New
Zealand Parliament
WEDNESDAY,
8 DECEMBER 2004
Prime
Minister, the Right Honourable Helen Clark, Minister
for Disarmament the Honourable Marian Hobbs, Parliamentary
Network for Disarmament New Zealand Chair the Honourable
Nick Smith, Pita Paraone MP, distinguished
guests, ladies and gentlemen
E
nga mana, e nga reo, e nga iwi, tena koutou, tena
koutou, tena koutou katoa.
As
Mayor of the Capital city of Nuclear Free New Zealand
and a member of the Mayors for Peace Network, it
is my honour and privilege to welcome you here to
Wellington for this forum – Parliamentarians,
the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Nuclear
Weapon Free Zones.
In
June this year Wellington celebrated the 10 th anniversary
of the lighting of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki peace
flame in the botanic garden. In October Wellington
marked the commemoration of Hiroshima Day and the
work of Wellington's peace community with the unveiling
of two plaques in the peace garden.
Both
these events gave us the opportunity to reflect
on the meaning and importance of peace. They
reminded us that we can never stop striving for
world peace and that we all have a role to play
in keeping and maintaining world peace.
These
two events brought to the front of our minds, the
horrific events of 6 August 1945 in the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They brought
to the front of our minds images of the aftermath
of that terrible time and images of the hundreds
of thousands of innocent people that were killed
and maimed.
It
reminded us that this can never be allowed to happen
again, anywhere in the world.
Wellingtonians
take their role in promoting world peace very seriously,
that's why as a representative of the people of
Wellington, I joined the Mayors for Peace Network.
Members
of the Wellington peace community have played a
vital role in making sure world peace and the total
abolition of nuclear weapons remains in the forefront
of public consciousness, and in the minds of politicians
and policy makers.
You
here today have the power and the ability to make
a difference. I urge you to use that power
to make a difference for our children, their children
and every generation of children that follows.
We all deserve no less.
Local
authorities and local body politicians also have
a part to play, I know. That's why I am involved
in the Mayors for Peace Network.
The
Mayors for Peace Network is promoting an emergency
campaign to ban nuclear weapons in preparation for
the Non-proliferation Treaty Review conference in
May 2005. The plan calls for a nuclear weapon
free world by the year 2020.
In
August next year I plan to attend the 6 th general
conference of mayors in Hiroshima on the 60 th anniversary
of Hiroshima to discuss ways and ideas in which
I, and other mayors can help make this plan a reality.
You
too can help, in many ways. When you leave our peaceful
country and return home, please contact your local
mayors, and urge them to become part of the Mayors
for Peace Network, to play their part in world peace,
and to spread the word about the importance of nuclear
disarmament.
Once
again, welcome to our wonderful, peaceful city.
I hope you get the opportunity to see as much of
it as you can and to enjoy some of the fantastic
hospitality our city is renowned for.
Thank
you.
