Australia drops opposition to treaty banning nuclear weapons at UN vote

Summary

This article by Daniel Hurst, writing for The Guardian, makes the following points:

• The shift in Australia's voting position to 'abstain' after five years of 'no' is seen by campaigners as Australia distancing itself from the USA's opposition to the Treaty.
• The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons seeks to impose a blanket ban on developing, testing, stockpiling, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons.
• Australia has traditionally argued the Treaty would not work because none of the nuclear weapons states had joined it.

References

References from the Web:

• OCT 2022 'Small but important step': Australia's shift on treaty banning nuclear weapons applauded—SBS
• OCT 2022 Australia drops nuclear weapon opposition—Canberra Times  

Source Information:

• Article Source: The Guardian
• Media Check: The Guardian - Media Bias Fact Check (mediabiasfactcheck.com)
• RAAF RUNWAY: RATIONALE, GUIDELINES, LEARNING OUTCOMES, ETC | The Runway (airforce.gov.au)