§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in view of the protest made to the South Pacific Forum representing eight Commonwealth nations, they will now make strong representations to the Government of France to cancel the projected nuclear test on the Muraroa atoll.
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIE)My Lords, following the recent talks between the Prime Minister of Australia and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, we have drawn the attention of the French Government to the communiqué of the South Pacific Forum.
§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, while welcoming back the noble Baroness from her rather exciting experiences, may I ask whether something more than this indication of the Australian point of view is not necessary? Is it not unprecedented that a whole continent should have protested against an event of this kind—including even the Polynesian representatives in the French Parliament? Could not Her Majesty's Government protest very strongly on behalf of the two British possessions, the Pitcairn and Solomon Islands, which are in the neighbourhood of the atoll where this test will be carried out.
§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIEMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for his welcome, I would say that the French Government are very well aware of our views. We have often said that we hope that France will accede to the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 which prohibits nuclear testing in the atmosphere.
§ LORD BROCKWAYMy Lords, may I ask the noble Baroness whether she has seen the report of the Australian scientists based on the United Nations Scientific Committee on the effects of atomic radiation: that there will be in distant Australia for the next 30 years one death each year from cancer arising from this radiation? Will it be within the terms of reference of the International Court at The Hague, when the case is brought there, to suggest that tests should be stopped until there is an international investigation into the effect of radiation on health and pollution.
§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIEMy Lords, I understand that the New Zealand Government is considering bringing a case before the International Court and therefore I could not possibly comment on what would be in order there. So far as our own responsibilities are concerned, we found that the monitoring we carried out in previous years indicated that there is no danger to health in the area.
§ LORD DAVIES OF LEEKMy Lords, is the noble Baroness aware—I am sure she is partially aware—that some of us believe that there is between the great Powers a conspiracy of silence about the devastating effects of radioactivity? Will the noble Baroness try to take some action to bring it home to the Powers that be that science is being prostituted for the sake of power politics in the case of these continuous experiments in exploding radioactive material all over the earth.
§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIEMy Lords, I think that that goes a little wider than the specific Question on the Order Paper, but no doubt the noble Lord will recall that when Australia and New Zealand cosponsored a United Nations resolution to suspend atmospheric tests, we supported them.