Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

It is the view of the government that complex foreign policy matters are not best dealt with by a simple binary yes-or-no situation. Australia is committed to nuclear disarmament and has a long record of working effectively with partner countries and through the nuclear non-proliferation treaty review process to advance this aim. It has been the position of successive Australian governments to urge all the nuclear weapon states, including the United States and Russia to reduce and, ultimately, eliminate nuclear weapons in a way that does not compromise Australia's national security or international security. Banning nuclear weapons will not lead to their elimination. A step-by-step approach, which involves all nuclear weapon states and adopts practical and realistic measures, is the most effective way to achieve disarmament.

The prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons is a complex matter and should not be reduced, as I said, to a simplistic Senate motion without debate.