Uniting Church President calls on the Government to support nuclear disarmament

On 6 and 9 August 2025, the world will commemorate 80 years since the catastrophic atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 1945, two cities were utterly destroyed and more than 200,000 lives were lost.

As these significant anniversaries approach, Uniting Church President Rev Charissa Suli has written to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong urging the Australian Government to immediately sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

In her letter, Rev Suli said the anniversaries were “a solemn reminder of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear warfare,” and called on the Government to show leadership in advancing global disarmament.

“For more than four decades, the Uniting Church in Australia has rejected the use, proliferation and threat of nuclear weapons in the strongest possible terms,” she wrote.

“These weapons are morally indefensible and fundamentally incompatible with the Gospel of Christ, which calls us to be peacemakers and reconcilers in a world where violence and enmity threaten human life and God’s creation.”

Rev Suli affirmed the Government’s stated commitment to a world without nuclear weapons, but urged more decisive action.

“We urge you now to translate those commitments into action by immediately signing and ratifying the TPNW, and offering leadership in international disarmament efforts for the sake of the whole creation.”

As a peacemaking Church following Jesus, the prince of peace, the Uniting Church has long stood in opposition to nuclear weapons and nuclear testing. The Uniting Church Assembly is a member organisation of the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), joining with them in calling for Australia to immediately sign and ratify the Treaty.

Read more about the Uniting Church’s position and past statements here.

Get Involved

As the 80th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki approach on 6 and 9 August, you can get involved in a number of events and actions being organised by ICAN. Help us build pressure for Australia to make progress on signing the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty!

• Attend ICAN Australia's online event for Hiroshima Day

Join ICAN Australia's flagship online event, 'The Fire Still Burns: Hiroshima, Resistance and Disarmament' featuring musician, environmentalist and former federal cabinet minister Hon Peter Garrett. Wednesday 6 August 2025 at 07:00pm AEST. The event will include videos from Australian parliamentarians and civil society leaders, music and storytelling.

• Join an event for the Week of Action for Abolition

2-9 August is ICAN's Week of Action for Abolition, with fantastic events taking place around the country. See the list of Australian events here.

• Send your own letter to the Government

Over 90 states have now signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Australia is falling behind. Labor promised to join but hasn't acted. Send a message to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister now to remind them: the time to sign and ratify the Treaty is this term of government. Your voice matters.

• Explore ICAN's Children's Peace Memorial

To mark 80 years since the US nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ICAN has launched an online memorial honouring the estimated 38,000 children killed. It features more than 400 profiles with details of the children’s lives, their agonising deaths and the grief of surviving family members. The children range in age from infants to teenagers.