Australia has always been aligned with military empires: first the British Empire and now that of the USA. In the current era this alignment is misguided. It comes with enormous social and economic costs and does not protect us from current threats – indeed it makes us more of a target. There are alternatives, and we can work together towards them.

This was the subject of a conference hosted by Raising Peace in conjunction with World Beyond War on 21 September 2024 in Sydney and summarised here. The theme was “NoWar2024: Resisting the USA’s Military Empire” and was part of an international peace conference, with sessions in Germany, Colombia and the USA.

Australia has long been willing to pay a high price for its alignment with foreign empires. The atomic bomb tests in South Australia were carried out by the British military empire. At the conference we heard about their impact on First Nations people and the land. The Indigenous owners of the area were not considered, not consulted, and experienced the atomic tests as ‘bright light then a black mist’. Panelist Karina Lester described how her father and others were blinded and their health impacted. Their land was polluted with radioactive craters. Indigenous people have a well-founded opposition to nuclear waste sites in their country.

The AUKUS agreement is the most recent example which aligns Australia even more closely with the USA’s military empire. Australia has become more militarised and has given over much of our sovereignty. At huge expense, we are........

© Pearls and Irritations