3 Aug 2023
MEDIA RELEASE
This Sunday, 6th August, at 11 am, Hunter Workers will be joining the Hunter Peace Group to commemorate Hiroshima Day and officially open the newly named Tighes Hill Peace Park.
Esteemed speakers will include:
• Sharon Claydon, Federal MP
• David Shoebridge, Greens Senator
• Leigh Shears, Hunter Workers Secretary
• Brad Pidgeon, AMWU Organiser
• Maxine Sharkey, NSW Teachers Federation General Secretary
• Fred Krausert, MUA Veterans Secretary
• Jasmine Stuart, UON student and activist
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes will also be attending to officially unveil the park sign.
Sunday marks 78 years since hundreds of thousands were tragically killed by two US-detonated atomic bombs, devastating the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The commemoration is especially significant this year in light of AUKUS and Australia’s endeavour to build a nuclear submarine base on the coast of Australia, with Newcastle being an option under consideration.
Newcastle and Hunter Workers have a long history of peace activism and anti-nuclear protest. The City of Newcastle officially declared the city a nuclear-free zone in 1982 and since reaffirmed this commitment in 2021.
Leigh Shears, Hunter Workers Secretary:
“Hunter Workers remains committed to pursuing peace and rejecting government policy that threatens this goal.
It’s working-class kids that are sent off to die in wars. It’s working-class communities that bear the burden of nuclear technology risks.
This peace park is the physical demonstration of the people’s commitment to peace and nuclear disarmament.”