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New Zealanders mark 20 years of nuclear-free law

Nuclear weapons pose an increasing threat to world peace as more nations acquire them, New Zealand warned yesterday as it marked 20 years since outlawing them on its soil and in its waters.

The nation was celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, Disarmament and Arms Control Act, which bans nuclear weapons from its territory, including visits by nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered ships.

The 1987 law caused a rift between the small South Pacific nation and Western nuclear states including the US, which was denied the right to have its warships make port visits and punished its former ally by cutting most military ties.

New Zealand Disarmament Minister Phil Goff said the nuclear-free law remains as relevant now as when it was first passed. Complacency about nuclear weapons is threatening international arms control negotiations, Goff said.

He previously has spoken up over what he sees as serious delays by the major nuclear powers, particularly the US and Russia, in implementing terms of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and cutting back their own nuclear arsenals.

"The threat to the world of nuclear weapons grows as more countries acquire possession of them," he said.

With 27,000 nuclear warheads held in various arsenals, nations need to stay focused on stopping their spread and reducing their numbers through the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

"We need countries that will lead the way toward not only nonproliferation -- there's a variety of countries strongly pressing for nonproliferation -- but also for the other side of the bargain ... for the nuclear weapon states to carry out their unequivocal commitment from [the year] 2000 to work toward elimination of nuclear weapons," he told National Radio.

Several nations voiced concerns in the 1980s that more strategically important countries might follow New Zealand's lead and declare themselves nuclear free. None did.

Twenty years on, New Zealand still can only take part in joint military exercises with US forces if a presidential order permits. It remains cut out of some high-level intelligence links.

The move also strained bilateral diplomatic relations with the US for nearly two decades, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this year calling the policy "a rock in the road" -- but one the two nations "can work around."
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