YouSaid · the spoken record

Peacock

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS PEACOCK

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165

first

1977-09-24

most recent

1980-09-24

sittings or episodes

4

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un-general-debate

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1. “Given that the scope for conservation and for expanding conventional energy sources is limited, and that alternative renewable energy sources are unlikely to be brought into commercial use in the short or medium term, an expansion in the use of nuclear power will be essential for the next few decades at least. Recognizing its responsibility to the international community, Australia is prepared to co-operate with other nations to supply uranium, subject to the strictest safeguard conditions, to facilitate this transition. 47. Furthermore, we believe that, in order to overcome the obstacles facing the world community during the transition period in energy, co-operation among nations in this area must be intensified.”

   1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

2. “Last month the Australian Government announced a range of policies designed to promote the development of Australia's energy resources. Our decision to proceed with the mining and export of Australia's uranium will have important implications for the world community. Bearing in mind that we possess some 20 per cent of the Western world's proven low-cost reserves and have no domestic nuclear power requirement at this stage, Australia will be in a position to make a significant contribution towards supplying the needs of an increasingly energy-deficient world.”

   1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

3. “The major oil-producing and oil-consuming countries are fully aware of this situation and will increasingly want to reserve oil supplies for non-substitutable energy and non-energy uses. In the light of this, Governments will be required to take urgent action to conserve energy use, to promote the development of conventional sources of energy and to develop, through intensified research and development programmes, alternative non-conventional energy sources which are both renewable and non-depletable. These are actions that cannot be put off until next year or the next decade. Given the long lead times involved and the prospect of energy shortages, action must be taken by Governments now. Many Governments, including my own, have recognized these realities and are responding accordingly. 46.”

   1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

4. “We do not underestimate the difficulty of bringing about such a change, which will require considerable effort and many sacrifices on the part of all nations and will test our innovative skills to the utmost. Such a change will also-and I stress this-require a sustained and imaginative effort on the part of Governments to impress the gravity of the situation on the consciousness of their people, to make them fully aware of what is at risk if a solution is not found. But I am optimistic that, provided we co-operate closely, we shall succeed in overcoming the energy problems that face us. 45. It is possible that by the mid-1980s, and virtually certain by the 1990s, there will be dislocations in the world's supply of oil as global oil resources become more rapidly depleted.”

   1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

5. “It is of course the most striking historical irony of our era that the nuclear energy which has given rise to the problem of proliferation also offers the only economic solution to another urgent problem facing the international community over the next few decades, namely, the prospect of energy shortages. 44. No other issue so strikingly reflects the interdependence of the nations of our planet, for it affects all countries. None demonstrates so clearly the need for intensified co-operation to avoid what could be potentially disastrous consequences, politically, economically and socially, if the world proves incapable of a smooth and rapid adjustment from a primarily oil-based economy to one reliant on renewable and non-depletable sources of energy.”

   1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

6. “We believe that there should be the widest possible agreement on an appropriate framework for the management and operation of the nuclear fuel cycle. This requires stringent safeguards and controls on nuclear materials, equipment and technology to prevent their misuse for military purposes But alongside these, and of equal importance, there must be incentives for countries that, have unreservedly forsworn the nuclear weapons option. Such a framework will strengthen the non-proliferation regime. In this regard, Australia strongly supports the impending international nuclear fuel cycle evaluation. 43.”

   1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

7. “The pre-eminence of the super-Powers is also such that agreement between them must provide the foundation for progress, not merely towards mutual limitation but also towards the ultimate goal of nuclear disarmament. In this context the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the United States and the Soviet Union are of fundamental importance. We welcome the significant measure of progress which the two States have already achieved and their commitment to continuing negotiations into the future. 42. It goes without saying that the success of arms control efforts in the nuclear sphere is closely linked to satisfactory international controls on the utilization of nuclear power for peaceful purposes. Australia recognizes the right of all States to share in the utilization .of nuclear power for peaceful purposes.”

   1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

8. “Australia has always attached great importance to the cessation of nuclear testing in all environments. We are encouraged by the discussions which are taking place between the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom on a comprehensive test-ban agreement. Such an agreement would be a major step forward in nuclear arms control. It would be an important barrier both to the spread of nuclear weapons to additional countries and to the expansion of existing nuclear arsenals-and both are equally important. Agreement between the superpowers is the essential first step towards the cessation of tests by all countries in all environments. 41.”

