Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian Greens join in expressing our condolence for the death of former president Mikhail Gorbachev. Mr Gorbachev worked to cultivate constructive relationships with international counterparts to reduce the nuclear brinkmanship and reduce the political and military tensions at the heart of the Cold War. His approach stands in stark contrast to the warmongering we see from some current leaders, beating the drums of war with little regard for the human toll.

In particular, Mr Gorbachev's work on nuclear weapons should be commended. At the Reykjavik summit in 1986 he championed an agreement, led by the US and the Soviet Union, to dismantle their nuclear weapons and undertake sweeping reforms of nuclear arms control. If this had succeeded, the world would have had a great opportunity to create a world free of nuclear weapons. Instead, we are still facing nuclear armed states. The Reykjavik summit was a watershed moment and the first time that the US and the Soviet Union discussed international issues with diplomacy and a real desire for improvement. Reflection on Mr Gorbachev's legacy is a moment to reflect that nuclear disarmament is within reach, as long as political leaders have the courage to make the tough decisions.