Decoding government-speak on the cluster bomb bill

Line 4: "The Australian Government will not approve the stockpiling of cluster munitions in Australia by foreign governments."

After sustained criticism on the hosting of foreign stockpiles, the Defence Minister announced last November that the government will issue a policy statement at the time of Australia's ratification of the Convention stating that the government will not approve the stockpiling of cluster munitions in Australia. This is better than not having such a statement. However, the government has not amended the section of the legislation which explicitly permits countries not party to the Convention to stockpile cluster bombs here. Section 72.42 says:

"Section 72.38 [lists the criminal offences under the Bill] does not apply to the stockpiling, retention or transfer of a cluster munition that is done by a member of the armed forces of a foreign country that is not a party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions…"

Thus the government has created a confusing situation where it says it won't approve foreign stockpiles yet has drafted legislation which plainly allows such stockpiling to occur. In an interview with ABC Radio last November, Stephen Smith refused to explain the contradiction created by his statement, relying on above 'line 1' to deflect the question.

Given the serious flaws in this legislation, and the government's earlier actions behind the scenes to weaken the global ban on these weapons, it's hard to fathom how the government reconciles its actions with its claims that Australia is a "strong supporter of" and "committed to" the Convention. Yet no doubt we'll hear these exact same lines used yet again when the Senate debate starts.