   1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

9. “Indeed it would be difficult to exaggerate the importance of the psychological dimensions of this whole problem. The substitution of confidence for hesitation, trust for suspicion, and hope for fatalism is essential for its solution. 39. The interest of the international community is that all States should adhere to the non-proliferation Treaty. The fact that a large majority of States are now parties to the Treaty lends hope that universal adherence can be achieved. There is no other convincing test of a country's commitment to non-proliferation. Every nation has responsibilities to joining efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to contribute to an international climate which would make it harder for States to remain outside the non-proliferation Treaty. 40.”

   1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

10. “It is essential that the linkage between progress towards these goals be fully appreciated. Under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons the nuclear- weapon States have undertaken to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race This obligation is one facet of a three-cornered bargain on which the non-proliferation Treaty rests: nuclear Powers undertake to negotiate towards mutual nuclear disarmament; non-nuclear Powers forswear nuclear weapons and accept safeguards on their nuclear industries; and countries in a position to do so undertake to co-operate in the peaceful development of nuclear energy. These interlocking undertakings have not only a legal aspect deriving from the Treaty but political and psychological ramifications of the greatest importance.”

    1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

11. “This special session is not intended to provide a forum for the negotiation of new agreements. But it is intended to give new stimulus and focus to international efforts in the whole field of arms control and disarmament, to make an important contribution to a new consensus on priorities for future negotiations and to review ways in which existing negotiating machinery can be made more effective. These are urgent tasks. 37. The central issues of nuclear arms control, as I said here last year, are: the achievement of universal adherence to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons the conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban agreement and its acceptance by all States; and continued progress by the United States and the Soviet Union in their negotiations on strategic arms limitations. 38.”

    1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

12. “This has been a reflection of the objective fact of a new interdependence and at the same time a much greater awareness of that fact. But there is one crucial item which is as important on the new agenda as it was on the old: the issue of nuclear arms control. 35. The first concern of mankind must be the avoidance of nuclear conflict. If we fail in that, we fail in everything. We shall no longer be living in a recognizable world, if indeed we are living at all. The issue is not one which will stand still; things must get better or they will get very much worse. And we are very close to the point of no return. 36. It is therefore enormously important and appropriate that there will be a special session of the General Assembly on disarmament in 1978.”

    1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

13. “Every year we are all faced with the problem of how best to use our time on this rostrum—what subjects and themes to focus on, how wide or narrow a range of subjects to cover. I have decided to be very selective on this occasion, to speak on central issues which are of common and immediate concern to all Members and all peoples, whatever their more particular interests and preoccupations: namely, the issues of nuclear arms control and disarmament; energy; North-South relations; human rights; and the particular problems posed by the two areas of most acute crisis in the world today, southern Africa and the Middle East. 34. It has been possible during the last few years to discern a fundamental shift in emphasis in our agenda.”

    1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

14. “Yugoslavia's distinctive role in international affairs is fittingly recognized in your election to the presidency of this General Assembly. 31. Let me also say that last year we welcomed Samoa to membership, and I am delighted and indeed honoured to be following today my friend, the Prime Minister of Samoa. 32. This year, of course, two new Members have joined us. As Chairman of the group of Western European and other States for the current month, the Australian delegation has already had an opportunity to express a welcome to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Republic of Djibouti. May I add that we look forward to full co-operation with them across the broad range of the United Nations agenda. 33.”

    1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)

15. “30. Mr. President, I begin by offering you my congratulations and good wishes as you commence the task of steering the General Assembly through its thirty-second session. I have no doubt that you will serve this Assembly with distinction, and I offer you the full co-operation of my delegation. I wish to take this opportunity also to express my Government's recognition of the continuing contribution made to the United Nations by Ambassador Amerasinghe, particularly in the high office of President of the General Assembly, in which he preceded you, and in the office of President of the Third United Nations Conference on the law of the Sea. Yugoslavia has much to contribute to the functioning of the United Nations and to the furtherance of harmony among nations.”

    1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)