producing excess output.
    [Show full text]
  • The Macphersons of the Far North of New Zealand
    The Macphersons of the Far North of New Zealand Reynold Macpherson, 4 June 2012 Alfred Sinclair Macpherson, 1895-1968 Eric Gordon Macpherson, 1907-1979 Not for sale, free download available from www.reynoldmacpherson.ac.nz Dedications This volume is dedicated first to my lady, Nicki, our four extraordinary children, Kirsty, Shiona, Ewan and Angus, and our wonderful grandchildren Austin, Olive and, hopefully, others yet unborn. Second, it is dedicated to the concept of family, and its big sister, community. It is in praise of the social fabric of our immediate society and the cultural, political and economic processes that sustain our civilisation. ii Acknowledgements Many people contributed to this compilation with advice, stories and photographs. They are referenced in the text and warmly thanked. This text would not have been possible without their willingness to reflect and share the memories of times past and people long passed on. Others supported this historical reseach in other ways. In particular I would like to acknowledge the curators of the Far North Regional Museum in Kaitaia’s Te Ahu Centre, Don and Lynda Hammond, for their expert help over years. In more recent times I have also been strongly supported by the curators of the Whangaroa Museum, Margaret Hayes and Brenda (and Ron) Jenkins, who provided access to many helpful sources. Kia ora tatau. Thank you all. iii Contents Dedications ................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements
    [Show full text]
  • Mmp and the Constitution
    © New Zealand Centre for Public Law and contributors Faculty of Law Victoria University of Wellington PO Box 600 Wellington New Zealand June 2009 The mode of citation of this journal is: (2009) 7 NZJPIL (page) The previous issue of this journal is volume 6 number 2, December 2008 ISSN 1176­3930 Printed by Geon, Brebner Print, Palmerston North Cover photo: Robert Cross, VUW ITS Image Services CONTENTS SPECIAL CONFERENCE ISSUE: MMP AND THE CONSTITUTION Foreword Dean R Knight...........................................................................................................................vii "Who's the Boss?": Executive–Legislature Relations in New Zealand under MMP Ryan Malone............................................................................................................................... 1 The Legal Status of Political Parties under MMP Andrew Geddis.......................................................................................................................... 21 Experiments in Executive Government under MMP in New Zealand: Contrasting Approaches to Multi­Party Governance Jonathan Boston and David Bullock........................................................................................... 39 MMP, Minority Governments and Parliamentary Opposition André Kaiser............................................................................................................................. 77 Public Attitudes towards MMP and Coalition Government Raymond Miller and Jack Vowles..............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • The Macphersons of the Far North of New Zealand
    The Macphersons of the Far North of New Zealand Reynold Macpherson, 5 February 2011 Alfred Sinclair Macpherson, 1895-1968 Eric Gordon Macpherson, 1907-1979 Not for sale, free download available from www.reynoldmacpherson.ac.nz The Macphersons of the Far North of New Zealand1 Reynold Macpherson, 5 February 2011 Introduction My earliest memory is of Queen Victoria‟s breasts, although at first I assumed that they were Papatuanuku‟s. At the top of the Mangatoetoe (plume grass stream) Valley where I was raised are a pair of rounded hills (see right). A.W. Reed reputedly claimed in Place Names of New Zealand that they were “Named in honour of the Great White Queen, The Breasts of Kuini Wikitoria,” to which a leading historian of the Far North observed dryly that “it is doubtful whether she would have appreciated this honour done to her by her Māori subjects.” (Ramsey, 2001, p. 2) Like most New Zealanders, I learned early the Māori creation myth which explains that the Earth Mother, Papatuanuku, nurtures humankind under the gaze of Ranginui the Sky Father. Ranginui sometimes weeps at being separated forever from his lover by their children; the gods of the forest, sea, weather, peace and war, and their descendents, people. This showed that when I first „situated my appreciation‟ of the view from our lounge room window, instead of „appreciating the situation,‟ my early imagination was already shaped by a blend of Anglo-Celtic and Māori perspectives. With this context of largely unrealised and ongoing interculturalism in mind, I will now explain how Macphersons came to be in the Far North of New Zealand, not knowing if they were related to the McPhersons, living plural lifestyles in a Polynesian paradise, and integrated with many other families of British, Māori and Dalmation descent.
    [Show full text]
  • Social Credit and Party Politics
    Social Credit and Party Politics A WARNING. by L. D. Byrne, O.B.E. F.S.C. S. The question of Social Credit has become a major issue in New Zealand politics during an election year. Claims and counter-claims have been made concerning what is Social Credit and what has happened in Canada. As a service to the New Zealand electors, the publishers of this brochure have sought the views on the greatest living authority on the subject, Mr. L.D. Byrne, now living in British Columbia, Canada, where a government calling itself Social Credit is in office. A highly qualified British professional man, Mr. Byrne was a member of the committee that was responsible for the famous Southampton Chamber of Commerce Report on the cause of the Great Depression, before being sent to Alberta in 1937 by the author of Social Credit, C.H. Douglas, to act as technical adviser to the Social Credit government headed by William Aberhart. New Zealand electors wishing to cast a resp- onsible vote concerning Social Credit cannot ignore the views of L.D. Byrne. 1SBN: 0-908625-09-X Downloaded from www.socialcredit.com.au Page 1 Mr. L.D. Byrne, O.B.E. Downloaded from www.socialcredit.com.au Page 2 INTRODUCTION During an historic world tour in 1934, the author of Social Credit, the Scottish engineer- economist C.H. Douglas, visited New Zealand, giving a number of lectures to large and appreciative audiences. Perhaps the most outstanding of these was “The Use of Money”, delivered in St James’s Theatre, Christchurch, on February 13th.
    [Show full text]